Where Do I Put My Anger?

Push it forward

November 5th, 2024

Honestly, a day that will live in infamy. I am embarrassed, disappointed, frustrated, worried, and scared. The one thing I am not is surprised.

But above all, I am angry, and what do we do with anger on a federal level. I feel like I did my part. I voted. I reached out to others. I fought back against the tidal wave of misinformation, lies, and hate. And yet, here we are.

It is like going back in time to 2016. Except worse. There is no way anyone can tell me that they didn’t know what the Republican Party and that man had planned. You could feign some kind of ignorance then. Not anymore.

I am constantly told a lot of things on the internet.

Not all Trump voters are bad.

Don’t let relationships die because of politics.

It won’t be as awful as you think.

The third I won’t speak on, because who knows. I have little faith that this won’t be awful, but time and history will tell.

But let’s look at the first one. Not all Trump voters are bad. I don’t want to be cruel here, but I do want to be honest. I had a discussion with my mother-in-law pre-election that will stick with me for a long time. She is a religious woman. A good woman. Her heart is ALWAYS in the right place. She posited that, should Kamala win, we should offer grace. I vehemently disagreed.

“Not everyone deserves grace. I am not Jesus.”

It may sound harsh, but I stand by it. Trump, and this new Republican party, represents not a single good thing. Hate, intolerance, white supremacy. This is all they care about. They will drone on about the economy, but this is a ruse. A ruse that I am sad to see so many people falling for. I am not friends with Trump voters. If I found out that I am, I won’t be anymore.

Yes, I have MAJOR issues with the Democratic Party, too. Yes, it is a choice between two evils. But there is a dramatic and real difference between those two said evils. I hate the system that we have. But it is the only system available to me right now.

And ending relationships because of politics? Politics are enmeshed with life. They have real effects. Viciousness towards women, people of color, and LGTBQ+ people steadily rose from 2016-2020. The return of Trump does not make me hopeful. It makes me scared that this will not only continue, but skyrocket.

Like all writers, I am a reader. So, here is a quotation from James Baldwin that encapsulates how I feel about it.

“We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.”

This is it right here. The right, now set to be in power, is rooted in oppression and the denial of humanity for anyone not straight, white, male, and non-disabled. If you do not fit into that narrow definition of humanity, you are in danger. We are in danger.

So, other than venting, what’s the point? The point for me, is simple. We must not give up. We must not obey simply to keep ourselves safe. This is how fascism rules. The expectation of obedience through fear.

And yeah, we lost on a federal level. It sucks. But that is not our only recourse. Even if folks in big cities do not seem to care about red states (a real problem), we have to look out for ourselves.

Find local groups that are fighting the good fight. For reproductive health for women. For people of color. For LGBTQ+ rights. Fight for what you care about.

It is ok to lick your wounds for a bit. But we have to get up. Giving in is easy. I know fighting has already been hard. I know that fighting the same fight makes it all feel worthless. But we owe it.

We owe it to the people that fought in the past.

We owe it to the people who will live in this world after us.

It sucks to feel angry. But there is hope in that. It means you care. It means that there is a possibility to channel that anger into something good. Something powerful.

I am tired, but the fight continues.