Posts
Last Week Happenings:
For the benefit of my international friends, I need to take a moment to talk about the U.S. Presidential election. I'm sure you have seen the headlines of the outcome of that contest, and much has been said about the protests that came afterwards. Living in California, most people were shocked and dismayed by Donald Trump winning. It made me realize how much I live in a bubble of progressive/liberal thinking compared with the rest of the country east of the Rockies.But here's why there are protests: people in blue states (those that voted Democratic) are scared for their futures. If we are to take the man at his word, he will try to deport people of color, dismantle environmental laws, take away the rights of LGBTQ people, and prevent women from having control of their own bodies. Plus Trump is an all-around unpleasant person.
Many Trump supporters are trying to explain that their vote was not of vote for racism, but for change. The problem is that his "change" is racist. These same people, many of whom will not be affected by these policy changes, are also telling us we need to "give him a chance". Sorry, but we will not stand by and watch a bully take control. As much as people are stumbling to say, "I'm not a racist", standing by as a racist tries to implement hatred is being a racist.
I ask of my "I'm not a racist" friends: will you defend people in public who are being harassed because they are brown? Will you protest when I need to carry papers to "prove" I am a citizen so I won't be deported (this is a direct violation of the 4th Amendment, BTW)? Will you push back when Muslim people are made to take a "loyalty" test? These are just a few of the items on Donald Trump's To Do list.
People are not protesting that Donald Trump won the election. He did it. No one thinks there was election fraud (there were a lot of dirty tricks, though). People are trying to let other know they are scared, and will not quietly stand by and watch Trump do whatever he wants.
NaNoWriMo:
Yes, I am writing a YA novel!!! I am participating in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and it has mostly gone well. I was so sad about the election last week that I couldn't bring myself to write for a few days. So I am behind on my word count. I should be up to around 18,000 words, by I started today with just under 13,000 words. I will keep trying!!!
Books:
The only new book I received was an audio book from the Library. I waited a few months for this one, but I think it is just what I need right now.
On The Blog:
Monday: Bay Area Book EventsTuesday: ARC Review: Timekeeper by Tara Sim
Friday: ARC Review: Victoria by Daisy Goodwin
Currently Reading:
I'm enjoying Haven, but it gets pretty gruesome! Amy Schumer's book has been so honest and delightful.
What's happening in your life? Are you doing NaNoWriMo, too? What is exciting you this week? Let me know in the comments.
Well spoken, Ardis. As far as I've seen or read about the news from over here, the protests are non-violent. A think which can't be said about the other 'party', sadly. I'm scared for our future and our planet.
ReplyDeleteThis is all anyone can talk about in California. I just went to get my hair colored and we talked about it non-stop for over an hour. Perhaps we didn't understand the rest of the country, but now they don't get why we are upset.
DeleteDefinitely want to get the audio version of Amy's book. She can be hilarious. Have fun with NaNoWriMo!
ReplyDeleteI love how bluntly honest she is, without putting down others. I think the audio book is definitely the way to go with this book.
DeleteThis whole election thing has been nerve wracking and I honestly try to stay away from politics. Never liked them much. I never could understand them either! But yeah, things are looking pretty bleak. That much I do know.
ReplyDeleteBut at least you got a nice new reads out of it all! Hope you enjoy it!
My STS will be up tomorrow, so be sure to stop by then if you can!
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
Thank you Jessica. I try not to be political on this blog, but this is an unusual situation to be sure. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteUsually I'm not one to post political matters on my blog, but I totally did in this week's recap post. How can we not? It's such a huge shift and many people (myself included) are not okay with what happened and most likely will happen. *hugs*
ReplyDeleteI am not participating NaNo! It's amazing how the month is almost halfway over. o_o
Have a fabulous week! :)
Check out my STS post!
I bounced back and forth about commenting on the election on my blog. But I felt I needed to make my position clear. I have traveled and lived all over the world throughout my life, and many people want to see if my views match up with the government's. I want people in other countries to know, that many people DO NOT agree with the direction the U.S. is taking.
DeleteHaving said that, there was no fraud in this election. He won. We need to accept that and then hold those who did vote for him accountable. They need to join others to stop the most outrageous policies he may try to carry out. And I hope that there are things that the Republicans can propose that everyone can agree with.
I agree about the election- shocking. And you're right, he did win -although Hillary is apparently winning the pop vote and once again the electoral College (an anachronism if there ever was one) strikes again. that's the hardest part for me. She got the most votes!! As long as the EC remains states like California and NY and so on will not be campaigned in, because they're not battleground states. Such a shame. I hear they're still counting votes in CA- if we went by popular vote Hillary would have won. And it has HUGE consequences.
ReplyDeleteYou're not alone though in terms of being in a different place politically- I'm in the Midwest and many of us feel the same way. And the really sad thing is we voted for "change" 8 years ago, they obstructed everything, and now we're going to "change " back? Seems so silly to me!
Anyway... sorry. :) Good luck with NaNo, and I hope you have a great reading week!
YES YES YES YES YES. I've been watching the election and the aftermath from Canada, and it's been like watching your neighbour's house catch on fire and being unable to help put it out. It's been terrible. Really heartbreaking. Why can't we all just Canadians?!?! In all seriousness, though, thank you for your honesty. Racism and sexism aren't just issues in the past, they are very real and very present, and we can't deny them and just hope they'll go away on their own, because they won't. We have to act, no matter how small our actions might seem.
ReplyDelete