A Biden/Harris ticket is far from what a lot of us wanted, but progressive disengagement from unfavorable realities won’t lead to the formation of more favorable realities.

(A thread if anyone wants to read it) 1

For a lot of us, a Biden/Harris ticket is unfavorable. For some, bc of directly experiencing the harm their ideologies & policies have created. For a lot of progressives tho, it seems more about the injury to the ego of being told to vote for someone less enlightened than you. 2

Voting isn’t about securing the most favorable outcome, it’s about securing conditions that provide us greater leverage to exert power over the world around us. As a fascist, Trump’s entire politic is about revoking the people’s power. 3

So removing Trump from power is a necessary step for us to exert power over the present & create a better future. It *doesnt* mean that it’s sufficient, alone. A Biden/Harris ticket will not bring liberation. But it’s a more manageable and malleable barrier to true liberation. 4

Criticism and accountability for Biden and Harris are essential. Nihilism, unproductive cynicism and despair are not; these are the feelings the fascists want you to feel. We always can and should exert power over our world, even if it can only happen in small ways. 5

Liberation doesn’t happen by chance and neither is it gifted by the oppressor. The fact that the 2020 election will be yet another one that doesn’t bring true liberation doesn’t mean it isn’t an important step in the fight. Arguably it’s MORE important. 6

As a cis white progressive, I’m not necessarily saying these things for say, Black folks from communities that have directly experienced violence by Biden or Harris. Their personal injuries supersede the ego and it would be mighty splain-y of me to say “oh cast that aside.” 7

But I can speak to this brand of nihilistic white progressive who have chosen cynical disengagement out of personal indignation over the hand we’ve been dealt. Well guess what, it’s the hand we were dealt and we have to confront that. 8

As radicals, it’s our responsibility to transform reality by confronting, interrogating and pushing it, not by running from it or ignoring it or refusing to participate in it. 9

Harm will happen under both administrations. Greater harm will happen under the fascists. If your refusal to participate in the election is motivated primarily by the injury the Biden/Harris ticket does to your ego, you’re choosing individualism over collectivism. 10

I understand the nihilism, but it isn’t helpful as a primary motivating rhetoric because it’s naturally demotivating. And people puff it like cigarettes - it looks cool, feels good, but it’s bad for your health and those around you. 11

Instead of performing nihilism and personal indignation over the unjust chaos of a reality we’ve lost control over, let’s choose instead to find how we still ARE able to exert control over our reality. Optimism isn’t sexy, but it’s important for survival. 12

Did y’all think climbing out of a fascist slope was gonna be easy? A setback isn’t license to give up, especially if your ultimate goal is ostensibly about the benefit of the collective, not just yourself. Ask yourself which one is more important. Focus on harm reduction. 13

Keep pushing Biden and Harris to the left, keep lifting up the Black Lives Matter movement, keep fighting authoritarianism and white supremacy, keep reading and having discussions. Just don’t be so hasty to throw away our collective future because of a shit hand. 14

Nihilism is fatalistic and we can’t give into fatalism. We must always believe we can transform reality in some small way, eventually creating the justice-oriented reality we demand. Oppression is not “a closed world from which there is no exit” (Freire) 15

This mindset that you can always transform reality is exactly what has made white evangelicals so successful despite being a minority. They will ALWAYS fight because their perceived divine right triumphs over nihilism every time. They’re in it for the long haul. 16

So just vote Trump out, ya fuckers, and we can argue more in December. Voting for Biden isn’t an endorsement of Biden, it’s just a strategy to leverage power. (End of thread.) 17