Post-election Thoughts

As I write this, CNN just announced that Secretary Clinton called "President Elect" Donald Trump to concede the election. Donald Trump will be the 45th president of the United States. Oh. My. God. I have so many words in my head that I can't express in writing, but I will attempt to summarize my thoughts.

Prior to coming to Turkey, the bulk of my career has been working with ESL students in the U.S. who have been underserved and underrepresented in every system. They often feel dejected, forgotten, and isolated. I have tried very hard to expose them to opportunities, introduce them to key figures in government, and bring in successful examples of people who look like them. The students I work with do not look like me. In many cases, they have darker skin, hair, and eyes. They speak a different language and come from a different culture. We actually talked about this election in summer school and the students were so, so scared. They were scared that their cases in court would be instantly thrown out because they were given residency. Just this week, a student sent me a message with a crying emoji that she was scared if Trump gets elected. Immigration is black and white to him, but it is not to me. I have worked with families who are torn apart by deportation. I have worked with students who can't get a job or have to take a lower wage because they can't get the paperwork to stay in this country. I have sat and cried with students have been through so much trauma from the gangs back home that they can hardly function in the classroom. It is life-changing. You no longer see black and white. You can't dismiss people. They are human. You need to give them a chance.

This week, I downloaded Alicia Keys' new album Here and Common's new album Black America Again. Alicia Keys has an amazing song called Holy War and some of the lyrics in that song are rattling in my head today:

What if sex was holy and war was obscene
And it wasn't twisted, what a wonderful dream
Living for love, unafraid of the end
Forgiveness is the only real revenge

Oh so we can heal each other and fill each other
We can break these walls between each other
Baby, blow by blow and brick by brick
Keep yourself open, yourself open
Yeah we can heal each other and fill each other
We can break these walls between each other
Baby, blow by blow and brick by brick
Keep yourself open, you're open

So maybe we should love somebody
Maybe we could care a little more
So maybe we should love somebody
Instead of polishing the bombs of holy war

What if love was holy and hate obscene
We should give life to this beautiful dream
Cause peace and love ain't so far
If we nurse our wounds before they scar
Nurse our wounds before they scar
It would be amazing if we actually treated each other as humans instead of instantly judging someone based on preconceived notions of culture, language, and/or behavior. And this is what scares me with this Trump "Law and Order" regime. He won't treat people as humans. He will remove every person who doesn't look like him. Every person who is Latino, African American, LGBTQ or Muslim will be targeted. They will have to prove they are "worthy" of being a part of America. It is sickening.

I also watched the documentary "13th" on Netflix directed by Ava DuVernay (director of Selma) that focuses on the mass incarceration of African Americans and the systems that have led to the surge in prison population. We have the highest rate of incarceration in the world (then Russia and South Africa) and 40% of the male prison population is made up of African Americans, but only makes up about 6% of American population. Obviously, there are some systemic issues. I believe this will only get worse. Common wrote a song about this issue for the movie called Letter to the Free:
The caged birds sings for freedom to ring
Black bodies being lost in the American dream
Blood of black being, a pastoral scene
Slavery's still alive, check Amendment 13
Not whips and chains, eye subliminal Instead of 'nigga' they use the word 'criminal'
Sweet land of liberty, incarcerated country
Shot me with your ray-gun
And now you want to trump me
Prison is a business, America's the company
Investing in injustice, fear and long suffering
We staring in the face of hate again
The same hate they say will make America great again
No consolation prize for the dehumanized
For America to rise it's a matter of Black Lives
And we gonna free them, so we can free us
America's moment to come to Jesus

We will never make progress until we look at some of these issues, but with a "Law and Order" government, the problem will only get worse.

It is fascinating to work in a different country during an American election time. This is the first time I have been outside the U.S. during a presidential election. When I saw my students after the election, they were immediately concerned. They were concerned for me, of course, but also for Turkey. What is this president going to bring to Turkey? I don't know much about politics here, but I do know that I am living in the the most amazing, dynamic place, which is literally in the middle of everything. It is an extraordinary place to live in during this time in history. The students were very sweet and we all looked at the electoral vote and the popular vote via CNN. They had a lot of questions. One students even brought me chocolate as a way to console me. He said, "Jamie, I brought you bitter chocolate. Get it...because you are bitter." I had a good laugh with that. These students truly care and I am thankful that they even entertain my interests.

Well, I guess that is all for now. I will post about some of the happenings here with me in the next post. Sorry for the rambling. Hope you are all well.