Election Day 2016

This is ultimately the day we’ve all been waiting for, so let’s celebrate. The end of this election season is finally here. For the last couple of months we’ve all been forced to deal with two of the craziest crazies to ever run for the oval office. The immediate torture is nearly over, but here comes the second phase. The array of emotions displayed by the general public during this time has been vast to say the least.

Bernie Sanders ran on a ticket of broken promises and political fantasies. His bid for the democratic nomination was shot down like a thief in the night. In the end he conceded and endorsed Hillary, back to business as usual. The great white hype, Donald Trump has run a vigorous campaign designed to intimidate anyone that opposes him. Many of us have been victimized by these tactics which are childish, offensive, and really just plain stupid. Unfortunately many of us have responded to this fear mongering by joining forces with Hillary Clinton, you know in the name of stopping Trump.

I don’t know that he’s qualified to run the empire, but he talked a good, well loud game. America has positioned itself to select a candidate that will keep their values intact despite whomever wins. We can’t be disillusioned about the values the United States stands for and promotes. Trump will build a wall and Hillary will inevitably drop bombs so logically it seems most Americans are comfortable doing what must be done to save ourselves.

The middle class is barely surviving these days and is struggling to maintain that identity. When Clinton's husband left office thousands of Blacks were forced into the streets and left homeless. The housing crisis and mass incarceration seemed to be his only big ticket items, outside of adultery. Hillary is indeed her own person. She has campaigned on the strength of her own record, but oddly enough her politics reflect her husbands like a mirror image. They’re on the same team. He’s with her and she’s with him; there is no definitive difference between the Clintons when it comes to the sway of the pendulum.

The day after the election many of us will wake up to an America that has given white nationalism a boost. They will be upset, angry, and ready to administer violence to Black bodies. The challenge for all of us is rebuking the narrative that a vote for Hillary is a vote against white nationalism. If she wins she won’t stand with you while you’re attacked. If she loses she’ll most likely lean into it as a means of punishing us. Voting has never defeated white nationalism and it never will. In a very odd sense voting for the lesser of two evils actually empowers this discourse in our society. White supremacy searches for affirmation in spaces that allow it to expand its muscle; fear and social polarities reinforce a series of detrimental ideas. Trump is prepared to use the stupidity of white nationalists to the benefit of his agenda.

The Black movement today is more responsive than Black movements of the past. We don’t create infrastructures out of necessity, we respond to crisis. Through this election both candidates present another crisis to us. Some of the real work will involve pushing the Bernies and Hillarys and Jills to speak and act against these hate crimes long after the election. After they no longer need us, but no longer have ignorance of many issues as their scapegoat.

Despite whomever wins or loses, the hate has been unleashed and the white nationalist political identity has found a willing vessel in Trump and his voters. The commentary online surrounding this election and many people's decision to vote for Clinton seems to be rooted in the fact that they want to stop Trump. So what will white Democrats, liberals, and progressives in power do during times like these? I expect they will do what they always have.

Absolutely nothing.

TefPoe -- via handsupunited.org

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