PICKING UP THE PIECES
Yesterday was such a strange day. I spent most of it in a similar way to a lot of my friends and family. Trying to get through what was absolutely necessary to do for the day, but slowly, painfully, and gently, our minds and hearts trying to sort through a cloudy mixture of despair, confusion, sorrow and anger, while simultaneously attempting to process what having Trump as president will actually mean for this country.
Let me put it this way. For some, Trump represents an general bevy of abstract ideas that are 'good' for this country. For the majority of us (as he lost the popular vote, not to mention the large percentage of third party voters that refused to vote for him despite their feelings towards Hillary), he represents a direct threat to what this country was built upon. And to so so so many of us, his actions will directly affect our lives in absolutely terrifying ways.
If Trump says what he says he is going to do, I have friends that will be deported. I have other friends who will lose their visas. I have family who will not be able to afford medication that is absolutely critical to their staying alive. I have a friend who will lose disability and quite likely, end up homeless. I have nieces who will lose rights to their own body - and be harassed or punished should they try to make their own decisions. And let's not get started on the blatant racism and hate crimes against women, people of color, and people of the LGBTQIA community that have already amplified at an alarming rate - or how the economy will fare in such an unpredictable climate - and how that will eventually affect us all - not just one class, but everyone.
These are real lives that are being messed with, and that's what makes me so angry. And it's what has made it so hard to let it go and move on.
Because there were no protests near enough to us, last night, I went to yoga and a sound bath with my friend in hopes to release some of the nihilism that has been building up inside us since the election results came in - and it actually worked. Being out in the world and realizing the staggering number of people who feel exactly the same way was not only comforting, it was energizing and inspiring. I felt the same way watching friends' Insta stories and posts from the massive protests in over 10 cities. It reminded me that Trump does not stand for what the majority of this country believes in. It reminded me that keeping in tune with the humanity of this country through each other and our communities is absolutely imperative. We have just been handed the biggest challenge, and it's up to us to come together and rise above it.
xx,
Tienlyn
Photos by Nikko DeTranquilli
