I dissent.

I remember in July 2016, Black people were warning folks that T****p would probably be the next President of the United States. And we were laughed at. From national television to office conference rooms, we were told that it couldn’t happen and that if it did, the other powers would keep it in check. But that’s because many of you didn’t know. 

You didn’t know about the history of backlash to the progress of Blackness. You never experienced the wrath of racism. You ignored all the evidence during Obama’s presidency that white supremacy was not just going to roll over. The signs were everywhere, but it was too easy to fall into the comfort of “hope”. You forgot that hope and comfort are not the same thing. 

And here we are. A return of a possible T****p candidacy. Except now you know. Now you know why we all said a presidency under him would be dangerous. Surely you remember the scapegoating and violence dished out to Asian Americans. Surely you remember funerals happening in parking lots and scrambling for correct information during a pandemic. Surely you remember protests and tear gas. Surely you remember waking up every day wondering “what is going to do now”. Surely you remember. 

I sat through 30 min of the last debate, and I remembered. My body remembered what it was like to be on edge every single day. I learned what level of concern I needed to have about the pandemic, not from a president- but from SXSW cancelling their conference, the NBA cancelling a basketball game just before tipoff, and Tom Hanks. I was deducing to figure out how serious a pandemic could be because I could not (and should not) trust the president. 

I wish I could vote for Elizabeth Warren or Julian Castro or Stacy Abrams or one of the women from The Squad. I wish I could be excited about my candidate. I do. But this time, during this election, I have to vote for the candidate I trust to not destroy us for his personal gain. 

 I disagree with Biden on a host of issues- top among them the continued support of Israel as they wreak devastation on Palestinians. I have no hope that a T***p presidency would make it better, that there will be talks or diplomacy or aid or help or anything of the sort. However faint, however small, I do believe that we could make movement for the Palestinian people under Biden. Maybe I will be wrong. I will probably be wrong. But maybe with our protests and divestments and advocacy- we could. I don’t know, but I have to try.

 I honor those of you voting third party because you want to vote for someone that does agree with you on issues like Gaza. I honor that hope. I honor that integrity. I honor the possibility inherent in that vote. But because of the size of my platform, I feel that I must be honest about where my vote will go. 

As I think more and more about this, I keep coming back to the bus driver here in Detroit who died of Covid. He wasn’t able to stay in his home during a pandemic. He couldn’t demand that everyone wear a mask on his bus. He couldn’t do his job remotely. He was exposed every day in an effort to provide for his family. My vote will go to Biden for those who will be completely exposed to the whims of another T***p presidency. 

I hate to be voting against someone, instead of voting for someone. It sucks. But Black women been doin what has to be done in our estimation to save the most exposed among us since forever. And that is what I will do now. I trust that Biden won’t hurt us on purpose. The other candidate can’t wait to hurt us on purpose. And now, because of the Supreme Court decision (a court that he largely created), he not only has desire to hurt us, but immunity when he does. 

 This year my vote is one of dissent. Dissent over affirmative action. Dissent over Roe. Dissent over the gutting of voting. Dissent over what will happen to civil rights for the trans people I love, for the homeless people I love, for the undocumented people I love, for the disabled people I love, for the Black people I love- for those who will suffer in this country if T****p wins again.

With fear for our democracy, I dissent.

-Justice Sotomayor

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PS: I am not asking you to defend your vote, even if it differs from mine. I am not telling you how to vote. I am not making my vote the right one or the only moral option. I want to be clear that I am sharing this for those wondering how I am thinking about this years election. I know it’s crazy that some people care; believe me, it surprises me too. But this is for those interested and nothing more. Please dont make these comments hell for me to wade through. I actually do believe in your right to vote or not to vote in whatever ways please you. I wish every adult had the right.