“Winning” when it feels like “Losing” — An Election Reflection
“The arc bends toward justice, but it only bends toward justice because people pull it towards justice. It doesn’t happen on its own.” — Former Attorney General Eric Holder
Published on: 12/10/2020
Alexis L. Krohn
Alexis here, one of the two Co-Executive Directors of the Unconscious Bias Project. I really can’t tell you how much of an honor it is to work with Linet on this labor of love, as we level up our programming. I wake up every day with gratitude that I get to spend my labor on anti-discrimination work. It’s therefore with a mix of joy and sadness that I now professionally get asked things like:
“I can’t help but feel a little unsettled in the wake of the election results. I know not much has really changed since 2016, but I was at least under the illusion that this time would be different [...] How are you/the project grappling with the results […]? Do we just ignore the not-even-unconscious hatred […] and just keep trying?”
This question is important. One of the TV show hosts I frequently watch made a comparison along these lines: You’re with your friends, and 4 of you decide to order pizza, overruling the 3 who wanted to eat manure. Sure, you’re ordering the pizza as a result, but there’s still something deeply wrong.
This was my response to the workshop attendee’s question.
There’s definitely a similar feeling over here. Recent events have certainly been difficult to grapple with. It reminds me somewhat of when I was campaigning for trans rights in Massachusetts (liberal Mass!) and we won our ballot measure at 68% of the vote. My friends were very excited that the margin was so large, but I couldn’t shake the fact that the remaining 32% of the state, nearly a third, nevertheless voted to exclude from public life me and those like me. Legal wins are real and important, but it can still be unsettling when you see how many folks seem to still hold views that seem antithetical to your own.
To me, I remind myself of the “7 touch points” theory — that folks need 7 touch points before changing their views, and I focus on being one of those touch points. The other thing I learned while canvassing was how to listen to people — really listen. Our campaign was highly unorthodox (there were lots of articles written on the Yes on 3 campaign in Mass, 2018), but we focused a lot not on arguing with voters, but listening to them. There were conversations we simply walked away from (I was told “transgenders [sic] don’t need rights”), but many, many more conversations involved connecting with voters and seeing our mutual values.
“Why wouldn’t you vote Yes on this measure?” I asked one woman. She responded, “because I’m afraid that it would endanger our kids.” And so I saw her value — that she wanted to keep children safe, and I responded that “Yeah, I’m a teacher, and I fear for my kids, too — especially our trans youth who are so endangered, and measures like this one will protect our trans youth.” That voter changed their mind by the end of our conversation.
It is a lot of work — and we only are able to do that emotional labor when we help each other do it. We lift each other up, celebrate each others’ victories and hold space in difficulty. We remember that we can change more minds by listening than talking. While we can’t change every mind, we each have one or two people we can connect with. And so we reach out, and we keep moving the needle where we can.
“The arc bends toward justice, but it only bends toward justice because people pull it towards justice. It doesn’t happen on its own.” — Former Attorney General Eric Holder
A lot of folk are saying “the work is just beginning.” Remember: protest works; action works. Local elections matter, local politics matter. There’s so much we can do even before the next presidential election cycle. There’s so much we must do. We don’t ignore the hatred, we address it when and where we can, and we remember that the moral arc of the universe doesn’t just naturally curve toward justice on its own. We — you, me, and others — bend it through hard work and perseverance. Join orgs and movements that are making a difference, and make the changes where you can.
Woody Guthrie wrote on his guitar, “This Machine Kills Fascists,” but I’ve always been more partial to Pete Seeger’s banjo, myself — “This Machine Surrounds Hate and Forces It to Surrender.”
I hope that helps.
Alexis
she/her