Thank you, Michelle Obama

Thank you, Michelle Obama.

Thank you for deciding to stay home on January 20th, for refusing to normalize the election of Donald Trump by attending his inauguration. Thank you for not acknowledging this man who incited insurrection by blocking the peaceful transfer of presidential power. This man who stood by as hordes of his minions called for the execution of his vice president. This man who seems to have no moral compass and who, many of us would argue, ran for president again solely to stay out of prison. Once again, as he has done throughout his life, he has gamed the system and won. We can accept the sad reality of his election, but we do not have to celebrate it. Thank you for modeling how to respectfully make that clear.

Thank you for not bending to the pressure of so-called “duty.” Thank you for not keeping up the charade that we had a peaceful transfer of power this time around, when it’s reasonable to assume that it would not have been so peaceful had the other side prevailed.

Thank you for modeling how a strong woman responds to the cult-like bro energy this man inspires. You know ~ as so many of us know ~ that this election is qualitatively different from any election in our history. We have once again elected ~ albeit by a miniscule percentage ~ a man who nearly toppled our government. This election is different, and our response to it must be different, too.

Full disclosure: I campaigned hard for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. My politics are far to the left of theirs, but I believed they were the right choice for our country. When they lost, I was devastated. I have been devastated by electoral losses before, but this time around, I knew we were in uncharted territory. The first thing that this realization affected was my relationship with two of my nephews who voted for Trump. I love them beyond words. We have a long-standing tradition of discussing anything and everything political. I think they appreciate their leftie-auntie because I listen and take them seriously; and I appreciate them because they are thoughtful, intelligent young men. I do not understand their votes, but I accept them. Were these normal times, our political sparring would have picked up without a beat. Since these are not normal times, I knew I had to proceed differently. I decided to put a moratorium on discussions about the election until six months after Inauguration Day. Both of my nephews have honored this boundary. It exists because I need time to see how this all plays out. I want to use my energy wisely as this administration takes power and attempts to move its agenda forward. This means that for now, I do not have time for speculation and debate; instead, I want to focus on staying engaged locally and responding to any political crises that might arise. In the unlikely scenario that something positive comes out of this mess, I want to be able to affirm that, too.

So on January 20^th, I will not be tuning in to the Inauguration. Instead, I will be standing with a small group of committed citizens on a street corner in Tacoma, WA, honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We’ll be holding signs to promote what we stand for, including racial and economic justice, affordable housing and healthcare, peace, civil political discourse, action to address climate change, reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights, and compassionate immigration policy. We will not be raging against, or even referencing, the new president ~ he who has made outrage and distraction into an art form. We simply will not play his game.

We refuse to normalize this election. Thank you, Michelle Obama, for showing us how it’s done.

You're a mean one, Mr. Trump

(with apologies to The Grinch)

You're a mean one, Mr. Trump.
You really are a heel.
You're as cuddly as a cactus, you're as charming as an eel.
Mr. Trump,
You're a bad banana with a greasy black peel!

The man who was elected President by the Electoral College (not the people) thought it would be a good idea to ignore the 5th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre. Nicole Hockley, mother of one of those precious children who were gunned down, described how it felt: "Not only did he ignore the 5-year remembrance completely — not even a single tweet — he slapped us all in the face by having none other than NRA President Wayne LaPierre at his White House Christmas party that night. The appalling lack of humanity and decency has not gone unnoticed."

You're a foul one, Mr. Trump.
You have termites in your smile.
You have all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile.
Mr. Trump,
Given a choice between the two of you, I'd take the seasick crocodile!

Today, when an Amtrak train flew off an overpass and landed on Interstate 5, just down the road from my house, the man who was elected President by the Electoral College (not the people) thought it would be a good idea to ignore the victims of the horrific crash and tweet instead about his non-existent infrastructure plan:

The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted intrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long!

Apparently his minions scrambled quickly to get him to offer sympathy for the victims, and a kinder, gentler tweet appeared about ten minutes later.

The minions are always scrambling.

You're a foul one, Mr. Trump.
You're a nasty, wasty skunk.
Your heart is full of unwashed socks,
Your soul is full of gunk.
Mr. Trump,
The three words that best describe you are as follows, and I quote:
"Stink, stank, stunk!"

This man who was elected President by the Electoral College (not the people) is cruel, hateful, boorish, ignorant, and extremely dangerous. This is not news. It's just that today ~ maybe because the train tragedy hit so close to home ~ I was gobsmacked by how ashamed I am that he is our President.

Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, once said: "We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community."
Love and community are kryptonite for bullies. There is nothing more threatening to this man who was elected President by the Electoral College (not the people). Breaking down barriers and shining light on schemes and walls and every other attempt to divide and dehumanize us ~ that's what love and community can do; and in our current reality, that is what we must do.

You're a monster, Mr. Trump,
Your heart's an empty hole . . .

We have no intention of falling into it.

                           ¡Feliz Navidad!

grief

(Traducción al español a continuación)



(Entrance of St. Leo Church, Tacoma, Washington)

It is not weakness to take time to grieve. It is not intolerance to refuse to “move forward” at this point, to refuse to leave behind the hateful, mocking, bullying behavior of Donald Trump. It is not weakness to allow ourselves to remember ~ no, more than that ~ to pledge to never forget the mimicking of a disabled reporter, the calls to ban Muslims, the jeering “get him out of here” when referring to protesters, the sickening descriptions of women and how he likes to treat them, the wall. Trump’s words had power, and they have inspired some appalling behavior. We would never allow our children to behave as he has; yet the electoral college has elected him as our President. I am grieving right now. That is not being a “sore loser”. It is being a thoughtful citizen and an introspective human being. We could use a few more of those.

There are countless calls right now for us to come together to move forward as a country. I appreciate this, especially the words of Bernie Sanders. But I refuse to do so prematurely. True work for peace and unity involves deep reflection on who we are and who we want to become together. In this time of tweets and soundbites, we speed toward supposed solutions and false reconciliation. Without grief for the civility we are losing, our solutions will not be grounded or whole.

It is not weakness to take time to grieve.

_____________________

duelo



(Entrada de la iglesia St. Leo en Tacoma, Washington)

No es la debilidad tomarse un tiempo para estar en duelo. No es la intolerancia negarse a "moverse hacia delante" a estas alturas, negarse a dejar atrás el comportamiento odioso, acosador, y burlón de Donald Trump. No es la debilidad permitirnos recordar ~ no, algo más ~ prometer que nunca olvidaremos su imitación de un reportero discapacitado, su llamada a excluir a los musulmanes, el feo "sácalo de aquí" refiriéndose a los manifestantes, las descripciones repugnantes de las mujeres y cómo le gusta tratarlas, el muro.

Las palabras de Trump tenían poder, y han inspirado comportamiento espantoso. Jamás permitiríamos que nuestros hijos se portaran como él; sin embargo, el Colegio Electoral lo ha eligido como nuestro Presidente. Estoy en duelo. Algunos dirían que soy mala perdedora, pero no: estar en duelo en este momento es ser una ciudadana atenta y un ser humano introspectivo.

He oído decir que ahora tenemos que juntarnos, a moverse hacia delante como un país unido. Aprecio el sentimiento, especialmente como lo ha expresado Bernie Sanders. Pero me niego a hacerlo antes de tiempo. El verdadero trabajo por la paz y unidad requiere la reflexión profunda, examinando quiénes somos y quienes queremos ser juntos. En este tiempo de tweets y soundbites/fragmentos de entrevistas, corremos hacia las supuestas soluciones y la falsa reconciliación. Sin el duelo por la urbanidad que estamos perdiendo, nuestras soluciones no tendrán un fundamento y estarán incompletas y falsas.

No es la debilidad tomarse un tiempo para estar en duelo.