Editor’s note: This week, we continue our contributors reactions to the 2020 presidential election with another brief reminiscence.
This was it. The week we’ve all been anticipating. Tuesday was the day all of us have been watching, waiting and pleading for, and it was surprisingly anticlimactic.
After months of unrest across the country, the excessively anxious build up to Election Day, followed by a lack of instant gratification or true certainty of any final decision, was disorienting—yet expected. It’s been an interesting rest of the week, watching mail-in ballot counts gradually leak into the competition with each passing day. Donald Trump proudly and prematurely claimed victory as of November 4, a tweet that was later removed or deleted, followed by Twitter censoring many of his other tweets for their seemingly constant spread of misinformation. He also demanded on November 5 an end to the counting of any ballots that weren’t recorded on election night; as if we haven’t been through this same mail-in voting process for the majority of past United States presidential elections. Someone is getting nervous as science, passion for equal rights and basic human empathy prevail.
This is not to say that we don’t still have immense amounts of work to do. While I remain hopeful for a Biden-Harris victory, their election does not make either of them a perfect human being, nor does it eliminate the continuous, looming threat of fascism and passionate ideologies of white supremacy in this country. Trump has been a reflection of rampant, pre-existing sickness in our society; not a singular entity that we can defeat and instantly move past. However, with this election could come much needed relief from resistance to equity. I truly believe that with Biden in office, grassroots organizations and direct community involvement will be able to operate more easily and effectively. He is nowhere near the end goal, but is a step in the right direction, alleviating at least some of the danger and darkness forced onto us over the past four years.
