Since November, we've been struggling to figure out how to deal with the political realities of the new US government. We have talked with a lot of people. We have wrung our hands and lost a lot of sleep. We have tried to stay informed and read up as much as we can on what is happening. We've made donations to groups that matter to causes that are important to us (and to others), including Planned Parenthood, Doctors without Borders, The Southern Poverty Law Center, and the White Helmets (for Syrian refugees).
In November, we participated in a Solidarity rally here in Lowell. I even spoke at it. I am including below, the remarks I made there.
My mother is an immigrant, my father was a veteran who used
a wheelchair, and I am the mother of a daughter. It is hard to know what to
tell children about what has happened in this campaign and election. Many young girls and boys watched as one candidate
made fun of people with disabilities, and spoke in ways that were demeaning, hurtful,
and hateful of whole communities of people.
As I heard these things with my now nine year old daughter, I was
horrified, and often at a loss for how to talk about those things. How can I tell my daughter that her body is
her own when the president elect brags about assaulting women? How can I talk to her about her concerns
about our friends, neighbors, and families who face harassment, intimidation,
and violence because of their religious beliefs, their family structure, the
color of their skin, or their nation of origin, their gender identity, or their
sexual orientation?
In recent years, in the aftermath of natural disasters,
tragedies, and attacks, many people have turned to a popular story told by Fred
Rogers, where he said that when scary things happen on the news, one thing we
can say to our children is “look for the helpers.” Seeing brave people – like nurses and rescue
workers – running to help and save people – can help children to process
things, to see that there are good people in the world, and to focus on our
strengths.
In the aftermath of this election, I find that I am telling
my daughter to look for the helpers – like protestors, like our government
officials and community leaders who HAVE stood up and taken a stand against
racism, islamophobia, xenophobia, and hate.
But more than that, I know that I have told my daughter that I will
stand up too – that I won’t just watch when someone is in danger. I will stand up and be a helper, and that
she, too, can be a helper – an active participant, not just a bystander. Every day, we can look out for our neighbors,
our friends, our classmates, our colleagues, and we can speak out and speak up
--- even when it might feel uncomfortable – about language that is meant to
hurt others, to demean others, and about legislation that constricts the rights
of people in our community. We must all
do more than just look for the helpers, look for the fighters. We need to be the helpers and the fighters.
I'm going to try to keep updates here about what we're doing. Letters/e-mails/calls to senators/representatives/etc., rallies, actions, and other such things. We need to make this part of our daily lives, and I am hoping that this will help us as a family to do that.
I hope you'll stand up, too.
