This election cycle has been traumatic. We have experienced the broad separation of our country. Families have been separated over the values that people held as the most important.
For those of us in the LGBTQ community, this election can leave us feeling disenfranchised, unappreciated, and disposable. We have had to survive through so much. We know that there are so many who came before us, who had to fight so that we can live the lives that we’re living today. I understand the fear, hopelessness, and hurt that comes out this election.
What’s made it even harder is that we’ve seen many of our loved ones blow off the struggles that we’ve faced. This has put the walls right in front of us between us and them. We can feel that our basic human rights are secondary to making a statement against Washington.
It’s difficult to avoid feeling sorry for ourselves on a day like today. It’s also difficult to not feel a level of deep betrayal, which cuts to the core from those who we counted on. We had a lot to lose here.
But we have to remember one important thing. The majority of the country voted on our side. It might feel like only a consolation prize today, but for tomorrow, it’s so important. Even in this system. Even in this climate. Our rights were recognized as incredibly important. We should never forget that.
Hold onto your importance.
Here’s what I’ve reminded myself today. For every person who carelessly voted for Donald Trump, and put on blinders to my human rights, there were more friends who recognized the importance all along. They don’t only see us as human. They don’t view it as a generous chore to accept us. They just accept us because we’re worth accepting. That can be hard to remember today, but we have to keep centering ourselves to that.
The hope doesn’t end there. There’s a number of people who will support us, but who we don’t even know. They’re growing up under the care of our friends who continue to teach them about the beauty of treating people with love. They aren’t using religion as a weapon. They don’t judge us. They just see and hear us.
I’m not saying we have to just sit and wait for this. It’s all around us now. We just have to look for it and remember that it’s there. Especially right now. Times like this can make us search for what’s not there, and there’s a lot that’s missing. We have a long way to go. But a Donald Trump presidency won’t erase what we have, no matter what laws pass.
So it’s not over. This fight for our own dignity has just begun. Unless we let one election defeat us.
That which I am not willing to do.