Dear fellow human beings,

If you’re not worried right now, you’re not paying attention.  The two months since the election have confirmed that this American administration will be the most reactionary, racist, and far-right in nearly a century.  

But if you’re only worried right now, that sucks.  Most importantly, for those of us not at immediate physical risk– white folks like me, cisgender folks like me, documented folks like me – our friends and family who are at such risk need us.  But our loved ones also need us to not fall apart.  We need each other.  

Dear Child,

(to my son, and any sons and daughters who might be listening)

A few months ago, during the primary elections, you asked your dad, “If Donald Trump hates women, will he send Mommy away?” Your dad reassured you but later, when you were asleep, I reminded him that while Trump may not send your mommy away, he and his team have threatened to send other people's mommies away.

Oh, dear—

Somehow on that night I found myself alone in the park, looking up at the stars yes the stars were beautiful that night we don’t usually see the stars at this time of year in rainy Seattle and something came running up maybe I screamed?

December 27, 2016

My dear beloved trans community,

As the year 2016 comes to a close, I am reflecting on our community’s history of struggle, resilience, and love. The coming years promise to bring new challenges, and it is easy to despair over what might lie ahead for our community. But I am writing to you to offer a message of hope.

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 friends,

I was 22 when Reagan was elected, and seven months later AIDS began. I understand the pain, the devastation, and the loss. This is what I have learned:

Dear Fellow Revolutionaries,

I write to you as a dusty-kneed soldier of the great unfolding rebellion that is America.

I write from the heart, in a pivotal moment in which each of us must decide whether to lead with love or fear. I urge you to remember: Only love is real.

To the fearful and disheartened majority,

Hi. My name is Zack Weinstein. Thirty-one years old. Straight white cisgender male. Married. Actor. Mostly TV. (Ugh, so LA.) Also: Quadriplegic. Power wheelchair. Spinal cord injury. When I was nineteen. Trust me, it really doesn't matter how it happened.

And a quick piece of advice: Don't ask strangers in wheelchairs what happened to them. That might seem pretty obvious but you would be surprised. Develop a sincere connection with someone first. Then you can ask.

I know a lot of good people who voted for Trump. They aren’t against immigrants and immigration. But they sought a different direction for America.

I don’t believe 2016 was an election about policy or politics. It was an election about culture, values and who we are as a country. It was an election outcome determined by voters who don’t think government works for them.

Dear Young Disabled Writer and Disabled Writers Not Yet Born,

When I was born in 1960, nobody knew whether I would live or die. When, after four weeks in an incubator, my parents were able to take me home, nobody knew whether I’d be able to walk.

Now, here I am fifty-six years later, alive and, most of the time, still walking.  

You might ask: What does this have to do with the disturbing results of the recent U.S. election? Why is this story important for me to impart to you at this time?