I have started writing this on Saturday November 7th, 6pm Central European Standard Time, and CNN has just called it, they officially projected Joe Biden to be the next president of the United States. And when I say “just” I obviously mean “finally”, because I have spent four days glued to the CNN live stream (just like many of you), completely baffled by a lot of things: the horserace-esque commentator tone, the amount of time it took to put us out of this agony and last but not least, how many people still voted for Trump.
Right now though, Americans are dancing in the streets, CNN hosts are in tears and I have taken the first real belly breath since Tuesday.
If you are a very ignorant and small-minded fuckboy on Bumble, you could say “Why should I care, it’s not even my country. Chill.” To that guy I said (before deleting the match, obvs): How can you not care when humanity is at stake? When global climate politics are at stake? (Yes, I know Biden is no saint). How can you not have been been absolutely frazzled all week? And if that chat had happened after 6pm tonight, I would have just sent him this:
I often felt like people outside of the USA saw Donald Trump as sensational entertainment – you know the major car crash you just can’t look away from, the trash reality TV you cannot turn off. Still this week, German journalists treated his Twitter feed like an official press agency, using every single one of his dangerous, unsubstantiated allegations for a clickbaity headline, without considering the pain his politics (“politics”) have caused millions of Americans.
Americans danced in the streets today, not because of their undying love for Joe Biden, but because they feel such immense relief. They feel relieved that they no longer have to endure a racist, sexist, nationalist president who doesn’t believe in science. My host dad texted me just one sentence “The nightmare is over, finally.”. He is enthusiastic about change, any change. He probably would have preferred this change to be called Sanders, but he’ll gladly take Biden. Anything but the inhumane hell of the past four years.
And this is why I care. Yes, global politics are important. But I care about the people. I care about the women who have been struggling to hang on to their right to bodily autonomy. I care about black people and people of color, who don’t have to explain to their kids anymore why the president of their own country hates them.
I care about my people in a country which isn’t my country. It might sound pathetic, but I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it weren’t for that one slightly crazy, very liberal family who opened their home and their hearts to a starry-eyed 16-year-old, integrating me into their daily life without asking anything in return. They were patient with me when I struggled to wrap my head around a culture that felt both wildly progressive and incredibly backwards at the same time. They nudged me to shift my perspective, while always remaining interested in my teenage view on their world. They unknowingly taught me the principle of “strong back, soft front” long before Brené Brown knew what a podcast was.
This one year abroad was the hardest and most beautiful thing that I have ever experienced, which is why a piece of my heart will forever be tied to the rolling hills of Eastern Iowa.
The USA has always been a country of absolutes, of all or nothing, left or right, of “live free or die tryin’”, there’s never been room for middle ground. Yet, the 2020 election showed the world how violently the Trump administration has divided the country further within the past four years. The fact that Biden/Harris collected a record number of votes is fantastic and restores my faith in the US. The fact that Trump is trailing closely behind is frightening.
I don’t believe that Joe Biden alone can unite this country. But, he’s got Kamala Harris on his side, the FIRST FEMALE, BLACK, SOUTH ASIAN vice president. And they both have some more “firsts” in the House and Senate next year. Like Mauree Turner (27), who will be the first practicing Muslim elected to Oklahoma’s legislature AND the first openly non-binary state lawmaker, amongst others.
Biden/Harris are facing a lot of work, it won’t be easy, there are three more months of keeping a lame duck Trump in check and there are other issues we need to look at. Like, why 55 % of white women voted for Trump (and thereby against legal abortions, affordable healthcare and just generally pro misogyny). Or why the Republican party is sending more women than ever to the House and Senate – anti-feminist women who stay in line and uphold the patriarchy.
All of this is important, but today is about the people who can breathe again. Today is about every little American girl witnessing the first woman in US history becoming vice president. Today is the day that 2020 makes up for everything it has thrown at us thus far.
Today we dance, said my friend Jill.
Onward, together, said Hillary Clinton.
pop culture pleasures
Just a quicky today:
Sam Reed explains why we’re all horny for election newscasters: “Nothing is sexier than doing math poorly”.
🇩🇪 David Hugendick hat für die Zeit die beste Glosse über die CNN-Sucht von Nicht-Amerikanern geschrieben.
🇩🇪 Auch die Kollegen vom Deutschlandfunk-Podcast Lakonisch Elegant haben sich der Wahlübertragung angenommen. Und haben für die Analyse nicht etwas Politikjournalisten eingeladen, sondern: einen Filmkritiker und einen Drehbuchautor.
Back in August, NY Mag star reporter Olivia Nuzzi went deep into Trump’s 2020 campaign. Very deep. Worth a read if you got an hour to spare.
Just before the election, The New Yorker published a mini series about foreign correspondents in the USA. The insights of these highly accomplished journalists will make you appreciated Biden’s win even more, if that’s humanly possible.
My favorite read of last week: Rachel Sugar muses on the question “What is fun” in a pandemic and explains why it’s so hard to find joy these days, even in things you used to do for fun before. Spoiler: It’s because of a blatant lack of autonomy, novelty effortlessness and spontaneity.
This Refinery 29 Money Diary of a 25-year-old(!) living on 152k a year and who has some sort of hotshot actor boyfriend is so bizarre I wonder whether it’s satire. At the same time, could anyone make up being too busy to refill their water bottle and hence ordering a three liter jug from Amazon?
Some more podcasts I enjoyed lately, as already shared on Insta: Chris Burkard on the Rich Roll Podcast, Jameela Jamil on Shameless and in German: Die Folge des vollgut Podcasts von Perspective Daily, in der es um das Thema faires Gehalt geht.
Now, back to socially distanced dancing everyone!
Until next time,
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