We are living in unprecedented times.
In the coming weeks and on November 5, Americans will head to the polls to elect our next President, who will determine domestic policy for at least the next four years, affecting the lives of over 333 million Americans at home with significant influence on foreign policy and relations abroad. The choice is between a historic, forward-thinking candidate who has vowed to be a President for all Americans and a volatile candidate who has promised to be a dictator on day one. But then I remember, this is America — a country where politics is tribal, and like a Spotify or Apple Music playlist, the information we receive is often curated to reflect one’s own beliefs as well as our biases.
As someone who produces and consumes media, I frequently see those biases amplified online — including the misogyny, sexism, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and outright lies. I tried convincing myself these opinions were isolated to Russian bots and the most unhinged social media users. That was before an unexpected encounter became a living embodiment of the disinformation and voter apathy, particularly involving voters of color, irrespective of sexual orientation and gender identity.
My Lyft driver Mando, a cishet-assuming, masculine, biracial Black man with locs, arrived at Chicago’s Midway International Airport to drive me to the downtown hotel where I’d be staying to cover the Democratic National Convention. Once inside his vehicle, the conversation quickly turned to politics.
Soon after the conversation began, I asked Mando if he was registered to vote.
“Nah. I don’t vote,” Mando said with a tinge of pride in his voice. “I’m not into politics. Besides, all politicians do is promise stuff, and when they get into office, they never keep their word.”
In my effort to meet people where they are, I had to acknowledge that Mando’s sentiment is an honest feeling among disillusioned voters who were less than thrilled about the presidential candidates (before President Biden withdrew from the race) or America’s two-party system, or who had participated in the Democratic process previously without seeing a significant change in their quality of life. Still, hearing Mando’s resolve to sit out one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime felt like an out-of-body experience.
“You may not be into politics, but decisions will be made by our next President and Congress that will directly impact your lifeand the lives of people you love,” I said. “Your vote matters.”
I tried to explain that it is not revolutionary to withhold your vote. You relinquish your right as an American citizen, leaving others with much less to lose to decide your fate.
He remained unconvinced. I couldn’t help but think about how Mando’s decision not to participate in the electoral process is a de facto vote for the candidate who has promised to inflict serious harm on Black men by way of police immunity if elected. Mando is not a Russian bot, but his willingness to infuse misinformation about the first woman to potentially sit in the Oval Office throughout his argument sans fact-checking aligns with disinformation actors’ deceitful tactics, at Mando’s peril. We walk around with mini computers in the palm of our hands daily. The time it takes to spread misinformation is better spent searching for facts from credible news sources to inform your support of your chosen candidate, and ultimately, your vote.
In her address at the Democratic National Convention, former First Lady Michelle Obama reminded us “not to squander the sacrifices our elders made to give us a better future.” With only a patchwork of rights that varies from state to state and no federal protections, anti-equality forces are determined to roll back LGBTQ progress. The civil liberties we enjoy are quickly being undone judicially with the current ideological imbalance on the Supreme Court. The next President could potentially fill two Court vacancies, with impacts on the rights of minorities to be treated equally and equitably for generations to come.
I’ve heard that reminding the 21st-century Black voter about the sacrifices and bloodshed experienced by our ancestors is a losing argument. But if we are unaware of our history, we are doomed to repeat it. Civil and voting rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer was jailed, beaten repeatedly, and narrowly escaped death when white supremacists fired 16 bullets into her Mississippi home for having the audacity to register to vote in the Jim Crow South, testimony she shared before the DNC credentials committee in 1964.
Sixty years later, Mando and potential voters like him are exercising an amount of privilege Hamer was never afforded. On November 5 — even sooner with early voting — we get to choose the kind of country we want to live in. Even in America, democracy is not guaranteed. You must vote as if you’re Fannie Lou Hamer, and your life depends on it. With the historic elevation of the first woman of color to her party’s nomination, the political climate has changed for Black and LGBTQ people, but the stakes remain the same.