Protesting a Bad Hombre / PUSSY GRABS BACK

Tuesday, after the horrific results of an election the nation is not soon to forget, I was a mess. The next day, it was even worse. Nothing but tears and anger and agitation and a strong desire to act carried me throughout the day.

After a (what I hope was) successful presentation in one class and a discussion of the criminality of Black motherhood in another, right at the end, classmate said if anyone was coming down to Union Square they were leaving soon. Then he was gone. It didn't click for me immediately or 100%. What was happening at Union Square? I grabbed a coffee because I was running off 3 solid hours of sleep and ran to Twitter. An hour later, I was on a train to Union Square to meet up with a different classmate who was already there. There was going to be a protest.

Now I had never protested before. I'd thought about it a couple times and regretted not going after the fact but never actually gone. This time I did. And I loved every minute of it. There was yelling and screaming and solidarity and camaraderie even amongst all the protesters out that night. The two girls I was with and I commented on everyone, with the exception of an especially invigorated 60-year old lady, were all between 18-35. Literally the youth of America, all colors, of New York specifically, were yelling at the top of their lungs that this man was not nor would he ever be, our president. There were police lined up with zipties and honestly, that only made it more thrilling.

My favorite chants were:

1. PUSSY GRABS BACK!

2. (Girls) My body! My choice! (Guys) Your body! Your choice! (In a call and response fashion)

3. Racist, sexist, anti-gay! Donald Trump, go away!

There were more and altogether it seemed like someone thought of a chant for most of the big issues. It was beautiful.

Since then, people have come out of the woodwork making some, shall we call them "colorful", comments and asking valid questions that definitely need to be asked. Some have questioned why just protest. Some have said protest wasn't right or necessary. Some have said they don't believe in the system entirely and don't find a point in it at all. Some have said you can't stay mad forever so what's next. I've done my best to answer them intelligently and in a concise way, without any bitterness or disdain in my tone. I'm glad my being outspoken on this has made people feel comfortable enough to ask me questions though and can only hope I've succeeded in explaining myself clearly. Everyone has a right to their own opinions but you cannot blame me for getting agitated with your opinions when they don't match mine or if they seem uninformed. This election has been polarizing in a myriad of ways, least of all, the opinions of others.

I think the point of protest is to raise awareness and create knowledge production and cause peaceful, public disturbance. It stands to let everyone know, we are not okay. We do not accept this. This country was supposed to be the home of the free, not the free white person. Protest is by no means the end all be all or the only response or the answer to all our questions and problems that arise as a result of those results. But protest is a stress reliever and it does alleviate some of the pent up agitation as well as create a feeling of solidarity between you and those around you who feel the same way. Or that's what I got out of it.

I'm not saying I'm an authority on this. I'm not. I've never done this before. The teacher of my favorite class happens to be a professional organizer for activism but hasn't given us many tips per day so no, I don't know 100% what I'm doing. BUT, it's better than doing nothing. Because nothing is something I most definitely cannot do. I cannot sit idly by while this train-wreck hurtles over us. I don't intend on being "mad" the entire 4 years if it comes to that, but I do intend on being passionately outspoken about it as long as I feel the way I do now. And right now, I feel displeasure. And a little fear. And agitation. And I intend to discuss it. Publicly. If that's nothing something you're interesting in talking about then maybe we shouldn't talk for a while. If that's not something you feel affects you, then we definitely shouldn't talk for a while.

I've felt a drive towards activism in a vocal, more active way for a while but few issues have stirred me as much as this one. It's lit a fire and I don't think it's going to go out soon.

For everyone out there who is nervous and afraid and scared for your life and the lives of those you know and love, anyone non-normative, of color, or just different, please know that I'm here for you and I love you JUST AS YOU ARE and if you need anything, you let me know and I'll see what I can do.

In closing, we all have a voice to use or silence as we are wont. I intend to use mine.

xx

Ps. Check my Facebook for events and rallies etc to attend if you live in NYC and are interested in becoming more active and vocal. URL is: https://www.facebook.com/ABCnina.go