What Now?
I am grieving and frightened and exhausted. I cannot believe that racism, misogyny, and misinformation led so many Americans to choose a racist, rapist, grifter who led an insurrection the last time they put him in power over order and goodwill and competence. If you voted for Donald Trump. If you are celebrating his win then I do not forgive you or trust you. I am terrified for the young women in my life (and yours). I am terrified for the queerfolk in my life (and yours). I am terrified for the immigrants in my life (and yours). I am also terrified for our economy just when I am nearing retirement and my son is starting out his career. I suspect most of those celebrating this week do not care that I do not forgive or trust them, but if you do then here is how you can earn my trust. Protect people. I want receipts for the ways that you are protecting the bodily autonomy of women and queerfolk. I have long supported (through monthly donations!) the Kentucky Health Justice Network but I will happily accept donation receipts for other abortion and trans health funds. On Wednesday I supported my friend’s birthday fundraiser for the Kentucky Youth Law Project. It felt like a productive response to my grief and fear. Next month I plan to sign up to support it monthly. What are you doing right now to support and protect the vulnerable?
If you are like me. Struggling to live and work in community with people who think convicted felons should not be able to vote or work and yet chose to elect a convicted felon. Perhaps you can take some inspiration from “10 ways to be prepared and grounded now that Trump has won” and then choose the path(s) forward that fits best with your season of life and capacity:
As you can see I’ve already leaned into the Protect People pathway and I know I have to train myself to pay better attention to the world around me to use my middle class white mom privilege to protect and advocate. I’ve gotten better but still have so much room to grow. As my personal capacity allows (full time teaching right now is hard y’all!) I also want to lean into building alternatives. As a writer in community with other writers this feels right for me. I’ll leave the door open for those who chose chaos and discover regret in the coming “fuck around and find out” season, but I’m not extending the hand to you until you show me the receipts and are ready to put your weight behind the knife the rest of us are using to cut the world in two.
Note: Two podcasts that helped me process and reset: Hysteria and Vibe Check.
