On 11/9

Like many other Americans, I have been struggling to find the words to accurately convey my reactions to the election of Donald J. Trump to the presidency. After listening to hours and hours of political podcasts, reading article after article, and watching the polls closely, I was assured that Hillary Clinton was going to win the presidency. Not only that, I reckoned it was going to be an election that was going to define the generation. At 11 PM eastern time, the reality that Trump was going to win became all too real. The following hours brought waves of emotion, and I have never felt more privileged.

I do not know what Donald Trump’s America is going to look like, but the days that have followed the election do not point to the promised land. White America is angry and showing that it still a force to be reckoned with. Scrolling through my social media feeds, I read anecdotes that should have been coming out of a history book. I saw videos and pictures that gave me goosebumps and made me shudder. I have grown up learning about the violence that social reformers weathered in the 1960s, and I was lead to believe that the hatred of that time had been defeated. I believed that the America of 2016 was not the America of 1968, but I don’t believe that any more.

The people who are afraid as a result of this election are staggering, and that fear should not be ridiculed or dismissed in anyway. The rhetoric and broad indicts used by the DJT campaign cannot be ignored. That campaign gave a stamp of approval for the blatant violence and hate speech that women, people of color, and other marginalized populations have faced in the wake of the election; acts that should never happen. Anywhere. Unless you are a member of that population, don’t tell someone that they shouldn’t be afraid. Don’t tell them not to be scared. Don’t tell them not to cry. Don’t tell them it could be worse. This is a time where we need to listen and understand the realities that others face.

If you must tell someone something, tell them that you will protect them. Tell them that you will do all you can to fight for them, to protect their rights and their bodies. Tell them that you are there for them in whatever capacity that they need you to be.

Being white, cis, and straight, I don’t know the fear that many others have. But I believe that all people should be able to live free, and I will fight for that. I look to the future, and I see a midterm election in 2018 that can make the second half of the Trump presidency inconsequential. I see a presidential election in 2020 that can unite a fractured left and resume the progressive agenda. I can look to these things because of the color of my skin and my genitalia and the way my wires happen to be connected. I look to the bright side because I am not burdened with wondering if I will get sexually assaulted on the train home, not burdened with wondering if my parents or children will be deported, not burdened with wondering if expressing my religion will bring violence against me. I look to the future because I want to solve the growing list of harms, and I think I can do that best by using my whiteness to combat the structures of oppression that masculinity and whiteness have constructed.

My biggest issue in trying to understand the election is how people could so easily look past what Donald Trump represents. He represents everything that marginalized populations have been fighting against for the past century, and I don’t think that you can escape your representations. People who voted for Donald Trump are not necessarily racist, sexist, xenophobia, or homophobic, but the candidate they voted for is. If Trump is serious about the nation coming together (which, from his victory speech and recent actions, he seems to be), then Trump and Trump supporters need to do much more to reassure marginalized populations that they will still be treated equally. This is now beyond offending people. This is now about scaring people. Authoritarian regimes scare, democracies are supposed to inspire.

All that said, the skin of liberals needs to be tougher than ever. Saying that the GOP and Republican voters fought Obama for eight years is not a justification for us to do it. Violent actions and words from Trump and Trump supporters is not a sufficient reason for to be violent in response. It will not be easy, but there is still a fight to be had. But, this fight needs to look less like a bare-knuckled brawl, and more like a game of chess. The board is set, and it is our move. Strategy will be everything; principle will be everything.

I’m proud to be an American, even though I am not proud of America. America is still as racist as it was 50 years ago. America still doesn’t believe that a woman has the capacity to lead the country. America has forgotten that it is a country of immigrants, a country where religious freedom is second only to free speech. It is night in America, and I hope the light of dawn is not too far away.