An Open Letter to Donald Trump — From a Lesbian
Dear Mr. Trump:
Good morning.
I was deeply disturbed by your primary race. And even though I was even more disturbed watching the GOP put forward its most anti-LGBTQ platform in history, I made myself watch your acceptance speech last night. You’re a candidate for the most powerful office in this country. I wanted to know what you have to say.
I was no less disturbed after watching your speech. Truthfully, it was hard to watch, and I fear things will only get worse over the next few months for the hatred and divisiveness you are sowing in this country.
But you said one thing in particular I want to address:
Let me be clear: as a lesbian, I don’t need your “protection” from whatever hateful ideology you think you’re protecting me from.
But since you’ve been all over the news for being the first GOP Presidential candidate to ever utter the letters “LGBTQ” on stage, here are some questions I have for you as you seek the vote of “the gays” in November:
What will you do to “protect” us from your own Vice President, Mike Pence, who signed into law a bill allowing — legalizing — discrimination against our community, a man who supports conversion therapy, one of the most hateful and damaging and destructive ways ever invented to oppress my people?
What will you do to “protect” us from your own party, that Grand Old Party with the platform that somehow miraculously both discriminates against and erases our community, by falling back on old (and now unconstitutional) definitions of marriage and by not acknowledging the existence and rights of trans* and queer people?
What will you do to protect undocumented LGBTQ immigrants, who face discrimination, violence, and oppression at home and now here, who are some of the most vulnerable people in the world, who you have insulted and dismissed and promised to turn around at your border wall?
What will you do to protect LGBTQ Muslims, both here and abroad, who are struggling with both the terrorism of violent radicals using their religion as an excuse, and now with the terrorism of your words against them?
What will you do to protect LGBTQ people of color here in the United States, people who face multi-faceted discrimination and struggle daily against systemic racism and oppression, and particularly those trans* and queer people of color who face violence and death in the face of police, daily?
What will you do to protect LGBTQ people in prisons and those at risk — high risk — of being imprisoned for simply existing in this world as they are?
I could go on, but I’ll stop there. Because I already know the answer: you wont do anything to protect LGBTQ people. Because you wont do anything to protect Muslims, or people of color, or undocumented immigrants, or women, or prisoners — or anyone else you deem “unworthy” of protection.
See, here in our community, we know this, but you seem to have not gotten the point: LGBTQ people ARE Muslims, and people of color, and undocumented immigrants, and women, and prisoners. We aren’t some separate box of people who have only one identity you can single out and assume we’ll come to your side because you uttered a few letters in a speech. We aren’t your political fodder, or a demographic to be toyed with for your political purposes. We are human beings with multiple identities, and we are a community with a strong and beautiful history of resistance and solidarity with the oppressed peoples of this country and this world.
We don’t need your protection.
We need you to lose in November.
Sincerely,
Sabrina King, Lesbian
