I’ve gone back and forth on this in my head for the last two days. I’ve debated myself; I’ve literally agonized over it. I have finally reached the conclusion that I cannot, I will not, remain silent. Yes, this is a fashion blog, but more importantly, it has grown into my space to share my thoughts, ideas and feelings. Yes, we are all well and truly politic-ed out; I am exhausted emotionally, physically and mentally, but I cannot go quietly forward and leave all of what’s inside me unsaid…
THE STORY
…If you are of the mind that this should all simply be about fashion and style then skip this portion, that’s cool with me. If you find it offensive that I would see fit to discuss politics on a “fashion blog”, that’s okay too; you don’t have to stick around. If you want to judge me for my personal feelings, then move the f**k on.
I know that there are good people who voted for that man. I don’t judge you. I don’t understand you, but I don’t judge you. And I expect the same courtesy from you. If you plan on leaving hateful snarky comments at the end of this post, leave NOW. I will not tolerate it, I will not allow it. Enough seeds of hatred have been sown in the last year to last a million lifetimes.
I thought about going the comic route with this post, but to be brutally honest with you, it is still far too raw for me to glean any humor from it. Yes, I found him endlessly amusing when he was merely a candidate, but now that he is the leader of the free world? Not a damn thing amusing about that. I’m not here to debate the moral character of Hillary Clinton. No, she is certainly not a pillar of virtue. This is not about party affiliation. Yes, I am a registered Democrat, but I have on a number of occasions voted Republican in the past. And I can assure you, if that man had been the Democratic candidate I would have voted straight Republican all the way. My issue is not with Republicans, not at all. My issue is with the utter lack of humanity displayed over and over again by him.
The seeds of hatred that have been sown? Those seeds that have given a voice to the dark hateful underbelly of our society did not come from her. And do not presume to tell me that they did. I am not stupid. I have paid attention. I have watched the rallies and the debates. The hateful ugly people who are part of organizations that have remained hidden on the fringes of our society were given a voice by the one voice that bullied it’s way above the others. And I don’t know about you, but it has been my experience that all of the nasty ugly posts in my Facebook feed (which btw I have tried to avoid) have come from his side of the aisle. I’m not saying there aren’t haters from the Clinton camp out there. I am saying that in my feed, in particular from members of my family, that is where the ugly continues to come from. It needs to stop.
The man who is now the leader of my country has denigrated everything that I value and hold dear to my heart. My son’s hard won rights to live his life in the same manner as your straight children are now in danger, very real danger. I cannot believe that I now live in a country where, as a mother, I have to live in constant fear for my child’s safety because it is now okay to be public about your hatred of those different from yourself. The children to whom I have dedicated my heart, my soul and my life to teaching and protecting have been openly mocked by the man who will reside in the White House. That being a fact, why should anyone else with ugliness in their heart feel any need to hold back. Hey, if it’s okay for the president to do it, it’s okay for me. And I’ve told you before that my kids are well aware of his behavior and were hurt by it, so how do you think their little hearts felt the morning after the election?
Do you know what we have been doing in citizenship class the last two days? Watching funny puppy videos. Hearing their laughter and watching the joy on their faces took away a little bit of the pain. It is now my mission, more then ever, to insure that there is happiness in their hearts and love surrounding them every single moment they are with me.
And the world I prefer to live in is not about building walls; it’s not about singling people out because of their religious beliefs or the color of their skin. No, I’m not some freakin’ Pollyanna who thinks everyone is good. Far, far from it. Yes, we need to look more carefully at who we let into our country; the way the world is today we would be foolish not to. But to wall off an entire country? To ban every single member of a particular religious affiliation? How is that even a little bit okay? It’s not.
Have I touched on any of the real political issues; the economy, taxes, trade? No. Why? In a normal election, those things would have certainly played into how I cast my ballot. This was not a normal election. Not by a long shot. For me, this election was about being a decent human being. It was about not allowing the spread of a hateful cruel rhetoric that has the potential to grow into a cancer eating away at the soul of our nation. Am I saying that if you cast your vote for him you aren’t a decent human being? No. I realize that people were looking for change, for something different to shake up the political system. But for me, the vileness that spewed from his mouth on the daily was not the change that was needed. This is not some damn reality show, this is our lives; my life, my childrens’ lives, the lives of my students, the lives of the entire world.
If anything good can come from this mess, I hope that it is this; it will perhaps motivate those of us who have been complacent to become advocates. Advocates for those who are in the minority, regardless of what that minority is; advocates for what it means to be a kind, decent human being; advocates for compassion, understanding and love. I can tell you with absolute certainty that I will spend the next four years doing my part to fight back the ugliness and bury it back under the rock from which it crawled.
In closing, again, do not presume to tell me that I am wrong or that I am overreacting. I am not. This is how I feel, this is what I believe, so for me it is right. If you would like to comment, to begin a dialogue, that is fine. But as I said, ugliness and hatred will not be permitted. Not on my blog, not in my life, not in my world.
THE OUTFIT
Yaaa…it feels a tad trite after all of that to talk clothes. But ya know what, the world continues to spin and I still have to get dressed in the morning. This poor silk skirt has resided in my attic for close to ten years now. Every single time I thinned the herd, I kept it. Now I’m glad that I did because I’m loving it all over again. And after ten years it’s like having something brand new.
I’m looking forward to pairing it with a much chunkier sweater because that will be a pretty cool juxtaposition, but it’s still a bit too warm for chunky knits. In lieu of that, I found my juxtaposition via the leather harness boots. Total opposition, totally fabulous in my book.
And how about we take a minute to appreciate the delicate awesomeness that are these earrings shall we? They are not only beautiful, but truly so lightweight you can’t even tell that you’re wearing them. They were a gift to me from the lovely Raine of Essentially Raine Boutique on Instagram. I know many of you are already followers, but if you’re not, what are you waiting for?!
THE TIP
Whenever possible I always go for pieces that are complete and utter opposites of one another. It’s just way more fun that way. And hey, be a love advocate; share it, spread it, live it. #loveadvocate
THE LINK UPS
Check out the weekly link ups I participate in for even more fashion and style ideas…
Skirt: Similar; Sweater: Walmart (Similar); Boots: Target (Similar)
