From a Woman of Colour to America, the Night Before the Election

~reflections on a country in crisis~

Pixabay image by Ronile

Today of all days, Medium’s write a story page is down! Coincidence? One day before Election Day, the one and only time I decided it was time to speak not as a poet, but as an average woman of color, a Muslim, rather privileged, who lives in the United States. By choice. Looking back, it was the wrong choice. But that’s another story.

We are being willfully stupid and delusional. Trump has thousands of followers for a reason. But we can’t see it because our egos get in the way. White Democrats know everything, right? complacent and self-congratulatory. Patronizing at best towards people of color, dabbled a bit in exotica, romantic far-off lands. White Democrats, you are NOT intellectually superior to Trump’s people. You have probably never gone hungry. Or have loved ones die for lack of a doctor. When you have a toothache, you trundle off to a dentist because you have health coverage. An insurance plan. A stable job with some benefits. A pension perhaps. You may be in credit card debt but next month you’ll comfortably pay the minimum due. The car you drive is not some rickety relic gifted by your daddy who has never ventured beyond state lines, leave alone the country.

How dare you sneer at thousands of fellow Americans who have, inter-generationally, been deprived of basic human needs —…