Praise the Gods and Goddesses! Mr. Man and I sat glued to the television watching the returns. It was more than I could really take in. I had held back, not expecting this transformative moment in time. As a child, there were few people of color on TV, there were no Black History or Hispanic months; our greatest leaders were assassinated before I was even aware of anything outside my own family. I’ve lived through the fears of the Reagan years – during the time when I feared my (ex)husband could be deported back to his country of origin to face death squads. As a college student I helped to designate my university a nuclear free zone because at the time nuclear war was still a significant threat. As a college student, I knew where the nuclear fallout shelter on campus was; my greatest nightmare was actually SURVIVING nuclear war. I’ve been discriminated against for being female, Latina, mouthy, and just plain out of line. My parents lived in a segregated world — but they did not accept the limitations society tried to force on them. For all the countless humiliations heaped on people of color, women, sexual outlaws, the poor, and people with disabilities, I believe that tonight’s election results will have a positive effect. I am beyond words tonight and have hope that there can be a different future. I cannot express how I feel right now; I am speechless at the power of the people — the power of collective activism to mobilize for change.
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