Fawning over Kamala

Suchitra Vijayan, Bhakti Shringarpure and Madhuri Sastry dissect the media's coverage of Kamala Harris, focusing on the Democratic National Convention and the presidential debate. Coverage of Harris has focused on the portrayal of her as a youthful 'brat', excessive focus on aesthetics, and the lack of critical analysis in mainstream media. They explore the implications of her political identity, the gaslighting from the media, and the ongoing issues of racism in migration policies. The conversation culminates in a critique of the superficiality of political discourse and the need for accountability in journalism.

Key-takeaways: 

• The media's coverage of Kamala Harris has been overwhelmingly positive, lacking critical analysis.
• The Democratic National Convention was more about aesthetics than substance.
• Harris' image is crafted to appeal to youth culture, but it raises questions about authenticity and effectiveness with young voters.
• There is a significant shift in Harris' political ideology towards conservatism since the 2020 Presidential Election.
• The media often gaslights the public, framing critiques as radicalism.
• The debate between Harris and Trump highlighted their similar right-wing stances, highlighting the acute similarities in the ideological policies between the Democrats and Republicans.
• Racism, migration, and foreign military policies are critical issues that are often overlooked in media narratives.
• The illusion of choice between Trump and Harris obscures deeper systemic issues.
• The burden of proof for political accountability has shifted away from candidates to the electorate with the effect of silencing any critique about the ruling class.
• The concept of joy in politics is being co-opted, losing its radical roots.

Suchitra Vijayan is a writer, photographer and activist. She is the founder and Executive Director of The Polis Project. For her first book, The Midnight's Border: A People's History of India, Suchitra traveled across the 9000-mile Indian border. A barrister by training, she previously worked for the United Nations war crimes tribunals in Yugoslavia and Rwanda before co-founding the Resettlement Legal Aid Project in Cairo, which gives legal aid to Iraqi refugees. She is the co-author of How Long Can the Moon Be Caged? Voices of Indian Political Prisoners (2023) which offers a lens into today's India through the lived experiences of political prisoners.

Bhakti Shringarpure is a writer and writer. She is the co-founder of Warscapes magazine which transitioned into the Radical Books Collective, a community building project that creates an alternative approach to books and reading. Bhakti is the author of Cold War Assemblages: Decolonization to Digital (2019) and editor of Literary Sudans: An Anthology of Literature from Sudan and South Sudan (2017), Imagine Africa (2017) Mediterranean: Migrant Crossings (2018) and most recently, Insurgent Feminisms: Writing War (2023).

Madhuri Sastry is a former lawyer, specializing in international and human rights law. She was the publisher of Guernica Magazine. Her political writing, cultural criticism, interviews and essays have appeared in several publications including The Nation, Guernica, Slate, Bitch and New York Magazine. She is on the editorial board at the Polis Project.