Tonight is the last day of the Obama Presidency. For those on the East Coast (and just about in the Midwest), it is January 20.
Many scoff and think a lot of us are being overdramatic. That it's "just a change of power-we dealt with it eight years ago-grow up and deal with it too". A couple of things. First off, there were protests when Obama took office. But more important (as everyone has that right to protest), this isn't a normal change in Presidency. Had it been Ben Carson, John Kasich, Jeb Bush, or even Ted Cruz, things wouldn't be like this. This isn't just that our candidate lost. It's about being afraid of what this administration is proving to be capable of.
Cabinet appointees are far from qualified. Someone who couldn't remember the Energy Department is now running it, as will be someone who doesn't believe in public education will be heading the Education Department. Again, this goes far beyond partisan issues.
Furthermore...America chose someone who praises a Russian dictator and decries a civil rights leader. Someone who called Mexicans "rapists" the day he announced his candidacy. He bragged about assaulting women. He wants to build a wall that symbolizes hate, and would likely be paid for by us (and won't stop people from coming into the U.S.) He has said he wants to ban a religion from coming to the U.S. and has advocated the use of tactics that would be considered war crimes. He has also bragged about assaulting women. He can't give detailed plans for many of his ideas, and has already backed down from campaign promises. The list goes on and on. People are hoping he will resign or get impeached. Many people think that's great-but then we would get a man who supported the defunding of Planned Parenthood, a law where you can refuse business to people who identify with an orientation that isn't straight, and believes in conversion therapy.
This isn't normal. Don't let it be normal.
Many are scared. A lot of hate crimes have happened. People who have had hateful thoughts are coming out with this because they think it's okay. Today, I saw a motorcycle with a swastika on it. Others have seen far worse. Why are people scared?
People worry if their right to marry who they love will go away. If their health insurance will go away and have to go without life saving treatment.
They worry they will be discriminated by race or religion. That people won't take them seriously because of their gender.
They worry that we will go into needless wars and see our family and friends die fighting when it was unnecessary. They worry families will be broken up due to immigration issues.
Here is why I'm worried. I have wondered if I should share for awhile, but we need to know why we're fighting.
I worry about my non-straight friends. I am scared that they will be denied the right to love someone like I can. I have non-straight friends that are like family to me, and seeing that basic right go away is awful.
I worry that I could lose access to health insurance, due to having a pre-existing condition from a condition I was born with and is now better, but would still count. I worry about families that would not be able to afford insurance to take care of things like that, like my family was so fortunate to be able to-and honestly an outlier in that sense.
I worry that people like me, who have been victims of sexual assault, will be silenced, whether directly or because they just know that no one will take it seriously-that they will be blamed. I realize we still have that problem as I experienced it first hand. However, we have been making some progress with that, and I do not want to see it go backwards and have more people go through what I did.
Everyone's battles are mine too. We are in this together. It is okay to feel sad and lost right now. However, in whatever time frame you need, it is important to get out there and fight to be on the right side of history, and build on the progress that we have made.
In the words of Lin-Manuel Miranda: "Love is love is love". We need that to get through the fight.
