Looking At The Election Through The Lenses of Privilege

By Roya Register

My thoughts concerning this year’s election range from “What the F**k?!” to “Wow” to any other word or phrase that might provoke shock and/or disgust. The sad part is, the election isn’t even something I have been following. I really started to care during the middle of October after watching the second debate. To put it simply, even though it has been just two weeks — the thought of the election is now a subject that provokes utter mayhem and borderline claustrophobia in my head.

I didn’t care at first because I saw no reason. I am a privileged, white high school student who was born into an upper-class family. I live in Buckhead, which is probably the most affluent uptown district in Atlanta. My life is so good and I know that, and I also was like, “If I can’t even vote, why does it matter what I think?”

And at one point I realized this: The person who wins this election will be in office when I am 20 and possibly 24. By that time, I could still be in college, or working, or maybe even be married with kids. Who knows? Regardless, I will be an adult, and that means the decisions made by the future president will undoubtedly affect me. It will no longer just be watching my parents stress about the blurry future of this country. It will be me, a young adult, living under the authority of one of the candidates.

Another factor was realizing this: Although I am white and privileged, not everyone  is. Truthfully, I think the difference between a teen who cares and one who doesn’t is dependent upon perspective and awareness, or more specifically being aware of different perspectives. And even if these perspectives aren’t parallel to yours, it is so important to respect them. Because more often than not, people have their reasons for favoring someone over another, especially with an election like this year’s. It’s good to recognize that privilege skews our lens — or just that we all have lenses through which we see the world. Whiteness is one, affluence is another, but it doesn’t make me immune to the law of the land.

Roya, 16, attends North Atlanta High School.

I Want A Dyke For President

By Jahleelah Shaheed

The 2016 presidential election is a joke. Between the two evils, regardless of the ultimate choice, the lives of minorities are irrelevant. Unless they are furthering the cause of one of the candidates, the marginalized are insignificant to them. Black people will continue to be murdered and incarcerated by the hands of those sworn to protect. Latinos will still be viewed as rapists and thieves. It is obvious that Hillary is the better candidate out of the two parties, but better is relative. I don’t want someone who deemed my people “super predators” and then had a sweeping revelation as to racism being wrong when it served her purpose. And I don’t want someone who still believes us to be such. I don’t want someone for president who refers to oppressed people as “the blacks” or “the Latinos.” I want someone for president who is Black or is Latino. I don’t want the matriarch of white feminism or the patriarch of white privilege. The oppressed are tired of power-hungry, fear-mongers being in power, and it’s exhausting being expected to support the devil in lipstick simply because she says racism is bad or is pro-choice.

Jahleelah, 16, is an artist and activist who is passionate about raising the voices of the marginalized.