Where to start? Where to start? For one, I CAN'T BELIEVE I am compelled to write about that ODIOUS MAN again! I looked back at my posts. Sure enough it was last November, nearly to the day, that I ranted about the Donald and Jeb. Here I am again. I am barely out of the fetal position mind you. Much of the time, that position seems very appealing.
Part of me would like to devote the next four (please-oh-please one term of damage only) years to escapist pursuits such as fantasy novels and historical television series from Masterpiece Theater. I suspect that will indeed be one approach.
I am also tamping down my strong desire to blame others: the 40% of women who actually voted for him. Women! How is it possible to disregard the long history of sexism, misogyny and worse? How about the many young voters who decided in protest to just not vote at all? Are you serious? He is speaking about gutting the Department of Education? Where do you think your student loans come from? Or the ones who voted for Johnson? Did you honestly think he was a serious candidate? He doesn't even know where Aleppo is! How could these people ignore the bigotry, the racism, the demagoguery and think that this would not be relevant for the person who would occupy the most highly elevate job in our lang? I quietly (or not so quietly) rage when these feelings come over me. I am angry and I know that I am waiting. Waiting! The first person who starts to complain about anything that happens in the next 4 years that either voted for him or did not vote at all will surely get an earful.
I worry about what the future holds. I am a white woman, past my childbearing years, with a good job and insurance and all of that. I live in a progressive city and state. I will be fine. But my daughter might not have the same luck. What if she needs to avail herself of low cost insurance as she goes through her early employment years? What if she needs to have an abortion? Will they be available? What if her partner is an immigrant? Will her friends or my friends find themselves the victims of hateful speech or behaviors literally sanctioned by our president elect? Or worse?
My local public radio station interviewed Ijeoma Oluo this week, a local activist who is very articulate about social issues, primarily in regards to people of color. She spoke about the implications of this election going forward. (The italics are mine) "I think [self deception] is our number one enemy..... We've been looking at these rallies. We've been making so many excuses this entire election season. Every rally that was brimming with anger and hate....we made excuses every time, because we didn't want to admit that this is how our friends, our neighbors, and our community members actually feel. And that is what defeated us....in that complacency, we let people slide. We let people justify to themselves really abhorrent decisions..... I think one of the funny things about bigotry, one of the funny things about white supremacy in America is that it doesn't require your intention, it is something that works at a default....A lot of what we have that makes us comfortable as people is rooted in that: our status, our identity, our jobs, our property, our neighborhoods are all rooted in that. And when things threaten that... especially if you see other groups who you are used to seeing make less than you doing better, that threatens not only your security but also your sense of identity...we oftentimes view ourselves in comparison to other groups.. you feel uncomfortable and you don't have a name for it and you don't have immediate malice on the surface, all you know is that you want to get things back to the way they were. The end result though? Is oppression. The end result is more patriarchy. And it doesn't matter what your intentions are. "
Wow. Great food for thought for me. I followed listening to this interview with an editorial from Scott Simon about how we live in our bubbles, and perpetually validate our world views by choosing to listen to tweets, social media feeds and the like that match our own. And so you get a sense of complacency and reinforcement of your opinions, and perhaps fail to consider any others. It's insidious. I certainly am guilty of this. I do listen to NPR. Voraciously. I think that helps. But I also fill my social media feeds with the self congratulatory validations that perpetuate my own bubble. And I know others do the same.
So now what? I find myself looking more at my own reality and role in the last year. Certainly I said my two cents about many social events that have occurred, either directly associated with the blighted election season or not. But what else? Read my Facebook and think my thoughts. Could I have done more? Should I? That is what I need to think about. That is what we all need to think about. And for my family? They may well get donations to ACLU or Planned Parenthood on their behalf. Beyond that, I need to take a hard look at my own prejudices, and face them. I know I don't have malice. I worry that my lack of action is tantamount to supporting oppression.
Thank you and good night.
You go, girl! Great post!
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