#pantsuitnation
I'm at loss of words, I wish I could express how I feel today, so I can cope with the pain faster, but I can't.
I'm not political and usually I post about the bright sight of my daily life and color is my best medicine but today I'm grieving not because America will have this kind of President for the next four years and we will have to hear him and his dirty mouth on the media (which too is painful) but mainly because of this:
"It is hard to know specifically how to position yourself in a country that can elect a man with such staggering ineptitude and open animus. It makes you doubt whatever faith you had in the country itself." - Charles M. Blow
So many people lost today, including us, the ones who are not from America. Some are more affected than others but everyone is feeling this painful historical moment in one way or another, well except Putin and half of the American population. I got asked a few times this election; but why do you care? You are not American? Yes, I care because I've lived here for five years and wherever I go I make myself at home and the U.S. is my second family, I also care because I'm a woman, and SO proud to be and I am ofended by what I've heard the last 6 months and scared for what's to come out of that mouth in the future to come, for people of color, I care because I love my Mexican friends, I care because I respect people different than me and I care because a bully doesn't deserve to be president. Period.
I barely slept last night, waking up with terror and I wasn't able to shut my brain; thinking of what this could mean for this country and the world.
Here's what I did so far today and that is making me feel a little better each passing hour:
Had coffee, two to be exact, watched Hillary's speech, decided not to listen to Trump's, scrolled through Instagram, cried a few times, Twitter, reading Man Repeller, went to Yoga, and cooked myself some yummy grilled shrimps with coconut rice and stewed tomatoes and drank a lot of water.
Today I'm thankful for Social Media, I found comfort there, and since I don't have the words needed to comfort anyone or share my heart and feelings today, I made a summary of what is helping me cope with this mess of emotions.
And one last thing, to those who voted DT because they are Pro-Life, thank you for standing up for the unborn, I am too, this is a very important issue that we can't ignore. But I just want to quote @ourcityhouse on a comment she left to someone making assumptions that those who support Hillary they support abortion:
"You can be pro-life and not support Donald Trump. There is a lot more to the precidency that one issue. Also, pro-life includes the lives of all - including those on Earth today. Refugees, immigrants, the marginalized. DT doesn't seem to be very pro-life at all in my opinion. While abortion is a an extremely important issue, basing your political choice on one single issue is not productive at all. Look what we have now because so many voted simply because of this one issue. A racist, sexist, greedy man whom we are supposed to teach our childrento respect and follow? I think the issues at hand are not black and white and making assumptions about someone's stance on abortion because they do not support Trump is just that - an unfair assumption."
Gosh, I loved it! EXAAACTLY!
I will let you read what I've found helpful, because others have found better words to describe our feelings:
- Words by my favorite Kirsten Rickert;
''In the wake of Trump.
Use the energy wisely today and put it into the arts. Artists have always been able to shape our times, beyond all confines. Let your artist out, now more than ever. Words, pictures, songs, dance. Release in a safe way, so people can feel your heart. Make the world beautiful.
Devastated. Tears streamed down my face. Conversation had been numerous, "But what if Trump does win?" They asked. Blindly I said, "Don't worry, he won't! He is just a lesson to test us to make sure we really believe in what is right." My first thought this morning, "How am I going to tell the girls?" They fear the president, and that is with me trying to explain to them that really, he is no harm. But sadly I don't believe my own words. "Drake said Trump was going to close libraries and schools." Elle said the other day on the way home from school. "Well, that is not going to happen. You must not worry about it, these things can get blown out of proportion." I assured her. Of course in my mind, I knew, yes, so many of us are worried. I felt sad, it should not have even been a conversation. They are children and they have been caught up in something awful, we all have. And now, today, this moment feels like a mourning. Trump reminds us to have courage and love in the face of FEAR and GREED.''
- This made me cry.
- Leandra Medine's letter to all her readers at Man Repeller: What trump winning means
- Amelia Diamond (writer at Man Repeller): If yout can't process the elections results
- Greta Eskridge on Instagram:
''I'll be honest, I don't want to talk about the election here. I've spent the whole morning talking it over with my kids. But I can't engage on social media. I never have, and all the horrible comments I'm seeing this morning are assuring I never will.
It doesn't mean I'm hiding my head in the sand, or just posting pretty pictures and not being "real".
It just means I'm not seeing much "real" talk happening on the internet. Just a whole lot of bashing and I won't do that.
So instead, I'll be sharing pictures from our book club yesterday. It was a pretty glorious day. And it's the kind of childhood I'm giving my kids because I believe it will shape them into people who want to make the world a better place.
So the most political thing I'll say here is this: we mothers and fathers have an incredible opportunity to affect the world for good by raising children who care about the world they live in.
Get them off the screens, take their headphones off their ears, and get them engaged in real life.
Read them great books full of people who are noble and courageous and who do good work. Take them outside and teach them to care about nature. Give them things to be passionate about. Fill their lives with beauty. Teach your boys and girls to respect women, the elderly, the weak and helpless, people who are different from them, and to respect themselves. Make them work hard and don't let them be lazy. Encourage them to treat others the way they'd like to be treated. Show them grace so they'll show grace to others. Help them know God.
I may just be a Mana Bear raising her cubs, but that doesn't mean I can't be a part of making this world a better place. Hear me roar!!
This quote by Mother Teresa says it all: " if you want to bring happiness to the whole world, go home and love your family."
- My friend Alejandro Guerrero on Facebook:
"I've seen some really good female friends in pain today. Completely devastated, even.
The country seems to have told them that no matter what a man says/does, a man will always come on top. Some friends told me that they feel the country just told them that no matter how qualified or prepared they may be, they are worth less.
To them, I have to tell them some things:
0. Trump seems to have won mainly because he told rural white America that Washington was not working for them. Still, most voters who voted for Trump felt that he is neither qualified for the job nor has the right temperament for it, which I read as an opinion on his remarks towards women/immigrants/religions. People seem to have hated them.
1. Change is happening. Slowly. But more people voted for Hillary than for Trump. This is cause for hope.
2. Let's take this sentiment and use it to keep pushing for equal rights for women and to eliminate our prejudices against them. We can do this at work, in school, and at home.
3. Trump has made more apparent the state of our division. Future candidates now know more about how America votes and what the people want. Better education and better campaigns will come from it.
4. Hillary is not our only shot at having a woman president. Another woman candidate will come soon. She will be prepared for the challenges she will face. She will have even more people supporting her than Hillary had today. Michelle Obama, Jill Stein, or someone else; strong women are everywhere and one of them will rise to the challenge.
Women: chins up. Let's keep working. Most of us stand by your side."
- Amanda Watters, as awesome as usual, on Instagram:
"this morning stella woke up and asked, “mom, is hillary president?” there was a hefty pause from me, long enough for her know the answer. we talked about it for a moment, but really all i could say over and over was, “nothing will change here in our home. not a thing, baby.” because that’s the damn truth. she will be nine and a half when we elect a new leader of this country. that feels like a lifetime away. but i feel so strongly that what happens here within the walls of the home is what matters to these kids more than a public figure with an ego to fill. this mother theresa quote keeps coming to mind, “love begins at home, and it’s not how much we do but...how much love we put into that action.” so right she was. it begins with simple acts of kindness starting at home. it begins as we use our ears more than our mouths and tread gently with one another. it begins by showing gratitude and asking for forgiveness and giving our babies who are watching and listening to every gripe and groan what it means to choose love and then most importantly to live a life that radiates it. to not let those who favor negativity and fear and hate control their joy simply because the other cannot cultivate their own. grace. forgiveness. what if we all are just doing our best? i know this is my idealist nature shining through, but as a mother i’d rather take the harder strides to walk in hope than to throw in the towel and let someone else govern my (or our family’s) emotional state. like always, we get to act now and show up and do our part and no act of kindness or compassion is ever too small. not ever. and that my friends, is what i want my daughter to know mountains more than who one a vote last night. 💛"
- A letter to America from Leslie Knope, regarding Donald Trump
- Here's why we grieve today, by John Pavlovitz
- America elects a Bigot by Charles M. Blow for the NY Times
- My friend Abigail on Facebook:
"I spent the first 18 years of my life living in rural Minnesota. I had a great childhood and I respect the friends and neighbors that I grew up with. There is no question about that. There are a lot of amazing and good-hearted people that I look forward to seeing every time I go back for a visit. However, after leaving that isolated community and moving to larger cities and another country, I recognize how completely ignorant I was as a young person. There were no minorities in my graduating class, and I'm embarrassed to say I used to say "that's gay" without a second thought. I didn't even know we had serious problems in the environment until I took a required environmental issues class in college. And don't even get me started on all the social issues I've come to be so passionate about...
If you're living in a small town and you ignored Trump's violent stance on women and minorities, I honestly get it. It really doesn't affect you when you're living in a such a homogenous community. But that's no excuse to willfully ignore and endanger the lives of so many other Americans. And yes, they all are just as American as you. They might not look like or live like you, but they are you. We all are. And for those of you who are trying to claim your vote for Trump was not because you support his racism, sexism, biggoted, homophobia, why then? All the anger in the world won't change the realities of automation and the global economy. The jobs middle America is lamenting are dead and gone. It's time to focus on new possibilities in agriculture and develop new industries. The old days aren't coming back.
I hope that Trump will do something to appease you and make your life better, but I will not be at all surprised if you aren't satisfied in the end. The world will keep on turning, only becoming more diverse and globalized. No matter if you live in a small community or a big city, this is a challenge for all of us to adapt to. Sending a big "fuck you" to everyone who's not "like you" is not going to make them go away or make the transition into a more global world any easier. Just because you don't know them doesn't mean their lives matter any less.
In the end, we are never going to see eye to eye on many issues. Which is fine and normal. Our lives are nothing alike. What you need in your communities is not the same as what we need in ours. But to endanger the very safety and wellbeing of so many others in the world is not an answer to the balance we need to find. Focus on building your communities in this ever-changing world instead of trying to destroy others out of spite and anger."
- Samantha Bee, the morning after:
- And Hillary's wonderful speech: