Memorial to the Murdered Members of the Reichstag. Designed by Dieter Appelt, Klaus W. Eisenlohr, Justus Müller and Christian Zwirner.
At this fraught time, it is imperative that we demand accountability and action from our elected leaders. We have to tell them what we expect of them and then hold them to those expectations. Petitions are great, but they overshadow the important work of individual citizens going directly to their elected representatives for a redress of grievances. I don’t think acts of individual kindness to strangers are bad, either. But what we face is not interpersonal, it’s systemic and it must be fought systemically.
I understand not wanting to put a target on oneself when an autocrat is coming to power but I think of it this way: I am a queer, black academic. I’m already targeted by the incoming regime, so what the hell? I am certainly not going to go out like a punk-ass.
So I sent this letter today. If you are in a red state or a blue state, I think you need to do the same. It is completely acceptable to demand-from GOP and Dems alike-to know how they are going to defend the Constitution that they have sworn to uphold.
It really does matter what side you are on. It really does matter what elected officials do and it matters if you remain silent while they are doing it. It really does matter if you see what is going on and you are too paralyzed to act. It really does matter if you choose to only do things that make you feel better personally. It really does matter if you put yourself at risk to help others.
It really does matter.
Dear Senators,
Thank you for your consistent and principled advocacy for the people of Massachusetts.
We face a real danger in the policies and people being brought out of the shadows and into a Trump administration. In addition to the know-nothing character of the President-Elect, our nation is being turned over to avowed white supremacists, Islamophobes, education privatizers, climate change deniers, and anti-choice zealots. I do not exaggerate when I tell you of the fear I feel for my safety as a gay black American. Hate crimes against African-Americans tracked by the Southern Poverty Law Center have spiked since the election. The vile, racist underbelly of the nation has been legitimized. It is becoming abundantly clear that the President-Elect is ginning up hatred on social media and undermining our elections and our civil discourse.
This is not ordinary. And as President Obama said, “Where does this stop?” I think mass violence against immigrants, people of color, or Muslims is no longer a specter on the horizon. We are one tweet away from pogroms.
Senators, what are you and other elected officials across the political spectrum going to do to prevent the rise of fascism in our beloved country? I need to know that you will not participate in support or normalizing a Trumpist agenda that will enshrine the values of the KKK in the White House and our courts.
Over 2 million more Americans voted for Secretary Clinton and the President-Elect called all these people “illegal voters.” This is disgusting, dangerous, dishonest and a direct attack on our voting rights. Trump is not to be supported or coddled. He must not be allowed to use the Federal government for the enrichment of his family’s fortune. He must reveal his financial and political ties to foreign actors. His appointments must be held to scrutiny and denied and their racist, misogynistic views must be repudiated at every level. And principled statesfolk like yourselves must fight against this hateful agenda and ensure that Americans who will be the victims of racist Trump supporters are protected.
Senators, my great-grandfather was murdered by the Klan in Georgia. I know of what I speak and I know the things of which these people are capable. I do not think them minor and I do not dismiss them. No one in government should collaborate with them. They do not respond to reason since they do not believe in our shared humanity. The only thing they can be is defeated.
Please, let me know your strategy for resisting and opposing the Trumpist agenda that is so clearly anathema to our beloved nation.
Steve Locke
Dedham, MA
Dear Prof. Locke,
Hi. I’m a random British lady teaching at an International School in Uganda; I was here on your blog today because I’ve got my IB students learning about language and power, and we were examining different kinds of texts connected with racial profiling – and I remembered your blog post from 2015, about getting stopped by the cops, so it was the text that I used as a spring board. I was kind of proud that I managed to get through a lesson for once without talking about the Trumpocalypse (although it is not coincidental that I changed their novel to 1984 after the election).
Anyway, hon, I just skipped ahead to see how you’re doing now. And, damn, here you are speaking truth to power once more.
I’m freaking out about current events on behalf of my American friends, but also on behalf of the planet. And I think you’re absolutely right to be panicking. I’m panicking, and I’m a middle class middle aged white British lady on the other side of the damn planet, so pretty far down the list of People Bannon And Co Are Gunning For – but I want the American Dream to hang in there. I want the USA that Barak and Michelle Obama were building. I want safety and inclusivity and hope, and a set of ideals (whether they’re always lived up to or not) which the rest of the world can look to.
The encroaching tyranny of the Donald really has made me realise how much I appreciate the IDEA of the USA, and its constitutional freedoms, however frustrating the military industrial complex and transphobic bathroom bills and all that crap might be. You guys have something precious – something rooted in genocide and slavery and fucking horrible things wrought by Europeans, granted, but still – the Founding Fathers had a vision of equality and justice and morality and compassion which, even if it was far in advance of its time, and didn’t yet encompass all Americans, was still something wonderful. Something worth fighting for.
And I’m scared for you. Because the only thing protecting that vision, and keeping the USA from becoming China 2.0 (or worse), is the consciences and determination of its citizens – far too many of whom are, bafflingly, swayed by the hateful Burnumesque rhetoric of The Donald.
So – sorry, total stranger here, but just – we’re rooting for you guys. And don’t let anyone tell you it’s all okay, and that you should give him a chance – because it’s not okay. It’s starkly terrifying.Which you know, obviously, but they are trying to gaslight the shit out of everyone, so – yeah. Stay safe, sir.