After the trip to Guadalupe, I realized that following the US election process from abroad has wrung me out emotionally. When I got back to Madrid last week, I decided to organize a post-election relief party with mac'n cheese, soup and brownies for the day after the election. I figured that regardless of who won, I would need to be with Americans, either to celebrate or commiserate.
A part of me wonders whether I had an inkling then of what the election results would be, given my insistence on serving American comfort food. I know that I've feared this outcome ever since August 2015, sharing that opinion only with close friends because of just how truly terrifying the thought prospect was. Celebrity, ideology and the matrix of race/class/gender fears and biases that one candidate was stoking were always going to be a deeply potent brew, and I always thought he might win the popular vote. I never imagined I'd see a repeat of 2000.
As I wrote to a former teacher of mine, I am deeply afraid. I fear what this man will do to our system of checks and balances. What he will do to the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 15th, 19th, 22nd and 24th Amendments. What he will do to my LGBTQ friends, my African-American friends, my Muslim-American friends, my Latino friends. I deeply fear him fulfilling his promise of a special prosecutor and establishing a precedent of pursuing political enemies. And I have to look no farther than his own past to know that fear as justified.
And I also know that facing my fears makes me stronger, more articulate. I'm taking this election as a wake-up call to be more civic-minded. To support non-profits like Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. To explore bilingual volunteer opportunities and use my skills to help immigrant communities. I've always said that Plan H in my life is to pull a Leslie Knope. To get active, on the ground, working for democracy and maybe even running for local office. This election has moved that plan up the ladder (it's Plan D now) and moved me from complacency to activism. We are Stronger Together, and we know it. Now we just have to keep doing the work.
A part of me wonders whether I had an inkling then of what the election results would be, given my insistence on serving American comfort food. I know that I've feared this outcome ever since August 2015, sharing that opinion only with close friends because of just how truly terrifying the thought prospect was. Celebrity, ideology and the matrix of race/class/gender fears and biases that one candidate was stoking were always going to be a deeply potent brew, and I always thought he might win the popular vote. I never imagined I'd see a repeat of 2000.
As I wrote to a former teacher of mine, I am deeply afraid. I fear what this man will do to our system of checks and balances. What he will do to the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 15th, 19th, 22nd and 24th Amendments. What he will do to my LGBTQ friends, my African-American friends, my Muslim-American friends, my Latino friends. I deeply fear him fulfilling his promise of a special prosecutor and establishing a precedent of pursuing political enemies. And I have to look no farther than his own past to know that fear as justified.
And I also know that facing my fears makes me stronger, more articulate. I'm taking this election as a wake-up call to be more civic-minded. To support non-profits like Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. To explore bilingual volunteer opportunities and use my skills to help immigrant communities. I've always said that Plan H in my life is to pull a Leslie Knope. To get active, on the ground, working for democracy and maybe even running for local office. This election has moved that plan up the ladder (it's Plan D now) and moved me from complacency to activism. We are Stronger Together, and we know it. Now we just have to keep doing the work.
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