Maybe I just fell out of a coconut tree, because I have no idea what’s going on.
Kamala Harris memes are inevitable. There are fancams, edits, and “Brat” t-shirts, left and right are hilarious moments of Harris during her term as the Vice President of the United States. While these jokes may seem funny on the surface, they are all for one purpose – to make the American people love Harris.
Portraying Harris as a carefree woman drinking a “magic cocktail of pills” not only belittles her power, it makes us forget that she is making decisions that directly affect the lives of millions, maybe even billions, of people. Harris is a public servant of the American people. She’s not some crazy aunt who hangs out at barbecues, and she shouldn’t be in your dream marijuana rotation.
We act like we know who she is and what her true intentions are, but we have no idea. We ignore the fact that she helps draft and approve the policies that run the country, and we shroud her in a glow of neutrality when we refuse to criticize her because she is the “better” candidate.
This is the same person who has stated that she has supported the apartheid state of Israel (as the International Court of Justice officially calls it) throughout her career and her life, and who has continually promised to create an America focused on our common humanity, through her policies and donations, while dehumanizing millions of people.
She may be the left’s only option, but she is certainly not our friend.
I am not criticizing Harris because I support her opponent. Being an active participant in politics means you have to know exactly who you are voting for. I understand on the surface that no liberal wants that, but it is a disservice to all those under her purview to not silently oppose the harmful decisions she makes simply because the alternatives are worse.
If we weren’t so divided by our two-party system, one might be drawn to the other candidate. But here’s where the nightmare turns into a nightmare: “The other candidate” confidently walks onto the stage, falsely claiming that Haitian immigrants eat people’s dogs and pets, and people believe it.
I’m a coconut, rolling around on the ground in a daze. Why?
This is a different kind of surrealism. It’s another thing to hear racist lies from fellow Americans; it’s something people expect, but don’t put up with. But to hear these words from a man who served as president of the United States and wants to be president again is, frankly, emotionally unbearable. These comments are not just limited to immigrants; they target several minority communities in the country, including Harris, who claims to have suddenly “become black.”
While a significant portion of the public recognizes the ludicrousness of Trump’s statements, the other half does not always. I watched the debates in a room full of people who immediately laughed at the insanity of the false claims, but my reality in that room did not reflect the reality of the other citizens who shouted in agreement rather than in anger.
As the election draws closer, it seems like every student on campus is walking through a haze. Existentialism hangs in the air, to the point where it’s hard to breathe. This is the surreal reality we are living in right now, but we must not forget to speak up for those who will be more severely affected by the outcome of the election than we are.
This does not mean that those of us on campus will not be affected by what is happening. In fact, many of us will be affected in ways we do not yet understand. Rather, this is a reminder for individuals to contextualize their privilege as private school students. Even if the current political climate feels like a daydream, it is important to utilize the resources available to us to not only vote responsibly, but also to stay grounded in reality.
