Blackburn v Janga [d1/d2 debate]

Her best weapon is her words, and to be without them in the immediate fight for mayor in her own district is disconcerting at the least. Lines crease along her forehead more often than usual, especially after the victorious afterglow of her successfully delivered speech. The crowd ate out of her palm, and with the help of her girls they chanted her name into the next candidate’s attempt at a follow-up; the girls try and remind her of that wonderful and lasting benefits of an early lead, but she can not shake her woes. For her to thrive, she must rise to power. It is in her blood. It is in her breath.

Chaos dangles from her neck like gold, catching the light and both amazing and blinding those in its beam. She misses what the question is, but responds nonetheless. “I was not brought into this world the extravagant woman I am today. I called a wooden plank I peeled from an old warehouse building ‘bed’ till I was twelve. Then someone jacked my board, and I slept on the stone cold earth.” Jelani pushes a tear out, ready for the kill that always seals the deal. “But I was the only one my brother had, and I had to take care of him before myself. He has special needs, you see, and he needs extra help with most things.” This is where she let the tears flow, as fake as a river can run, and she doesn’t have to feel bad about it, since it is technically true. Her brother does have special needs. He does need extra help. And pulling at others heartstrings with some blown out of proportion bullshit drama that forces them to sympathize with her is the help he in turn supplies. She is not a good person.

But she’s not fooling herself. Only everyone else.

“But I turned our life around. I got us off the streets. I got a job, and another, and before I knew it I was running my own private business and putting a brand new roof over mine and my brother’s heads. My friends came to work for me, and we care so much for our community that we give back half of our earnings. We hold fundraisers, host clean ups, and keep the atmosphere up. And I want to do that for the entire district. I know I can help everyone, the same way I helped my poor,” she bites her lip before committing to the overkill, “defenseless, diseased little brother.”

Jelani makes a mental note to thank her girls for keeping her brother away from the TV that day. He would not handle this well at all. But it would all be better for him soon, when she has the legal protection of mayor.