I woke up this morning completely forlorn and terrified for my future because the United States just told me I don't matter. Before I address my concerns let me tell you the main demographic for Trump (this isn't me being a bully, this is straight from the analysts): uneducated, white people. If that doesn't say that this country has a serious education problem I'm not sure what does.
My concerns:
1. I am a woman. Thank God, I'm not conventionally attractive or beautiful or Trump would want to grab me by my pussy. That's sexual assault. But Trump said that was just locker room talk. So is that what were going to teach boys? It's alright to talk about another human being as though they were made solely for your penis and pleasure because our President does it. And we will probably continue teaching our girls to fear men and not realize that our bodies belong to only us. I could go on about all the disgusting things Trump has said about women or you could just look up “Trump and women” and see how many hits you get.
1.a Let's talk about reproductive health. As long as Trump is in office Planned Parenthood probably won't get funding for the next 4 years (I refuse to entertain the idea that he will get a second term). That's millions of women, myself included, who won't get affordable/free health screenings, birth control, abortions*, or mammograms. Let me just say, that as a woman with a physical disability Planned Parenthood has been one of two medical providers that has treated my sexual and reproductive health with respect and normalcy.
1.a* I could write dissertations on abortion but I'll try to keep it brief. I'm a Christian. I'm also pro-choice. It is the epitome of hypocrisy to be pro-life, pro-war, and anti government assistance. Please, see how illogical that is. Also, please understand that as long as women are the only ones responsible for carrying children there will always be abortions. It is not "ripping a baby from limb-to-limb" nor is it a decision the majority ever make with ease. It is a burden anyone who gets an abortion realizes they must carry on their own. Without safe, legal abortions we will go back to the days of coat-hangers, back-alleys, and asking our boyfriends to beat the babies out of us. If you think I'm being melodramatic pick up a few history books.
2. I have a severe disability. The other day I had my yearly meeting with my case manager who gave me the whole spiel that basically says the state of Washington will not cover 24 hour care and should I ever require it (the joke is on them because I do require it) I would be put in a nursing home. Mind you, there is never enough staff in nursing homes so they happen to be places where people like me die from neglect and or abuse. That is one of my biggest fears, it keeps me up at night. How the hell will I continue to live an independent life if my hours get cut or if something happens to any of my back up caregivers? When I think of Trump I think of everything that will get cut: SSI/SSDI, public housing, Medicaid/Medicare, caregiver hours, etc. All of those have a direct impact on my life. "Stop living off the government," you Trump supporters, bellow. Yeah, I'll stop doing that as soon as I start making over 200K a year because realistically that's what someone like me needs in order to get the care they require.
3. I am a woman of color. My mother is white and my father is black. I might be pale but for all intents and purposes my hair is what I affectionately refer to as “black people hair.” For the longest time I unintentionally “passed” because I kept my hair straight. I rock a ‘fro pretty regularly now and it's funny because for the first time in a very long time people realize I'm black. What's not so funny is last night for the first time in my life it occurred to me that if racial tension gets real bad I could go back to passing and this time it would be intentional. And I'm terrified for my brothers and sisters that cannot pass for anything but black because last night in the Trump headquarters, I saw a bunch of delighted, white, people wearing hats that said, “Make America Great Again.” Which America is that? The America that was built with our sweat, blood, and bodies? The America that kept the corpse of a black woman on displays at museums for decades because of the size of her ass? The America that gave black people syphilis and denied them the treatment when it was discovered? The America that assassinated MLK Jr. and JFK because it wasn't ready for equal rights? The America that mutilated and killed a black boy for whistling at a white woman? The America where people in authority get “scared” and will kill people that have no weapons? Or the America that is 12% black and has a prison system where over 50% of the population is black? What is insane is that's only one group of marginalized people.
Of course, my heart is broken. And I didn't even touch upon the fact that LGBTQ people might be told not only is their love invalid but it's no longer legal, that Muslims and Mexicans are probably going to get deported to God knows where regardless of where they were born or grew up, and Trump's hateful mouth is probably going to bring WWIII to American soil because if other countries didn't hate us enough now they have every reason to. And the icing on the cake? Republicans control the House and Senate. Good job Americans for saying a big, “Fuck you,” to everyone that isn't a rich, white, penis-attached-to-their body-human being.
That's okay, I still choose love, unity, and peace. Hell, I even still love every rich, white, man who doesn't think he owns my pussy or is better than me just because I own a colored pussy that happens to be sitting in a wheelchair.
I'm beyond tired and will accept hugs and cheese to make me feel better. But really, if you don't think you matter, you matter to me.
Obama wasn't perfect (I do love him and his family), no one is, but how many years does it take to build a society and how many days does it take to burn it to the ground? Be prepared to find out.
