Most of us know the rest of that statement goes, believed to have been initially attributed to our Ancestral Queen, Maya Angelou, “believe them.”
The final tally and election of the next U.S. President has been achieved. And it is not Donald Trump. Many of us feel a sense of relief; the many of which I speak are Black, Brown, poor, military, ex FBI directors, etc., people who have been the verbal target of the 45th POTUS at one time or another. Oh yes, did I forget to say Women?
The data is now coming forward as to the demographics of this voting season. The analyzing of how people vote, usually a good indicator of what they believe to be true, is going to create shockwaves in our communities and nation. For it will reveal, in my humble opinion, that a large segment of white women voted to give Donald Trump the keys to the Ferrari. Again. The numbers show that MORE white women voted FOR Donald Trump in 2020 than did in 2016.
Now mind you, Trump has wrecked two of our cars already the past few years. The US economy is worse than when he took office in 2017, and the denial of and inept mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic is at the top of the list of his failures. Currently, more than 245,000 Americans have died from the virus. Most of them should still be alive today.
He has hired only the best people in his administration, people who have been imprisoned, and some pardoned – even before they slept one night behind bars. His friends are not the kind to positively influence him, your daughter/son/nephew/friend. So why allow him to continue to flail, flounder and (bleep) us up again?
How do we look at our neighbors, co-workers, or clergy now? Remember Maya’s warning, for they have shown us who they are…
If America is truly seeking to be a nation that honors it pledge of guaranteeing liberty and justice for all, then WE had better begin having those really honest and difficult conversations about systemic racism…NOW! That smoke rising in the corner that we have ignored as “just a little annoyance” has now become an inferno—primed to burn the whole country down.
White Mothers, what are you teaching your sons and daughters? What are they observing you say and do when nobody is paying attention? When there’s no one with a cell phone to record it. Are you a closet Karen?
The 45th POTUS was seen as a role model to far too many of you. He’s had no regard for anyone that does not carry his surname. And, there are some in his own family whom he cares very little about. Ask Don, Jr.
We, America, will never go back to the good-old-days when “minorities” in this country were expected to “know their place” and be satisfied with a second-class existence. Those Leave it To Beaver days were just scripted television. Or did you really believe that was how life was supposed to be lived?
So sit on down. Let’s have a talk on Zoom and get to know each other. You have shown us who you really are. We want to believe you know better. We are not moving to the back of the bus. And Kamala Harris, that amazing, successful, daughter of immigrants, Brown-skinned Senator from California, is the next Vice-President of the United States of America.
And while we are at it, let’s thank a few million Black men and women, young and older, urban AND suburban, whose commitment to the Democratic party and the Biden-Harris slate likely saved democracy in this Nation and around the World. Make sure your children know that truth. Show them your best self as we go forward and build our more perfect union.
The Traveler Weekly 