The 2020 Presidential Election is around the corner, and I think it’s safe to say that things aren’t looking too promising. I know plenty of people who will argue to the ends of the Earth to defend their preferred candidate and even more people who are content to just not vote at all. This is a terrible stance to have, and if you’re thinking about not voting, I implore you to reevaluate your decision. Regardless, I find myself, as a former Bernie supporter, struggling to find things I like about Joe Biden. Technically, his policies align more closely with my beliefs, but it still hurts me to consider voting for someone who has numerous sexual assault allegations, doesn’t support Medicare for all, and is barely coherent enough to fight on the debate stage. He wrote a crime control act in the ’90s that has disproportionately hurt people of color. He’s made countless racially insensitive and sexist comments during interviews. He opposed bussing in the ’70s. The list goes on and on.
However, an even longer list of evils can be found for the Trump Administration’s accomplishments. If Trump stays in office another four years, he’ll likely get another opportunity to appoint another conservative Supreme Court justice, which has the potential to harm and reverse so much progressive reform. We stand no chance of getting any kind of police reform. Any kind of climate action plan is out of the question. While Biden may not be the progressive hero us Bernie bros were hoping for, voting for Biden is the best way we can get Trump out of office. Equity is unachievable under his administration.
If you’ve been on TikTok lately, you’ve probably heard this analogy, but I’m going to bring it up again because of how accurately it depicts this year’s election. In a meeting with community leaders in Delaware, Joe Biden was talking about how police have been wrongfully shooting people, especially people of color, in the heart; they have been shooting with intent to kill. And Biden responded to this issue by suggesting that the police shoot people in the leg instead. Now, obviously, that’s an awful thing to say, but, like Laci Mosley said in her podcast “Scam Goddess,” that is the most basic simplification of our candidate choices. With Trump, it’s the heart, and with Biden, it’s the leg, and because I’m an empathetic human being, I’m settling for “Leg 2020.” A mediocre president is better than a malevolent one.