Heather Allen

post-truth: an adjective defined as ‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.’ 

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Donald Trump is going to be president and that terrifies me. In preparation for the inevitable apocalypse that comes with his presidency, I’m compiling a list of things to do to protect myself and my rights (and the rights of others).

• Check my available birth control options and look for something long term.
• Save money (more than what I am currently doing) in the event of economy collapse?
• Become more politically active–blog posts, checking the DNC, watching the local elections, subscribing to legacy newspapers.
• Support organizations I care about like Planned Parenthood and ACLU.
• Attend the Women’s March on Washington in DC on January 21st.
• Have difficult discussions with friends and family about what a Trump presidency could mean.
• Be prepared to confront racism when I see it.
• Check back with this document to see what more I can do.

In addition to these things, I realized I really need a solid foundation for my new-found activism. Yes, I acknowledge that I could have done more leading up to the election. I feel really blindsided by the result. So in an effort to understand Trump and his rise to power I’ve decided to start following this course, created by two professors: one at John Hopkins University and the other from the University of Iowa. It’s worth noting that this syllabus was created in June when Trump first secured the Republican nomination.

This weekend I will be joining my local Brooklyn library to check out some of the books listed and begin my research. I hope to hold myself accountable by posting my thoughts on the readings and discussion on this blog.

(side note: I did have a NYPL card, but it expired and I need to get a BKPL card instead)

Further to this week’s news that Trump wants Brietbart founder Steve Bannon–a white supremacist–to be his Chief of Staff, I think we are already watching him become a authoritarian dictator. We are way beyond “giving him a chance” after watching his actions on the campaign trail. Racism, sexism, xenophobia, and so so so much hate will be running his presidency.

Hold Trump accountable. Demand transparency.

Thanks for reading.

♥