I am a lily white girl of Irish/Scottish descent who will never know what it is like to be a minority in America....to have to "warn" my kids about police harassment and how to come out of a traffic stop alive....about "driving while Black"...or living as a Muslim-American in a dismissive white America governed by a President who ran on a racist platform, inciting hate for minorities.
This post is about sympathy (as opposed to "empathy," which means you've been in their shoes.) and kindness.
This morning an African-American friend called and told me she was thinking about selling her home and moving out West with her ex-husband to be closer to their son. I stopped her in mid-sentence because I know her relationship with the ex.
But, she, an extremely intelligent multi-degreed woman, was speaking out of fear: fear of a nebulous America under an indeterminate Trump Presidency. A Presidency of a man who was a loose cannon on the campaign trail.
One of my former students posted on Facebook yesterday: "Talk to your kids before sending them out today."
Their fears must not be dismissed. They are real and they are merited.
Their voices and the voices of others of color must not be silenced in a Trump Presidency. When I looked at potential cabinet members, the only person of color listed was Dr. Ben Carson. Really? He's it? People of color can not be ignored/disenfranchised or this country will be ripe for true revolt.
To the Trump supporters who may be reading this:
Do not be flippant.
Do not be smug.
Do not be mean to others.
Do listen without judgment to opposing views
Do strive for understanding.
Do be nice.
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