find your friends and hold them close
/Yesterday, my girlfriend and I had some friends over to her place for election night. It was less of a party and more of a collective distraction. I made two big batches of chili, and we all kept each other company. We listened to music, we watched some Tiny Desk concerts, and we all left our phones in the other room. It was nice. Then it wasn’t.
I remember feeling this same thing after the election in 2016 and wanting to write something akin to a coming out post. Something decrying what’s happening. Something to say, ‘Hey, this is fucked up, and I’m scared.’ But I also think that’s what they want.
It’s true, though. I’m scared for my trans friends and my queer friends. I’m scared for my disabled friends and minority friends. I’m scared for anyone in a marginalized group. I’m scared for my neighbors and loved ones and anyone who isn’t a white, straight male.
Donald Trump aside, the fact that the race was ever this close is a problem. The fact that there are this many people who identify with the racist, fascist rhetoric of Donald Trump and the modern Republican party is a problem. These are our countrymen; they’re the people we have to live with, and they won’t go away once Donald Trump does, as nice as that is to imagine.
I’m not going to pretend that the Democrats are any better; they have spent the past year funding Palestinian genocide. The Dems couldn’t codify Roe v. Wade, they cracked down at the border, and they couldn’t make actionable improvements to our economy, healthcare, or day-to-day life. Kamala has run an evil, scrapped-together campaign that leaned to the right and still couldn’t beat the hate her opponent was pumping out. She’s still a cop, she’s still cozied up to the Cheneys, and she’s still running a hollow campaign from within the pocket of corporations. But none of that matters now, I suppose.
Now, we have to deal with the cruelty before us. We have to deal with a corrupt, bigoted, misogynistic war criminal felon of a president who’s going to enable our country’s worst impulses and most close-minded beliefs.
Putting too much hope into our government is a lost cause. This is still a country founded on genocide whose government is designed to maintain power and collect money for the already-rich. There’s no solution or “good side” within that.
I don’t want to fall into despair, but I guess I have to get this out of my system.
The only way forward is together. We have to be there for each other. We have to find love and strength and unity and reject divisiveness and hate.
As I was doing the dishes last night, there was one phrase that I couldn’t shake from my mind: “find your friends and hold them close.” I popped in one AirPod and listened to the song by A Place For Owls as I scrubbed the pots and pans. I think it’s a good thing to hold onto.
Community. Solidarity. Love.
Forever.
