politics

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Active Citizenship

I just spent the last 2 hours submitting written testimony against 8 bills being introduced in the Maine legislature. What are the bills regarding? Oh, just more laws to take away trans rights.

There’s a group of Republicans in Maine who want to force schools to block trans athletes from participating in sports that align with their gender identity. Other bills want schools to force kids to use their names and genders that are listed on their birth certificates and others are trying to force schools to make students use bathrooms that align with the gender listed on their birth certificates.

And to top it all off, these Republicans want to remove gender identity from the list of protected characteristics under the Maine Human Rights Act. The MHRA is my state’s anti-discrimination law that prohibits discrimination based on protected characteristics like race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, and others, in employment, housing, education, etc.

A month ago I wrote to my local senator and representative when I heard about the change the Republicans wanted to make with the MHRA. Both of my local people are Republicans. I wrote them both an email, explaining why I am asking them not to vote for this—we should never be taking away rights from anyone, particularly those that are already marginalized. And if they think this would solve the problem of Trump’s attack on Maine because he doesn’t think a trans high school athlete should be playing on a team that aligns with her gender identity, they are mistaken.

“Please do not align with this type of thinking. Please think about all of the people in your community. And please don’t tell me that you think this will solve the problems of Trump bearing down on our state. If you’ve never been bullied before, maybe you don’t recognize a bully. If you’ve never suffered domestic abuse or misogyny, maybe you don’t recognize that either. But I have faced all of these things, and I can tell you, that the bully in the White House will keep pushing until he gets everything he wants. And I don’t want him and you to take away rights from my family and friends because you think this issue is about transgender athletes. It’s most definitely not. It’s about exclusion. Period.”–from my email and testimony

Did they respond to the email I sent a month ago? Nope. So I made sure in my testimony against this bill, I called them out on it.

I’m angry. And I’m sick of my state’s legislature wasting their time on asinine bills like this instead of working on food insecurity and lack of housing in this state. How about helping folks with substance use or mental health challenges?

During my 8th testimony, I started to lose it. I was starting to quote Mel Robbins. LET THEM, I wrote. Who cares if a kid wants to use a name that’s different from their birth certificate? For fuck’s sake, it DOESN’T MATTER! (I didn’t swear, but it might have been implied.)

I know I didn’t write the best testimony because my emotions got the best of me. I didn’t always relate it back to me and I ranted on a few of them and got snarky on most. I’m just so tired of these jackasses. The thing is, we know these bills have absolutely nothing to do with athletics or bathrooms. They’re all part of Trump’s agenda to eliminate anyone who disagrees with him and everyone who is not like him. His government has already eliminated trans history from federal government websites (like Stonewall), so now states across the country are introducing bills like these.

I am not a person that will ever run for office, but I am willing to make my voice heard on a variety of issues. Last month I submitted written testimony in support of “Virginia’s bill” that would not allow a person convicted of certain domestic violence acts to be able to participate in a community confinement monitoring program. Virginia was our family friend who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, a man who in prison for domestic violence and was a part of one of these programs.

As a young adult, I participated in AIDS and Alzheimer’s walks, the occasional protest and wrote letters to the editor. But in the past 5 months, I’ve supplied written testimony to bills I both supported and opposed, participated in 3 protests and marches, and made phone calls and wrote emails to my Senators and Representatives. If I have anything to be grateful for from this administration, it would be that their fascism got me more involved in political participation than ever before.

Friends, I know you’re busy. I know you’re tired and life can be absolute shit. But it’s time to stand up. It’s time to speak out NOW. Don’t wait until it’s too late and don’t wait for someone else to do it.

If you’re a Mainer and need more information about the bills being proposed, check out Equality Maine, especially their Facebook page. They have great guides on what the bills are and how to submit testimony. The bills will be discussed on Thursday, May 8th, so you still have time.

Thanks for listening to my plea, all. I appreciate you.

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Willfully Ignorant

I recently had a conversation with someone whom I know to be kind, intelligent and well-informed. They admitted they purposely have not read, watched or listened to any kind of news since before the November election. Their physical and mental health was tremendously better.

I was speechless. Then angry. Fucking dumbfounded.

Since then I’ve talked to friends asking what they thought about this. Hell, I even talked to my therapist about it. I understand wanting to save yourself, wanting to be ok. But in this case? I don’t think that’s enough of a reason to not wanting to know what’s happening.

Let’s say you have every privilege there is: your skin color, your gender, your sexual orientation, your financial status, your mobility, your education, your employment status. You got it all. But you don’t want to know what’s happening in the world, in our country that we currently live in? Because it’s going to make you angry or sad? Big fucking deal. Grow a pair of ovaries and step the fuck up.

Will you be one of those that stand by while trucks of your fellow countrymen are carted off to the camps? Will you be one of the people that helps load that truck? Or will you speak out before that can happen?

EDUCATE YOURSELF. Look, there is a shit ton of info out there and I have had to pare down what’s coming at me, too. There’s too much of it. I personally get most of my information from a few sources, first being Heather Cox Richardson. She blogs daily, Letters from an American. She’s a historian and originally from Maine. She tells you what’s happening in the political world and puts it into historical context. I read Robert Reich’s Substack posts because they often give tips on how to fight back but also throws in positive news, even if it doesn’t seem like it. Reich is a professor and former US Secretary of Labor under Clinton. I get the New York Times headlines and will read some of the articles. Lastly, I’ll watch a few minutes from CBS news, mostly to yell at the screen and tell them that the death of an actor or the winning of a sports team should NOT be the first headline in any news day when fascists are trying to ruin the country.

If you like, I am happy to give you a bulleted list each day of the bullshit that’s happening. Then maybe your ears won’t get full of fleas and spiders. If you stick your head too far down into the sand, things can get ugly.

Let’s start! Here’s a very brief list of some of the shit that’s happened in the last month.

  • Trump pardoned all the people involved during the January 6th insurrection, including those that assaulted police officers.
  • All references to transgender folks have been removed from the Stonewall National Monument website. Someone forgot to tell Trump that you can’t spell history without the T.
  • Social Security and Medicaid are being raped & pillaged. Hope you weren’t counting on any of that. Oh, but, your neighbors already are.
  • Elon Musk is really running the show, along with a bunch of other rich dicks. He’s responsible for cutting a bunch of federal jobs. You might know someone who lost their job recently. No? Don’t worry. You will.
  • Congress isn’t doing their job. They are just as much to blame for this catastrophe as Trump and Musk. Feel free to call them (202-224-3121) or email your Congress people.
  • And then this. Watch it. It is tremendously upsetting. I sobbed and yelled and nearly vomited. Why? Well in case you don’t have the stomach to watch it, here’s what happened. At a Republican-hosted legislative town hall in Idaho, several people shouted “Women are dying” in response to a comment about Roe v Wade. The man at the podium called the people’s remarks “stupid” and called the people “crazy.” So others started yelling, “Is this a town hall or a lecture?” Teresa Borrenpohl was one of the women speaking out. She was dragged from the audience by men in plain clothing, who refused to say who they were. Meanwhile, the asshat at the podium is ridiculing her. AND MOST PEOPLE JUST WATCHED IT HAPPEN.

So…what do you think? Are you angry? Sad? Pissed at me because you feel I have no reason to be mad at you? You’re just one person trying to take care of yourself, trying to live a quiet, decent life, right? Trying to be a good person.

So were Edith & Otto Frank. Look how that turned out.

Here’s the thing: You don’t have to go out and protest if you don’t want to or if you are working too many hours or have other responsiblities that take up most of your time. Trust me. I do understand that.

Do one of these instead:

  • Send an email to (or call) your local and state Representatives and Senators. Tell them what you don’t like and what you wish they’d do.
  • Stop buying from companies that are giving money to Trump and his oligarchy and buy locally from businesses that you know support human rights.
  • Give money to organizations that are helping feed or house folks that can’t afford to.
  • Make a sign and put it in your house or car window. Let people know you support LGBTQ+ rights and that LGBTQ+ folks matter.
  • Or please, just educate yourself. I’m serious about sending you a daily email if you want me to.

We need you.

You’re better than an ostrich. I mean, ostriches are really cool and I’m a fan of long necks myself, but as a human? You’re better than that. So please, do better.

The future depends on it.

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End Times

Thursday morning I awoke with an anxiety attack. I don’t know what I had been dreaming, but my first thought was about my son’s ankles and the fact that they’ve been hurting him for a few weeks, shortly after he started playing football. That one thought spiraled into worries about new shoes and getting him a new doctor and worrying about the health of our current doctor and how do I pay for my last medical bill and I hope the food bank has more produce next week because this week was a bust and we really need more vegetables in the house and I need to stop thinking, stop thinking, stop thinking.

Yeah.

Hello, 4:30am.

So I got up, drank coffee, ate half a banana, and took a 4 mile walk while listening to a gloriously smutty romance novel. (Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey–Anything by Bailey is fun and often smutty. Delicious!) My hip was screaming by the end of the walk, but at least I wasn’t concerned about money. The time outside and moving my body was enough to clear my head and make a plan to at least have my son’s ankles wrapped before that day’s football practice. I just refused to worry about the other stuff the rest of the morning. It was just too much to think about. It was just too, too much.

The thing is…life is not horrible. It’s hard for sure. It’s a struggle. It’s scary not knowing…anything really. The political climate of this country does not help matters. My son, my beautiful child, is a political science/government/history junkie and so we tend to read, listen and watch more news than ever before. But I have now had to stop, because I can’t stop freaking the fuck out.

I’m ashamed to say that when I heard there had been an assassination attempt on former President Trump, I was disappointed to hear that it was only an attempt. The anger I have at Trump for installing so many jackasses to the Supreme Court and his party’s disgusting Project 2025 plan, made me hope for his death. And I’m not happy that I had that reaction. There is no place for political violence.

But I have to be honest in how I feel. We’re living in a country where many women no longer have a right to choose what they do to their own bodies, and where librarians and teachers are harassed and called “groomers” for providing access to books that represent children like mine.

This isn’t the same country I was born and raised in. It’s turning into a hateful place, where people no longer feel safe to speak how they feel about a political candidate unless they are in a group of like-minded individuals. And I am speaking about both Republicans and Democrats. As a liberal Democrat living in a small conservative town, I rarely feel comfortable expressing how I feel here. When you see Trump signs or F*ck Biden signs on just about every road, how else should I feel? But I also know of librarians that are Republicans that will not say a word about politics for fear of their colleagues damning them for their views.

You know, I rarely talk about politics publicly. I work in a public library so I keep my mouth shut while at work (except with some colleagues), and at home we do talk about politics but sometimes it’s just too exhausting. It is incredibly difficult to live with someone who disagrees with you politically. So most days we keep it to a minimum. That’s how we’ve remained married for nearly 27 years. Yet our son, who knows more about American history than we do, and is thoughtful and knowledgeable about our current political system, will bring facts and a sense of calm to our family discussions. (Facts and calm to political discussions. Isn’t that something?) I see my son and much of his generation as a beacon of hope. When they are of age to vote and run for office, I hope we will begin to see a change in our world for the better.

And hope is what we need right now. All of us. For a variety of reasons.

You know, I sent this photo to a friend recently who is no longer speaking to me. I’m not sure why they’re not speaking to me, but it may have nothing to do with me. It was a message to let them know that I have hope that our friendship will remain and hope that our lives will get better, but also just to say that I’m still here.

And I am. I’m here. And so are you. And I’m so happy and thankful for that. So let’s get through another night together. I know we can make it through. ❤