Don’t tell me I’m over-reacting.
Don’t tell me to get over it, or that it’s done.
Don’t tell me to stop whining, to stop raising my voice for myself and for others. Don’t tell me to be quiet. Don’t tell me not to fight.
Don’t tell me how I should feel, don’t tell me I shouldn’t be scared. Don’t smirk at me when I tell you I cried, when I tell you I’ve been crying every day. My feelings are real and valid and overwhelming. If my reality isn’t yours, be grateful. Be a friend, be an ally. But don’t tell me that because it isn’t your reality, it isn’t real.
Don’t tell me that our rights aren’t at stake, don’t tell me that it won’t affect me and I shouldn’t care so much, that I should just forget it and move on.
As a white American, maybe it is easy for me to resume my normal life and forget. But I refuse to forget. I vow to use every ounce of privilege I have to give my voice to those who cannot speak, who cannot raise their voice high enough, even when they’re screaming their lungs out.
As a woman, I cannot forget. I refuse to give up ownership of my body to a man who talks about pigs and pussies and punishments for women. If laws are overturned, I will kick and scream but I’m not sure if I will be heard. Is my voice loud enough?
Don’t tell me you know it’ll be okay. You don’t. I’ve watched the world change in my lifetime – people have told me I need to be afraid of hiijabs, of two men in love, of bathrooms. I’ve seen rage and I've seen passion and the world change in sad ways to accommodate irrational fears. And in society’s fear of things we make up, things we don’t really need to be afraid of, we have hurt a lot of people. We don’t need walls, we don’t need registries – we need more love, more acceptance.
Don’t tell me that we need to come together despite our political differences – this isn’t about Republicans and Democrats, it’s about humanity. We can come together, but it won’t be to compromise and accept less than we deserve. We will come together and stand up; we will come together and rise.
Don’t tell me I’m too young to know how the world works, too naïve to accept reality, too ignorant to understand what’s happening.
I know what’s happening, and I don’t need you to tell me.
