Eight years ago, I watched Obama win his first
presidency. I was filled with hope – it seemed that the world and America was
on the verge of change! They were ready to move forward. Of course, growing up
in a household that valued multiculturalism and diversity, it never made sense
to me in the first place why racism was still happening in the world. A rather privileged upbringing, of course. I remember wanting to blog about all the hope and optimism I felt. And I never did.
Now, it seems America really wasn't ready for a black
president. Or maybe America just wasn't ready for progress of the social
variety. The only thing that's happened in the last eight years has been more
division, more hatred, more racism, more sexism, more misogyny. Was it always
like this? And I just never knew?
More than likely, as it’s only in the last
decade that I have become more involved with social justice, and I'm realizing how privileged my life has been and continues to be.
Years and years and years of patriarchy, white rule, oppression/genocide/slavery
of people of color, cannot easily be undone! We live with these ancestral
issues buried within us.
And now look at where we are. America would rather have a
racist than a woman. America would rather have a mansplainer than a
woman. America would rather have a rapist than a
woman. America would rather have a sexist person than a woman.
I am shocked. I am sad. I am outraged! This country is about to
explode. I was so hoping that this toxicity would be over on November 8. Well, I
have to point out my own privilege in that previous statement, because I just
failed to properly acknowledge that our system is compete toxic and will never
be “over” until we undergo an overhaul of the numerous unjust policies in place
that continue to oppress the most marginalized members of our society. But at least I knew this toxic election
campaign would be over. As if that’s
supposed to be a consolation.
Instead, a new toxicity is about to be born and bred. Born and
bred? It’s BEEN born and it’s BEEN
breeding…But what I mean is the way in which Trump has granted permission for
people to be openly discriminatory and hateful.
In that way, I can't even imagine what age we are about to enter. I know
that I'm scared for anyone who is of color, disabled, LGBTQIA, a woman,
transgender, poor, an immigrant, a refugee.
I scroll through my facebook and I see post after post about how scared
my friends are. My friends who are
disabled, LGBTQIA, women, trans, immigrants, refugees, people of color. One of my young students told me yesterday
“If Trump gets elected, my family might have to go back to Mexico.” I think of my young black and brown students,
growing up with a president who ridicules those who are different than he is,
who wants to close the gates to this country, who wants to build walls, who
refuses criticism and discourse and dialogue.
My husband is working in Florida right now, and his colleagues are
jubilant over the Trump win. However,
another colleague told him that her daughter’s 10-year-old classmates were
telling the girls they were going to grab their pussies. We are now in the business of raising
rapists.
I am so scared for the kinds of people Trump will bring out of the
woodwork. As my brother so eloquently
put it: “It’s [Trump’s] followers who are the real problem. Alt-rightists, misogynists, xenophobes, and
any other number of disaffected grudge-toting deplorables who will not feel
validated and legitimized by the outcome. Don’t know how that genie will get
bottled up again.”
I’m uplifted by the protests being held around the country. I hope we can continue to be angry, to
support each other, and to work to fix this giant cluster-F.
