December 21, 2016

Dear All,

Donald Trump's appointment of climate-change skeptics and deniers to key posts will have an undeniable impact on our environment and our future. While not as strong as they have needed to be, current U.S. commitments to curbing climate change will most likely dwindle away, sending a signal to the rest of the world. Those most affected will be those who have probably contributed the least to climate change: indigenous peoples who live close to their environment.

To the next generation of activists,

(You may not think of yourself as an activist yet, but a lot’s going to happen in the next four years, so please hear me out.)

The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States was devastating for so many of us. He’d spent months threatening immigrants, women, people of color, Muslims, and the differently abled, among others. This goes against everything I stand for. But within a few days, my initial feelings of despair began to change into something more powerful and productive: the resolve to resist.

Dear Incredible Solutionaries,

Dearest Queer Family and Our Beloved Allies,

We are heading into unknown and potentially dangerous times. Everyone with a liberal mindset, everyone living any sort of marginalized life is responding with great apprehension. Yes, it’s likely that many of the freedoms we take for granted will be rolled back. The usual suspects will most likely be targeted for further marginalization: women, children, people of color, the working class, the elderly, and of course anyone who falls outside of cisgender heteronormativity. I’m so, so sorry.

Dear Artivists,

I was sitting alone in a Georgia hotel room as the election results rolled in, and it felt increasingly surreal as the projected blue states turned red. I called my family and friends to ground what I was seeing in reality. That night, the same dream played on repeat: I wake up, look at my phone; this has all been a mistake. Relief. But when I reached for my phone the next morning, the notification screen read, “Donald Trump has been elected President of the United States.” There was no more room for denial.

My dear strangers—Muslims of the United States of America,

Dear Darlings All,

The night of the election, I watched the results roll in from one state after another, turning a red that seemed bloodthirstier with each passing result.

I said aloud, “The course of my life changes tonight.”

Dear women who felt like I did on November 9,

If comedy is tragedy plus time, 2016 felt like the year time collapsed and those two tropes became indistinguishable.  

To queer youth of color,

It sucks to be familiar with the sense of impending doom. You might have survived being socialized cis or straight in a queer body. You might have survived institutionalized racism, the gentrification of your home, and the fight to preserve your culture. You might have survived your given family. You might have survived the realization that your home is on a minefield; dirt, grass, concrete and tiny wildlife under siege.

Dear Queerblings,

Like many of you, I was in shock the morning after the election. How could this be happening? I entered the day and stepped into a rearranged landscape with so much trepidation and yes, fear. This is a landscape that I had prevented myself from imagining. But here we are. In a new reality. And I am thinking of you, the younger generation, who has so much to do now and such a heavy lift ahead of you.