I’M NOT CELEBRATING THE DEMOCRATS’ WIN
November 7th, 2020 will be a day to remember in History, or whatever the liberals said. In the United States of America, white supremacist, fundamentalist neofascism was soundly defeated. Sure, it was replaced by multiracial, authoritarian neoliberalism. Who cares? The Nazi’s gone.
Actually, as a prison abolitionist, feminist, leftist, human being, you name it, I care. I care quite a lot, frankly. After the Democratic party’s successful herculean efforts to stomp a grassroots, working-class led, progressive movement powered by Bernie Sanders and burned it to the ground in order to secure their corporatist rule over America, Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris ran a kind of underwhelming campaign that ended up working out, as they are projected to be the next leaders of America The Beautiful.
Listen, we’re all happy the nazi’s out. However, to what extent can we truly celebrate? Let’s discuss. Firstly, we have President-elect Biden. In the simplest terms, Joe Biden is an unrepentant racist and self-declared Zionist with a disturbing record of misogyny and actively supported the Iraq War. He’s teamed up with segregationists (and, well… was one), he’s done terrible harm to sexual harassment and gender violence victims (we won’t forget you, Anita), has been accused of sexual misconduct himself, and is one of the architects behind mass incarceration, for God’s sake. Additionally, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris (who, right before being selected as his running mate, called Biden a racist and stated that she believed the women who accused Biden of sexual misconduct) is, to be blunt, a cop. She has spent her career as a prosecutor fighting prison reform, has actively sued to deny trans prisoners life-saving healthcare, and literally began the contemporary persecution of sex workers. You can’t make this stuff up.
Let’s just think about this. In the middle of the longest, most sustained run of organized resistance against police and prisons, the Democratic ticket features two individuals who have built entire careers, and enriched themselves immensely in the process, on upholding the Prison Industrial Complex. There’s something so evil about the Democratic party forcing people, especially the most marginalized members of society, to elect the architect of the modern American carceral superstructure (who has, by the way, called to increase police funding because who cares about what the people want) with, by his side, a dangerous career prosecutor that has so fiercely fought for the upholding of the cruel criminal justice system. In the best-case scenario, the Democratic party is just out of touch with its people. Alternatively, they simply couldn’t care less, for their greed and corporate interests are more important than progress. In any case, the Democrats clearly suck.
Now, I can’t even begin to unpack the horrendous situation the American people are in. It’s ugly in every angle, every sphere. A fundamentally evil, systemically cruel country dominated by a two-party system where no one in power can muster a care in the world, and those who do, are crushed. It’s an absolute disaster. I don’t really know if there’s hope, but at least it’s not Trump, right?
By Natalia Ibanez
