Short PSA

[missdiane]

Don't belittle people's fears - fear of what may happen to themselves and the fear for the people they know and love. It's unconscionably rude.

Comments

[veganhothead.livejournal.com]

I would never belittle your fears, especially when I' afraid too.

I wish I could fly you out here right now.

[missdiane.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I'd love to visit, if nothing else (though I should honestly renew my passport if nothing else for work purposes since I'm going to conferences)

My personal fears are few - the worry about Obamacare being eliminated and all of those "pre-existing conditions" coming back if I change jobs, Social Security and Medicare being privatized and screwed up.

But for friends, it's scary. Adrienne (Dark) and her family rely on Obamacare since they're underemployed and if they eliminate it without replacing it, they're super screwed. My friend and former coworker Fana who is so afraid for herself, her husband and three year old twins because they're black.

It irks me to all hell when WHITE people say that everything will be ok, to stop being cowards, to suck it up and support the president. Their fears are REAL, they're palpable and it's not just rude, it's soulless to dismiss them.

I've already heard stories that sadden me. My student worker watched as black and hispanic kids look around nervously like they're going to be jumped and beaten up as they step on the campus bus. Before the election, there was a racist asshole that comes into the laundromat loudly proclaiming that when Trump is president, all the Mexicans will be sent back. Oh I'm SURE he's turned down his evil rhetoric, hasn't he? Emily told me about how our good friend Ayse's daughters are afraid because their mother is Muslim (she is letting them choose their religion when they're older). A friend and former bellydance teacher has a Latino friend that's already been harassed by a guy in a Trump shirt about how he needs to "go home." How can I, in good conscience, expect them NOT to be afraid, NOT to want to leave if they can because they feel unsafe because a man that said he's going to build a wall to keep them out, a man that has made speeches that has stirred up the fear about ALL Muslims?