Why I Haven't Watched a [Vice] Presidential Debate Since 2008

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Vice President Pence face off in their only debate Wednesday, October 7th.

Photograph via NPR; Gage Skidmore/Flickr

Tomorrow is the vice presidential debate. And as much of the nation braces for the moment, I simply cannot.

And I will not.

Funny enough, the first and last vice presidential debate I watched took place here in St. Louis, MO at Washington University (2008). It was the first election where I was old enough to actually understand what was going on - not to mention the fact that a Black man was running for the first time in the Nation’s history.

At that point in my life - new to the political scape, and geeked that a Black man was president elect - I was captivated every-time I heard him [Obama] speak. And because I was interested in what he had to say, I was naturally curious as to what his opponents and opposers had to say [this proved to be more difficult than anticipated, as it was almost impossible to filter out the racist and outright ignorant commentary].

Anyhow, you can only image how excited I was to know that the vice presidential debate was being held -basically in my backyard! Initially I was bummed because I couldn’t go. But thank God I didn’t. Because after only a few minutes of watching, I decided, at the tender age of 17, that I could no longer allow my intelligence to be insulted by America.

Having never been so engaged in a political event, I was naive to expect so much more. I mean, I was aware of the foolery on the news, and even had side-eye moments with some of the presidential candidates themselves. But it all clicked for me that Thursday, October 2, 2008:

These people, who were battling to be the next Vice President, had fabulous educational backgrounds; well-rounded career experience; and were considered “experts” on domestic and foreign policy. Yet here they were on stage, on NATIONAL television, spewing passive aggressive obscenities and behaving quite childish (if you ask me).

SNL: Governor Sarah Palin (Tina Fey) and Senator Joe Biden (Jason Sudeikis) square off about the financial crisis, John McCain and getting "mavericky" in this 2008 vice presidential debate moderated by Gwen Ifill (Queen Latifah). [Season 34, 2009]

I was let down, hurt event, by the fact that for 17 years of my life, I truly believed people with political careers were more sophisticated than me. Or that they had some answers that I couldn’t go out in the world (or within) and find myself.

That being said, even beyond this moment, I still held the political world to a higher standard. I viewed my interest as a sign that I myself was growing up and becoming more “sophisticated”, and I swore that I would stay involved and interested once Black - I mean Barack - Obama left office.

Alas, that dream came crashing down when the democracy, or lack thereof, made a mockery of Obama’s legacy by entertaining Donald Trump as a presidential candidate, and THEN actually electing him the President of the United States of America!

I would sum up how thats going, but it’s much easier to just look around you.

Trump and Biden face off in the first presidential debate of this election (September 29th, 2020).

Don’t get me wrong, I still make time to research relevant information, and I stay involved enough to carry a conversation. But they can keep all the “politics”. Especially in this current climate of not knowing exactly what’s going on (with the virus, the economy, or my civil rights for that matter)!

Watching CNN everyday, subscribing to social media posts, and all these fugazi speeches, addresses, debates, etc., have proven that the system only works for itself, and will do anything to brainwash you. Thus, it has been deemed beneath me. So no, I don’t feel bad for not tuning in. Besides, who needs to actually watch anything when you have Black Twitter to sum it up and analyze it for you?!

The overconsumption of media, especially as it involves politics, can be manipulative and condescending…and I don’t need that energy in my life. Yes; it is important to be informed and know whats going on in the world. But it’s even more important to remember that a lot of the messages we receive from the media are controlled, and we can’t become consumed or jaded by them.