Crystal Wang ’25 is an English major and history major. In addition to being Copy Chief for The Flat Hat, she is part of William & Mary archery. Contact her at cwang28@wm.edu.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.
Now that I’ve pissed off half of campus, I figured I had enough social capital to reach the Leftists on campus for an honest conversation.
I want to first turn to the idea of a coalition and how that differs from a safe community. A coalition is not a community, a coalition is not a home, a coalition is not a comfortable space. Safe, homely communities run the risk of becoming echo chambers focused on only the identities within that community. A coalition is different. In the words of activist, professor and composer Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagan:
“Some people will come to a coalition and they rate the success of that coalition on whether or not they feel good when they get there. They are not looking for a coalition, they’re looking for a home!”
While Dr. Reagan probably meant this for liberal-minded people venturing into Leftist spaces, this idea of coalition applies to Leftists too. I fear that the Leftist spaces no longer leave room for coalitions, that they’ve become purity spaces by which anyone who wants to enter must pass a test to determine their leftism. In order for there to be a coalition, we must temporarily join those that share similar values but have different priorities, ones that don’t make us Leftists feel safe. I ask that you keep this in mind as you read the rest of this article.
I write this opinion as a letter to all of those adamant on voting third party or refusing to vote at all in the upcoming election. I understand the outrage and despair that voting for Kamala Harris brings, especially for Palestinian Americans. Her continued support for Israel’s genocide of Palestinians is disgusting, and her continued support for police in America is equally so. I understand the moral choice to vote for a third party or to reject the system entirely. If you’re Palestinian American, I can only imagine how terrible it must feel to be presented by a candidate who has promised to “finish the job” according to Reuters, and another who is part of the administration currently funding the annihilation of your people. So first and foremost, I offer an ‘I’m sorry’ for your suffering and the choice you must make.
It is for these reasons that I originally was not going to write an article. However, two tragedies have occurred over the past few weeks (at the time of writing this) that pressed me to change my mind. The first happened on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Marcellus Williams died; the state of Missouri executed — nay, according to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, lynched — him. The state did so on charges of murder despite the prosecutor, his attorney and the victim’s family asking that he stay alive. The prosecuting attorney argued that new DNA evidence had revealed doubts about his guilty verdict. Williams’ appeal for life made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was rejected by every single Republican justice. Williams died Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. central time.
The second thing happened a little while ago and has already been covered in Flat Hat Opinions. Recently, Amber Thurman’s death hit national news; the overturning of Roe v. Wade killed her.
I say these names because it is easy for politically-minded Leftists to talk about policy and numbers and the glorious radical revolution, but it is not always easy to remember the names and faces of the people our actions or lack thereof directly impact. It is not easy to come to terms with the human casualties our decisions will cause.
To those planning to vote for a third party, I ask: What do you see as the direct outcome of your decision? I am a proponent of taking directly beneficial action in addition to working for the long term. Voting for a third party is not one of these directly beneficial actions. A third party candidate is not going to win the presidency. As much as I would love to vote for a third party, the only big name is Jill Stein. And she’s a Russian grifter who asks for the presidency every four years but doesn’t do anything else — for Christ’s sake, she doesn’t even know how many seats are in the House of Representatives. While I’d love to vote for a candidate such as Claudia De la Cruz, she’s not even on half the ballots in the country. And the rest of the third party presidential candidates can be summed up with five words: Who the f— is that? There is a place for the third party, but at the moment, it is not the presidency.
To those refusing to vote at all, I ask: What is your inaction tangibly going to do? I understand refusing to participate in a system that continues its terror of imperialism. It is true that we will never vote our way to liberation. And for this reason, many claim that if voting did anything, the system wouldn’t allow us to vote. To that, I point to the multiple steps Republicans have taken to suppress the vote in marginalized communities. We won’t vote our way into liberation, but we can vote our way into continued protest.
Demanding all the rights afforded to you as a citizen is not a betrayal of leftism or a betrayal of activism. When asked about this election, even Angela Davis spoke to the importance of casting a vote and the reason behind her vote. She says that when people vote, it is to “enlarge the terrain of mass struggle, to guarantee a space for the trade union movement to win victories, for the women’s movement to win victories, for people of color to win victories, for working and poor people to win victories.” If someone as battle tested, educated and active as Angela Davis can vote during this election without thinking it is a betrayal, so can you.
I must reiterate that casting a vote is not the end-all-be-all. It is not a question of vote or protests, but rather vote and protests. Casting a vote is one action done in a booth. Thinking back on this idea of coalition, I propose a different way to conceptualize voting for Democrats. I propose that we see this as a coalition with others who value the lives of marginalized communities in the U.S. I ask that we temporarily walk into this coalition, vote, then leave.
Speaking to the idea of safety for most people, I propose that we think of a third party vote or a refusal to vote as one kind of protest, because that is what they are. During a demonstrative protest, we understand that certain things need to be done to protect protesters, even if that means the demonstration becomes less effective. After all, there is a reason there was not an encampment at the College of William and Mary, and we are taught to not fistfight cops. So, if sacrifices made for participant safety are understood within the context of one type of protest, why are they not understood when it comes to voting as a form of protest? We can no longer claim that casting a vote won’t harm any more people than not voting at all or voting third party. A protest vote is important. But it is far from the best form of protest. A Blue vote is not an endorsement; it is a strategic move to ensure we can keep doing other forms of protest.
To get to the truly uncomfortable part, we have to recognize not just the privilege, but the complicity we possess by simply being in America. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been murdered or injured by the bombs that the Democratic party has funded. A vote for that party would make us complicit in the atrocities they already committed. These are facts we must come to terms with. However, not voting for Democrats or not voting at all does not absolve us of that complacency. There is no way to continue existing within this country without being complicit in the Palestinian genocide nor the oppression of marginalized people. The government is using our tax dollars, our labor, our very existence as Americans to carry out all of their actions. Such is the nature of living in a first world country built on the backs of the third world.
Since we have no choice but to be complicit at the moment, I will join the coalition of people with similar values. I will do what I can with my vote. And thinking back on Amber Thurman and Marcellus Williams, I firmly believe that if there had been more Democrat-elected Supreme Court justices, these two people would be alive. I firmly believe that if their states had Democratic state legislatures and governors, these two people would be alive. I firmly believe that we are currently down to two options for national offices, and Kamala Harris is far better than the only other option on key issues. We are already soaked in the blood of the global South, but voting third party or not voting at all will not assuage my conscience on the broken bodies of the most vulnerable people in the United States.
When it comes to the general presidential election, I will vote with my head. I will be realistic and use my vote strategically. It may look different in states like New York and California where a protest vote won’t affect the electoral college, but in Virginia, a strategic vote means a Democratic vote. In addition, I will keep voting in every election for every position and continue all the forms of protest I have been engaged in.
Let us be perfectly candid with one another, the next president of the United States will be Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, and the Congress will be majority Democrat or Republican. Voting for a third party or refusing to vote will not change this fact. Doing so is an act of protest, but while protest votes are important and have their place, you must ask yourself whether this specific form of protest is worth the lives of Amber Thurman, Marcellus Williams and all the marginalized people like them.