It’s not hyperbole to say this election is literally democracy vs. authoritarianism; a humanitarian society vs. barbaric white nationalism. Still, many young people (Millennials, Gen Z ) and others are still saying they’re not voting.
They’re offended if you try to “guilt” them into voting (i.e. reminding them that their ancestor fought and died for the vote). They’ve been told that they aren’t marrying a candidate when they vote, they’re choosing someone who will give them the space and opportunity to fight for the world they want. Blank stare.
They’ve been educated on the reality that no candidate will check off all your boxes, and that voting isn’t about finding a candidate that excites you, it’s about supporting someone willing to fight for most of the things important to you.
Still, many yawn and hold true to their “I-ain’t-voting” stance.
Maybe what we (Blackfolk) need to introduce to our households is “The Talk.” Yes, we have “The Talk” that attempts to shield our loved ones from state-sanctioned police violence. But just as dangerous to us, if not more so, is violence in the form of laws and policies; things that require political representation to push against them and create laws and policies favorable to us, to life, and to humanity.
That calls for a different “Talk;” one focused on why we must vote, all other chit-chat be damned.
Here’s “The Talk” (below). Have it with those you care about. Share “The Talk” with your people outside your abode. Print out “The Talk” and put it on your refrigerator, bathroom mirror and any other place where it will be front-and-center, reminding all who see it what our assignment is this election season.
IF IT’S BROKE, FIX IT
One of the most oft-given reasons young people (and older ones) share for not voting is the “brokenness of the system.” As has been said by many a Millennial and Gen Z brother or sister, “I voted for Hillary, and she lost even though she had more votes. I voted for Biden in 2020, and I still have college debt. So, why vote?”
Because the brokenness of the system that turns you off to voting is exactly why you need to vote. The undemocratic Electoral College, the Washington DC GOP-forced gridlock, the Supreme Court made up of a majority of Justices (an ironic title) who diametrically oppose the will and views and positions of 75% of U.S. citizens… none of that stuff has to be. None of that is set in stone. Voting can change all that.
Those unjust, ineffectual systems continue to exist because so many millions of people chose not to vote, leaving so many to then ironically turn around and say voting doesn’t make a difference.
In the 2020 Presidential Election, the one that saw record turnout, over 80 million people didn’t vote. If Black people had even a slight uptick in our voter numbers, Texas would be Blue tomorrow, the US House and Senate would be aligned, and all those things we say we want, those things blocked by Republicans in Congress and a GOP-dominated SCOTUS, could be ours—universal healthcare, total student loan forgiveness, full voting rights protections, criminal justice reform, restored women healthcare rights, environmental justice, etc.
The system is broken because we allow it to stay broken. But we don’t have to.
TIME FOR ADULTING
A critical part of “The Talk” is telling the young people in your life, “Put on your grown-up pants and do things not because they’re fun or exciting or will get you thousands of clicks and likes; but things that must be done—like voting.”
Tell them, “No matter how right you are, me and your mama worked jobs we hated our entire lives, we got up every day and took crap at the JOB to keep a roof over your head and food on your table and give you a chance to self-righteously look down on and berate our decisions.”
Tell your son who swears he’ll never work a day doing something he doesn’t absolutely love, and your daughter who says staying loyal to a company for a lifetime is for suckers, “The irony is, you wouldn’t be in a position to make different decisions you deem better had it not been for me and your mama’s willingness to do those things we didn’t enjoy… to make a way for you.
“Getting up at the crack of dawn. That ain’t fun. Getting you to school. No picnic. Showing up at all your extracurricular activities after being on the job from can’t see in the morning to can’t see at night. Paying for things we couldn’t afford like equipment, lessons and supplies for activities you were into one day and put down the next. Dealing with your adolescent and teenage attitude while trying to find yourself; putting up with your lip and eye-rolls and bad decisions that had you calling on your tired, corny parents to come save you. Taking out loans and working extra hours to fund your college education. Then, after graduation, have you move your ass back in with us… and supporting you at each step as best we could. That’s Adulting 101. Can Adulting 202, the version your generation creates, be an upgrade? Maybe. But if you don’t vote, I can guarantee you’ll be in a more challenging position than us or your grandparents, or their parents before them.”
SURVIVAL
“The Talk” has to include the fact that the people who don’t see us as human are voting to enact laws that treat us like we’re not human. Folk who don’t want us to have healthcare access, who don’t want gun reform or voting rights protections; they’re absolutely clear on the power of the vote allowing them to create the kind of world they want–one where we don’t get anything we want or need.
Tell those committed to not voting, “A huge portion of your quality of life comes down to policy. Slavery was the law of the land. Policies allowed for lynching and other forms of racial terror to go unchecked. Policy and laws allowed for COINTELPRO to undermine the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. Laws and policies cleared the way for the Tuskegee Experiment and for the killers of Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Rekia Boyd, and so many others to get off scot-free. Laws and policies, the fruits of people’s votes, create the context for your life. And the folk who don’t think you deserve to live because of the color of your skin, your gender or sexual preference, your or your parents’ places of origin, or any other reason… them folk are sho-nuff voting to get the policies they want to create the kind of whites-only world they desire. What are you going to do?”
