5 things you can do to keep your community safe after a Trump victory

The Brexit was never expected to pass. Its campaign was that of xenophobia and bigotry and made little financial sense. No-one expected it to pass and expected the progressive prevailing body of thought would be prevalent enough to assure a victory that would protect ALL the people in the UK.

This wasn’t the case. The next day, people were told to “go home”. A surge of racism gripped the country, validated by the results of a popular vote built on a campaign of divisiveness and a desire to return the country back to a time when privilege was held intact and bigoted beliefs were socially acceptable.

Today. We are processing a Trump victory. Though he won’t be president until next year, the platform of xenophobia, hate, and non-acceptance may find similar sudden validation as was found in the days after Brexit passed. Not all of us will have time to process what this means for us before it may threaten our safety and security. We need to organize our communities.

A flyer with guidelines for safe spaces

1. If you own or are associated with a public establishment. Consider becoming a safe space and adopting a safe-space policy. We may not be able to control the prevailing political climate right now, and people may feel they now have license to abuse and demean people based on their race, religion, gender identity or any number of what has been designated by the alt-right as “PC” concerns. We have a duty to protect our friends, peers, loved ones and people in our community from hatred.
2. Setup a meeting at your local library to get people together. We need people to be connected to each other so that if any one of us is harmed, we’re all harmed and we all fight. Make sure your event is public and at an accessible location. Brainstorm a list of places that may be open to designating safe spaces and assign someone to contact these places. Get everyone’s email address and let them know when new safe spaces are added.
3. If you see someone being harassed in a non-safe space, and if it is safe for you to do so. Start recording. Stream live on Facebook. The more eyes the better. Consider leaving a yelp review condemning the establishment. The more we make visible our objection and non-passivity in situations of active marginalization, the more solidarity we will build and the harder those with regressive values will feel hit by those in our community taking a stand against hate.
4. If you see posts on social media promoting hatred or regressive values. Do not unfriend the person. Engage with them. Listen to them and don’t try to convince them to change their mind in that moment. Open a dialogue and work through to other perspectives together. We got into this mess with groupthink and complacency. We can get out of this by engaging with alternative perspectives and action.
5. Stay positive. Even though it’s hard right now and we’re all in shock. We just elected to Vice President one of the most anti-LGBT senators in the country. We just elected a president who pledged to deport millions of immigrants in their first hour in office. A president with violent tendencies towards Womyn. A president that has made a campaign based on villifying Muslims. Some people are going to be harder hit by this than others. They need leaders. They need their communities now more than ever before. They need you to reach out to them and let them know you’ve got their back.

The next few days, weeks, months and years will be a challenge for all of us. It will also be an opportunity to grow and come to heightened awareness about the true nature of all communities in the US. Finding a common language and dialogue will be critical for our nation to find unity again. We won’t get there by embracing divisiveness and lamenting over what happened. We’ll get there by supporting each other, listening to each other, and promoting action based on what we believe is right.