Episode 1: "Nothing will change for you."

I think the hardest thing I am being told today by those who intend to console me:

         "It doesn't really matter, this changes nothing, life will go on."

I think they mean to tell me that the election won't adversely affect me. I think they mean to remind me of the privilege I enjoy where I still have a job to report to, a rented home to return to, and an aging vehicle to travel between them while I stop to pick up increasingly overpriced groceries from the same store. I've even been told to look forward to the possibility that eggs will actually be cheaper soon.

I think they miss how desperately I wanted things to change.

I wanted our country to change the eroding notion that the standards by which I have to pass scrutiny about an uncharged arrest on every job interview should also apply to the highest office in the land, so that we could say together that we didn't want to be governed by a 34 time convicted felon.

I wanted our country to change the global perception that the only thing Americans hate more than a rapist is a woman, by saying that all people within it deserve basic bodily autonomy.

I wanted to know that my friends, neighbors, and even family could change to recognize the idea that being perceived as an "illegal" is fundamentally flawed, no matter how you justify it. I wanted my country to declare that mass indiscriminate deportations are not a solution to anything. That the humans harvesting our crops and building homes on this land are as deserving of the ability to live and eat here.

I wanted to see a page turned on a nation that preys on families abroad while offering only thoughts and prayers to victims of domestic terrorism and gun violence, a change from policies that enable genocide and depose democratic governments to those which could at least uphold basic human rights, at home if not across the world.

I wanted our country to change the notion that votes can be bought.

I wanted our country to say that we were not ok with being led by someone who would sell his allegiance to the highest bidder, while openly profiting from the degradation of values our nation claims to uphold.

I wanted to know that the education I have made a profession of has helped reach people, and at least empowered them to trust science, history, and journalism brought by people who have made the pursuit of truth a lifelong career, over the ramblings of a reality tv show host whose documented fraud and lies are so voluminous that their printed form could fill whole buildings.

I STILL want to see a change in a democratic policy that flat out ignores EVERYTHING their constituents asked for, making their campaign about the character of the opponent. Maybe that SHOULD have been enough, but what's clearly begged for is even a promise of change on things like housing inequality, wage stagnation, and of course, the egregious enabling of a foreign apartheid-- even if folks can't call it a genocide, recognizing it shouldn't be allowed would have been a start. At very least, acknowledging that not meeting the constituent needs actually IS a failed strategy.

What I am being told today is that it doesn't matter that the structures of self-determinism in the "land of the free" are on track to continue their accelerated decline. The victory of the right seems solidified in that the people so desperate for a change in a national system that doesn't work for its people are no longer motivated to do anything about it.

Numbers as they stand suggest that the former president lost nearly 3 million votes from his total in 2020, and still won the popular vote, because the democratic challenger frittered away almost 15 million votes... Just short of 18 million people who responded to the pressure of "the most important election of our lives" in 2020 could not be moved by the same rhetoric again.

"This changes nothing" is a claim made either by those who have already given up, or recognize that they are on the side who is gloating over a victory decades in the making. "It doesn't really matter" is a claim made by those with the privilege to be insulated from the horrific problems with our society. A quote I am finding I align with: "If you think you love 'freedom' but you don't care if it applies to everyone, what you actually love is 'PRIVILEGE' ... read that again." - @wordsRmightier

"Life will go on" seems to be a claim being made by the same folks who keep telling us "Don't let politics ruin your relationships" while consistently voting against basic human rights. Life IS going to go on, but I don't know if you realize how increasingly uncomfortable I am being around you. The more you tell me to ignore it and focus on being happy, the more I ponder a rare gem of logic from Ayn Rand, "We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality." I'll chalk that one up for the stopped clock which happens to align with truth, momentarily. While I take a note from an author revered by bootlickers, My own family keeps trying to reassure me, "no, they aren't talking about deporting you, you just have to clean up your look and bury your heritage and toe the line" ... I do not want to keep hoping to feel good about "passing" while I strive to be useful enough to not be abandoned. "Mass deportation" was a policy that won a national election, and it isn't going to matter what papers a person is carrying. When ousting "illegals" is a mainstream idea, the definition of who is "illegal" is about to change, and I don't have the luxury of feeling like I'm far enough removed from that. I can't help but feel isolated, vilified by the ones who fortunately still think of me as one of the good hombres, and left to my own by the ones who don't seem to care enough about the distinction.

Life indeed will go on, but not for everyone, and not the same way.

My partner is a woman. I find her right to bodily autonomy WORTH defending.

My family, whether we lie about it or not, IS Latinx, and indigenous. Believing they aren't talking about us because we are the "good hombres" is flawed logic, and there is a really well documented historical precedent for how fickle that tolerance can be. As the cascade of national rhetoric demonizes the "other hombres" I can't help but recognize how no one seems to really know the difference, and minor interactions with folks seem to start with a need to verify that I am still a "good hombre"

Will I be the frog who is slowly boiled in the comfy vessel of my own choosing?

No, I am not fine.

If you are, consider that you might be part of the problem. It's ok to come to terms with it, whether it was by your direct action, or by perceived inaction. Choosing not to act is a choice. Blame whoever you want to blame, but recognize YOUR role. Now ask yourself if you are ok with that. Is "make the other side cry" really your best effort toward a legacy that elevates society? Is "let it all burn" worth the cost of your friends and neighbors who may not survive the fire?

If you are fine, don't ask me how I am, don't offer me your platitudes.

I am busy.

I know like many, that I alone cannot do all the good the world needs.

But I know what hasn't changed is that the world-- and even less broadly, my own friends and neighbors-- NEED all the good that I can do. I have increasingly found myself too busy to continue surrounding myself with any who have given up or given in to the forces that are attacking human rights. Those of you who wondered what I would do in this scenario.

All I can.

If all that makes me too busy to be present at a privileged table or social gathering, consider hanging out by being present for the work that I am doing. Consider standing by my side in active creations that amplify marginalized voices, and empower marginalized peoples.

Over the coming weeks, I hope to be able to define the phrase, "Chop wood; Carry water," I recognize that we are looking at a litany of cases, all over the country, where people who claim to not care enough about politics are wielding political privilege in huge ways, often with glib and sadistic one-liners like "make liberals cry again" and witticisms delivered by literal neo-nazis about whose choice someone else's body is.

At VERY least, consider using your own privilege to reduce the growing barriers to those who are still struggling to reach what you have taken for granted. This is not intended as a condescension, but an invitation. I have recently been on a journey of actually considering what privilege I enjoy, and recognizing the ways I can use it, not to extend privilege for myself, but to lift someone else to enjoy similarly. I was once handed a fish, and have since been taught how to fish. I learned how to bait a hook and where to get a line, and felt pretty good about myself. But there's plenty of line on my reel, and I am learning I can do better about sharing it. I welcome you to join me in sharing skills and ideas and other forms of mutual aid as we explore how to actively do good as resistance against hate.

As for me,

I'll be doing whatever I can. For now, I know I can use my voice to reach out, and some of it will sound like screaming into the void. Initially, I know I cannot remain silent as hate and chaos grow. But I also hope to empower people, amplify the marginalized voices, and offer the skills I have to projects that help bring the future we all want to be living in.

My name is Jose, and I am human, lifting my voice for human rights.

Bed Music by https://www.bensound.com

License code: BKEQ5FVPZ4SXRQM3

Intro and Outro: “Bad Hombres” 2020 by Doombalaya, 

Jenna Winston - Lead Vocals

Cyrus Nabipoor - Trumpet, Trumpet Solo, Background Vocals

Cleveland Donald - Trumpet

David Bode - Flute, Alto Saxophone, Background Vocals

Ari Kohn - Tenor Saxophone, Background Vocals

Russell Ramirez - Trombone, Background Vocals

Ethan Stern - Piano, Claves, Background Vocals

Matt Rosen - Guitar, Background Vocals

Nick Benoit - Bass, Background Vocals

Jason Winikoff - Timbales, Cowbell, Congas, Bongos, Background Vocals Roger Powell - Drums, Background Vocals

Music, Lyrics, and Arrangement by Jason Winikoff

Produced by Doombalaya

Recorded and Mixed by Mack Major

Mastered by David Farrell

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