Hello, Donald.

I know you won’t read my words. But I still hold on to my faith that words hold power, and that if enough people harness their words, they can change the world. I want my words, which are my voice, to rise in chorus with the voice of everyone else who stands against everything you are and represent, until we are a tidal wave of sound that blasts through the night.

But hey, you used people’s fears and ignorance and hatred, playing them like they were piano keys to get to the presidency. Why can’t I use you as a handy framing device?

So, Donald. Congratulations. You finally have the White House. I hear they have nice beds, cushy rooms, kitchens to make you lovely food. It even comes with a plane and a tricked out car!

You’ll have all the finest comforts in your self-made prison.

I’m going to be cribbing quotes shamelessly from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, so first off: Winning is easy, Donald. Governing’s harder.

You promised your voters everything that possibly appeal to them, even when those promises went beyond all reason, all possibility, all humanity. A wall paid for by Mexico. Killing Obamacare. Mass deportations of those evil “illegal” immigrants, and boosting support to “clean coal” and other sources of polluting energy. Paving the way for oil pipelines and refusing to shelter heinous, dangerous Muslim refugees.

Good luck with that.

May I remind you that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. We could go on all day about how the electoral college is once again sabotaging this country by electing the candidate not spoken for by the popular vote, but I digress. Clinton won the popular vote, but unfortunately by a very narrow margin. That means that even if the electoral college had gone the other way, there are still far, far too many people in this country who wanted to keep the norm, who were deathly afraid because change is happening. Because with the rise of ever expanding technology, oppressed and downtrodden groups that have been abused since this country’s inception—anyone who isn’t white, male, cisgendered, straight, able-bodied, or born a citizen—are making their voices heard more loudly than ever before.

Because there’s a strain of white supremacy that in this nation that never really went away, and continues to choke us. Because there are some white, privileged people (even if they’re not aware of their own privilege) who were scared that if they didn’t vote in a fraudulent, climate change-denying, KKK-endorsed rapist who has no idea how government truly functions, they would have to share an even playing field with all the minority groups. They are terrified out of their damn minds that they will be treated as they have treated those who are different.

Because even with those aren't bigoted, you've led a bunch of poor white people to believe that because you're outside the "establishment", you know what you're doing and you actually care about them, when you only care about yourself and what you can grab--whether it's money, fame, or women's private parts.

But guess what? Half of the country voted against you, including myself. The majority of a nation founded on a dream reviles you and those who have worked on your campaign of deceit and bigotry. Millions of people looked at what you stand for and said, “This man cannot stand for me.”

Plenty of your supporters have said that you are a positive figure of revolution. You want a revolution? I want a revelation. This is my declaration: You want to govern the American people? It’s difficult to govern those who will resist you at every turn. When it was clear that you would win, people all over the country took to the streets in protest, rejecting you as a fit president and representative, chanting “Not my president.” There will be more in the days to come.

This is my declaration: You want us to come together in unity now that the election is over? Oh, you sure dream big, Donald. You may deny statements you made ten seconds previously, but we remember. You can’t spew divisive, hateful rhetoric that alienates and singles out vulnerable groups of people, and then after you’ve won your prize, offer to be busom buddies--because you think can control us. You deserve no one’s respect when your actions have children frightened because they know they are the feared “other”. Don’t use your hand to strike, then offer it in friendship; if you do, I will spit in it.

This is my declaration: You will not represent us, but you will represent everything we will continue to work against. You and the puppets prop into place and the schemers who will take advantage of this strife, you all will be the lightning rod of our efforts to show the world that you are the last stand of a dying status quo, and instead of a palace, the White House will be your Alamo. The locks of hair in your questionable coif will steadily wither away over the next four years from the stress of the realities of governance and the tidal wave of vocal resistance we will slam against you. As an informed citizen, you will not control what I say. As a biracial woman you will neither control my body nor the extent of my achievements.

This is my declaration: At the end of this waking nightmare, whenever that may be, the people in this country who want a nation that lives up to its ideals, who want a nation based on love, kindness, and acceptance of its diverse citizens (official and unofficial)… Well. We might just have to thank you. Yes, you heard me right. We might have to thank you.

Slavery. Financial and educational inequality. The systemic oppression of those who are not white, not male, not straight, not rich. These sins are as self-evident as the truths we like to brag about: America has never been the greatest country in the world.

But thanks to you, we have the incentive to show the world that despite her flawed people, the ideals that could make America great have not died, and will never die so long as there is one person out there still willing to fight. You’ve showed those of us who have privilege that if we are to be the allies we claim we want to be, we need to do it now.

Thanks, Donald. You’re a great kick in the ass. We hope to return the favor.