I’m Not American, But... (Redux)

Hello friends,

We’ve been here before. Waking up to a world that’s exactly the same for many of us (Black women, I’m especially looking at you), yet totally changed for others (people who didn’t get what a drug whiteness is, I’m looking at you.)

I remember how I felt back in 2016. I wrote about it at the time. And I’d like to share that piece, only minimally updated, with you now.

I’m Not American, But…

I am not an American, but I feel the 2016 2024 US election result like a rapier through the heart. I’m in deep mourning right now.

Why?

As someone recently told me, whether you turned out to be Jamaican, Barbadian or American depended on where the “slave ship” stopped.

So, yes, I feel a kinship with my African American brothers and sisters who woke up on November 9th 6th knowing that their lives didn’t matter to the newest power elite that will be taking over the White House in January 2017 2025.

And I feel a kinship with my LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters who have faced discrimination for a fact of birth, for who they are, and who wonder whether all the recent welcome advances will be rolled back. {2024 update: this is already happening.]

And I feel a kinship with women who have had to fight for a still elusive equality and now face the prospect of legal repercussions from the “barefoot and pregnant” brigade. [2024 update: Roe v Wade is already gone and worse is coming.]

And I feel a kinship with all of my network who value equality and hate discrimination, who welcome diversity and oppose segregation.

Like many others, I have watched the unfolding of the US election with initially amusement [2024 update: no amusement this time round because we knew what we were getting], then horror, then fear. Surely, I thought, they won’t put an acknowledged bigot and sexual predator in the White House [2024 update: Surely they wouldn’t do it again.} But slightly less than 50% of the voters did (let’s not even get into that weird system).

So although I’m not American, this still feels personal to me. It feels like everything my ancestors fought and died for is under attack.

When you see swastikas on walls in America, you know the far right is rising. They have had the support of supposedly rational people to do it. Don’t be fooled, it’s not just the uneducated who voted for the Donald.

Something I read a while back has always resonated with me: when someone shows you who they are, believe them.

We’ve seen who the Orange one is, so we’d better believe dark days are coming.

The question is: what are we going to do about it?

More than ever, this is the time to cast light into the shadows and highlight the injustices. We can’t afford to give ground while we wait the nightmare out. We have to do our part to stop it.

For me, that’s writing, sharing, discussing and maybe even strategising. [2024 update: And leaning into and building community and coalitions.] My vote and actions don’t affect the outcome of anything in America. If yours do., what are you going to do about it?

[2024 update: here’s my reflection on on this year’s results and what I think comes next - the headline says it all.]

It’s a little bit worrying how true this still is and how much of it could have been written yesterday. But I also know that when we have begun to catch our breath, there are plenty of us committed to doing the work. If you’re reading this, I hope that includes you.

Thanks for reading,

Sharon

Note: poll feedback is private - if you’re happy to share your thoughts in public, then please also leave a comment.

I am an anti-racism educator and activist, the author of “I’m Tired of Racism”, and co-host of The Introvert Sisters podcast.

© Sharon Hurley Hall, 2016, 2024. All Rights Reserved. This newsletter is published on beehiiv (affiliate link).