As one who has studied (and found wanting) the American political process, I am disappointed, but not surprised at the 2024 electoral outcome. So many things have to go right for the average candidate to win that it's not really a stretch for a latecomer who's neither white, nor a man to lose a race that was already in progress.
Unlike many of my peers, I decided to take time to process the emotional reactions stirred by the reelection of one very hairy orange (let's call him "OVHO" for short) and I honestly wish more content creators, commentators and pundits had done the same. It seems that the hastily and loosely assembled coalition for Harris-Walz is imploding faster than a sand castle at high tide.
First, democrats seem to have forgone legal challenges to questionable election practices across the country in favor of remaining gracious and respectable. Examples gleaned from casual timeline scrolling include refusal to count absentee ballots due to obscure local or statue statutes (that somehow supersede federal laws), last-minute court rulings, purposeful misinformation about polling policies and eligibility, and the infamous ballot box burnings. If democracy is truly the priority, these accusations would warrant some kind of scrutiny and conversation.
Second, public discourse is fixated on who to blame for the startling loss. One thing I noticed while double-checking these narratives is that many are coming from conservative mouths. It seems the legacy media has once again rushed to bend the knee. It's concerning that there are so many questions about legitimacy at the civilian level while those things are seemingly ignored by party leaders due to a commitment to being better than OVHO's supporters. As an aside, the black politics specialist in me DETESTS respectability politics and wishes the practices would be added to the lists of things killed by millennials but I'll save the rest of that tirade for another post.
Furthermore, there's a deep exhaustion that has set in due to the inescapability of this election cycle. Each year organizers find new, more intrusive ways to "energize their bases." This year, there's a running joke was about the frequency of text messages requesting campaign donations. (Reply "STOP" to opt out by the way.) Add that to a 24-hr news cycle, breaking news app alerts, and social media saturation and the voters are beyond ready for things to return to business as usual. So after a long uphill battle with a finish line in sight, the extension of said goal has left many ready to lay down and accept defeat.
In conclusion, the jury is still out on whether the People will choose to accept the election results, but the rank and file actors in the American political theater have already drawn the curtains and bowed.
This blog post captured enough to explain the turmoil that past 2 days has caused and I agree. It was a fight that people went into with hope and vigor because we wanted something better or remotely less worse than OVHO. I, as everyone else that was riding on this temporary high fueled by the idea of change and a black woman in office, I am tired and I am scared but it is enough to fuel something else.
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