Some of us felt a feeling of relief on Saturday afternoon, seeing Biden's name light up as the winner of the 2020 presidential election. We are celebrating the victory of Kamala Harris, the first woman, and person of color, to be America's VP. We are celebrating the glass ceiling being cracked open. But, with this success comes a whole new ball game.
The Biden administration is inheriting a shit storm, pardon my French. Yes, some by Trump's doing, but there are more layers to this storm that are deeply rooted in America's past. We must remember the harm that has come to the American people by Biden and Harris in the past - like the parts they have played in America's "tough on crime" policies that disproportionality affected Black communities. We must be weary of putting them on a pedestal just yet. Their rhetoric is a relief, but their policies may lack substance. Only time will tell.
If I coded my social media accounts for how many times I have witnessed statements of how entertaining it is to watch America 'crumble', the results would be astonishing.
As a society, we have become so desensitized to how much hurt and pain people in America have gone through in the last 4 years. They had a president who has pushed the margins of what we believe is acceptable coming from a powerful leader in the Western world. We witnessed someone who was willing to bring down democracy with him and question its legitimacy. Democracy is as real as it is believed.
When extremes are perpetuated by an authority figure for so long, it gives room for those who are discriminatory to feel as if they have the space in society to act on those thoughts and feelings. I am not saying that all opinions need complete censorship - I am saying there has been more tolerance towards the disregard of basic human rights of marginalized communities for the benefit of one dominant community.
This has come at the expense of racialized and underrepresented communities. Physically and mentally, people have been harmed.
LGBTQ+ communities have been harmed.
Black communities have been harmed.
Immigrants have been harmed.
Women have been harmed.
Poor people have been harmed.
The damn list goes on.
There are people in America who woke up this morning relieved their human rights won't be at stake for another 4 years. It is a privilege to separate your reality from what is harming others. So next time you dare to say "Trump/American politics is entertaining", think first at the expense of whom.
If you have not seen this yet, I recommend watching Van Jones' response to Biden's win: For a lot of people, it's a good day.
