Election Day Observations

    

My Observations on Election Day

Russell

As per usual, Tuesday was a heated day (despite the weather) in regard to politics and the election. Personally, I did vote using a drop-off box, but my campus RRCC had the polling station placed at one of our neighboring buildings. Many people were in and out asking us where to vote, with whatever accompanying chatter about the election. Simply put, Harris was the preference.

    In my circle, everyone believed Harris would win, but emphasized the need to vote anyway. On Instagram, the social media I use most, many of my friends and acquaintances expressed the urgency for everyone to go out and vote. Many Instagram stories my friends posted said things along the lines of "preserving democracy," "preserving women's rights," and "fighting the good fight." It was highly emotional for many and it felt like a battle was being fought. 

    Some memorable moments were when a friend of mine at a neighboring desk went to drop off his ballot, and said he also had 300,000,000 votes for Andrew Yang. Many of us, while not necessarily apathetic to the election, had a sense of humor about it all. We jostled each other over who they voted for, if they went for a third party, and talked about what policies each of the candidates had, foreign and domestic. Ultimately, the prevailing opinion in my circle was mostly apathy. My close friend in Texas said something along the lines of "I don't care, I still have work at 5AM either way." Others said the same old "they're both bad, I'm just gonna vote for the less bad."

    Purely online, outside of my circle of real life friends, there was a lot of controversy as of course there would be. On Twitter and Reddit people were going back and forth with each other and being lowkey awful about it, calling each other pieces of excrement, using slurs, etc. It was definitely a bloodbath in the anonymous online space. What I found most concerning were the amount of references to mental health resources being posted wherever, specifically the 988 suicide hotline. Not just the outcome, but the buildup to the election, has definitely been the straw that broke the camels back for many. Some of the despondence I saw was heartbreaking.

    Keep in mind, this was before the winner was declared the following day. People were watching the polls pretty intently and saw that Trump was most likely to come out on top. However, what I think was most impactful was some people's positivity.

    Though many were on fire about it online, whether I knew them in real life or not, there was still a prevailing sense of hopefulness. Some of this hopefulness came in the form of reassurance- that they'd love and protect one another in the event the worst happens during Trump's presidency. That women and minorities should not be denied their right to exist, and that they'd fight tooth and nail to preserve rights they perceive as being threatened. This isn't something people want to take sitting down, and it's good to know there are still plenty of people out there who care.

    In conclusion, election day was hectic. There was a lot of surprise, a lot of panic, but also a lot of positivity despite the outcome. For those who feel so threatened that they'd consider taking their own lives, at least there were reminders that there are resources for those in crisis. Some of the humor my friends exhibited brought a smile to my face when I felt down about it all, and while there's nothing necessarily funny about all of it, it's good to remember not to be grim all the time. This will definitely be one of the more memorable election days, and I'm wondering how the next four years for our country will be, but I'm hopeful that people will stick together through thick and thin.

Some tips for coping with the results if the outcome wasn't what you desired: https://www.brandeis.edu/health/promotion/resources/articles/election-stress.html