We Are Not Safe
There is hope with lament but there is no safety in denial
Photo Credit: Mike Labrum
I didn't sleep the night of Nov 6th. I was devastated. I had to reckon with the fact that I knew people, including family members, who voted for Trump again. I also had to reckon with the fact that there were leftists who discouraged people for voting for the only viable candidate against Trump despite the obvious outcomes of ethnic cleansing of migrants, immigrants in the US, that things would get incredibly worse for Black people, and that this administration would speed up the genocides in Congo, Gaza and Sudan.
I went through all five stages of grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance about three times a day. On the 16th of November I saw a work conference I wanted to attend in Italy, so I booked a plane ticket with points for the 18th (I know that some people will say that's my privilege but to be clear I never married, I never had kids and I've spent all my money on academics, travel and my work).
On the 18th, I was walking through the Oklahoma City airport on the way to my gate, and an Oklahoma couple with their adorable grandmother were standing in front of one of the Buffalo statues. They told her to smile and say something for the camera. This 5-foot sweet-looking grandmother said, "Praise Trump," with all of her chest. The couple looked alarmed, and the people around her looked dismayed, but she looked triumphant. At that moment, I felt such fear. It was not just the words but the spirit or energy behind what she said. She might as well have said, White Power, or Hail Hitl@r. I felt every bit of the unresolved trauma from my enslaved ancestors on my father's side in every cell of my body, yell - you are not safe here!
Trauma comes in many ways, but the three main ones are fight, flight, and freeze (denial). All are helpful at different times and in different ways, but to heal, you have to accept what has happened. I personally do not believe that any Black or Native person is safe in the US right now, nor frankly anyone else, even if you voted for him.
This story does not come with an antidote or answer; it just is. There is a whole book in the Hebrew Bible on lamentations, where the people lamented when their country was destroyed. Yes, there is hope with lament, but the first stage of healing is getting out of denial.