As I get inundated/inundate myself with much of the news
that’s being discussed around water coolers, gyms, dinner tables, and Facebook
walls throughout the world relating to the new Trump administration, I am often
sitting here thinking to myself, “how can I help effect change?”
How can I make life safer for my community of amazing people
around the world, and in the US in particular?
Being in Canada, how can I lend a hand and show solidarity
to those in the US who I love that are part of the black community, the Muslim
community, the First Nations community, the LGBT+ community, the community of
women, the community of teachers, the middle class and the unemployed, and all
the other countless amazing communities that are out there right now who are
hurting, crying, afraid, and desperate?
What can I do, beyond my deluge of social media posts, to
bring about awareness and social change to those who may not agree with me but
are willing to listen?
I’m honestly asking here, because I simply don’t know.
I feel exasperated and hamstrung in my ineffectiveness. I
have signed petitions that have led to nowhere but made me feel good for a minute. I have engaged with trolls (and those who are
in a quasi-trolly mood, but aren’t really trolls, they’re just feeling like
they’re not being heard so they act like trolls which make people not want to
hear them and so they act MORE like trolls) in the comments section. I have donated to various causes. I have cheered on my friends who have put
jobs/friendships on the line to protest this tyrannical administration. I have done all of this from the comfort of
my home. I haven’t actually DONE
anything. I just clicked a few buttons,
tapped a few keys, and mentally patted myself on the back for being a good person.
There was a vigil today to grieve with the local Muslim
community in the wake of yesterday’s
mass shooting in Quebec. Mass
shootings are an anomaly in Canada; they happen so rarely happen that the
entire nation is rocked to its very core (this
is the fourth mass shooting since 2014).
Sadly, it wasn’t until after the vigil ended that I found out about it
so I wasn’t able to attend. There’s a
subsequent one on Saturday that I will be out of town for, so again, I can’t
attend. So again, I sit here frustrated
in my inactivity.
I see way too many parallels between this new Trump
administration and the rise of the Nazi regime and it scares me. Not in the *excuse me as I attempt to type
like Kim K sounds* “like, omg those poor, like... people” kind of scared. But in the “Holy shit, maybe those crazy Preppers
are on to something, and we need to seriously consider making a bug out bag.” kind
of scared. I genuinely fear that we are
witnessing Nazi Germany 2.0 in the making, and I am equally terrified that as
loud as everyone is about speaking out against this horrific scene developing,
we aren’t being loud enough. The poem “First
They Came...” has been running through my head in a constant loop for over a
week now.
I want and need to speak for the Socialists, and the Trade
Unionists, and Jews... because soon, someone will need to speak for me. I am terrified that the meager things I have
done have amounted to nothing, and I as good as silent.
I need to go look at puppies and baby sloths, because...
I feel my zen coming back a bit...
Awww, he’s tired
Let’s just end this here
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