Where do we go from here?

“Where do we go from here?”

Early this morning, Roxane Gay summarized some of the sorrow, disappointment, fear, and hopelessness she felt as the U.S. presidential election results were confirmed:

“The most vulnerable among us will now be even more vulnerable because there are now too few checks and balances to executive power, given the Republican-controlled legislature. Where do we go from here? That is the question many of us will be trying to answer for the next while. For now, we need to breathe, stand tall and adjust to this new reality as best we can. We need—through writing, through protest, through voting in 2018 and 2020—to be the checks and balances our government lacks so that we can protect the most defenseless among us, so that we can preserve the more perfect union America has long held as the ideal.”

Illustration via The New Yorker.

Illustration via The New Yorker.

At The New Yorker, David Remnick defined what Donald Trump’s rise to power is: an American tragedy.

Image via CNN.

Image via CNN.

Exit polls show that a majority of white Americans voted for Donald Trump; an estimated 53 percent of white women voted for him.

If you are white, you know white supremacy—it is in your city or town, at your school, and in your family. Ignoring it does not make it go away or weaken its power. On Facebook, writer Britt Julious urges us to confront it instead of blocking it out—particularly on social media. She gave us permission to repost that statement here in its entirety. —Lena Singer

“WHITE PEOPLE:

When you say, ‘If you voted for Donald Trump, unfriend me!,’ it does nothing. It did nothing.

Because the numbers show this new nightmare was caused by white people. White middle class, upper-middle class, and wealthy people. Not the ‘poor, rural white people,’ the majority of which voted FOR their best interests, not against. Those poor white people you spent weeks writing think pieces about actually DID THE DAMN THING! Your sorority sister from five years ago didn’t. It was people just like you! Likely, these are the same people you’ve lived with and worked with and gone to school with for years. These are the people you eat meals with at Thanksgiving. Stop pretending otherwise. Start acknowledging your connection to this America.

‘If you voted for Donald Trump, unfriend me!’ tells me–a black progressive woman–that you are unable and unwilling to do your part for the future. You have direct access to the Trump voters the polls never considered, a silent majority. A middle class white person will never consider my words like they will another middle class white person.

Acknowledge your privilege, and fucking use it. Don’t perform your liberalism on social media. Actually fucking do something.

They may annoy and disgust and horrify you, but if you still tolerate them on some level and are still friends with them at this point, you can still work for the next four years to change this. Now is the time for you to stick your neck out for the POC who routinely do the heavy lifting in pushing society forward.

Talk to them. Confront them. Break down what will happen. Advocate for others’ humanity. Get fucking uncomfortable. Do your part. Make this better.”

Cultural commenter Jay Smooth posted this inspiring video on his Ill Doctrine video blog. It gave me the hope I need during this very uncertain time.

Morgan Parker.

Morgan Parker.

Here is a poem by Morgan Parker that encapsulates how I’m feeling in this current political moment. Be well. —Diamond Sharp

We will leave you with words from Hillary Clinton, in her address to the nation this morning: Please, never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it.