At press time, it’s been two weeks since this country re-elected Donald Trump to lead this nation. Like many of you, I am in shock.
It seems worse this time than it did in 2016. I have asked myself many times, how could this country put a convicted felon, liable for sexual assault and a court-deemed fraudster in the most honored job this country has?
I have been through many emotions. Shock turned to anger, anger turned to fear and fear turned to despair and self-pity. I have seen much of the same from others on social media. It’s okay. Allow yourself the space to feel however you feel. Give yourself time to process.
For the foreseeable future, our world is going to change. We are in the period of time where things will get worse before they get better. It’s scary and your feelings about that are valid, but don’t live in that negativity too long. Refrain from finger pointing. Our support of the trans community is not what got us to this point in history. Drag Queen Story Hour is not what got us to this point in history. They/them did not get us to this point in history.
It’s also important to give yourself the space to find the joy in life.
Do the things that make you happy. Spend time with friends and cherish your family, whether biological or chosen. For me that’s listening to music, seeing a ton of movies and enjoying the good that comes out of Watermark.
I realize that my fear is based out of being gay, married and working in journalism. I fully expect Congress to reverse the bill that protects marriage equality. I fully expect anti-LGBTQ+ abusers to be emboldened to harass our community and I fully expect the government to make producing a newspaper so impossible that local journalism suffers or shuts its doors.
I also understand that my fears come from a place of privilege because of the color of my skin, my gender and the fact that I am cisgender. I don’t have to be afraid that law enforcement will break down my door and haul me off to a camp before sending me out of a country I have worked in and contributed to for over 30 years. I don’t have to worry that the government will deny me access to medical care that will help the outside of my body reflect who I am inside. I don’t have to worry that I will get pregnant and die because the government tells doctors not to treat me.
I feel so much empathy for those whose concerns are life and death. My heart breaks for my undocumented friends, women and transgender friends.
I have thought a lot about my 12-step program and the coping tools it has taught me. I recite the serenity prayer often. I know I can’t change the outcome of the election, that Donald Trump will be president and that he will put people in positions of power that will negatively affect my life and those I care about.
What I can control is how I react to what comes my way. I will choose to meet the moment with empathy, not avoidance. We get to show the world right now that love conquers hate. That’s a tough pill to swallow today, but I do believe in the long run that will be true.
I will not shut out Trump supporters because that will not benefit us in the long run. I will not label them all stupid or racist just because some of them are. I will focus on doing the next right thing. For me, that is showing empathy and trying to understand the why. If this is what we want from others, we have to lead by example.
We must also show up for our community. This means more than shared social media outrage. When we see something, we must say something. When someone speaks untruths about any vulnerable community we have to speak up in defense, whether it be a march in the streets or a simple conversation to a stranger in a supermarket. We cannot let hate go unchecked.
Watermark promises to tell your stories as long as we can, and to do our best to provide others a path to empathy for us and all minority communities. There has never been a clearer directive in my tenure at Watermark than this. It will take us all to combat the misinformation heading our way and we have to work together.
I encourage you to speak out through Watermark and share each other’s truths. Stay visible. Stay strong. We faced dark times before and came out the other side stronger. We will do it again.
