This election season has been exhausting excruciating painful. My teenagers are now voters and these are all my controversial thoughts.
First off I am against 16 and 17 year olds voting. I emailed every councilmember about it and have no idea if my thoughts made a difference. Probably was the only things that maybe got any attention from Anita Bonds. If you wonder why my thoughts are still the same even now my kiddos are registered voters. I'll admit maybe is it my sourness of being a millennial but I shared my complaints to a staff member of a Brianne Nadeau and this person wants to give more credit to the gen z kids to be better informed. My kids I know aren't the exception of not knowing who our elected officials are and what they do. I saw this tactic as another ways and means to gain more voters for their voter base and look good for the next election. Nothing about that new law would be meaningful in increasing voter education. I proposed a way to do just that. But I was criticized by robert white I was doing voter suppression.
My proposal, create a website that would not be run by a politician or a non-profit. Made solely to explain the bills coming out of the DC council offices. They are geared to win you over but only geared to inform. So if I wanted to know what is in the NEAR act. I look up the video that explains it. The other aspect would be a easy to layout of the voting history and/or political discussions made of every elected official. That way getting re-elected should actually be hard because voters are looking at your actual voting history. No more counting on name recognition and endorsements to rely on getting re-elected. Another aspect of the website would be a Q & A about how your needs can be met through ANC. The final pitch I had was to also take 2 hours of those 100 community hours high school seniors have to do to graduate towards attending their ANC meeting and sign off they met their ANC commissioner.
How and why I came up with these ideas. For one I noticed folks I am close to would ask me who to vote for. I don't want that responsibility and honestly as I reflect on how America does elections we really need to change the marketing aspect of it all together. I don't want to be convinced by their lies or personality. After the recent shootings happening all over again now that schools and business are open again. How can we truly get rid of the NRA's political grip? The money that is used to "win" elections needs to be a non-factor. How many commercials and political signs can voters be bombarded with? Is how elections are won. Think about it, when were you first programed to consider how great america is? Mine I think was this lovely movie, "American Tail" they reword this well known saying, "the streets are paved with cheese".
Another one was this lovely song by Schoolhouse Rock.
Don't get me wrong I love this song and seeing races mixed together. I remember seeing the original Power Rangers and Captain Planet and loved seeing different races represented. As of lately I rarely see it. We clash more in our lived experiences. I haven't been in many harmonious spaces with a lot of races represented and economically. This movie was really great in showing how racist we are in our innate biases.
But lets go back to my other reasons to why I wanted this website. Through parent research I noticed DC has a website for young drivers https://dcdmvteens.com/g-r-a-d-program/
Also when my kids did the summer youth program they had to do this online training and had a strong emphases on being early at the job site. So putting a website together and exposing voters young and old how to get politically educated shouldn't be far fetch. If that is voter suppression then shame on me. I'm not here to make friends and our politicians aren't our friends.
And why such an emphases on ANC. Well I will confess I can away from home and maybe missed the lesson on ANCs but my kids didn't learn them either. So I really want that in the website as well. I will admit I don't attend my ANC meetings and the thought of attending them make me want to shoot myself. But I have concluded it is because my ANC commissioners are assholes. But that is another story to tell. I also want to state I probably have attended more than enough to the point I am sick of them as well. I met James Butler when he was commissioner and running for mayor the first time and he was rude to me. I am beginning to think black politicians don't know how to talk to me or they don't care about my vote. Also met Kathy Henderson I came to that ANC meeting to talk to her specifically about the possible Hechinger Mall development and she was rude as well. Asians don't matter, if the vibe I usually get.
“A friend of mine concluded/confirmed my ANC is full of assholes by attending it with me.”
So why has this election season been so difficult? It does seem hopeful to possibly boot Mayor Bowser and to have someone else besides McDuffie is great. But I guess it is the people I know that is what gets to me the most. I am realizing people will always be drawn to someone they are more familiar with. Or they will want to vote for someone they are close to because they feel they will have a political sway with them once in office. I guess all these things I could be guilty of myself. But being asian has proven that few politician know how to "handle me". After countless conversations it just feels like everyday bullshit. They care when they are trying to get a vote. Once they got the seat, they are know-it-alls. How dare I ask anything from them. The only way you can convince me is with money and/or position.
Vincent Orange, I'll admit I have no idea how he was as a councilmember or how he voted while in office. I wasn't into politics at the time he was active in office. I recall attending one ward 5 debate online and he kept talking about how his kids are successful and when to college and he talked about his education and all I could think about that is great but what about my kids that don't have the grades and money to go to college and others like them? He came off way to into himself and in my book if things are bad and haven't gotten any better I don't think you should be in office. That goes for McDuffie as well.
I will put this simply. I have no faith in Faith. I met her in a meeting with a non-profit organizing org and just like anybody else in director positions and especially in education. You are only do the job you are told to do to appease your boss. Who is/was her boss the Mayor. Also from what I found out her husband is also getting a high position placed by the Mayor. My next frustration is the actually endorsements of other politicians. It is simple political strategy in your face. If you don't like the mayor or the soon to be former councilmember and she is being endorsed by them don't vote for them. https://bit.ly/3tNd6p6
Gordan, I'll admit he has done a lot for Ward 5 mutual aid. But that is what makes me highly suspect. When we first got the hub which is the actually ANC office he only wanted a few people to have the key. And I was told specifically suppose to not have it. I was glad to not have it. He has always "rubbed" me the wrong way. And he comes off desperate and reminds me of former mayor fenty who is also a Kappa man.
I don't have to much to say about Zachary. The only endorsement I do consider is the Working Families Party. I will only state that I hate the name working families because I have been unemployed longer than employed and I am here for the families on assistance because that is the population always ignored. But with that being said it makes sense to go with the politician that is the most progressive than a politician that is a little bit. DC continues to become more unaffordable. I have no idea what my future hold in staying in this city. Janeese Lewis George just introduced social housing bill. Not sure this family of three adults qualify or be able to get such housing in time of fearing homelessness is around the corner being threatened of eviction. But it was introduced and it is something besides the nothing poor families got besides rapid rehousing. Horrible no good repid rehousing.
I feel sad that my oldest doesn't even want to vote and the person I am telling him to vote for. He doesn't want to vote for. He just rather not vote. That is because we asked for help from this politician and he kept on reflecting acting like he couldn't do anything. When I told him he was running for Mayor he was like will be be able to do something then? I have had this conversation with a advocate that makes sense there is no will to do more. They actively choose not to do more. They will try to do the very least to see if that is enough to get away with it appeasing to the general public.
These are my issues for Brianne Nadeau and Charles Allen that are also endorsed by Working families party. As I said before when you are in the status of a need. Most likely these politicians have fallen short. The non-profit world even right down the the employees sadly continue to lack to demand more or refuse to see more needs to be done. To be constantly re-elected gives them the impression they are doing fine with the bare minimum they have been doing.
This episode was so good in reflecting the frustrations of democracy. Dick is sexist but I feel his frustrations with who to vote for. Our choices are cruddy.
I was a part of the Empower DC efforts to make this bill into fruition. All I got to say is when it comes to racial equity, it completely disregards class and doesn't consider the history that has been unfolding since. Such as our fake as chinatown. Here are pictures to show very non asian stores with just chinese characters slapped beside there company name.
Here is a video of how DC's chinatown became chinablock, as a friend told me recently. It really feels too little too late for the city as a whole. Unless you okay middle class black folk come into the city because that is what racial equity means when you don't mention class.
One memory that sticks out to me the most about old chinatown, real chinatown was there was a store and I say fortune cookies for sale. It was the first time I saw fortune cookies available outside of a restaurant/carry out setting.
Another history lesson, DC was once all about small businesses and didn't have retailers such as Target and Walmart. Once those stores came that of course hurt the small businesses. Only time our Council cared about small business was when they overturned DC voted for a decent wage for tip workers which was overturned. You know what else was over turned against what the voters voted for, term limits for the elected officials.
I can't find a article stating this and it might have been for another issue but I recall a councilmember stating voters didn't know what they were voting for was a reason they were overturning or voting no. So wouldn't that be more reasons to have a website explaining bills/legislation?
Final thought before my head hurts more
I will end my long as rant with a tv moment I remember once seeing explaining that not one person came up with the close number to the amount of marbles in a jar but the collective medium was. I took that I guess as a odd way of explaining democracy. Maybe it is maybe it isn't. But particular science, math or statistic is interesting. Hopefully collectively we vote right. But at the end of the day the way I see it. It shouldn't matter who is elected if we just had a better ways and means of holding our elected officials accountable and educated the public instead of marketing to them.
I want folks to consider my criticism like judging a chief's food. It makes no sense when I chief proclaims he cooks great food and all his customers hates it. I also hate when parents talk about how great they are and their kids well ummm, run away or don't talk to you when they are adults is a good sign you might not be a good parent.
So when crime is up. When articles about the city is the most fastest gentrifying city in the US. Maybe the mayor shouldn't be voted again?!? or that councilmember?
“What happens to one of us, happens to all of us.”
I'll be honest I am feeling a huge sense of hopelessness and is leaning toward not voting at all. I just found out I will probably never get the land my mother bought in Ecuador and any justice for how my mother was treated. Could we think about racial equity, as guarantee inheritance? A part of building wealth especially in white america is inherited wealth. But I have heard stories from folks not being about to pass down their wealth because they weren't white or wealthy enough, who knows. America is just awful.
For you to have a baby you don't want (banning abortions) in a country with a formula shortage.
As of lately I am having tough conversations with both my teens about having to pay for their college classes and somehow I will figure out the rent. But to be prepared to be evicted because I have over $10k in back rent. And I am looking at what it costs now and it is so overwhelming. I am just so tired. I have been figuring out housing and food for 22 years. I am so tired of being poor and supplementing everything. I just want to live a life not having to worry constantly about every little thing. So this election just feels like somewhere between too little too late and what's the point. I have been in countless meetings asking for more. Free housing and free food. And these advocates say maybe in a few years from now or that is impossible. I need this now. or I just need to give up?!?
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