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I’m going to confess something rn that might get me ratioed, like I legit dread it’s going to happen, but I’m saying it anyway––in the off chance that it makes even the slightest bit of difference… /1
I voted for Clinton in the 2016 general election. But I was pissed she was the nominee, in large part bec I knew her shitty history when it came to marginalized communities I belong to & marg communities ppl I care about belong to /2
And so, bec I was pissed, I complained LOUDLY. I very vocally doubted things wd get better for me and my kin under her admin, even tho I knew things wd be much worse under Trump /3
Not only did I LOUDLY diss Clinton (who, tbh, I still dislike, for good reason) but I also––for the first time in my life––didn’t volunteer for the Dem nominee& #39;s campaign. /4
Part of my thinking was that all the white feminists who were shouting me down, calling me a "Bernie bro," could be the ones who knock on doors for her. I simply wasn’t going to do it. /5
I regret that, bec it’s clear to me that a lot of the priv folks that the "I’m With Her" crowd attracted had never HAD TO knock on doors… & a lot of them didn’t volunteer. Her ground game suffered. Yet we were all SO SURE Clinton wd win. /6
It has ALWAYS marginalized communities who are > involved with GOTV efforts. But I felt like: “If you can’t take my pain around Clinton’s nom srsly, then I don’t want to volunteer alongside you.” /7
So not only did I not volunteer in GOTV but, up until election day, I also bitched & moaned abt Clinton. I want to be clear: my critiques WERE valid. /8
I knew things wd be much worse under Trump, that& #39;s why I voted for Clinton. But if I could hv grasped HOW MUCH worse, like really grasped it, I& #39;d hv STFU. That’s on me. I hv to live with that. /9
But I also want to be clear that what put me off THE MOST was how Clinton supporters––people I knew––shouted ppl like me down & called us “Bernie bros.” I am not a bro & what ppl like me had to say could/should hv been addressed. /10
Had those supporters genuinely listened––and had I not centered my own feelings over long-term strategy––I wonder how things might hv been different. Bec I wasn’t alone in my critiques of the Dem ticket. We weren& #39;t all some unreasonable crowd. /12
I wish I could travel back in time & tell past me I was wrong. I don’t think we realize how powerful the stories we tell are––the harm they can do. I thought I was just kvetching & no one was listening but ppl were listening. Stories like mine helped depress voter turnout. /14
Why am I saying this? I’m saying this bec I’m voting for Biden, tho he was among my LAST picks. And I’m supporting Harris, even tho her assoc w/ the PIC is harming & has harmed a lot of ppl, inc trans ppl like me. /15
I’m also saying this bec I’m noticing a lot of ppl who’ve been very silent on trans rights suddenly dog on Kamala in the name of trans ppl everywhere–– as if they don& #39;t see that Trump is ACTIVELY trying to kill us. /16
I’m also noticing a repeat of the same infighting: ppl grieving the nomination & loudly doubting the Dem ticket will be better than Trump––and then their friends & neighbors shouting them down. I know what that feels like on the receiving end. It& #39;s not great. /17
It also feels important to emphasize that I& #39;m a leftist–– not a progressive. I know my positions on the carceral state, sex work, taxes, unending wars, trans rights & casino capitalism will likely never fully be addressed by the Dem party. I& #39;m voting for them anyway. /18
My vote for Biden & Harris is abt strategy. It’s like chess: When I’m engaging in direct action, what players do I want on the board? Who can be pressured? It’s not Trump. He& #39;ll encourage troops to open live rounds on protestors. He doesn& #39;t believe in the law or human rights /19
My vote for Biden & Harris is also less about who they are as politicians (their records, or their messaging) & MORE about a vote FOR my community: for the ppl who will most certainly, and needlessly, die under the Trump admin. /20
