Bring Down The Walls

I was recently schooled for my optimism and wide-eyed belief that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris would implement changes to the shitshow that Agolf Twitler has created in the United States. And I kind of understand that point of view. A sample:

This was me, puffing my chest and trying to sound coherent when commenting on some predictions that had been made about the election:

You were mostly right, then. It’s been a horrible four years and there’ll be gnashing of teeth until Agolf Twitler is out. He’s wrecking the house before he goes and making things as difficult as possible.

He will make everything possible to make the transition difficult and then blame Uncle Joe for his fuckery, as per custom. And the Repugs will suddenly grow a spine and Bitch McConnell will stonewall everything he can.

I feel you and your idea of Uncle Joe being ‘establishment’, but you don’t give the establishment any credit for having turned several states blue and having a female of color as vice president. And for being one of the few LGBTQ inclusive candidates? Or for finding that middle ground between Hillary and Bernie? Oh, you forgot about that?

See? I can show my teeth too.

I got this:

"Apparently I have forgotten how to reply in-thread, but to add to my other reply: no, I don’t give the establishment much credit at all. They worked harder at defeating Sanders than they did Trump, they ignored the flyover states that could have won them actual seats in congress, and they are doing their best to crush the wing of the party represented by AOC. When given the chance they gerrymander states as thoroughly as any Republican. They are in the pockets of lobbyists and Wall Street as thoroughly as any Republican. They are not the only problem, but they are a big problem.

Choosing Harris as VP was one of the most cynical acts of tokenism I have seen in a while. I am sure she will do an adequate job but she was chosen because she is a brown woman who obediently rolled over when the establishment Dems decided Biden was going to be the nominee. Celebrate if you want, but understand how you are being manipulated here."

I, of course, could not keep my mouth shut:

I think Bernie defeated himself. I like his ideas (and I think AOC is the future of the party) but it’s America and it’s difficult to change the Nationalist mindset that considers any thought about other fellow Americans as Socialism (not that most Americans know what Socialism is, mind you). And I wish the Dems would gerrymander SOMETHING. I’m tired of the Repugs doing shit and not paying for it.

Oh, and tokenism? Joe -or the establishment- was all but dead in the water when you were making your projections. Then he came from behind and beat them all. Cheeto and the Repugs saw that. Hence the campaign to dig dirt on Hunter. Kamala will be a great Vice President. And will probably use those training wheels to run for the presidency.

And yes, I am an issue voter: I think Biden’s all-inclusive platform and cabinet will be great. Perfect? Come on, it’s politics. You’ve seen quite the number of elections and I don’t have to lecture you on ‘the establishment’. There’s no perfect candidate. But the perfect populist who will bring Nationalism in a young, pretty package is being groomed. Bernie will not be here to witness it.

And I got this:

"I am not a Bernie Bro, but there was definitely a concerted effort from the moneyed establishment to keep him and Warren as far away from the presidency as possible.

Now you have me curious. I would like to compare the results of Super Tuesday against the election. I am deeply suspicious of how the Democratic nominee race went down. If Klobuchar and Buttiegieg had not dropped out just before the big day the story might have been quite different. How convenient for Biden."

I have seen this kind of slightly veiled disdain for the president-elect of the United States running rampant amongst the 'liberal' Gaytterati and among some people who call themselves Democrats. You see, as a mental exercise (and to keep our Poli-Sci courses fresh in our mind), I think we should not lose sight of the goal: an egalitarian society, where privileges are kept in check and the evils of capitalism and cronyism are kept at bay. But this is a country funded on those principles. This is a country that is a first world country because it used the lives of people as currency and counted on their free labor for hundreds of years in order to become a world potency. America is what it is because it was (and it still is) an intrinsically racist country. 

I understand the idea of wanting to solve all of America's problems by electing the one person who is going to make everything ok, but that's not really feasible. One, seventy million racist, xenophobic, sexist, stupid people will get on the way. Two, the racism and inequality underlying most aspects of American life are not only systemic but systematic. They require a bottom-up approach as well as a top-down revision. And one person cannot do all that in four years. 

Those purists need to get their assess off their chairs and start pounding the streets so the change they want to implement comes from the community. It's the people running from the humblest position in a community to the person running for president that need to be taken into account. Those 'small' elections have consequences. Cheeto could inflict damage on the country with the complicit malignancy of Bitch McConnell and all the spineless cunts that are the Repugs in Congress and the Senate but most of those idiots started small. Those same Repugs will block and stonewall most of the changes that Uncle Joe will try to implement. They did it with Obama. They'll do it again. And again. And again. That's why more people who know the problems of the communities need to bring those problems to light. Those are the people who will implement change.

Demanding purity tests from political candidates is not bad. I think Uncle Joe and Kamala should be held accountable and have their election promises fulfilled, but I also think that it's not all up to them. More people ready to implement change should be elected to positions where that change can be implemented. Look at The Squad. Look at what so many LGBTQ+ people have achieved. That's the goal. Not moan and groan because 'the establishment' is in power. They have this idea that the Democrats should move to the Left of Center and that's a reality check right there. There is no such thing as a "Left Wing" in America, but there are many, many Right Wing politicians and think tanks ready to take over again. 

And I understand where the criticism of Uncle Joe is coming from. He's not perfect. There is no such thing as a 'perfect' politician. But what these people forget is that the enemy was not Agolf Twitler. He was a symptom. The enemy is the GOP, that cannot win an election without Gerrymandering and the Electoral College. The enemy is the inherent racism that permeates every layer of life in America. The enemy is not Uncle Joe. The enemy is the blind conviction that America can be changed overnight by one person and one person only. Well, that and the comfort that the privilege of not being an 'issues' voter brings.

XOXO

P.S. I strongly recommend you listen to that Defected Records podcast, maybe while you cook, write your blog posts or clean the house. It'll make you wanna shake your booty AND think, natch.