UNDISTRACTED

Dear Meteor readers,

I hope everyone has something—anything—fun planned for this weekend. (I’m taking my little one to her first gymnastics class and can already feel the gold medal.) In today’s newsletter, we’re parsing the aftermath of Tuesday’s election with Brittany Packnett Cunningham and the UNDISTRACTED group chat. Plus, some options if you’re looking for an election break.

Onward,

Shannon Melero

“WAS IT FOOLISH TO HOPE?” 

That’s the powerful, poignant question host Brittany Packnett Cunningham posed to group-chat regulars Dr. Brittney Cooper and Dr. David Johns this week on UNDISTRACTED. The morning after Vice President Kamala Harris conceded the election (but not, as she said, “the fight that fueled this campaign”), the three sat down for a raw, honest conversation about everything from “righteous rage” to “deep disappointment” at America’s rejection of a Black South Asian woman candidate in favor of an open white nationalist. We hope you’ll listen to the whole thing; here are some highlights:

Brittany Packnett Cunningham on her immediate feelings:

"There’s a rage that I have for the deep lack of solidarity, appreciation and fundamental respect for…the Black women who consistently do the custodial work of democracy and get left hanging out to dry every single time. And for me, it is punctuated by the fact that the night before we all gathered at Howard [for the election results], J.D. Vance stood up and said, “We’re going to take out the trash tomorrow…[and] the trash’s name is Kamala Harris.” He was talking about every single one of us in the moment that he did that. And…it barely made a blip. In fact, plenty of people said, That’s exactly what I wanna go vote for. Let me go take out the trash."

"We delayed this episode by a day because I didn’t want to come with this energy. [But] I’m still in grief. Not over just a candidate or an election. Not just because…the worst is yet to come. But because there seems to be little, if any, repentance toward the absolute disappointment everybody continues to be to Black women. And every Black woman I talk to is ready to go on strike….So that's where I am today."

“EVERY BLACK WOMAN I TALK TO IS READY TO GO ON STRIKE...” (VIA GETTY IMAGES) 

Dr. David Johns on hope:

"I want us to feel all of our feelings. And…the corollary of that for me is that there’s never been a chapter in the history of our people where our ancestors began or ended with '...and then we conceded,' or '...and then we gave up.' That is not in us."

"Also, I am heartened by the reminder that Black people understood the assignment in spite of all the lies that the media tried to tell, blaming Black men. In spite of all of those lies, we, Black men and Black women [by voting overwhelmingly against Trump] demonstrated an understanding of the assignment to continue to care for one another while doing the work of creating the democracy that our ancestors fought and died for, and that we are fighting for today.”

HARRIS SUPPORTERS AT HOWARD UNIVERSITY ON THE DAY OF THE VICE PRESIDENT'S CONCESSION SPEECH (VIA GETTY IMAGES) 

Dr. Brittney Cooper on how Harris was viewed: 

"I’m managing rage at the white supremacy and the patriarchy and sexism and misogyny of it all for sure. I’m also managing deep, deep disappointment and fury at some pockets of the left—because I think that I witnessed an abdication of a race/gender analysis that would prepare us for this moment."

"The left had this sort of narrative about how she was so much a representative of the Empire that they couldn’t trust her for progressive goals—but they didn’t realize that they were fighting against people who saw her as a Black girl [who] would never be worthy enough to actually run the country. There is no evidence that this country trusted a Black girl with an Asian mama to run it and do it with excellence. Most of the country looked at Kamala and didn’t see a representative of the Empire, but actually saw the opposite—saw a Black girl [who] could never be a sufficient representative of this empire. And that is how they voted."

Listen to the full episode of UNDISTRACTED. You won’t be sorry.

AND:

• Looking for ways to help your fellow humans as we head into a second Trump administration? Abortion, Every Day founder Jessica Valenti suggests five things you can do right now to protect abortion access (Item #1: Stock up on abortion medication). And Daniel Hunter at Waging Nonviolence explains how to take effective action after Trump’s win. (Don’t panic, and don’t try to do everything, he writes.)

• It’s now clear that millions of people, many of them white women, felt they could have it both ways by voting for both pro-abortion ballot initiatives, which won big Tuesday, and also, somehow, for the president who killed Roe. Writer Jill Filipovic has a theory about these voters’ logic: They’re “willing to check a box if they think that will help keep women safe,” she writes. “But that doesn’t mean these voters are enthusiastic about unfettered female freedom.”

• It’s also now clear that there were some wins in this week’s election. Besides those abortion victories, three red states voted yes on ballot measures guaranteeing paid sick leave for workers; two of those states also voted to increase the minimum wage; and shockingly, in Florida, voters shut down Amendment 1, which would have required school board candidates in future elections to list their political affiliation. There were also historic Congressional wins: Sarah McBride will become the first out transgender member of Congress, and Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester will become the first two Black women to serve in the Senate at the same time. (They become only the fourth and fifth Black women Senators in all U.S. history.)

• In less pleasant takeaways from Election Night: The majority of young men went for Trump—swinging nearly 30 points to the right since 2020—while far more young women broke for Harris. The results crystallize just how radicalized and disaffected young men have become (their viral phrase “Your body, my choice” kinda says it all). And it’s the latest data point in a Gen Z gender war that’s been brewing for years, the bitterness of which even has some women on TikTok contemplating an American version of South Korea’s 4B movement.

• Donald Trump may have forgotten that there are still outstanding federal cases against him, but the rest of us haven’t. But because he’s now president-elect 🤮, those cases may never see the light of day. Politico digs into the Biden administration’s many missteps in prosecuting Trump, calling them “the greatest failure of federal law enforcement in American history.”

• In an unfortunate turn of events, early results are showing that Jenniffer González-Colón of the New Progressive Party (PNP) will be the next governor of Puerto Rico. Despite its name, the PNP and González-Colón are anything but progressive; the party is pro-statehood and González-Colón herself is a vocal Trump supporter. In the tradition of her ally, González-Colón has already claimed victory, even though votes are still being counted.

JENNIFFER GONZÁLEZ-COLÓN IN 2023. (VIA GETTY IMAGES) 

• Turning very briefly to sports, because why not, Australian breakdancer (and we use the term loosely) Raygun, who stunned the world into silence and confusion at the Paris Olympics, is retiring from the sport due to the largely negative response to her performance. In an interview for an Australian morning show, Raygun said she will continue to break…just not where anyone can see her.

WEEKEND READING 📚

• In search of a few edifying words from other historical nadirs, many people are sharing a Toni Morrison quote about how times of crisis are “precisely the time when artists go to work.” It’s from a piece she wrote for The Nation in 2004 (a low point for Democrats that some are comparing to this moment), and well worth reading in its entirety.

• If, on the other hand, you’re trying to cleanse your brain, here are some suggestions: a list of songs that are helping the Hearing Things staff get through the week, these two very good documentaries about eccentric white women; and the latest episode of what Shannon believes is the best show not on television, Pop the Balloon or Find Love.

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