I come from a white middle class family. My father has worked very hard all his life as a commercial electrician. I remember as a young child loving the smell of his dirty work boots. My mother raised four independent children. She always had a side job while being a stay at home mom and then later in life after her children were grown went to work as a document clerk at a law firm.
My parents raised each of their children to work hard, to be committed, and to care for those in need.My sister recalls a story of my parents giving the parents of a childhood friend money for medical expenses. I can also recall them buying a used lawn mower for a neighbor that was in need.
My brother is welder. He works long hours and many weeks away from home. I have a sister that is a nurse. I have another sister that is a veterinary technician. I currently work two jobs- a server and a pharmacy technician while I attend school full time to become an educator. I’m not an anomaly, each of my siblings have worked more than one job at a time or worked while attending school.
My parents are conservative, religious, and believe Reagan was the best president we ever had. Two of my siblings share these same beliefs. And two of us do not. There have been screaming matches within our household about “niggers” getting more money than one of us on our tax returns. There has been disgraceful religious discrimination against Muslims because of Islamic radicalism a family member hears about in the church pulpit or on the news. Immigrants are taking our jobs and also making our taxes higher. “I won’t let Obama take our guns…” “Did you know he is a Muslim?”
And if something comes around to prove any of these statements false…it’s like you are attacking someone’s core beliefs. A side note: I’m currently working through my own judgments here. It’s REALLY hard to take anyone seriously that gave religious reason for voting for a man that was in a porno, that uses the word “pussy” in casual conversation, and has made fun of a person with a disability. I no longer feel remorse about saying “Jesus Christ” at the dinner table…I seriously cannot figure out how you came to believe this is a valid reason for voting for someone. We have different views and I’m working on it.
I want you to know I respect your faith. I don’t think you are stupid. I seriously think we need to figure out a common ground because what is happening is seriously devastating. It is devastating what has become of the American people.
We came here in search of religious freedom but we traded it for financial tyranny.
I read a lot. I believe our world experiences, our personal lens, shapes how we deconstruct, relate, and connect texts. This semester, for a rhetoric class, I have been working on a research paper on literacy in the United States. The stats are blowing my mind. Remember the 99% movement? You might as well tack literacy onto that movement. Over 10 percent of twelfth graders read at a fourth grade reading level. I have an eighth grade student I’m currently tutoring that reads at a fifth grade level. That statistic doesn’t seem that damning until we break down what literacy actually is- we learn to read by the third grade. We learn vocabulary, sight words, word syntax, and background. After the third grade we read to learn. Knowledge based literacy skills like textual analysis come later in middle school but taper off as students enter high school. Textual analysis includes critical thinking, investigation of bias, and reviewing what makes a good source. If over 10 percent of the population, cannot analyze text…how can you expect them to understand issues on their voter ballots? How can you expect them to have access to a job with a living wage?
Another alarming fact is that race isn’t the most common denominator anymore. Yes, white folks, you are being oppressed along with everyone else. Socioeconomic status is the largest literacy gap. While we have made some great strides in closing the race gap, we are now divided by how poor or rich we are. Impoverished rural white areas have lower access to cultural/social capital like libraries and museums and poor black/Latino urban neighborhoods lack property values for better schools.
A young Latina in my class remarked, “You know the more I read about American history, it really hasn’t been great for anyone. So I don’t know why he {Trump} has made that his slogan.”
And she was right. It hasn’t ever been great but for white upper class men. This isn’t about Islam verses those of the Christian faith. This isn’t about immigrants verses U.S. born citizens. This isn’t about gun laws or abortion.
This is about us verses them.
I’m sorry that things got this way. I’m sorry that we’ve become so passive and so distracted. You are angry because the government isn’t listening to you. You are angry because we’ve had a rough recession. Many people have lost their jobs and their homes, healthcare is a mess, illegal immigration has caused tension for the working class, we are scared of terrorists…
We have a lot of work to do. Even if you are a Trump supporter, please don’t expect him to fix our problems. It is time for the American people to stand up. And I’m doing just that.
Illegal immigration was a problem during the Great Depression. Mexican Repatriation deported millions of illegal and LEGAL Mexican Americans back to Mexico. IT DID NOT ALLEVIATE THE JOB CRISIS. You know what did? FDR’s Public Works.
We need to READ laws and bills and WRITE our government officials about them. I remember reading parts of the Affordable Care Act and literally being flabbergasted. IT WAS NEVER MEANT FOR US.
You want to keep jobs here? Well currently we do not have an educated enough country to keep in line with the global market. IT and healthcare jobs are being shipped overseas because WE DO NOT HAVE PEOPLE SKILLED ENOUGH TO DO THEM. It has nothing to do with immigrants taking our jobs. Those that feel powerless, fear not, you have a voice: your money. You can STOP investing, buying or shopping at businesses that send their work overseas.
Upset about your taxes? You should try looking up where the majority of them go. I bet you’ll be surprised. Here’s the 2014 federal breakdown
I truly believe that the majority of us want the same thing. We want a government that is for the people. It isn’t currently and it hasn’t been for a long time. We must work together to figure this out. We need to start becoming a community. We need to start focusing on education and literacy.
For my friends that are immigrants, I love you and thank you for making this country a richer place.
For my LGBT friends, I stand with you and stand with love.
For my friends of color, I will work hard to make sure you have a voice in my classroom and work hard to create a future for all of us. Literacy is the key to defeating oppression.
For my fellow women, it wasn’t time yet. She wasn’t the one. We must continue to work together so when that day comes, we are ready. We’ve come so far and I’m thankful every day for the little voice I have been given by those that have come before me.
And for those that have angry hateful things to say to me or claim “we” are being crybabies over this election:
I come before you as a white, middle class woman whose life has been made richer by a diverse group of friends, experiences, and education. I love you. I really believe despite our differences, we really want a better place for ALL of us. My heart aches because of how we got here. I’m not afraid to admit I have cried over the results and fallout after this election. It is not because my “team” didn’t win. It’s because we all have lost. Hate is never the answer. If we continue to be divided, it perpetuates the cycle of oppression. This isn’t a government built on God, it’s a republic built on Money.
KEYS TO THE IGNITION 