You Are Safe with Me

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate crimes, has had 201 reports of such crimes, mostly against blacks, immigrants and Muslims, since the outcome of the presidential election. That's just the number tallied from Tuesday through Friday. They do not have the exact percentage increase, but to put it in terms we can all understand, it is much higher than post 9/11.

The examples of hate crimes cut across all of the groups that Trump denigrated during his campaign: Muslims, women, Latinos; and some he did not - e.g. blacks.  He made it clear during his campaign that if you are not a white Christian in this country, your worth will be questioned. If women say, yes but it was okay with us that he talked about sexual assault so brazenly and objectified women at every turn, because how could we ever vote for the that liar Hillary, then please look to his selection of Stephen Bannon, former Breitbart 'news' executive chairman, as chief white house strategist. These are some of the headlines on his 'news' service, ladies, and remember that Bannon will be one of the two most powerful men in the White House:

• "THERE'S NO HIRING BIAS AGAINST WOMEN IN TECH, THEY JUST SUCK AT INTERVIEWS"
• "BIRTH CONTROL MAKES WOMEN UNATTRACTIVE AND LAZY"
• "THE SOLUTION TO ONLINE 'HARASSMENT' IS SIMPLE:  WOMEN SHOULD LOG OFF"
• "TEENAGE BOYS WITH TITS: HERE'S MY PROBLEM WITH GHOSTBUSTERS"

The most outrageous of all? (although, seriously, it's hard to choose, they are all so horrible)

• "EXCLUSIVE - DONALD TRUMP PLANS TO CONTINUE GOP LEGACY OF LEADING ON WOMEN'S, CIVIL RIGHTS AGAINST RACIST, SEXIST DEMOCRATS"  

Just let that last one sink in for one moment.

You mean the Democratic party that nominated and voted into to office twice this country's first black President? Those racist democrats? You mean the Democratic party that nominated the first woman of a major political party to be President of the United States? Those sexist democrats? You mean the GOP who does not believe in a woman's right to choose? That's the party leading the fight for women's rights? You mean the GOP whose president-elect thinks that of the 11.1 million undocumented immigrants in this country, that 2 to 3 million of them are criminals?  18 - 27%? One in four?  You mean those civil rights? Spare me the complete and utter hypocrisy and flat out inaccuracy of that headline.

We need to take action. Even if that action is small, we need to build on how we are feeling today.

To that end, we have to take positive steps.

So what is something that we can do? How can we show support to those who are being targeted by hate crimes, our fellow Americans that enrich our culture and society?

It's simple and you might not think that it is much, but wear a safety pin.  A safety pin says 'you are safe with me'.  If you're black, Muslim, Latino, female, LGBTQ, or any group that feels scared and frightened after this election, I understand and feel your pain.  You are safe with me.  I hear you and I have empathy for your situation and I will fight for your inclusion in this society.  I've got your back.

But, beware: this has to come with action.  Please do not sit silently if you see or hear hate crimes happening.  An Assyrian-American woman was verbally abused by a BART passenger on Wednesday (yes, our humble left coast abode is rife with racism and xenophobia also).  The American woman was speaking Assyrian on her phone, when a fellow passenger repeatedly called her a 'stalker' and said she hoped she would get deported.  No one on BART did anything about it.  So please do this:  get your nose out of your smart phone, take out your earphones.  This is everyone's business.  If you see hate, speak up or take the safety pin off.

We can also do everything possible leading up to the midterm elections so that in 2018 and again in 2020, we will be poised to reject this hatred. This election cycle is over, but let's not lose momentum.

Look up organizations, like the above-mentioned Southern Poverty Law Center or the Council on American-Islam relations, to see how you can help or become informed.

Lastly, let me leave you with this:

My 19-year-old daughter sings in the choir at the Jesuit university she attends.  From the time she was a very little girl, I realized that the world and its suffering would sit heavily on her shoulders.
Last night during mass, she said she had to leave because she was crying so hard that she could not continue singing. The proliferation of hates crimes across America since that man's election made it to difficult for her to continue. These were the words she was singing:

When I am scorned, and mocked with hatred,
My heart is torn by looks of ridicule
I taste the bitter cup that Jesus drank,
Pouring out his life for the many, and for me.
When he said love one another, as I have loved you,
through the pain, as I have loved you,
with passion, now tenderly give your love to the outcast,
your strength to the weary, your heart to the broken, 
yes to me
--from 'Life for the Many' by Gregory Dale Schultz, SCU choir director

What I encourage her to do, is what I would encourage all of us to do.

Here are my steps:

I will hold your hand, stand by your side, listen to every fear and worry that you have, tell you how much I love you, promise you that we will fight against any and all hatred, and promise you that I will do my best to make this a country of inclusion.  We will use the outrage and heartbreak we feel to galvanize for this country's next steps -- away from hatred, blame, bigotry, sexism, racism, misogyny, and xenophobia.

You are safe with me.

#lovetrumpshate
#safetypin

To Any Trump Voter Who Wants to Understand Our Pain

I am a liberal.  I believe in progressive ideals.  I believe in moving forward. I believe, as a Christian, that taking care of the most vulnerable in society is doing the work that Jesus Christ has asked us to do. You might think it contradictory to some passages in the Bible, but I believe that God has made each and every one one of us exactly as he meant us to be and that each and every one of us needs protection and civil liberties under our laws.  That includes Muslim-, Latino-, African-, LGBTQ-, White-, Native-, Jewish-, and any other -Americans.  God made each of them just as he meant them to be.

I believe in the rule of law. I believe in our Constitution. I do not believe this country is a republic based on Christian ideals and beliefs.  I believe our country is a republic based on the ideals of all people being equal under the eyes of the law.  One of the first ten amendments to the constitution is freedom of religion; that includes ALL religions or no religion. I believe our leaders need to be people of integrity, authenticity, experience, humility, and grace.

In every other election cycle, we have had Republican vs. Democrat.  In every other election cycle, I could have accepted that the other side won without being heartbroken.  In every other election cycle, I believe that our very democracy was not at stake, no matter who won.

That is not the case in the 2016 election.

Donald J. Trump repeatedly and with impunity played into the fears of a white electorate. The fear that illegal immigrants had stolen their jobs; the fear that any Muslim entering this country is a terrorist; the fear that they were being persecuted for their Christianity; the fear that something had had happened to 'their' country and they wanted it back.

Donald J. Trump repeatedly mocked every value that we as parents set out to teach our children.  He stepped across every line of grace, dignity, humility, empathy, tolerance, and understanding.

He mocked a disabled reporter. MOCKED - made fun of someone who had a disability. He repeatedly made women feel like if they weren't attractive or svelte, that somehow they were lesser than. He called the Miss Universe winner 'Miss Piggy' and 'Miss Housekeeping'.  He called her names. He asked voters of Carly Fiorina - 'would anyone vote for that face'? He implied that a Fox News reporter must be on her period, that's why she was being nasty to him. We have spent years fighting for equal rights and for men to take us seriously in the boardroom, in the workplace, and in the home. I did not raise my two daughters to be talked to that way and I did not raise my son to talk to women that way.

Donald J. Trump showed a complete lack of empathy for a gold star family.  He questioned why the mother didn't speak at the convention.  He bragged that a soldier who had given the ultimate sacrifice for the United States of America would be alive today, had he been president.  Not only did Humayan Khan fight for our country and die, but he died while saving the lives of other American soldiers. Yet somehow Muslim-Americans are not worthy of his respect or even common human decency.

Donald J. Trump mocked a former presidential candidate, long time US senator, decorated military man, and a former POW who had spent five years, FIVE YEARS, in a camp being tortured. He said heroes were soldiers who didn't get captured.  He said he had sacrificed in building his real estate empire - building things is 'sacrifice'. There are no words for that kind of ridicule and insensitivity.

Donald J. Trump was your candidate because you believed he could make America great again - whatever that means.  With very little substantive policy put forth, he was going to bring back jobs to the United States (never mind the hypocrisy that he uses Chinese steel in his buildings and makes his ties in China and has never said he would bring these jobs back to America). He promised to repeal the ACA and replace it with some 'terrific'.  He promised everything with close to nothing to back that up.

It was okay in your view that he had zero political experience because he was a successful businessman and a Washington outsider.  Successful business people do not declare bankruptcy six times.  Successful business people of integrity pay contractors who do the work asked of them.

All of this and we haven't even gotten to his pussy-grabbing comment.
All of this and we haven't gotten to his calling Mexicans coming across the border in search of a better life, rapists and bad hombres.
All of this and we haven't gotten to his middle of the night twitter rants against anyone who dares to criticize him.
All of this and we haven't gotten to his refusal to release his tax returns or the fact that he admittedly has not paid taxes for the past twenty years.
All of this and we haven't gotten to his implication that maybe 2nd Amendment supporters could 'do' something about Hillary.
All of this and we haven't touched on his insinuation that if he were elected President, the first thing he might do is put his rival in jail, you know, like they do in dictatorships.
All of this and we haven't touched on his refusal to say he would accept the outcome of the election, if it did not go his way.
All of this and we haven't touched on his rallies where he wished he could go back to the days when he could just hit whoever was disruptive. I believe that's called assault.

So for the record, he's for assault in all forms: sexual, verbal, and physical. Not only has he repeatedly doubled down on the assault, but he has not apologized for it without adding a rejoinder of some kind.

The morning after the election, both of my daughters, called me, sobbing.  How could America elect a man who thinks women are objects? How could America elect a man with no decency, no experience, and no thought for anyone who isn't like him? How could America elect a man who has repeatedly discriminated against black people in his real estate business?

The morning after the election, my daughter heard from a good friend of hers who is half-Hispanic and half-Pakistani. She said that she was afraid; afraid for what the future holds in America for someone who looks like her.

A few mornings after the election, my Jewish friend who adopted an Ethiopian boy told me she was afraid for what the future holds for her son.

Every single criteria for decency and integrity that we expect in the President of the United States of America is not present in this man.

That is why my daughters sob. That is why people of color and people who are Muslim are afraid. That is why we are in shock.  That is why this is not simply red vs. blue, conservative ideals vs. liberal ideals. That is why we cannot come to grips with that man as our president.  He represents nothing about us.  Not one thing that we have tried to teach our children not to be and not to do and for that matter how we have taught our children to behave.  Not one thing.

I have seen some articles written about why people did vote for him and how they aren't racist or xenophobic or misogynistic. They voted for a stronger foreign policy and a better economy.  Well, those of us who are heartbroken and grieving about this election are doing so because we can't understand how you can skip over the first three to get to the second two.

Did we have a flawed candidate? Yes.
Did we have a candidate that at times exercised bad judgment? Yes.

But we did not have a candidate that was racist, xenophobic, or misogynistic. We did not have a candidate who ridiculed disabled people, decorated war veterans, latino people, fat people, ugly people, or Muslim people.  People who are just plain other.

That to us is the difference this time around.  The difference is wide.  The difference is deep.  The difference will take time to heal, if it can be healed at all.

This election has changed some of us forever.  But it will not hold us down or beat us back. We will continue to be champions of light, love, acceptance, inclusion, peace, and faith. We will fight to make sure that no one like Donald J. Trump ever gets elected again.

We will fight to keep everyone in this country safe who is not feeling safe after that man's election. As I stated at the top of this post,  I believe that taking care of the most vulnerable in our society is the calling of all Christians.  That is what I continue to believe and what I will spend my time, energy, and love working on.

Peace out.