Take a Deep Breath

Hello, my lovelies.

Last night I found out I was sick. It's just a cold (it's not strep or COVID) but it's hit me pretty hard. My throat is sore. It hurts a little when I take a deep breath.

Gosh do I wish that was the worst news I got last night!

For the record, I have stories in the buffer for now, and the Rose Gallery poll will be going up in a couple days, but we may enter a short hiatus once that buffer runs out. Between the move, the sickness, and gestures, I'm not sure I should try to maintain the current pace.

Anyways...

Last Night

I don't think anyone comes to me for political commentary, so, um, sorry about the following. We're all processing this in different ways; I process by talking through it.

I'm a trans girl, but I live in the Pacific Northwest part of the USA. We're very insulated from what goes down in Washington. But I have friends in red states who are scared. I have a friend in Florida who can only afford her insulin thanks to Biden policies. I know a trans couple raising several adopted children in Ohio, including a nonbinary kid who was rescued from an abusive birth family. Also, I do work in the porn industry. Do you have any idea how badly our new leaders want to delete the porn industry? It cannot be understated how weird, hypocritical, and out-of-touch these people are.

To be clear, this is not a Trump thing for me. I truly don't care about some narcissistic, senile landlord. I care about who pulls his strings. The GOP is not safe for this country, and all three branches of government (and most state governments) are now firmly under Republican control. That's the problem.

At the same time, I think it's crucial for my fellow Americans to remember:

35% of eligible voters did not vote.

Maybe they weren't able to, maybe they were demotivated, maybe they weren't paying attention. Most people don't pay attention and are truly very badly-informed. They just understand Trump as a weird shitty “wildcard”, despite the fact that I have never in my life seen a non-kinkster on so tight a leash. Fox News has done unspeakable damage to our country, and the Democrats seriously dropped the ball in messaging, but we remain a country full of people who are trying their best to make the lives of others better. Most of us don't like this guy or his hateful messages. People do care about you.

Take some time to rest as best you can. Take a deep breath, even if it hurts, and give yourself room to grieve. Trust that we can find a path through this. Trust that people will remember how bad Republicans are at their jobs.

[Maybe take some schadenfreude knowing that the Republicans are probably going to inherit the next recession.]

Then, when we're ready, we can start making friends. Make friends with local activists and organizations. Go to town halls. Volunteer for campaigns, for soup kitchens. If I may evangelize a teensy bit, attend a meeting at your local Society of Friends and see what the Quakers are up to—they're rarely silent in times of trouble, and they tend to know where to start. Make friends and build up your community. Find small things you can make better. If we all do it, it's not so small anymore.

Above all, remember that fighting the Republican takeover isn't just about 2022, it's about looking after the people he's hurting. If you're queer, that includes yourself.

Go see the Wild Robot in theaters! It apparently slaps.

Above all, if you're queer, nonwhite, poor, or otherwise a target, keep fucking moving at all costs. Keep being yourself and keep making art and keep fucking moving. Nothing hurts the Republicans more, and nothing brings the important people in your life more joy, than seeing you alive and kicking.

And if you're none of those things? If you're a middle-class straight white boy who's not affected directly at all but cares about the people who are? You are my friend and we're going to fix this together. You and I both deserve better than the Republicans will ever give us.

P.S. I want to acknowledge the possibility that a handful of my readers are happy about this outcome. I don't know what I can offer you at this point. I want you to value bodily autonomy and freedom of speech for people who aren't like you. I want you to care when you see strangers in pain, even if they cry out in languages you don't understand. I want you to remain curious about the possibility that you are wrong, that your supposed “enemies” may have more in common with you than someone like Trump does.

Please don't tune us out or write us off, even if listening to me tell you you made a deeply uncompassionate choice makes you feel angry or defensive. I know some of you are trying to keep your heads and not get sucked into it all the way. Keep trying.

Take a deep breath, even if it hurts.