Land of the Free, Home of the Brave

The last 36 hours since Donald Trump won the Presidential Election have been characterized by sadness and a feeling of immense loss. They’ve been full of tears and foul language and attempts to understand the state of my country. I hadn’t mentally prepared myself for the thought of a Trump presidency, and it felt – and still feels – like a living nightmare.

It feels as though so many people of color, so many Muslims, so many survivors of sexual assault, so many LGBT individuals, so many allies, and so many women were telling the masses that this man scares us, and were pleading for the American electorate to value our lives and safety more than promises of an economy that will improve “bigly”. And, in response, the electorate (or, rather, the electoral college) voted in a man backed by the KKK.

It feels as though as a Black woman who cares about reproductive health and dates an Asian-American man, my home country has said there isn’t a place for me. I worry about the future of our Supreme Court, the state of Roe v Wade and same-sex marriage, climate change efforts, and an increase in Islamophobia and hate crimes and police brutality. Further, as a fellow ambitious woman, interested in politics, I worry that all of my successes will never be enough in a run-off against a rich, white male.

But now, I’m (slowly) getting to the point where I’m ready to characterize the next four years with action and rage and work, and I can’t wait to be home in the US for the next election. Until then…

• Planned Parenthood Action Fund – Donate
• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – Donate
• Write to your Member of Congress – Link