Day: November 25, 2021

On November 2nd, states across the US held their regular elections – New Jersey and Virginia held their gubernatorial elections and state legislative elections, while other states reserved this day for any special elections, as a result of deaths or vacancies. The main candidates for governor in Virginia were Republican candidate, Glenn Youngkin, and Democratic candidate, Terry McAuliffe. In New Jersey, the candidates for governor were Republican candidate, Jack Ciattarelli, and Democratic candidate, Phillip Murphy, Democratic. In the end, Youngkin won for Virginia and Murphy won for New Jersey.

Blackfishing is the act of white people trying to look ethnically ambiguous by altering their features for the validation and support of POC (People of Colour). Major fast fashion brands like Fashion Nova and Pretty Little Thing are often partaking in such practices in order to look inclusive without actually being inclusive. These brands also endorse the extreme hourglass body type which is often stereotypically portrayed as a feature of a person with African ancestry. This leads to a lack of representation in mass media which invalidates a lot of POC which can often lead to body dysmorphia, self-worth and mental health issues. These brands are represented by major POC celebrities like Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B which is not a bad form of representation. However, when it comes to influencer ambassadors predominantly featured on their instagram page, these models are often just white people whose skin is simply tanned. The representation of East-Asian people and other POC is evidently scarce.

After a long period of apathy, delays, and compromises, President Joe Biden’s $1.2 billion infrastructure bill has been signed into law. The bill aims to create jobs by improving bridges and roads across the country and by expanding access to broadband internet. Its passage comes as Biden’s job approval rating reached an all time low this month. According to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, Biden currently has a 41% job approval rating, plummeting 11 points from his 52% job approval last spring. Some of this drop can be attributed to the public apathy surrounding legislation the administration is working towards, and along with Biden’s frequent gaffes and tangents, this makes it easy for critics to question Biden’s mental fitness to be in office. Essentially, infrastructure doesn’t grab headlines as well as a video of the president sputtering about an anecdote from his youth in front of the United Nations general assembly.       There’s also Biden’s failure to deliver on many promises made while campaigning. According to Politifact, Biden has only fulfilled 12% of his campaign promises, with another 42% “in the works.” All of these things are causing Americans to be understandably frustrated with Biden’s performance thus far, and that frustration is the likely cause of his approval rating drop as well as the Republican swing in November’s off-year elections. One such campaign promise Biden made was improvements to America’s infrastructure, and although it is drastically scaled back from the package many progressive Democrats would have liked, this bill will cause vital improvements to public works.