By
Sarah McCrumb
Disclaimer: every article expressed in our opinions section is that of the writer.
Ever since former Vice President Joe Biden said “Well, I tell you what, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black,” on the radio, I had this feeling of frustration and despair. To put it bluntly, I never supported Biden, as I do not see him having open dialogues in 2020 events. Biden was silent during the first few months of coronavirus (COVID-19), he is silent on the murders of Black people during the current lockdown, silent on Hong Kong, and many other issues.
This candidate is nothing more than a symbol of a past, that should remain in the past. He is not Trump, let me just make that clear but it doesn’t make him any better of a candidate. I was told by an 80-year-old family friend that I should just vote Biden to get President Donald J. Trump out of office. While I know many of us will vote for Biden, I’m frustrated that we’re given candidates who are just the same copy and paste mold. It feels that the Democratic party gave up after Obama, choosing leaders most of us would rather not want.
Biden is the Democratic party’s “safe” vote because he doesn’t stir the pot. So much so that he doesn’t even show up when major events happen in the United States or in the World. More importantly, he is just the same as all other old white men who were in office before the Obama era. I don’t see how “safe” would win against the orange baby we have in office, who is known to be “unsafe”. Especially if “safe” to the Democrats just means nominating a racist and sexual predator who is just more tactful.
We can’t go from Trump to back to the status quo, nothing will work out in any of our favors. The problem I have with my 80-year-old friend’s view of “anyone but Trump” is that it pretty much means “let’s have someone less bad than Trump in the office, but hey it’s not Trump!”
The problem is made even worse if that somebody is not going to fix the issues like immigration policies, climate crises, and loan forgiveness for students. I don’t want to vote for a man who is going to return us back to “normalcy” when that normalcy has always been sexist, racist, and Islamophobic.
There’s no doubt that Biden’s former policies did decimate Black communities across the nation. The man spent years opposing integrationist efforts, supporting segregation, and considered segregation a good for Black folk of America. I wonder how it felt for him to work alongside a Black president.
READ MORE: What A Joe Biden Presidency Means For Muslims
In 1988, he plagiarized his speech and had to drop out as a Democratic nominee. Like Trump he is also known for making things up, like saying he marched in the Civil Rights Movement. In 1994, he was one of the main proponents for the Federal Crime Bill, which went on to seriously harm Black families and communities. In 2003, Biden supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq, claiming he was “tricked” into support. He apparently forgot that since the 90s he openly called for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
A perfect way to describe the situation for the 2020 election is the notion of choosing “the lesser of two evils.” In life we all have to make choices that we would rather not, sometimes both choices are just as bad.
In this election, we are told to vote for the lesser evil, but is Biden an evil or is he more of a disappointing option? We have to think logically about how Biden would act in office compared to Trump. If Trump is kicked out of office, the new president will be handed huge issues. There are many problems with Biden’s morals, but does that mean he can’t run for office?
As Obama’s VP, he dealt with the economic crisis of 2008. This would mean Biden might have some insight on how to fix the economy, compared to a man who constantly goes bankrupt.
It’s important to not get caught in making our political leaders our idols. Not only is it shirk to do so, but these leaders are not perfect. I don’t think it is asking for much, when we want a presidential candidate to not have a racist or sexist nature. Nor do I think it’s bad to ask for a leader who can lead some kind of change – someone who can actually listen when Black men are being killed by police officers and instead of sending the troops, they actually try to fix the issue.
The issue with Biden besides his character, is how he is going to run his office. If the Democratic party wants “normalcy” what kind of normalcy are we going to get? Are detention centers just going to be forgotten, instead of forming a bill to prevent such actions from ever happening again? Is he going to try to send a bill to congress limiting the rights of the President, so the President can be impeached and not be above the law? After Trump there is no such thing as normalcy – if anything the reign of Trump has shown that the era of just “doing” your job is over. Our nation has serious issues that could potentially boil over to something worse than a riot.
There is no way I can put trust in a man who really is just the same as the man we have in the office, but with a tad bit more tact. They really are on the same coin. I hoped this election we would be given someone different, someone that was a mash of Bernie Sanders, Ilhan Omar, and Obama who would actually create positive change in our society.
We proved ourselves by electing powerful women into congress, and the Democratic party turned around to give us Biden. When people say we are stuck between a rock and a hard place, that’s an understatement.
All I can hope is that Biden is thrown out the window and someone better is ushered in for this 2020 election. Someone who doesn’t try to spy on the Muslim community and ban Muslims from entering the country. Someone who actually listens to Black voices instead of being scared of helping them. Someone who actually forgives all student loan debts or sets something better up. I am dreaming, but it’s better than the choice we have. It’s better than being stuck with the choice of lesser evil and evil.
At the end of the day they both are shaytan.
About Author
Sarah McCrumb
website: niqab-ch.com Instagram: physicsniqabi twitter: @physicsniqabi
