Sunday, November 20, 2016

RESISTANCE

     It feels like eons ago since I last posted.  It WAS eons ago.  Aside from identifying my daughter's sketch the day after the election, I haven't been able to find words adequate to the task of expressing what I'm feeling.  I've derived some grim satisfaction since then from being Bitter on Twitter (@unpubYA, in case anyone's interested), expelling short and mostly vicious bursts of sarcasm to describe the betrayal I feel at the hands of this country I've called home my entire life.  But putting together a coherent paragraph seemed beyond my ability.
     I went to my doctor a week ago Friday for a long-scheduled annual physical.  He told me my blood pressure was up, and started questioning me to figure out why.  No, my diet hadn't changed, my salt consumption hadn't changed, nothing had changed except my lifelong belief that America could never become a fascist state.  He suggested I was overreacting.  "The environment will be irreparably harmed," I said, for starters.  He waved that away as a minor concern; what was really important right now, he said, was that the country have a leader who would grow the economy, bring back the  manufacturing sector.  I talked a little more about the global economic abyss of eight years ago and the extraordinary job Obama had done since then to lower unemployment and lift us out of deep recession, but I gave up after a little while.  My doctor clearly wasn't buying any of my arguments.  He was a kind, intelligent, educated man who had obviously voted for Donald Trump, the most profoundly ignorant person who will have ever held the job to which he will ascent in exactly two months.
     Meanwhile, David Duke publicly exults at Trump's staff picks, a swath of hate crimes erupts across the country, and Trump repeatedly takes to Twitter not to condemn either of these things, but to excoriate both the press and private citizens exercising their First Amendment rights.  Every pick he has named so far has been worse than appalling.  The only way the nomination of Sessions as Attorney General could get worse would be if the Senate rolls over and approves him, thus cynically declaring that the fox would do a bang-up job of guarding the henhouse.  This is a man who believes that the concept of civil rights for minorities is un-American.
     I've tried to do a few things.  I closed my Amazon and Macy's accounts, specifying that I was doing so because of their continued entanglement with Trump business interests.  I've contacted both of my senators.  I've signed onto my friend Julie's secret project which is going to be amazing and empowering.  But I've spent a lot more time feeling enraged and powerless and hopeless.
     But last night I had an idea.  I attended an SCBWI writing craft conference last weekend, and I came back knowing that I have a lot of work ahead of me to revise my current work-in-progress.  A lot of cutting.  Establishing more clearly right up front what the main character wants.  And as I was struggling last night to implement some of these changes, I started thinking about how crucial diverse books are to the kidlit world, especially in these dark times.  And I remembered everything I've read and heard from editors and agents about how much they'd love to see books that have diverse characters but that are not ABOUT diversity; the diversity is not a plot issue, it's simply part of the fabric of the story.
     I thought about all of this for a long time, and at the end I decided that I want my protagonist's best friend, whose ethnic identity is currently unspecified, to be Muslim.  I want him to be part of a somewhat secularized American-Muslim family, but otherwise to basically remain unchanged from the person he already is.  I don't plan to include any didactic lessons about inclusiveness.  He'll just be a regular American kid, which is of course what Muslim kids are.  But I'll know the difference.  And maybe someday if and when this book gets finished and published, it will make some middle-graders think about the world a little differently than they otherwise would.
     I'm a writer.  I am living in deep dread of the damage one hate-filled demagogue and his minions will be able to inflict on my country and on the world over the next four years.There aren't many things I can do single-handedly to change the outcome.  But I can, and I will, change my book. 



    
      

14 comments:

  1. Soooooo, about that blood pressure? ;)

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    1. Only slightly elevated, Andrea. I'll be fine. But thank you for your concern!

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  2. I'm stunned by your doctor's reaction... both by his opinions and by the fact that he's willing to argue with a patient over politics. I just have no words.

    Alas, my own personal action items are more focused on self-preservation than societal change. At the moment I'm trying to figure out how I'm gonna come up with an extra $15-$20K annually to cover the cost of losing my health insurance once the ACA is repealed.

    I don't think I'm capable of sighing heavily enough to express the depth of my despair.

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    1. I wasn't shocked that he would argue with my about politics. My gynecologist and I argue about politics all the time. Uh-oh, I guess that's dysfunctional, huh? But I was pretty shocked by his views. I'm so sorry you're in danger of losing your health insurance. I know that Paul Ryan has proposed a replacement plan, but I can't imagine that it will provide adequate care in any respect. I wish I could do something about this other than echo your despair.

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  3. I am glad you are finding some steps that are helping you through this difficult time. I hope there are a lot of people writing to their senators and representatives. We need to do what we can. I do not like to feel powerless and am trying to do kind acts every day to help spread kindness and trying to do what I can. I had not idea about Macy's and Amazon- so that is something I will have to look into (I knew about Home Depot and a few other places that I do not really shop). Thanks for sharing.
    ~Jess

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    1. Thank you, Jess. And thank you for visiting to help remind me that YOU WON MY BOOK GIVEAWAY AND NEVER CLAIMED YOUR BOOK! Please excuse my forgetting - things have been a little crazy. But please email me your mailing address so I can send your book to you! You earned it!!

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  4. Oh, Susan... I hear you. It's been a rough few weeks. Months, even, but since Nov 8 things have just spiraled far, far out of any realm I can make sense of. Yes, we do need to take action—kudos to you for closing out your Amazon and Macy's accounts; I do believe that is the one certain way to make a statement loud enough to reach DT's ears. Still, as writers, we have a responsibility that reaches further than just one person (even if that person happens to be president of the US). It may not feel like much, and it may not have as immediate an effect as more vocal, militant protests, but incorporating diversity into our work—giving it a voice, presenting it as normal—is a huge, huge thing to do. So BRAVA for making that decision, and I wish you all the success in the world with it.

    Thanks for stopping over at Quiet Laughter earlier; really loved your comment :)
    Guilie

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    1. Thanks, Guilie. Finding kindred spirits is so comforting.

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  5. All my American friends, like you, are shattered and heartbroken, and I am a little heartbroken too, on their behalf. Also, nothing political, just that I would have liked to see a woman in the White House! I am glad you have found your own, impressive, ways to cope - kudos!

    I do believe that most people want an equal world and also that the long valued ideals that a nation is built upon cannot be upended overnight, or for that matter, in four years. In the long term, I don't think hate and injustice have the staying power to prevail, they'll corrode themselves. In the short term however, it does mean some really acute discomfort and misery. It is a setback for sure, but you can vote him right out in the next one, if he lasts that long, that is.

    Take care, and let that BP go low, and the energy levels go high :-)

    Best always,
    Nila

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  6. Thank you for your comforting words, Nila. And by the way, are you related to this amazing man? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagadish_Chandra_Bose. I just learned of him today through Google.

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    1. Haha, I wish I were, I guess every Bengali probably wishes that! No, Bose is my married name, and as far as I know JCB is not an ancestor. Another illustrious Bengali scientist/entrepreneur of all time is Prafulla Chandra Ray. Both these guys were born, educated and worked in British India, and therefore deeply discriminated against, due to rampant racism of their times. The mind boggles at what more they might have achieved had their geniuses been supported and given free rein.

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  7. Hi Susan, I've often frequented your blog and your posts have always been a source of pleasure but I'm commenting here after a rather long time. I hope you're doing well now!
    All my American friends hare so scared and shocked by the Trump presidency, it's so good to see you-- and them--taking positive actions for yourselves.

    When that book gets published, I'll be one of the first few in line to buy it! Keep writing and being positive. More power to you!

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  8. Is this Aqsa? I hope so! I've missed you! Thank you for the words of support and encouragement. We're all going to need them. Wishing New Year's blessings to you and those you love.

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