I didn’t want to write about this, well I did but I didn’t have the time until now. Which is more than a month later, but the way I see it, if Trump refuses to let it go, neither will I. I’ll keep it simple and brief, because I know there’s a lot going on. I mean, you have to go and stock up on Toilet Paper ( I still don’t understand this), right?
But let me tell you why I was so compelled to write about it. This time, for me, it just seemed different. I was confused and a bit disappointed at the results. This time things just hit different, does that make sense?
Let me explain a few things, this general election cycle I was working on a campaign. I was working for a campaign that I knew deep in my gut was the right thing for California. I worked hard, really hard. I emphasize that because there’s no guide book on how to campaign during a pandemic. If you follow my Instagram you might already know, I was working for Proposition 16. Nope, it’s not the tax one, it’s the Affirmative Action one. Did you just cringe? Yea, I know. By now you know, we lost.
No, it’s not the loss that got me…well, it is and it isn’t.
Here’s the Isn’t part: I understand, that I’m not always going to be on the winning team. It’s a draw. Not everyone is going to think the same, like your candidate, or buy what you’re trying to sell them-even if it is for their own good. In short, I’m not a sore loser.
But (here’s the is part), knowing that it was going to be something that was going to help so many people in the Brown and Black communities does make the loss hurt a little more than usual. Knowing that so many people from your own community bought into the hype that this was “reverse racism” or that “if you don’t succeed in this country it just means you are lazy and waiting for a handout” that is disheartening. Unlike “reverse racism” systemic racism is REAL, but these folks are not ready to hear that. What’s even worse is when folks that you have considered allies; folks that you have marched with side by side, believe that Affirmative Action is a bad thing and in fact racism, that part gets me right in the gut.
When I read an ally’s post celebrating the loss of Prop 16, it really got me. I felt it deep, in the pit of my stomach. This is a woman I’ve marched with, we’ve gone to battle together, but she’s against Affirmative Action? I had a hard time understanding this, others as is typical in social platforms were not as silent as I was regarding their discontent on her stance. She wrote a follow up response, regarding ‘how she was taught in law school that affirmative action was in fact wrong and it did cause more harm than good to the collective WE’. Unlike the first time, this response was not disheartening. It was upsetting. I wanted to ask, “What professor? What race exactly? Do you not realize that you are a beneficiary of Affirmative Action?” I wanted to remind her that women had to fight hard to get into law school, and that if it wasn’t for Affirmative Action she nor any other women would have been allowed to study law.
I let it go. I didn’t respond. I didn’t understand. But I let it go.
Then to top it off, in my state corporations showed they had more power than people and are not required to pay their fair share in taxes or in wages. WTF California?!
Then, we had the main event. What we’ve all been waiting for, will we continue to be ruled by a clown or will we finally have an adult in the White House? We don’t know it’s too close to call. WTF AMERICA???!!!!
I just can’t believe it, how can this be happening? The guy has made a mockery of our country, has forced many people into poverty, has allowed many of our people to die by downplaying a global pandemic. He’s just… a damn…damn fool all around. How could people still vote for him? How could our current state of affairs, our current demise not outweigh your hate for those that don’t look like you? What does that say about America? What the hell is wrong with our Soul America?
It should not have been too close to call. It just should have NOT been that way.
When the clown won back in 2016, I wasn’t mad and I wasn’t sad. I was in a bit of disbelief; as in any time we have a new President, I work under the guise of “let’s wait and see” no matter if they’re Blue, Red or Green (ha!), you just always have to wait it out a bit, things change once they are in Power.
I was shocked by the tears some of my peers were shedding, I didn’t understand it. “Why the fuck you crying? Ain’t nothing going to happen to you, you’re white!” that’s what was echoing loudly in my head when I saw these displays of emotions. Maybe they were uncalled for, but really? I don’t have time to wipe anyone’s tears, I got work to do. We have to work together to make sure we protect those in our communities that are the most vulnerable because we knew shit was about to hit the fan. So, you go ahead and cry. I’ll be here trying to protect my loved ones, my community, myself from the racist agenda that has me as target number one. But you go ahead and cry because your privilege didn’t get you what you wanted this time. Does this make me an a-hole? Maybe. Insensitive? Maybe. But seeing a white man wipe away tears because his son-in-law is a racist piece of shit and this goes against what he believes in, is a total waste of time for me. It does nothing for me personally or my community.
Let me ask you this: are you willing to give up your home as a sanctuary space? Are you willing to donate to orgs helping Black and Brown communities? Are you willing to make sure equity is not just another sexy term added to your mission statement that will help you get future funding? Are you willing to talk about how offices are full of white bodies, while the brown ones are the ones that greet you at the door? Hold your f’n tears.
Whoa, sounds like I might still be holding on to some anger or maybe I’m just being honest.
Maybe I’m just reliving it because I still can’t understand how in the world we got here. How in the world did we get to the point where it was “too close to call?” An election with so much at stake. An election that meant more than just Dem or Republican, an election that meant hope or hate, ego or democracy, science or ineptitude. I just don’t understand.
The fact that this man is still holding on and claiming that he won, is just ridiculous. What’s even more ridiculous is the fact that he is claiming that he wants to run again in 2024. Like why? You barely worked, you are a joke, you made our country into a joke. What’s even worse is, if people even allow him to run again-then we as a whole are a joke.
After the disappointment wore off, and the results started coming in, I was able to breathe a little easier. Biden won. We will have someone in power that understands the law, the Constitution, and who believes in Science. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have to work to do.
Let’s face it this County has always had a love/hate relationship with the poor and those it has minoritized. They don’t say they hate us to our face, because they have manners. But their policies do the talking for them. Now the love, oh that’s splendid and seasonal. You’ll usually see that love come around during the election cycle, when their people remind them that even though they wish to ignore us the rest of the term, they can’t ignore the need for our vote. Thus, we can’t stop working now. We have to keep folks accountable, we need to continue to build up future leaders and thought partners like Cori Bush and Sybrina Fulton.
We have to help our communities recover from a pandemic, recession, and help those more vulnerable recover from being targets of hateful rhetoric for four years simply because of their status or race. We have to remind many that were blinded by hate and felt at liberty of publicizing that hate, what decency and civility looks like.
We still need to be available. We still need to be hopeful. We need to take some time to recover, change our approach and strategize. We have to work twice as hard so that this does not ever happen again.
We always have to be ready to get into some good trouble.
Voz y Vida™ 
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