Emily Rae Calvin

* KAIROS * MLE * ODIE *

Inauguration Day – The Battle Has Begun

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I didn't watch it. I wouldn't have watched it even if I could have. Women across the country are striking and marching in protest. I forgot to find a gynecologist today to make an appointment for an IUD. I have Plan B stashed away. I've been nauseous all day. Social media only made it worse. Also, I'm on my period. Even my ovaries are crying. After work, I picked up National Women's Liberation Women Strike signs for the March on Tallahassee tomorrow. My boyfriend suggested we prepare basic solutions for our eyes in case of mace. The Facebook event for the march is disintegrating because of a weather-based location change. The left cannot seem to keep it together long enough to go for a walk; meanwhile, the right has elected a sexual predator in the midst of all our in-fighting. There's a time to critique your own side, and there's a time to band together in solidarity despite our differences. If there was ever a time for unity, it's now. We are in a state of emergency. We have to learn how to agree to disagree in order to accomplish something. I used to have a plaque in my apartment that said "There are no rules around here; we're trying to accomplish something." We are accomplishing nothing by arguing over where the march ends except dismantling our own resistance without any help from our oppressors. Well, that's not fair. They're helping, for sure--instigating, even--but we have to see through their manipulation in order to form a unified front of resistance. We have to have shared goals and ways of achieving those goals. We have to find common ground. We can critique ourselves in the privacy of our own meetings. When we go public, we must be united because where they see weakness, they attack. We are already on the defense. We cannot afford to show any weakness now. They're not backing down. The following pages disappeared from the government website following the inauguration--Women, LGBTQ, HIB/AIDS Strategy, Climate, Civil Rights, AAPI, Disability, and any and all Spanish translations pages. If we think they're not going to erase us if we don't stand up and shout together, we're wrong, and we'll be sorry. This is a wakeup call for us to get it together and start working as a unit. White people, that means listening to your comrades of color. Heterosexuals, that means listening to your queer comrades. Cis people, that means listening to your trans comrades. And not just listening, but stepping back and following. It's time to let the marginalized lead the fight. It's time for an intersectional, unified front. It's time to fight back. The battle has begun, and this is a fight for our lives. Let's act like it. Show up, step up, and know your role. It's time to be organized.


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