Dissent is not Russian. It’s democratic.
I write this expecting to be called a Russian operative by the people who see anti-Democratic commentary as being shaped by Russian misinformation campaigns.
They can call me whatever they want. Criticism is a hallmark of a healthy democracy. What it definitely isn’t is a sign that you’ve fallen for a lie printed in a Russian-bought Facebook ad.
Anoa Changa wrote a few years ago for The Nation of the perils in asserting that black people’s criticism of America showed only that they’d bought into Russia-sponsored narratives. The reality, she explained, was that black criticism of America came about because black people saw racism in America and engaged in critical thinking about it. Changa quoted Eugene Puryear, who noted, “At the end of the day though, the problem is racism and capitalism.”
Two years later, racism and capitalism are still huge problems. Capitalism-driven income inequality is at its highest level ever recorded, and racism is still a deadly concern.
Pointing out these facts — and the data backing them up — is not a sign that the Kremlin has infiltrated your logic center. It’s a sign that you can see that America has hardcore problems, that they’re systemic and racist, and that we need to dismantle a racist system. And by merely fleeing for the safety of “Russiaaa!” at the first sign of trouble, you A) dismiss valid concerns about problems that are killing people and B) absolve yourself of any responsibility to fix a problem your “neutrality” is helping to perpetuate.
Pointing out Joe Biden’s role in America’s embrace of the prison-industrial complex, which targets black and brown bodies with distressing frequency, isn’t a sign that you recently traveled to Vladivostok. It’s a sign that you can read.
Pointing out that historically black colleges and universities are massively underfunded — and, even so, are disproportionately good at encouraging black excellence — isn’t proof that you drink eight white Russians a day. It’s proof that you can read.
And asserting that the Democratic Party actually has to earn your vote, rather than being owed that vote because “but TRUMP,” is not the wretched result of being in Vladimir Putin’s Rolodex.
It’s evidence that you can read.
Nobody — not one single American — is required to vote for a Democrat, regardless of how Russian you think anyone is for daring to defy The Holy Democratic Party. And the longer you hotly insist that defiance of your righteous mandate constitutes unwitting adherence to a foreign conspiracy, the more you’re going to find yourself losing elections and friends. (And the planet will probably burn more too. That’s not because of Russia. That’s because of fossil fuel companies — oiligarchs, if you like.)
Russia didn’t break America. Europeans invaded America, sicced smallpox on its people, stole land, fought decimated populations for more, trashed cultures, enslaved anyone whose skin wasn’t pale and generally acted like the gold medal favorites in the Asshole Olympics.
America has been broken from the start unless you were rich, white, Christian and male, and the rest of us have been fixing it a little bit at a time since then, in opposition to those medal favorites.
It’s still broken for most of us.
That’s a problem.
And it means we’re not going to support the person who helped rebreak parts of it and is proud of that fact.
It means we don’t look kindly on the guy whose legislation “prevents the $150 billion worth of private student debt from being discharged, rescheduled or renegotiated as other debt can be in bankruptcy court.”
It means we get irritated when a group linked to Biden is found testing messages that oppose Medicare for All.
It means we oppose him (and we’re not thrilled that he called a grown woman “kiddo”) when he embraces the fossil fuels that are boiling the planet alive.
And it means we get concerned with him and angry at him when he is accused repeatedly of acting inappropriately around women.
Criticizing Joe Biden or any other Democrat — or any other human — isn’t a sign of Russian influence.
Pointing out that he’s hurt people who aren’t rich and white isn’t evidence of foul play by a comrade.
But all this rhetoric doesn’t address your main concern: “but TRUMP!” AKA winning in November. Fortunately, the path to victory is clear:
- Run on the economy.
- Stay away from “the other guy is worse.”
So basically, do the exact opposite of what this campaign did.