The U.S. Presidential election results were a shock. I’ve been moving backwards and forwards through all the various stages of grief. I did not expect Trump to win. I really thought hope and love would trump the vision of fear and hate Trump’s campaign exemplified. Trump’s campaign stoked racism, fear, bigotry, homophobia and misogyny as has his victory. Trump’s vision for America was based on fear and his convention played into that. Hillary Clinton’s was based on hope.
I became a supporter of the Democratic party in 2008, with Barack Obama’s book, Audacity of Hope. At that time I was working on my M Phil thesis on a politics of hope and natality which was published in 2013. Obama’s view of hope resonated deeply with mine. For me, his election was a transformational one to the kind of politics I hoped the United States would embrace for the 21st century, a politics of diversity and inclusion, a politics that would complete the arc set out by the civil rights movement in the 1960’s.
With this election it seems we’ve gone backwards and the backlash seems to have taken us back to some golden age of the 1950’s, a pre-civil rights era of white privilege, an era that was really not so golden for women, minorities and homosexuals. What has happened and what do we do? This is a temporary backlash and a temporary setback. Every step forward has been met by a backlash. Have hope. The transformational trajectory established by the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Rights Movement, the Native American Rights Movement and the Gay Rights Movement and Obama’s election has not been halted. It exists in the past, the present and the fulfillment is yet to come. Don’t be discouraged. There are things we can do!
But in the meantime, let’s be realistic. Trump’s early attempts to appoint a cabinet aren’t encouraging. The fact he has appointed Steve Bannon, formerly of Breibart, and a darling of white supremacists groups and neonazis of the ilk represented by Spencer has not demonstrated any will on Trump’s part to heal or unite America or quell the racial and misogynistic speech of his supporters. Similarly, his refusal so far to put business interests in a blind trust, does not inspire confidence. I have read where he has over 250 registered businesses in Russia. Hate crimes have risen since his victory.
What encourages me is that he did not win the popular vote. At present Clinton is 2 million votes ahead. He probably actually only represents about 29% of actual voters given the number of people who did not turn out and vote. So he does not have a mandate by any stretch of the imagination. Votes in at least three states are being recounted due to reported voting irregularities. Whilst I’m not holding out any hope that a recount will result in a Clinton victory in the electoral college, I do hope this recount will restore faith in the democratic process of voting and I applaud Jill Stein and her supporters for raising the funds and for challenging the vote totals in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Thank you Jill Stein!
Regardless, Donald Trump and his very vocal noisy supporters have the potential to wield tremendous power and seem intent on so doing. Republicans control all three branches of government which means there are going to be potentially very few checks and balances on Trump. Meanwhile, he does seem poised to flout democratic norms like not putting businesses in a blind trust, not avoiding any charges or appearances of nepotism, and not respecting the post-World War II World order and its institutions. I could go on and on and give numerous examples. However, the purpose of this blog is not to recite a litany of his missteps, errors, his questionable cabinet picks, etc. Rather, I want to say in spite of it all and even if and as it continues to worsen, there is hope.
Just because Trump won, it does not mean that hope and love have been vanquished. One lighted candle overcomes the darkness. One person can make a difference. It feels so overwhelming in the moment as we mourn and grieve. But, we have to mourn and then move on and start lighting and being individual and collective candles in the darkness.
People on Pantsuit Nation, a secret Facebook group of over 2 million individuals on Facebook, are sharing stories about how they are standing up when someone says racist, bigoted, misogynist comments in their midst. They are standing up for truth and justice in their communities. One woman stood up to a hateful man in a line at Walmart who started loudly talking about n*ggers. She rallied everyone in line to stand up to him. They applauded her and then they all began telling positive stories about their families and how they were going to celebrate their Thanksgiving. The man was the one who ended up casting his eyes down, whereas before she spoke up she and everyone in line were ashamed and embarrassed.
Veterans have raised money and are standing with protesters and protecting them at Standing Rock. I have been moved by their stories. I went to a day of action to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls on Friday, November 25th, and heard the story of another Nancy, from Pokot in Western Kenya (pictured speaking above) who told about how she refused to have female genital mutilation done to her and how she’s now a spokeswoman for her people. She’s spoken out and helped other young women stand up and not have FGM done to them. She’s now going for teacher training and is a leader in her community.
The website Mighty Girls and the website sisterhood at https://www.facebook.com/sister.hood.magazine/photos/pb.23061178216.-2207520000.1480331679./10154808103438217/?type=3&theater. which I’ve shared in previous blogs here tell many stories of heroes who’ve stood up to injustice. There are people that are rallying to fight racism and to complete the work of the civil rights movement in the United States that you can align with and support. One person I would recommend following is Shaun King. Google him. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He is fighting for racial equality in the United States along with thousands of others.
Bernie Sanders is fighting against poverty and you can follow him and find out how you can get involved. I am going to be writing a series of blogs on how to get involved and where you can get involved in a range of issues. I will be also posting books and articles to read that will help people think through the issues to know how to better reflect on which strategies might be best for them to get involved with—my theory is that if you have a hobby or a passion, use that as a platform for reaching out to others. One of my dear friends has just bought a vintage clothing store which she plans to run. It’s a perfect platform for her to reach out to women and girls who are lonely or who have been abused or who are hurting and looking for someone who will be a travel guide to help them on their journey towards wholeness. We can all be a travel guide to signpost people to greater wholeness.
Instead of getting locked into pointless arguments with people who see the world only from a black and white, dogmatic perspective and who are closed to seeing the world from a broader perspective, let’s quit trying to change their minds. That doesn’t mean to stop speaking truth to power and exposing racism, sexism, bigotry, homophobia and Islamaphobia. I will continue to do this and I will not be silent. But I will quit arguing with people who’s world view is so totally opposite to mine that there is no common meeting ground. Actions speak louder than words and we have to change the debate one action at a time. We have to be the answer and be the solution, whatever that looks like.
For me, that is teaching people who are open how to think critically, help them access information, books and resources of where they might plug in and by being prophetic–by calling out the inconsistencies and hypocrisies where a world view and a course of action seek to hurt people and marginalize them and limit them. It means helping people find opportunities where they can stand with the marginalized whether it’s through protesting or through feeding them or through teaching them to read or through lobbying the government to change their policy.
Because of the chaos this election has brought, although it may have been meant to destroy and tear down, let’s use the chaos to build and create. The chaos will tear down old institutions that are no longer fit for purpose. Let’s find and build new institutions that have love for humanity and flourishing at their core. Let’s expose the darkness and then figure out how to be a candle in the darkness.
Here is a song that touched me this a.m. It’s about a single mom who’s struggling to support her six year old. Listen to it and empathize. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=papuvlVeZg8
To be a light in the darkness, we need to empathize first, to walk a mile in the shoes of the native Americans at Standing Rock, to empathize with the mothers of black and biracial children who are afraid of the world their children are growing up in where black male children are in danger of being shot, a world where white supremacists are threatening the gains the Civil Rights movement has brought about, a world where neo nazis worldwide are gaining traction. Let’s overwhelm them with hope and love. Hate cannot flourish in the darkness.
I would love to hear your stories of how you’re beginning to light candles in the darkness. Don’t let them silence us, don’t let the darkness win. And stay posted for book lists, more blogs and articles!