Here’s REBELLION

re·bel·lion

an act of resistance to an established ruler or government

” Why? ”

The first thought that entered my head when I started educating myself on feminism.

The first thought on November 9th.

The first thought when I finished watching 13th the movie.

I’ll be honest, I really wanted to write sooner, but my body went into a stage of shock after the election. I would have loved to say that I was fully in control of my reaction and that I smiled my way through the following hours………..

But I would be lying.

It hit me like a truck. I wasn’t ready. The best metaphor I can think of is that of grieving, but the kind of grieving where you stop feeling anything after the initial breakdown. Yeah, just like that.

I wanted to do so much in such little time. Wanted to hit the streets in unity and protest. Wanted to reverse the last 24 hours. Wanted to change all the mentalities that are causing harm.

I wanted to change the world. And that seemed so impossible. Especially, when my body felt like it could barely hold itself up.

And I know some of you are thinking it…. “Why has this election been so emotional?” And to that I answer, “Is it bad to mourn all the God-given lives being killed by pure prejudice?”

I’m not against Trump. He won’t get everything he wants done. But don’t mistake that I’m purely against the ideas and actions that he further normalized. I’m mad because more men think that it’s okay to grab a woman’s p****. I’m mad because white supremacists think that it’s okay to torture and harass the Black community. I’m mad because more Muslims are being told to rip off their hijabs or in some cases have it ripped off. They are being called terrorists and now you have a President who makes it seem like it’s okay. I’m mad because Latin’s, as a whole, are being seen as wetbacks or illegal immigrants. I’m mad because so many people are ignoring the DAPL.

Now, I know what’s running through the heads of those who don’t agree with me. “But Trump is pro-life.” “He wants to keep the sanctity of marriage and protect family values.” “At least he isn’t under FBI investigation.” “It’s just his attitude, he’s being honest.” “He wants to instill Christian values.” “We didn’t protest when Obama was elected. Hillary supporters are being aggressive.”

WOW, that’s an interesting list, isn’t it?  I’m going to take one point at a time to show you why they might be invalid.

1. “But Trump is pro-life.”: Ah, the good old Christian problem. I simply have one thing to say about this. How many of you would be willing to pay a small amount of taxes for orphanages, food stamps for kids, and education? Yes, I know. Not many. We complain about our taxes enough as it is, why try to add more to it? Now, here’s the problem… Many Christians are fully against killing humans who fit in a petri dish, but we do so little to keep the actual living and breathing children alive. We fight for them before they have met the world, but turn a blind eye once they are born. “It’s not our fault they are living on the streets. Or begging. Or starving” Actually it is our fault because we fought to let them have a life, but refuse to do the bare minimum to keep them alive. It’s like a vegan saving a live chicken from being killed for human consumption and then sticking it in a cage with no food or water. Did you really fix the problem? Or did you just change one bad situation into another? It’s like when my mom tells me to put something away and I just move it into another incorrect location. I didn’t fix the problem, just the situation.
2. “He wants to keep the sanctity of marriage and protect family values.” Uh, okay. Lots of thoughts. First off, what is the definition of protecting family values? Because I don’t think your President sees it as removing abusive parents, helping families in poverty, helping parents with disabling mental and physical issues, and aiding low-income families with education costs. We all really know it just means “Stop the gays.” Because Lord forbid, all those orphans get adopted by loving families, right? Now, I’m fully aware that the Christians reading this right now are probably losing their minds. Well, let’s take a short history lesson……………………….To begin let’s just remember that our country was not founded on “Christian” values. Some of the Founding Fathers acknowledged that there was a higher power, but ventured no further. Very few of the Founding Fathers actually had complex and developed ideas about Christianity. In addition, how can your country be founded on “Christian” values and ideals if the land it is on is a graveyard for Native Americans? I mean really, how Christian is that? This is the land of the free. How can we actually believe this, but refuse to grant free will when it comes to marriage? Same-sex marriage does not threaten cis heterosexual marriage. Therefore, why do Christian people feel the need to erase any legal possibilities for that kind of marriage? It isn’t necessary, we are just limiting people when it brings no harm. As long as neither queer nor religious people are forcing their beliefs on the government/society, then let it be. And by the previous statement, I mean not having only “Christian marriages” or “same-sex marriages.”
3. “At least he isn’t under FBI investigation.” Welllllll, let me give you some food for thought. “By USA Today‘s count, Trump is involved in at least 75 ongoing cases.” Sounds like fun! Totally being honest this is a pretty bad excuse, so I’m not spending much time here. Now, I’m not pro-Hillary (never was), but I find it pretty sad that Mr. Trump has absolutely no governmental/military experience. Sure, they were both bad candidates in there own sense, but honestly how hard is it to be against a man who says lewd comments about women, dehumanizes immigrants, and has a past in sexual harassment and assault? He goes against the very definition of morals, has no self-control, and “bullies” minorities. His actions have further normalized sexism, racism, ableism (discrimination and social prejudice against people with disabilities. Ableism characterizes persons as defined by their disabilities and as inferior to the non-disabled.), and homophobic actions. None of these are right and neither is an FBI investigation.
4. “It’s just his attitude, he’s being honest.” “He wants to instill Christian values.” Quick question: If your sibling, child, grandchild, nephew, etc. said something completely mean and rude to a fellow friend or child, how would you react? Would you say, “it’s just their attitude” ? I would hope not. Trump functions as a rude, hateful man who claims to have Christian ideals. Sounds like perfect chaos. The second most important commandment in the Bible is “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” How can you love your fellow humans if you are constantly insulting them and their beliefs? Do you see the slight problem here? Now, some people are thinking “Oh, it’s just his opinion,” and to that I respond…. Opinions are for things like your favorite ice cream flavor or pizza combination, NOT hating women, POC (people of color), and any other minorities. Opinions don’t hate, just prefer.
5. “We didn’t protest when Obama was elected. Hillary supporters are being aggressive.” Okay, I’m fully aware that many of the people reading this didn’t protest during either election and that is why I have chosen to not direct my message towards you, personally. People DID protest President Obama’s election  and quite horrendously if I might say so.                          Well, how about that? Everyone protests about everything, let’s get that straight. And within protests there are always the people that will try to incite violence and aggressiveness, you can’t prevent that. Protests are our constitutional right and even though I don’t believe that violence is the answer to anything, let’s just remember that the Boston Tea party, Berlin Wall, the Orange Revolution, and Tiananmen Square were all slightly violent/violent protests that drastically changed our course in history. If you are the people saying that we should move on, then I’m afraid you’re probably not the people being affected by Trump’s policies or the actions that his followers take. Don’t minimize our problems by saying that we should move on. Families might be separated. Women have and will continue to be ridiculed and silenced. Religions will be demonized. Colored people will be further insulted and hurt in this society. These problems aren’t invisible or fantasy. Open your eyes and heart.

 

 

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” -Desmond Tutu

“As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.”- Nelson Mandela

“If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.”

 

 

REBEL AGAINST THE UNJUST SYSTEM
BE BOLD

(Keep an eye out for my next blog about the 13th amendment and its loophole)