Up until now (June 12, 2017)
When the Russia-election-hacking stuff finally came to light, I thought: ‘this is it! We can get Trump out! It was an illegitimate election!’. Then I was listening to Pod Save America and they addressed that question. The Russians didn’t hack the election per se, they hacked the media and peoples’ perceptions. So the results are legitimate. Boo.
We should impeach him, duh! Well thanks to Pod Save America (again) I learned that the House of Representatives has to start impeachment proceedings. And they’re obvi not going to do that while it’s a Republican majority, so the best way to get Trump out of the White House is for Democrats to regain control of Congress.
Pod Save the People did an interview with Edward Snowden. {Real talk: #ifHillarywerePresident I probably wouldn’t have listened to something like that. I also watched the Comey testimony in full. Something I definitely wouldn’t have done #ifHillarywerePresident.} My main takeaway was that Russia is winning at the Internet-as-a-Weapon, and Republican lawmakers are so short-sighted that they’re trying to constrict and control the Internet (presumably as a way to protect it? I don’t remember.), when really they should be letting it expand so that we can advance our knowledge, skills and tactics. That might be generous. I’m sure money and/or hating poor people/women/minorities/anything new and different is also at play. Note: by “takeaway” I mean that’s how my thoughts synthesized. That’s not necessarily what they said.
I recently had an argument with a Bernie Bro that drove me to tears. I got upset because he was so unwilling to listen or practice empathy. I thought ok, ‘I would expect this from somebody on the Right, but we’re supposed to be on the same side and you refuse to listen to me.’ The other friend that was with us felt bad for not warning me that he had a serious case of “straight white male”. The misogyny that came out of his mouth was astounding. I correctly surmised that he skipped out on voting in several elections, which pissed me off. The first blow-up in our heated exchange came when I told him that I didn’t have liberty of not voting, because as a black woman I need representation and I need my government to work for me. Whereas he, as a white man, will pretty much be fine no matter what. He accused me of playing the race card — and maybe of being racist? Can’t remember. In my head I was like, duh. But in the moment I was dumbfounded. I distinctly remember him saying “that’s not fair.” But what does that have to do with anything? It’s NOT fair. But that’s my reality.
Last thing — not because I don’t have more thoughts (I ALWAYS have more thoughts), but because stuff like this makes me hyped and I won’t sleep well if I go to bed agitated. I hear a lot of talk about getting people to run. That’s very important. But what’s also important is teaching communities how to support candidates and stay connected to their elected officials. I’ve been a field organizer on a Presidential campaign and chief of staff for a Board of Supervisors campaign. A candidate cannot mount a campaign alone. Let’s do more to teach people how they can harness their skills to help propel their candidates and representatives forward.
On that note (last thing, for real): we need to be running for EVERYTHING. We need to be on every ballot, for every race, in every municipality. We need to be the calvary, overwhelming our opponents with the sheer number of bodies in motion. Winning isn’t even the point. It’s about generating the conversations in our communities, putting pressure on incumbents, and above all, normalizing the presence of women and people of color in places of power.
Together we will be like that magical tree, where if you cut one branch down, 10 will grow in its place. Electing Donald Trump instead of Hillary Clinton didn’t fell the tree. It created a void where 10 more will sprout in its place.
