It’s strange reflecting on how we ended up where we did. How did I end up here? We ask ourselves this whether we are rejoicing with our hearts uplifted or trembling to the ground with our skin stretched and teeth clenched as tears rip grooves down our faces.
How did we end up here?
I feel violated when men tell me to blindly vote for a candidate, mansplaining politics as if I’m ignorant. Both the current president and his challenger have histories of sexual abuse, yet we’re told to choose between these two figures within a corrupt two-party system. Dismissing my concerns as uninformed gaslighting won’t work. I understand that the entire societal system, and those before it, are a charade. The manufactured drama of reality television holds more truth than much of what we’re told.
Politics, however, operates within this framework. The upcoming nomination feels predetermined; our votes are mere formalities. The electoral college system only reinforces this. Why else would millions be spent on television ads if the outcome were already decided? My primary concern is for those who enter politics to serve their own privileged interests. Despite the familiar phrase, “This is a man’s world,” it wouldn’t exist without women or queers. But that’s a point conveniently ignored.
To maintain our sanity, we must detach ourselves from this spectacle. We’re conditioned to apologize for our critical thoughts, to return to the passive consumption of television, to find fleeting amusement in the president’s tweets, and to engage in performative outrage on social media, all while our data is sold to further manipulate us. We’re told we’re privileged, but that’s a lie.
Some wisely opt out of this charade. I commend those who can disconnect and find peace. It’s all ultimately meaningless. The powerful have already made their decisions. Attempts to dismantle the system from within are met with manipulation or worse. So, choose your form of enslavement: blissful ignorance or futile resistance. We lack the collective will for revolution, too comfortable in our consumerism. Myself included.
We’re all trying to cope. But let’s not forget the lives at stake. Let’s remember the ongoing loss of Black, Indigenous, and Trans lives, both before and during this crisis. Who will history remember: the truly oppressed, or the bailed-out banks?
Remember your oppressors, then scream in joy when they’re rightfully served. Maybe in this life or never – somewhere we are winning.
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