By Erica Dick
On Nov. 7, I could feel the whole world around me radiating beams of joy as millions of Americans celebrated Joe Biden’s win. Yet, I also felt a deep sensation of loss, thinking about all of the friendships I had severed throughout the course of the election. I must always preface statements like that by saying I am incredibly privileged in every sense.
No part of me claims that I know what it’s like to suffer greatly because of my demographic. But, I feel that my ability to recognize that and still vote to protect the rights of other women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ community, immigrants and people of lower socio-economic status is why I will always be a Democrat. Yet, over the course of the past few months, I learned this was not the case for many of the people who were once in my social circle.
I’ve heard too many of my white, upper-class peers (typically male, but not always) try to convince me that the personal is not political. They can vote for Trump to protect their parents’ money, but who they vote for should not determine who they are as a person, nor what they believe about human rights. “Whether I vote for Biden or Trump, we are friends regardless,” too many of them spewed across social media. I mean as white, upper-class students from college- educated families, whatever happens, we will be okay. Right? Right. And that’s what is so wrong.
Because while they can sit in their glass castles and not have to worry, it’s the women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ community, immigrants and people of lower socio-economic status that fear for their lives. They couldn’t wake up the morning after Trump was elected in 2016 and know they were going to be okay. It’s been four years, and they only have more to be scared about with an incumbent president who is endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan.
Maybe the people I know were scared that their parents would have to pay more in taxes given their top-tier tax bracket, but at least they didn’t have to worry that they would lose autonomy over their bodies. At least they didn’t have to worry about being denied the right to marry who they love. At least they don’t have to worry about being pulled over, arrested and shot for the color of their skin. You cannot claim to be fiscally conservative and socially liberal while voting for a person and system that consistently fail marginalized communities.
I found myself crying on the phone to my parents one night, asking them what to do with these friends who I once felt so close to. These people were so blinded by privilege that they were selfishly choosing wealth over fixing the deepest horrors that run through the veins of our broken country. How is it possible that someone could think that no matter what happened, we would all be okay?
After numerous arguments, and being called a “raging liberal” a handful of times, I realized that as a white person, I need to take responsibility for this attitude from my white peers and erasing it from my own subconscious. It’s about empowering the people who do understand the systemic inequality to help lead the fight. It’s about doing the work we need, like mobilizing Black voters, to give the underrepresented a voice rather than hoping to change those who will never understand their privilege. As someone who is a part of the problem, and surrounded by others who are part of the problem, I have to work harder to be part of the solution. Our country is supposed to shine with diversity, acceptance and true freedom of self. Patriotism is not a flag or an anthem. It’s the color and love that a country of liberty should truly embody.
In the end, I was able to have valuable conversations with friends teaching them why their vote is directly correlated with their character. And, I had to cut ties to those that couldn’t come to understand the poison of voting for Trump. In this election, and every one going forth, who you vote for does determine exactly what kind of person you are. If Donald Trump won, people would be killed, ostracized and further harmed by the systemic inequalities that the Trump administration has upheld. No one is required to be friends with someone who supports that.
So no. Whatever happened, we wouldn’t necessarily have been fine. But luckily for us, we got to wake up on Saturday morning with a president-elect who will make sure that no matter who you are or what you believe, we will all be fine.
Erica Dick (she/her) is a Staff Writer and Graphic Designer for Bell Magazine. She is a junior at UW–Madison originally from Los Angeles. Erica is majoring in Journalism and pursuing two certificates, one in Global Health and the other in Integrated Studies in Science, Engineering and Society.
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