Restless Beings

November 3rd saw the end of the biggest reality television show the entire world couldn’t help but watch: The 2020 U.S elections. The world erupted in emotional ecstasy upon receiving the news that Joe Biden (once inaugurated) will be the 46th President of the United States, however the spotlight seemed to hit the V.P joining him, Kamala Harris, a little harder. Logging onto social media and seeing women, particularly women of colour shedding tears of joy at Harris’ victory was a little disorientating. It’s 2020, representation is a little bit more nuanced now, surely?

Self professed “top cop”, Kamala Harris is exactly what she says she is, the grimiest kind of cop you’ll find, the type that refuses to take accountability for any mishaps within their own force. It was only in 2015 she opposed a bill that would enable the investigation of shootings involving officers.

As district attorney she oversaw the arrest of almost two thousand people on marijuana charges, laughing when a reporter asked her about her stance on the legalisation of marijuana, to now only be fully on board with the legalisation of using it recreationally. Some of you may say this is development, change is good - but you need to ask, how did someone that saw to the arrest of almost two thousand people on marijuana charges, who were not given easy sentences at all, suddenly change her mind? Yeah, that’s called populism.
It gets to be more insidious, the Vice President (along with her party) is responsible for a plethora of wrongful convictions that led to a steroid-like increase of prison populations. An incredibly important case to consider is Caramad Conley, a man who was jailed for 20 years on a murder conviction, who was later exonerated.

The cherry on top of this disaster of a cake is that Harris supports Israel in their siege of Palestinian land and the eradication of Palestinian people. She pledged her unconditional support for Israel by literally punctuating her sentences with “We must stand with Israel,” during her 2017 AIPAC speech. Not to mention that not only did she ensure the continued financial support of $38 billion from the U.S to Israel in military aid, but she noted it as an “unbreakable commitment”.

I know it's hard to believe that a woman who cooked masala dosa on national television could be this regressive, but believe it. A woman who is proud to have fought tooth and nail to unjustly keep black and brown lives in prison, who targeted those living in poverty, who proudly finances the murder of Palestinians, is not progressive and is certainly not a representative of me, a brown woman.