11/7/24 - the future

hi-

i'm not going to lie to myself or to you: i am scared for my future and the futures of my friends. i'm a 21 year old lesbian in america, in higher education to become an elementary school teacher. i want to get married, not to a man. if i have to get an abortion, i want one. i need fafsa to keep going to school, and i don't want to live in a world without title 9 or IEPs or 404 plans and more that will go away with the department of education. 99% of my friends are queer- trans women, gay men and women, non binary people. a good chunk are people of color, too. i am scared for their futures more than mine, if i'm honest. i worry about money for diy hormones and name and gender marker changes, for people that will never come out at least in the near future, for people that will be forced back into the closet, for my friends with immigrant parents and birthright citizenship, for the children i work with in the foster system, for my future students. it's easy to fall into a dark pit and wallow. in a way it's comfortable to want to give up. its feels like we are more done than ever, with an entirely red government free of checks and balances. i wonder if this is what roman citizens felt when nero came to power, lol.

BUT. i am also optimistic. there's this concept called "revolutionary optimism" - this is not huffing copium or expecting the best outcome possible all of the time. it is to understand and truly belive that we will make it, and a better world is possible. to me, being revolutionarily optimistic means being like a cockroach. cockroaches are seemingly the most hardy creatures out there. it's really fucking hard to kill a cockroach and when you do kill one, it seems like 15 more come out. cockroaches will be here as long as the earth is here, and so will trans people, so will gay people, so will non white people, so will women, and so will the working people. like i said, i am scared. but i am not so scared that i will not fight for myself and for my friends.

i'm not sure what else to say. keep your head up, do not kill yourself - you deserve to live to see trump die, and you deserve to live more than jd vance does. don't let this moment lead you to dispair, let it radicalize you. build community with the people around you in real life. i love you and please feel free to contact me.

be safe out there, friends