Can We Talk About the Last Week?
For about 5 days now, I’ve been trying to write about Kamala Harris. Typing entire pieces only to delete them a minute later. Discussing with friends and coming to one conclusion, only to feel completely differently when I’m alone. Feeling a sense of relief that we wouldn’t have to cringe through another Biden flub then reading an ill-timed statement decrying protestors at Union Station and feeling anxious all over again. The only thing I can be sure of is that the events of the past week have left me feeling unsure and I suspect that a lot of people my age feel the same. So I have to ask?
How are we feeling?
The leftist impulse in this moment is to lament and give into despair. Harris has a democrat after all and it’s completely fair to be fed up with the entire party. For months, these people ignored concerns about Biden’s age and carted him out to the public anyway, to disastrous affect. Concerns over the horrifying siege of Gaza have also gone ignored and in many cases, calls for an end to the “conflict” have been outright opposed. And now a member of that same administration is at the helm of the party? I understand the “two sides of the same coin” people no matter how annoying I find them. On the other hand, I feel exhausted at the idea that everything must be a lament, that we can’t even enjoy the smallest win and see the positive in any situation. There is so much we have to fight for to actually make this country viable for most Americans. We have to push for an end to U.S. involvement in unlawful military actions abroad, for abortion rights across the nation, for fair wages and an end to price gouging by the supermarkets and landlords alike. And for all of these issues I’d rather fight under a Harris presidency than a Trump one and I’m just speaking plainly about that. I feel like we all would. Selfishly, as a black woman I would rather deal with the condescending “look at how far black women have come, it’s good to see that racism is finally over” that I can almost guarantee will occur under a Harris presidency than the, “black woman are not qualified to work or exist in public life” that I can see the Trump presidency descending into, along with outward and blatant discrimination against a number of groups.
So I have not a clue how to feel in this moment other than conflicted. My hands have dried out from my constant wringing of them. In the span of 24 hours I went from thinking “wow, $100 million dollars raised in 24 hours is really impressive” to “why was that man allowed to step foot in D.C. without being arrested?” and the tonal whiplash has my head ringing. But I do want to speak to Black women specifically for a moment.
Over the next few months we will be in the spotlight, whether we like it or not. There will be thinkpieces about us that will range from uncomfortable pedestalizing to dripping with misogynoir and contempt. There will be well meaning people co-opting the imagery of our institutions (yes y’all, I have already seen people who aren’t AKA’s wearing pink, green, and ivys). The worst actors among us will be trotted out to speak for us and the brightest will have expertly constructed responses. You will probably be asked to speak for your entire demographic at the drop of a hat and you will likely face bigotry in places you haven’t in a while. I’m old enough to remember just how weird everything got when Obama was elected. I was in middle school yes, but it was an overnight change where everything went from relatively chill to ridiculously racist. All of a sudden, my classmates came to school with new slurs and a justification for using them. There was a lot of “racism isn’t even a thing anymore but you’re still a monkey” and it was hurtful and confusing to say the VERY least. While I don’t know what we can expect going forward, I urge us to prepare ourselves as much as possible and to look out for each other when we can.
Anyway if you feel yourself feeling worn down or flustered, please understand that you are well within your right to feel that way. If you feel like tuning out, I don’t blame you. You aren’t lazy or wrong, you’re just a human being who has been living through years of major world events happening every week, when they usually happen once a decade. And it’s exhausting but I hope you’ll prioritize taking care of yourself where you can so that when it’s no longer acceptable to just tune completely out, you’ll be ready to lock in.
If you want to weigh in please comment below: