It’s not time to unify; it’s time to fight

While I appreciate the care with which The Sun News editorial board crafted its editorial, “Healing and unity are needed at S.C. grassroots as well as in Washington,” published Sunday, Nov. 13, I feel compelled to strongly disagree and to point out to the members of the editorial board that your privilege is showing.

I will not say “no hard feelings,” as you suggest. You can only suggest “no hard feelings” if you have never experienced the fear that is a daily reality for people of color. Make no mistake – “Make America Great Again” really means “Make America White Again.”

Racism underpins this entire travesty. You cannot suggest unity if you have had your safety threatened because you are Muslim, female, LGBTQ, Latina/o, Asian, or disabled. Living without that fear is the definition of privilege.

Throughout my adulthood, I have “gone high when they went low” and listened politely as people I know, people I respect and admire, and people I love, spouted hateful Tea-Party-Libertarian-Republican-fabricated rhetoric with marginal to no basis in fact. I have remained civil while attempting to move the discourse to facts instead of opinion and belief.

But no more. If you voted for Donald Trump, you voted for entertainment over facts. If you voted for Trump, you voted for racism. If you voted for Trump, you voted for misogyny. If you voted for Trump, you voted for homophobia and against immigrants, those with religious beliefs other than Christian, the disabled, the poor and the middle class. If you voted for Trump, you voted against democracy and for autocracy. If you voted for Trump, you voted for the violence that has already begun in his name and the deaths that will no doubt come. You have blood on your hands.

I am not interested in uniting with you. I am interested in working against you.

I know the joke is that there are only seven democrats in Horry County, but based on the precinct reports provided in this paper, more than 39,000 of us voted against Trump. We need to get organized, we need to speak out, we need to consume less and boycott more. We need to overwhelm switchboards and websites. We need to write mountains of letters to elected officials at every level. We need to build strong Democratic and progressive parties in the county, state and nation. We need to work with and support Republicans who rejected Trump and stood against their party. And we need to run for office and help each other win.

The writer lives in Little River.

This story was originally published November 19, 2016 at 4:14 PM with the headline "It’s not time to unify; it’s time to fight."