Watching and Waiting

Well, the election is over. And it seems like hate and fear won out as Trump solidly won the popular vote here in America. I personally had hoped that Trump’s blatant racism,¹ misogyny,² and general fear mongering would be evident to the US. But evidently that did not happen. And as a female black co-worker told me, “What did you think would happen? Look around your workplace. Who has power? It’s not black women that’s for sure.”³

I wanted to make a post about some of my deep concerns and what I’m personally going to be watching for as Trump’s presidency approaches. Minorities and those without power the in US will suffer the most under a Trump presidency. And they need people who are willing to speak out to try and protect them. I’m not sure if this is the greatest way to do that, but that’s my intention to personally start that with this post.

One of my biggest issues that I fear for is safety for the LGBTQ+ community. I posted before about using a non-binary label, and I have family and friends that have non-binary or trans identities. Trump has been running on anti-trans / non-binary platform⁴ stating that “Kamala is for They/Them” and making wild statements about transgender illegal alien sex changes.⁵ He’s continued to surround himself with individuals that have made stanchly anti queer statements, and Trump has stated in the past that he wishes to overturn marriage protections for queer individuals. Trump has also attacked public schools multiple times, and claims that he would withhold funding to schools that recognize trans students.⁶

He’s also stated that he wishes to “Ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that: The only genders recognized by the U.S. government are male and female—and they are assigned at birth.”⁷ Which while he claims this is to protect youth, would greatly affect non-binary adults and trans adults as well. Also completely erasing any political discussion around intersex individuals.

“As part of our new credentialing body for teachers, we will promote positive education about the nuclear family, the roles of mothers and fathers, and celebrating rather than erasing the things that make men and women different and unique.”⁸ Bold is the author’s own emphasis. President Trump’s Plan to Protect Children from Left-Wing Gender Insanity | Agenda47 | Donald J. Trump

If you have friends in the LGBTQ+ community I would encourage you to reach out and show them love. Those that I have spoken with are really struggling with the implications of an anti-trans and homophobic president and VP would look like. Remind them that you care deeply for them and that they are loved and cherished.

“And one other thing I’ll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education in Washington D.C. and sending all education and education work and needs back to the States.” Donald J. Trump Agenda47: President Trump’s Ten Principles For Great Schools Leading To Great Jobs | Agenda47 | Donald J. Trump

Donald Trump has made repeated attacks on the public school system in both his speeches and his “Agenda 47.” Pushing for private catholic and Christian schools and homeschool students to receive government funding that would have gone towards public schools as well. I’m not going to cover every point he makes but he also wishes to quickly fire or censure any teacher that he may politically disagree with.⁹ He also wants to equip schools to increase civil punishments for any students that step out of line.

“He will order the Departments of Justice and Education to overhaul federal standards on disciplining minors to get violent thugs out of our children’s classrooms so they can get the professional help they need. When troubled youth are out of control, the consequences must be ‘swift, certain, and strong.’”¹⁰ Agenda47: President Trump’s Ten Principles For Great Schools Leading To Great Jobs | Agenda47 | Donald J. Trump

As part of Trump’s attacks on schools he’s made it clear that public schools shouldn’t have vaccine mandates. And threatened to cut funding for schools that have vaccine mandates (almost every public school in the US has some type of vaccine mandate). Trump has promised RFK Jr. control of multiple health and food regulatory agencies if he’s elected.¹¹ RFK Jr is a staunch antivaxxer and has promoted multiple health related conspiracies. This point is EXTREMELY important to me as I grew up within an anti-vax household. And many of my siblings did not receive their vaccines. The more society as a whole rejects vaccination the more preventable illness will become prevalent leading to higher death and illness rates in vulnerable communities.¹²

RFK Jr has also been heavily promoted in the anti-vax and anti-medicine community that I grew up in. Communities where conspiracy theories about vaccines and food abound. These theories often focus on kids with disabilities or neurodivergence. Implying or stating that the food and vaccines you use are causing your child’s neurodivergence. I do not want a man that does not trust our medical system or trust the efficacy of vaccines put in charge of regulating those very systems.¹³ RFK Jr’s slogan of “Make America Healthy Again” will only leave more children vulnerable to illness and conspiracies about their neurodivergence. And as someone with a neurodivergent child I do not wish for this country to step further into the belief that ADHD or autism are caused by gluten¹⁴ in your child’s diet or from your child’s vaccines.¹⁵

Overall, I’d like to state that the way autism and other disabilities are treated within the alternative health community is often far from respectful. I can only speak to my own experiences, but autistic children and those with ADHD are often belittled. And many children within this community will often remain undiagnosed as their parents do not trust standard psychiatrists or physicians. (Once again this is my personal opinion and experience from living within an anti vax and an anti-traditional medicine community. I know other’s experiences might differ.)

I think of comments made by Kennedy about autistic adults.

“I have never in my life seen a man my age with full-blown autism, not once. Where are these men? One out of every 22 men who are walking around the mall with helmets on, who are non-toilet-trained, nonverbal, stimming, toe-walking, hand-flapping. I’ve never seen it.”¹⁶ RFK Jr.

Quickly also recall how Trump has mocked those with disabilities in the past including his own family members.¹⁷ Neither Trump nor RFK Jr wish to respect the most vulnerable within society and treat them as valuable members of society.

I’d like to point out here that although Trump has claimed he is done with pro-life politics,¹⁸ those around him and counseling him are far from done on the topic.¹⁹ Trump will also more than likely appoint several supreme court justices further solidifying the supermajority the right already holds in the supreme court. These justices will continue to decide what laws do or do not stand for the next few decades. IVF, abortion access, and reproductive health will continue to be under attack in the next four years. I have a spouse and a child that both have a uterus. And I never want any government agency to tell them what choices they should have to make about their own health.

The issue of immigration is also a personal issue for me. My mother is still within the US as a non-citizen. She holds her green card and has lived here with my father since the 90s.²⁰ My brother was born in Canada and my parents had to apply for his US citizenship when we moved back to Michigan. I have coworkers and friends that are both immigrants and children of immigrants. While I know my family is white (and from Canada) and not a target of Trump’s anti-immigration efforts this is still an issue close to me. Immigrants are the very lifeblood of this country, and they have literally built this nation into what it is today. We cannot allow the fear of “outsiders” to fester within our nation. And I would almost bet that if everyone in the US looked around their neighborhoods, they would find an immigrant or a child of an immigrant. Immigrants are our neighbors, friends, co-workers, and families. I’ve already encouraged my mom to get out there and apply for her citizenship,²¹ but I realize that’s not possible for many individuals who may get caught up in a potential round up of those labeled as “illegal immigrants.” And as recent news cycles have already proven²² this fear of “foreigners” has already empowered and emboldened the racists that exist within our country.

I wish I had solutions. Writing feels so pointless so often. And I’m struggling not to catastrophize as I write. But if I can do anything it’s to call out the bullshit that I see with Trump and his campaign. Trump and those that continue to prop him up need to be held accountable for their actions and their hate.²³ I would urge others to call out mistruths when you see them and continue to work to protect the vulnerable in your communities. And take care of your own health and wellbeing as you work to do so.

1. Where did Trump’s false ‘they’re eating the pets’ claim come from? – NBC Chicago ↩︎
2. https://www.newsweek.com/trump-lawyer-alina-habba-carroll-sexual-abuse-1799323 ↩︎
3. I truly feel betrayed by my country. Trump fully showed everyone who he was, and people chose to side with him. I don’t know if it was naivety or just because I’ve recently left a high control religion. But I had assumed others would see the information available to them and make a choice to protect the minority members of America. However, as my coworker pointed out racism and misogyny are still a deep part of this country. ↩︎
4. President Trump’s Plan to Protect Children from Left-Wing Gender Insanity | Agenda47 | Donald J. Trump (the title of the video) In this same video he repeatedly attacks trans youth and gender affirming care. ↩︎
5. https://www.them.us/story/trump-ted-cruz-josh-hawley-republican-anti-trans-attack-ads-election ↩︎
6. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-keeps-coming-up-with-new-ways-to-threaten-school-funding/ar-AA1sIILH?ocid=BingNewsSerp ↩︎
7. https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/president-trumps-plan-to-protect-children-from-left-wing-gender-insanity ↩︎
8. There is a lot here to focus on, but I need to cover a wide variety of topics. This is authoritarian leader forcing his specific views on the youth of the nation. Intentionally marginalizing the LGBTQ+ community and teaching students that the only proper way to behave in society is in a heterosexual relationship. I’m reminded of my time at PCC and my homeschool curriculum through abeka. These exact types of teachings were popular with the specific sect of fundamentalism I grew up under. And especially within the college I attended there was no room for any type of affection or romance that did not fit within a heteronormative relationship. And you would be instantly expelled for the college for even voicing support for the LBGTQ+ community. ↩︎
9. “And he will create a credentialing body to certify teachers who embrace patriotic values and support the American Way of Life.” “We will empower parents and local school boards to hire and reward great principals and teachers, and also to fire the poor ones.” Agenda47: President Trump’s Ten Principles For Great Schools Leading To Great Jobs | Agenda47 | Donald J. Trump ↩︎
10. I personally do not wish to see more youth placed in juvenile detention centers and prison systems. (While I want my children safe, I do not feel like punishment for teens and young adults needs to reach draconic levels to “teach” our children how to act. Instead, we can teach them empathy and kindness from a young age, something many schools are already trying to implement.) https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/3AwLxSqo1jOOMpNsgxqRNE (Prison Song – System of a Down) ↩︎
11. “At a campaign rally in New York last week, Trump said he would let Kennedy ‘go wild on health,’ ‘go wild on the food,’ and ‘go wild on medicines.’ At a rally in Michigan on Friday, Trump said Kennedy would ‘have a big role in health care’ and has ‘some views that I happen to agree with very strongly.’” https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/03/politics/rfk-jr-fluoride-trump/index.html ↩︎
12. Look at recent outbreaks like https://www.npr.org/2024/10/10/nx-s1-5127422/whooping-cough-outbreak-u-s-seattle these will only become more common as vaccine acceptance rates go down. ↩︎
13. I’m not saying American healthcare is perfect. As someone that works in healthcare, I would never argue that. But I do not want someone that doesn’t trust basic science and proven medical practices trying to run our healthcare and food regulatory agencies. ↩︎
14. I have family members that believe that autistic traits can be cured using specific diets. ↩︎
15. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/autism/ (This is the type of information shared by RFK Jr. This the organization that he started “Children’s Health Defense”) I do not endorse anything on the page. But I’m using it as an example of Kennedy’s extreme views around vaccination. ↩︎
16. What RFK Jr. Gets Wrong About Autism – FactCheck.org ↩︎
17. https://time.com/7002003/donald-trump-disabled-americans-all-in-the-family/ (“Those people . . . ” Donald said, trailing off. “The shape they’re in, all the expenses, maybe those kinds of people should just die.”) Donald Trump when speaking to his nephew about his disabled child and other disabled individuals. ↩︎
18. Trump has also directly hinted at a Turning point speech that loudly supporting anti-abortion policies wouldn’t get him elected, but I’m still on your side (aka he’s still going to promote prolife policies). I’m paraphrasing, but that was the message I received as I listened to his speech. (This was the same speech where he stated we wouldn’t need to vote again after this election.) ↩︎
19. I’m not going to list them all. But even look at JD Vance and his stance on IVF or abortion. ↩︎
20. While it’s only a remote possibility, I fear that my mother would let her green card lapse or find herself unable to renew it if my father were to die. Thereby putting her into the camp of those that are “illegal.” She has family in Canada but her whole adult life has been spent in the states. And I know she would struggle to adjust to being forcibly told to go back to Canada. Her conspiratorial and anti government thinking would only make this type of situation worse. ↩︎
21. She ignored my message. And I can’t tell you how much that fucking hurts. Just acknowledge that I’m reaching out and care about your wellbeing. Please ↩︎
22. “Black people are receiving racist text messages about picking cotton ‘at the nearest plantation’” ↩︎
23. My fundamentalist history feels extremely relevant here. And I will continue to insert that within my writing and as I call out Trump. It feels both selfish and relevant to the topic at hand. Selfish in that I feel like I’m constantly focusing on myself and my own history, and relevant due to the increasing rise in calls for Christian nationalism within the US. I grew up within that culture and therefor have a better grasp on what fundamentalist Christians would like this country to look like. ↩︎