I didn’t vote for Trump in 2016. But when he won, in order for me to not spiral into panic, I thought to myself:
Chances are, whatever decisions he makes won’t effect me, so I won’t worry.
And that is a privilege and selfish thought.
Here’s why:
The people who need help the MOST, are the ones affected by his policies and decisions. Black people, Trans people, Dreamers, refugees, just to name a few who have been in the news lately.
They need policies put in place to make sure they aren’t discriminated against or to allow them to live somewhat comfortably in this country.
Least of all, feel like they have SPACE in this country.
In general, I believe people in the U.S. or who come to the U.S. want to make something of themselves, find a purpose, or simply just be able to live.
And isn’t that what the U.S. is known for? Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Come here and you can be anything and everything.
So I feel like the government has a responsibility to help its citizens get there. There doesn’t have to be so many blockages and ladders to climb to deserve to be here. We CAN make it easy, or at least have a clearer path for those who want to take it.
But it has come clear to me that we just don’t want to.
The idea that you have to sacrifice part of yourself in order to deserve something should not apply to basic human rights.
To me, basic human rights include: access to health care, being able to make a living wage, living in a clean environment, having access to affordable housing, affordable education, having the right to choose what’s best for my body (as long as it doesn’t effect the health of others), being able to vote with ease… just to name a few.
But we all know that these things are only accessible to certain groups of people or only if we make the “right” decisions.
And in order for any kind of change to be made so that we CAN have these rights, we have to fight tooth and nail for those in power to not only hear us, but to actually take us seriously.
Hey, I know that this isn’t all Trump’s fault (although he is 100% problematic, runs a chaotic administration, and has rolled back so many progressive policies that Obama put in place).
But any President in the White House AS WELL AS those who get elected into congress and the senate have a responsibility to make sure these basic human rights are fulfilled.
So, in conclusion and to answer the title question, I’m not sacrificing much for my basic human rights because I have PRIVILEGE. And if you don’t need to sacrifice anything, then you have privilege too. Which means, WE have the responsibility to do what we can to help those who don’t have privilege to get their basic human rights.
Since the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, I’ve realized that I should be (and can afford) donating to non-profit organizations to help those in need. I will mention a few at the end of each blog post that I’ve donated to, to hopefully inspire you to do the same.
It’s Pride month so here are a few organizations that support the LGBTQ community:
LGBTQ Freedom Fund: Secures the safety and freedom of individuals in U.S. jails and immigrant detention.
Black Visions Collective: believes in a future where ALL Black people have autonomy, safety is community-led, and we are in the right relationship within in our ecosystems.
Digital Dreams 