One week.
Seven days.
I can’t believe it’s already here and I feel like the last four years have been ten at the same time. Emotions are running deep, I’m eating a lot more pasta, getting pinged with donation-asks from Biden, Kamala and Obama bots. Anxiety is like a flaming rocket with unlimited fuel. I am pessimistic about the election as usual, not wanting to be naive like last time. Thankfully my mom gives me dashes of hope with her optimism. And all of the beautiful families posting pictures of their I Voted stickers and videos of endless early voting lines give me hope that this will change soon.
Four years of mainstream hate thrived in the spotlight. Four years of frivolous fear-mongering twinkled under shining lights, dominated camera time and glorified before the eyes of Americans. We have either been brainwashed or remained vigilant against the woes of a fraternity bro running (what once was) the land of the free.
Unfit in more ways than presidential, the incompetent, sexist, family separator, mocker of disabled, labeler of African countries as shithole countries, billionaire with racist beginnings and durings, is totally un-American and completely American at the same time. He’s out of touch with working families, but has forged a splendid bond with all styles of bigotry.
Let’s not forget his raging bankruptcies leaked after months of withholding tax returns, or not paying thousands of employees, or how he gutted the post office, or lied about his mishandling of a deadly disease, or the latest tragedy - a Supreme Court justice who has 19th century ideas about a woman’s place and is projected to reverse decades of progress. Seems like the trend lately. If we’re going to erase a half century of change, might as well make it a full one!
Yesterday, just eight days from an election, a woman whose values couldn’t be more insulting to her predecessor swindled her way onto a sacred seat. An icon’s last dying wish was crumbled, destroyed and thrown into the fire of all else Justice Ginsburg stood for. She is punching up at her grave, still trying to break those ceilings, while Barrett will undoubtedly erect tremendous obstacles for each non-heterosexual woman of color who wishes to end a pregnancy. All facilitated by him.
Ironically, the notification jutted the top right of my computer while I was watching a female comic talk about awkward sex moments on one of the biggest streaming channels. Look how far we have come! Even though I knew she would be sworn in, I felt weak and helpless - the same way I felt when 45 was elected. I don’t want to feel like that again.
The rise of Christianity in politics through this administration assaults our national vow to separate church and state. Everyone knows this. One-issue-voters support a dictatorial leader for his stance on abortion. The government was grabbing women by the pussy long before he came into office, but his catchy one-liner and Vice Pusher of An Anti-Gay Agenda were happy to accelerate these oppressive ideals.
I know you’re getting flooded with texts, emails, commercials, mailers and rallies and you’re sick of hearing about it, but I’m frankly sick of waking up in a hateful place. Why do we have to tell people to think of the women and queer people in their lives for them to vote for a decent guy? I’m not accepting the business angle anymore - he doesn’t pay his workers and is vastly bankrupt. So I guess the only argument left in the bucket is the anti-abortion stance. The man puts down those already living, yet vows to protect the unborn. Interesting. This could all change if you just go and vote. So please, please PLEASE, just go vote. Just do it.
(I do not own the cover photo for this article.)