With the inauguration of the President-elect drawing near, several groups of Americans must assess the next step in protecting what rights we currently have while fighting for rights we’re systemically denied. Whether Black, Latinx, Native American, LGBTQIA, immigrant, Muslim, Jewish, disabled or poor, it’s evident those coming into power are willing to transform their unwarranted prejudices into law. If you’ve paid any decent attention to the events leading up to the election you’re aware of the Republican’s angst-fueled fight for political domination, Democrats failed attempt at manipulating the primaries [thanks to Wikileaks] and current unsubstantiated implications of Russian interference. With He-who-must-not-be-named we have already begun to see what aim he has towards how politics is done in this country. In nepotistic fashion, anyone who isn’t a cisgender, white, able, Christian, male will be affected substantially by the regime change.
We watched as He-who-must-not-be-named appointed his cabinet members, a group likened to a real-life “Injustice League” with clear intentions of dissolution to each government agency through incompetence or complete opposition. This is purposely done to set up a kleptocracy designed to financially benefit the ruling class by adversely affecting civil rights, political issues as well as the economy. In what can be called a “Whitelash”, America has elected a businessman slash celebrity to “break up” the monotony. In what is an imperfect democracy (some would say oligarchy), America could’ve used a dose of Bernie’s democratic socialism, instead we have given power to right wing nut-jobs like Paul Ryan and a group of neo-Nazis hell-bent on reigning terror on the 99%. Scary part is the separation between Republicans who just play the part for votes to maintain GOP control versus those who truly intend to take away the rights of Americans solely based on their own misguided morality. Due to single party rule with Republican majority we will witness this vindictiveness for at least the next two years including the current attack on the Affordable Care Act unfortunately coined “Obamacare”. Millions would be affected by the possible repeal, forced into a position where they must either fight against this tyranny or endure suffering from lack of medical care eventually leading to the ultimate sacrifice………. Human cost.
So what does this mean for the everyday American for the next 4 years? It would possibly be a little easier to strategize if this election and its influential ripples weren’t so unprecedented. Whatever happens on January 20th doesn’t take away from the fact we are headed towards a constitutional crisis. The problem with having a celebrity business owner and demagogue as President is that their priorities will not align with the needs of the citizens. Money will be the only driving factor of such a President and in the attempt to secure more funds and preserve the “Great America” sentiment, millions (including Trump voters) will feel the disenfranchisement and oppression usually attributed to certain minority groups. It’s important more than ever to study, overstand and get involved in politics and spreading information. In many ways, many will be forced in activism and dissent once they notice their personal freedoms being attacked one by one.
With an inept, sexist, misogynist, racist, Islamophobic, xenophobic, [takes in deep breath] homophobic, transphobic, ableist, sizeist, compulsive liar as Commander in Chief, it’s important not only to showcase the illegitimacy of his presidency but also plan for what will possibly be a rough four years. Trump’s impact will most likely result in greater economic inequality and decrease in overall welfare for anyone not able to receive “a small loan of a million dollars” from their dad. Republicans are warring with Planned Parenthood and their proposal of abortion bans would lead to a country where your next-door neighbor may offer their own homemade abortion services to you. Furthermore, contraception coverage would vanish resulting in increased pregnancies creating possibly a greater need for abortions. Also, Gutting the Affordable Care Act will leave 52 million under age 65 without medical coverage due to pre-existing conditions so now is the time to schedule your appointments if you have Obamacare. Around 2.6 million of those working in the healthcare industry will lose their jobs by 2019 since rural hospitals depend mostly on ACA and Medicare for income and this repeal would reduce resources for employment and business activity. Also, coverage would be reduced for those who suffer from mental illnesses so imagine the rise in violence when addicts, depressed folks, bipolar and people with PTSD are forced to go without medication or acquire it illegally. Children, veterans and women will largely be affected as well. People in general will be left financially devastated in a country where the gap between minimum wage and living costs continues to widen. This repeal without a replacement incurs massive debt and medical bankruptcy. We can’t allow a country to force people into paying for medical bills through Kickstarter and GoFundMe pages or through sex work.
So, what can you do? For starters help flip control in Congress by voting blue in the mid-term elections. All 435 seats of the House of representatives are up for reelection and 33(out of 100) seats in the Senate will be contested. State and territorial governorships (39) and many other state and local elections will also be contested. In 2020 congressional districts, will be redrawn which in the past, Republicans have used to their advantage through gerrymandering. Become or stay politically active! Write your legislators about issues pertaining to your community. Involve yourself in charities as well as educating yourself in preparation to fight social injustice. Please remember that we can’t afford to be neutral or inactive to our oppression and the more voices being raised creates a deafening noise. We are looking at a recession and possible depression with He-who-must-not-be-named’s agenda for deregulation of the finance sector and supposed tax reform. Refinance your house before interest rates rise, save CASH or better yet buy something more tangible like………gold. The U.S dollar hasn’t been backed by anything of value since the 1930s and this debt based money is just a social construct that we, the people, unknowingly perpetuate, a finely tuned cycle of social engineering. Now is the time to invest in yourself in this new year by learning new skills and trades to maximize your potential earning capabilities. In a country catering to the elites, the closer you are to richness, the more your livelihood will be less affected by Oompa Troompa’s policies.
For Black America, the Black dollar needs to be stressed more than ever with Black businesses popping up increasingly, inclusion in form of a Black economy needs to be stressed. After slavery, an abusive relationship, Black folk never quite took time to practice self-love and self-care. We rushed to hop back into another abusive relationship without falling in love with ourselves fully and when we attempted to rebuild, our abuser sabotaged our progress. In return we passed down bad relationship advice to our children and hoped for the best but what we got in return is more abusive relationships. Now is the point where we stay home, stop chasing acceptance, get Netflix and buy ice cream and love ourselves. What some or most see as hypersensitivity, is just normal everyday struggle of us attempting to be seen as equal and it’s time to collectively show how monumental we are. We need to drop our differences as a community for a greater cause and invest in one another mentally, emotionally, physically and financially. After said progress is made can we fully address intra-community issues as a self-governing community because by observation our discussions seem to only divide us more through ego or cognitive dissonance.
People from different groups are paralyzed in fear and rightfully so. He-who-should-not-be-named plans to dismantle the government and implement fascism while disenfranchising the “minority” in the process. It is best that we make ourselves aware of the intersections amongst us that put certain demographics within the target of this “Legion of Doom” and use this intersectionality as a tool to unite against this administration of hate. It can be a long four years but accepting defeat should be the last option. It is our constitutional right by the Second Amendment to fight against tyranny and overthrow a government that acts against our common interests and we owe it to our ancestors [as well as future generations] to continue the fight for equality. Stay woke and stay prepared.
