Guys, we're in trouble.
I think conservation policies are about to take a tumble. The president elect has at best a contradictory environmental agenda, and at worst a completely destructive bent that could reverse just about every gain from the past 50 years. Of course, it's definitely not just him; the GOP isn't really a fan of environmentally progressive policies, either. I'm concerned grants and funding will dry up. I wouldn't be surprised to see many management and regulatory frameworks disappear. I'm pretty confident that research and monitoring programs will be stripped bare.
Someone texted me a few days ago asking me to, "keep an open brain and join the women for Trump." I found that offensive for a number of reasons, only one of which this person could potentially understand: my business will almost certainly be negatively impacted by the new administration. The things I work for and towards are low-hanging fruit when it comes to slash-and-burn rejiggering of budgets.
What this person can never understand is the helplessness I feel and how worried I am for my friends who are gay or women or people of color or anything besides a white heterosexual male. Seriously, my decreased earning potential is the least scary part of all of this. It's laughable that it's even on my radar, but like I said, I don't think the person who texted me has the capability to empathize with anything else.
Yes, our environmental situation is dire and descending quickly into the realm of irreparably disastrous, but what's more dire is that days after the election, two racist, sexist jackasses drove around my alma mater yelling obscenities at women (which is only one example of abuse out of dozens my loved ones have experienced since November 8th) because our soon-to-be Commander in Chief doesn't just condone hatred, he promotes it. He gleefully opened Pandora's box and all the fear-spawned evil lurking in our populace's hearts came pouring out and found shelter under his big, orange wings.
Maybe *you* didn't vote for Trump because you're racist or sexist or xenophobic or terrified of people who aren't part of your monolithic culture; maybe you're just sick of politics as usual, or you're a single issue voter, or you want something new and different or you really love The Apprentice. However, in the words of a friend of mine, "I [...] see people writing, I know that all Trump supporters aren’t racists. They’re wrong. You are a racist. You may not actively sit around plotting out ways to firebomb a black church, but your vote for Trump legitimized a white power movement in the US and put your own self-interest ahead of the safety and security of a country full of minorities. That’s [...] racist. You’re a racist by virtue of the action you just took if by nothing else in your life."
I don't think I can say it any more succinctly than that.
Suzy Kassem, a great woman who writes amazing poetry, said that, "If sheep elect wolves to be their shepherds, they deserve to be eaten."
What will be left of any of it, all of it, all of us, when this meal is over?
I think conservation policies are about to take a tumble. The president elect has at best a contradictory environmental agenda, and at worst a completely destructive bent that could reverse just about every gain from the past 50 years. Of course, it's definitely not just him; the GOP isn't really a fan of environmentally progressive policies, either. I'm concerned grants and funding will dry up. I wouldn't be surprised to see many management and regulatory frameworks disappear. I'm pretty confident that research and monitoring programs will be stripped bare.
Someone texted me a few days ago asking me to, "keep an open brain and join the women for Trump." I found that offensive for a number of reasons, only one of which this person could potentially understand: my business will almost certainly be negatively impacted by the new administration. The things I work for and towards are low-hanging fruit when it comes to slash-and-burn rejiggering of budgets.
What this person can never understand is the helplessness I feel and how worried I am for my friends who are gay or women or people of color or anything besides a white heterosexual male. Seriously, my decreased earning potential is the least scary part of all of this. It's laughable that it's even on my radar, but like I said, I don't think the person who texted me has the capability to empathize with anything else.
Yes, our environmental situation is dire and descending quickly into the realm of irreparably disastrous, but what's more dire is that days after the election, two racist, sexist jackasses drove around my alma mater yelling obscenities at women (which is only one example of abuse out of dozens my loved ones have experienced since November 8th) because our soon-to-be Commander in Chief doesn't just condone hatred, he promotes it. He gleefully opened Pandora's box and all the fear-spawned evil lurking in our populace's hearts came pouring out and found shelter under his big, orange wings.
Maybe *you* didn't vote for Trump because you're racist or sexist or xenophobic or terrified of people who aren't part of your monolithic culture; maybe you're just sick of politics as usual, or you're a single issue voter, or you want something new and different or you really love The Apprentice. However, in the words of a friend of mine, "I [...] see people writing, I know that all Trump supporters aren’t racists. They’re wrong. You are a racist. You may not actively sit around plotting out ways to firebomb a black church, but your vote for Trump legitimized a white power movement in the US and put your own self-interest ahead of the safety and security of a country full of minorities. That’s [...] racist. You’re a racist by virtue of the action you just took if by nothing else in your life."
I don't think I can say it any more succinctly than that.
Suzy Kassem, a great woman who writes amazing poetry, said that, "If sheep elect wolves to be their shepherds, they deserve to be eaten."
What will be left of any of it, all of it, all of us, when this meal is over?