We Get to Mourn, then Plan for Tomorrow
Beloveds: You woke up this morning—or perhaps you could not sleep through the night—and faced the morning news. It was experienced by many of us as disastrous. People of the Global Majority, Indigenous people, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, LGBTQ people, white men of conscience, and many others woke to the realization that some fundamentals had shifted in our world.
Perhaps you are glad that you did what you could to help shape an election result that would not be based on sexism, internalized sexism, racism, anti-immigrant oppression, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, misogyny, fear, and hatred. Perhaps you are disappointed about something you might have done that didn’t get done. Perhaps you live outside the United States and are now contemplating what the U.S. election means for you. I sat on the COP22 bus here in Morocco this morning next to Africans who were crying. In any case, our world has shifted. We get to mourn today, discharge as much as possible, and prepare ourselves for our next steps.
In case you are having trouble finding discharge, practice saying, ”President Trump, President Trump, President Trump.” Then get yourself ready for the role you plan to play in the world for the next four years.
Whatever your analysis, remember this: We as a people (and we are many peoples) have faced horrific things. Our history shows that we have faced these things, survived them, and learned how to flourish. This is what we will do in the present. Don’t let isolation tag around you during this time. Get with other folks and discharge.
And then we plan for our tomorrow.
Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders of women
(Present Time 186, January 2017)