So much more than a protest over a statue...

I’m sitting here with literal tears in my eyes reading/watching all the shit going down in Charlottesville as white nationalist take to the streets to protest… the removal of a stature and (let’s not sugarcoat it) the fact that brown people also exist on this planet and have a rising voice in the future of this country.

This certainly isn’t the first protest of white idiots carrying guns and antagonizing people of color- ie read a history book. This certainly isn’t the first time hate speech has led to violence in the south- or anywhere for that matter. And it is most certainly not the first time the sane people of this country have united against evil/hate. However, it is one of the first gatherings of these bigots post Trump that has incited a STATE OF EMERGENCY and has made it crystal clear that their numbers are on the rise and that they are ready to willfully commit illegal acts to get their message across. It works for them considering the way the law works tends to turn a blind eye toward white men’s indiscretions.

It’s interesting though, because if you listen to this video of them chanting ‘white lives matter’ (though nobody has ever said otherwise) either due to the counter-protesters or the poor enunciation of the phrase, it sounds surprisingly like they’re changing ‘black lives matter.’ I find this infinitesimally satisfying.

When they’re chanting ‘you will not replace us.’ Who the hell are they talking about? They’re talking about anyone who doesn’t believe what they believe, look how they look, and dare to have opinions that challenge their self-importance. There has been an undeniable rise and vigor to this movement of hate all due to the current president’s unrelenting encouragement of prejudice, injustice, and violence against anyone who stood in his way. Seriously, it’s mind boggling how quickly people want to forget that there was an election that put this orange danger in office. Now his voters are called ‘supporters’ and we’re supposed to forget that it is them who organizes these rallies. I for one will not let it go and I’m tired of being told that I should ‘move on’ and ‘accept the results.’ This violence is a direct manifestation of his presence in the white house and his lack of empathy for this country.

He will not call this protest exactly what it is. An act of domestic terrorism. Sure, maybe in the beginning it was just chanting and speeches, but it has escalated into an all out frenzy.  If you haven’t seen it already, the video below from @brennanmgilmore is horrifying. Click at your own discretion.

Video of car hitting anti-racist protestors. Let there be no confusion: this was deliberate terrorism. My prayers with victims. Stay home. pic.twitter.com/MUOZs71Pf4

A pure and simple act of violence that injured a number of people in the name of an ideology that has led to the downfall of civilizations.

And the spray-tan-in-chief’s words, an empty string of hackneyed phrases and trite words of comfort. The moment he said, we must condemn bigotry on both sides, and repeated ‘BOTH SIDES’ as if this kind of behavior has been displayed by counter-protesters was so abysmal, I had to stop listening. There isn’t a moment of his presidency where he’s surprised me, but this particular moment did make my blood boil. 

This hate isn’t going away. Sure, it helps that there were more counter-protesters in this particular instance, but their base is getting stronger and more abhorrently insolent. We can’t ignore this moment in time, and we cannot tolerate this behavior.

Fuck that free speech argument. They’re looking for war and they’ve made it abundantly clear.

UPDATE: Someone lost their life after that car mowed down people and it’s reportedly a YOUNG WOMAN. Her life was prematurely taken away due to domestic (white) terrorism. Two police officers who were coming to assist with this racist turmoil also lost their lives in a helicopter crash. This shit isn’t helping anyone. We need to do better, nation.

No More Hiding

Over the last week, while not in a comatose state or gliding through the day encompassed in a cloud of disappointment and silent rage, I began to obsessively scroll through Twitter. 

At first, it was a way to feel good about the massive amounts of people who were just as pissed as I was and voicing their collective disdain for the president. Then I began to parse through replies that were, plainly, devoid of logic. As I mentioned in an earlier post and more recently, I’m at a loss of how so much of this nation can be blinded by someone who’s entire campaign has been nothing but an unapologetic attack on people of color, LGBTQ communities, women, and really anyone who isn’t rich. His executive orders reflect this alarming dismissal of humanity and what I was hoping would be a four year stint of hotheaded talk and no action is starting to look like an impending, inevitable hellscape. I should rephrase that, I was never really at a loss, because that’s just naive. I’m more appalled and overwhelmingly frustrated.

The upside is there has been so much unity as a result of this common fury spawned by an unwieldy emotionally disturbed, leathery man-child, but there’s also been an intense, palpable division of the people who voted for Trump and those who didn’t. I’m starting to think this separation is not necessarily a bad thing, but something to be considered as we move forward as a country and figure out ways to heal the gaping wound this celebrity villain has exacerbated. 

I, for one, would like to know how this can happen. Healing. I’ve written about it before - this seething hatred or prejudice or what have you that prevents the acceptance of reality and promotes the belief in “alternative facts” and justifies shiftlessly falling behind grandstanding human dumpster fires. It’s either this, or other individuals simply don’t care about anything except the bottom line, so their allegiance to the country won’t go beyond their pockets. How do we get these obdurate and uncompromising rednecks people to see that what this man is doing is not only hurting every American, including themselves, but can potentially (and has already) hurt the rest of the world? It enrages me how stubborn people are. Not to mention exhausting to see these arguments defending this pool of orange bile.

Which brings me back to the glaring division, that may not necessarily be a bad thing. I mean, opposition is how we got to this place of mobilizing and organizing against the dark lord enemy administration. And it does add fuel to the fire when you see positively outrageous actions and claims made by the LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD. I dunno, something like possibly launching an investigation into “all the illegal votes” that must’ve been cast, since the Orange Wonder didn’t win the popular vote, or, I dunno, talking about the inaugural crowds in front of a CIA memorial and just weeks before comparing them to Nazis. 

It is no mistake that we’re living under unprecedented rule and every day has the potential to be been more heinous than the last and this division is causing tension, but in the grand scheme, it’s also helping sculpt our future (if there even is going to be one at this point), in a way that hasn’t been done in a very long time. More than ever, citizens are becoming involved with the political process and the dream the forefathers had for the US is coming into fruition (kind of- ya know, cuz most of them were slave owners and mega racist). The division is what’s making people pick up phones, donate money to great causes, and volunteer for amazing organizations. No one is letting anything dubious Tiny Hands does go unchecked. Our society is slowly but surely becoming more “woke.”

My only real worry about the division in this country is on a more granular level, in friendships and families, among classmates and coworkers. The division gets uncomfortable and hard to maneuver when in such close proximities. Obviously, people aren’t so uncivilized they can’t share a space with someone who has completely different views than the other, but seeing your coworker casually peruse Breitbart or mention their excitement for the Cheeto’s “next big decision” can be downright tough or ya know, the opposite. I have no idea what annoys the other side besides facts and logic. Hm, probably me saying that. 

So even if Timmy-talkative the co-worker and crazy-Aunt Jane are baffling loyal Trump supporters, the majority of the country is on your side. Proud, self-proclaimed ‘deplorables,’ and others continuing to avidly support this scary regime help everyone else identify those who won’t fight for the freedom of their countrymen and would gladly step on the backs of their neighbors for a little bit of prosperity. It’s good to know. There’s no more hiding. 

**Note** I posted this a few days ago, but thought it was a little too harsh. Then the next few days happened and now IDGAF. Plus, it’s Black History Month, so I’m not going to silence myself to make people comfortable. Even though I have very strong feelings about this 'celebration,’ as I feel it’s a direct insult to my culture and heritage because black history is and forever will be apart of American history, it’s still important to remember all of the people who came before me and refused to be silent or compromise their ideals for a society that continues to be unjust to POC.