Please. I know you’re feeling shocked, hurt, angry, fearful, devastated and disgusted. Or maybe you’re just feeling numb right now, but you know those raw emotions are there, lurking beneath the outer shell that seems to have solidified around your skin, protecting you the way a spore protects itself when it finds itself in an uninhabitable environment.
Please. I know you’ve been on that Canadian immigration site researching how to emigrate from a country you think is imploding. Or maybe you got there too late and received an error message instead of immigration information because everyone that wanted to drive North and set up camp drove up internet traffic instead and crashed the whole damn site.
Please. I know you care about people. About women, about people with disabilities, about people of color, about the LBCTQ+ community, about people who share your religion and those who don’t. I know you even care about those people who voted for Trump who you feel like shaking some sense into right now. Trust me, you feel that way. Deep down. Maybe at a depth far deeper than you knew existed inside of you. Even if those feelings can only be found lower than the floor of the Mariana’s Trench, they’re there (just trust me on this for now, okay?)
And that’s why I need you here. WE need you here. We’ve got a lot of work to do as a country and believe it or not, those of us who are feeling utterly devastated and sick to our stomachs right now are actually feeling the best out of the bunch. We weren’t feeling disenfranchised and demoralized LONG BEFORE today, like so many of the Trump supporters have been. As my sister-in-law put it, “Trump’s rhetoric of fear and anger represent how they feel,” and she’s right. I’m thankful she was able to formulate sentences this morning when my brain still could not. I encourage you to seek out those wise souls among you and listen to their reason. Please.
Please recognize that the intolerance and outrage that might be boiling beneath your skin, that has maybe already erupted in a hot, fiery, destructive, blast, is the same vitriol a lot of us claimed to despise and maybe even looked down our noses at, just yesterday.
I have faith that you can help make our country better than it is in this moment. You’re a worker, an advocate, a leader, a fighter for love and light. We really need you here. Don’t leave me, okay? Please.
A Morning Grouch 
Actually, my family is dual-citizen Canada/US and so we can go back. Our son is a Type-1 diabetic, now nearing 50, unemployed and receiving his medicines, insulin pump, medical supervision, laser surgery for bleeding retinas, etc. from Oregon’s expansion of Medicare. What happens to him if on “Day One” Obamacare is repealed? We’ve been hearing that from Trump for over a year, to the cheers of his crowds. How can the country tolerate such brutality?
I know. I’m hoping that all of the horrific scenarios playing out in my head do not even come close to fruition. So scary for you, your family, and the rest of us.
He made America a place where it’s safe to hate again. I would go back too if I were in your situation. I have a lot of health issues myself, and I fear that things are going to get much, much worse for people like me.
I’m devastated, and unsure how we will get beyond this hate. Caught between wanting to flee and knowing this is America and we have survived worse… my hope is there isn’t a civil war brewing, that people will rise above this hate.
I’m with you, Brandy. Right there with you.
In the grand scheme of things, we are still better off here. We don’t have to worry about our daughters and sisters being kidnapped for slavery. We don’t have to worry about sons and brothers stripped away to be beaten senseless to fight for an enemy at age 10. We are not being bombed regularly and do not have our buildings crumbling around us. We have warm homes and beds. We have the ability to say we dislike or like something without disappearing or being publicly humiliated or beheaded. There are many things to be grateful for and that we should not take for granted. Continue to love those dear to you and support those who may need it now, more than ever
Christine, you’ve captured the range of thoughts streaming through many folks heads and hearts without offending. Yes, we all need to rise up now. Thank you for caring enough to write for us.
I’m not going anywhere either. America needs us now. Big time. I struggle more with the how to be graceful and have empathy for the DT voters. I have thoughts of wanting them to suffer suffer suffer due to their votes, but that’s his platform, people suffering for the color of their skin, their gender, their religion… so I try to rise above that. GAH THOUGH.
I know. I know, I know, I know. I struggle with that too! Tough times, right now.