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Protest in Berlin

Two years ago, at the Brandenburg Gate and all around the neighborhood, Berlin was celebrating. Festival foods, Glühwein, music, videos of the city’s history, people whistling “Wind of Change,” and – the highlight of it all – a wall of lights. It was the 25th anniversary of the Mauerfall.

Once upon a time, this country’s citizens, suffering deeply, decided to point the finger of blame at people on welfare, people suffering from addiction or disabilities, liberals, gay men, academics, promiscuous women, racial minorities, and non-Christians – all accused of “ruining” their country. That kind of bigotry literally tore their country in two. Hence, a wall, blocking them off from each other. A self-begotten purgatory, the legacy of their choices.

For catharsis, I went to the Brandenburg Gate tonight, seeking at least some semblance of the celebrations of 2014. Festivities in honor of unity. Healing. Brotherhood. The ultimate victory of love.

There was none of that though. Instead, for reasons no one seemed to know, the bank adjoining the U.S. Embassy was lit up in red – not its typical color, but fitting. Meanwhile, the accoutrements of peaceful protest sat in front of the embassy. Candles, posters, flowers. One deeply disheartened American even discarded his old passport on the ground here earlier today; it was gone by the time I arrived. Americans, Germans, a Canadian, and a Brit stood around, expressing confusion and shock. Just a few paces away, a street violinist (unaffiliated) played “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” only heightening the sense of the surreal.

Nobody was confrontational. No sense of danger, no one in riot gear, just respect and good faith in everyone’s mutual civility, despite the political disenchantment. The beauty of a truly democratic society.

Tonight’s peaceful protest on the streets of Berlin was significant for another reason too. Decades ago, on this very night, all across Germany, there was violent mass rioting, motivated by xenophobia (Kristallnacht). Then, decades later, on the same date, the Berlin Wall started coming down. Germany wrecked itself with hate, suffered its own poisons… but then it healed. It took decades, but it healed.

I’m not sure what the road ahead looks like for America. But I have faith that America will heal too.

I’m gonna outlive donald trump i dont care how long i have to wait i wanna live in a world where he doesnt exist and I dont have to hear or see him 

Spite, fuel me

im not goin anywhere

White house staff watching Obama welcome Donald Trump as president. 

small reminder that if trump ever abuses his power we have the legitimate constitutional right to overthrow the government

#NotMyPresident

choncegiving:

The electoral college does not vote until December 19th. We have 40 days.

What does this mean?

Right now, the presidential election results are only a PROJECTION of the election outcome. They are PRELIMINARY RESULTS. A candidate still needs to earn 270 electoral votes to win. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, which means that more than 50% of the voters wanted her for president. The electoral college shouldn’t guarantee an override of the public’s opinion– and it doesn’t have to.

There are 21 states that do NOT restrict which candidate the electors vote for. Out of these 21, Hillary lost the following:

As you can see, these states are worth 166 electoral votes. As it currently stands, Hillary Clinton is projected to receive 232 votes. Trump is projected to win 306. This means that 37 votes need to be taken away from Trump to bring him down to 269. Hillary Clinton needs 38 votes ADDED to win 270. These electoral voters can also abstain, which means that they can refuse to vote for either candidate. If 37 of the voters within these states abstain then no candidate will have reached the required 270. In this case, the vote would be taken to the House.

Trump won Pennsylvania, a state that typically votes blue, by less than 100,000 votes. While it is highly unlikely to get all 20 electoral voters to cross party lines and vote democrat, it also isn’t impossible to convince a few of them to be “faithless electors.” We only need to convince 38 out of the 166. That is 23%. There are SIXTEEN states we need to focus our attention on.

A move like this would be unprecedented. However, as we all saw on November 8th, odds don’t guarantee reality. Trump had a less than 20% winning, yet given the circumstances, enough people came together and made it happen. We can make this happen. 

Ask yourself this: What do we have left to lose? We can stay complacent and accept that this country will be run by a racist, sexist, islamophobic, homophobic, ablest bigot, or we can at least try. 

How?

SPREAD THE WORD. Trend #NotMyPresident to let people know that we do not accept being led by a man who does not care about our wellbeing. Email your professors, email the dean of your colleges. The last thing a university wants is negative press. Millenials can take a stand, but that doesn’t mean we have to be the only ones. Church-led events helped bring a lot of disillusioned voters to the polls. Spread the word in any way possible, whether it be on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or even in person. Stage a peaceful protest. Hand out flyers. Let the people around you know that you don’t accept this man as your leader when he won’t even accept you as a citizen with your designated rights.

These 166 people need to face the consequences of electing this man. 

Do this for the people who couldn’t vote. Do this for the people who live in the very real fear of being deported. Do this for the people who will have to face the rise in hate crimes. Do this for the people who have a very real possibility of losing their rights. Do this for the people who will no longer afford necessities. 

It happened.

The time for mourning is over. Time to pick up the pieces. 

It might feel like we’ve woken up in a new world, but the truth is, America is the same as it was before. We elected him. We did this, because this is what is at our core. Trump is merely a byproduct of the cancer that has infected us. He is the effect, but not the cause.

So we have to keep on, moving forward and chipping away at the hatred that has shaped this election. We have to be vigilant. We have to be proactive. They are in control now, and they will be working around the clock to retract our steps in social progress. They will not be kind to those of us in the minority: the women, the people of color, immigrants, and those who do not share their faith. Their policies do not favor us. They never have.

So we have to stay on our toes.

The next congressional election is in two years, when all 435 House seats and 33/100 Senate seats will be up for grabs. We have much work to do before then.

Now I will return to your regularly scheduled Star Wars. Here if any of you need to talk. It’s a dark day for everybody, whether they realize it or not.

skaian-heretic:

i texted my dad and told him i’m terrified. he called me and said this: 

“I know you’re scared. I know you feel isolated and helpless. But you aren’t alone. You have me. You have our family. You have your friends and your readers and millions of other Americans who are going to scream down the mountains with you. I know a lot of queer people grew up with just them against the world, but that isn’t how it is anymore. Even if he wins, you’ll be alright, because you aren’t alone.” 

and now i’m crying. 

“I first ran for Congress in 1999, and I got beat. I just got whooped. I had been in the state legislature for a long time, I was in the minority party, I wasn’t getting a lot done, and I was away from my family and putting a lot of strain on Michelle. Then for me to run and lose that bad, I was thinking maybe this isn’t what I was cut out to do. I was forty years old, and I’d invested a lot of time and effort into something that didn’t seem to be working. But the thing that got me through that moment, and any other time that I’ve felt stuck, is to remind myself that it’s about the work. Because if you’re worrying about yourself—if you’re thinking: ‘Am I succeeding? Am I in the right position? Am I being appreciated?’ – then you’re going to end up feeling frustrated and stuck. But if you can keep it about the work, you’ll always have a path. There’s always something to be done.” (Humans of New York)