I feel like there's not a lot I can say that hasn't already been said. It's not too often in history you see a populace eagerly and excitedly elect a fascist into power. By a LOT! By popular vote! Enough people wanted this shit. Or, more accurately, enough people didn't care enough to look the other way. Enough people hate themselves and others. Whatever your theory may be, this is what it is now.

I'm set to graduate in 2026. I'm set to go into the job market, the housing market, to start forging my own life and all that during Trump's term. Before election midterms, even. I'm getting a bit tired of all the speculation; how much will happen? What do we have to do to prepare? How did this happen? These are all important questions, I'm just sick of it. There are too many people telling me how to feel. I'm tired of everyone's opinions. It feels like my entire life has been in crisis mode, and every time some new horrific event happens it's like, okay- where were you before?

I am 21 years old, I was born in 2003. Did you know that before 9/11, it wasn't super common to see American flags on every doorstep? Did you know military propaganda took a huge, gigantic upswing in the aftermath? Mike Dawson has a really good comic about the nationalistic ferver of WWII nostalgia and how it contributed to that whole aftermath. It is a common saying in my circles that "It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism". And I think, in a similar vein, it is easier to imagine the end of the world than it is for me to imagine living in a country without such aggressive militarism and nationalism.

I am ashamed and disgusted to live in the imperial core of the world, in a country committing such senseless and brutal genocide every day, in a country whose batshit insane internal politics affect countries across the planet. Over and over again in my education I have had to learn about the Nazis' rise to power and how a populace allowed such atrocities to happen- even encouraged it, with open arms! But it has been happening. It is happening. We're just the frogs in boiling water, unable to see it, unable to listen to those affected, until it's too late.

I was 13 years old when Donald Trump was elected for the first time. I don't remember many specifics of that time period, at least that are relevant here, but I will say this- I do not know if things were ever better. People say they are, and I would like to believe them, but Americans have been living in a state that, at the very least, tends towards fascism for decades now. MAGA flags on doorsteps, watching classmates fall down nazi pipelines, bigotry being normalized among children in form of jokes and memes. This is all I know. I feel like most people know someone who was, at one point, at least at the edge of the alt-right pipeline. It's pervasive, it's everywhere, it's hearing an 8 year old call for the killing of women and it's having your family yell at you for not finding a joke funny. It's middle schoolers asking if Hitler was really that bad, it's a customer spitting in the face of a cashier for wearing a mask. None of this is "normal", but when was the last time we had "normal"?

I do not think this election, in 2024, is going to bring about a sudden sharp change like many are acting like. To people who act as if this is an unprecedented event, I ask you- where the fuck have you been? What are you doing for the queer people, trans people, disabled people, people of color, disabled people, women, immigrants, and homeless people in your life? Do you have any? Only those who do not listen to marginalized voices around them seriously believe that Trump winning the election is a shocking twist. The writing has been on the wall.

Democrats were calling for stricter border control. States are banning abortions, trans healthcare, and sexual education. The United States has been funding the genocide of the Palestinian people since the 40s. Homelessness and poverty has been spiking since the 80s. Segregation was officially ended in the 60s, just in time for the Vietnam war, just in time for Nixon's first War on Drugs. None of this is new. None of this is isolated to Trump. Pay attention.

Facism thrives on despair, on apathy, on inaction. It is so important to keep living, to keep existing, to keep thriving as best we can. It is so important to connect to those around you, even if they suck. Please. Volunteer, donate, talk to people. I feel like, in order to move forward from this, we need to acknowledge that NONE OF THIS IS NEW. The United States is an inherently corrupt country, founded by slave owners and conspiracy theorists. There is no pure, wholesome, safe America to go back to. Anyone who is selling you a past to return to is using you. There is only a better home to build for future generations.

I am going to try my damn best to volunteer in my community (they keep ghosting me, and volunteer groups keep disbanding, but I keep trying.). I am going to continue to occasionally donate to Gaza Funds. I am going to continue to learn all I can and to understand the struggles of those different than me. I am going to keep my joy in a death grip, and I am going to keep it close to me, and I am going to take care of those around me, and nobody can take that from me- let alone a government I don't even respect. I suggest you do the same.

♥Jay