An "Unnatural" Disaster Is Unfolding

We Need To Look Out For Each Other

(photo: Unsplash free images)

I will not be engaging in fruitless post-mortem conversations about the election. I’ll leave it to the Democrats to figure out what went wrong, why millions fewer people came out to vote, and what they need to do to become a majority party again.

The more disconcerting task now is how to respond to the impending unnatural disaster that will befall the country over the next four years and how to protect the most vulnerable. When Robert Kennedy Jr. is appointed Health and Human Services director, you know it will be a train wreck for the nation, especially those needing health care, food, and housing assistance.

I need to reiterate my contention that patriarchy and white supremacy are major factors in this election. Let me focus on the patriarchal side of the coin for a few minutes. Specifically, the fact that so many women still voted for Trump tells us a lot about the state of American society and the outsized influence of Christian nationalism.

Jess Piper's substack article provides a great analysis of “Trump’s Women.” I recommend you take a moment to digest her perspective. I put a lot of stock in her analysis since she lives in rural Missouri and constantly interacts with friends and family members who have continually voted for a man who will, in the end, enact policies that are detrimental to their rural livelihoods and interests. That is the power of patriarchy.

One group of women she identifies are the “ignorant” voters. I was recently chided for calling some voters “low information” voters. Piper went a step further and called them straight-up ignorant, which means uninformed or misinformed. She comments that:

I know a White woman who voted for Trump three times. She has a child with a disability, and she accepts WIC and SNAP, and rental assistance. She voted against the programs that sustain her children. Why? Because she is “worried about immigration” while living in a community that is 96% white in a state over 1,000 miles from the border.

While ignorance is gender-neutral and knows no limit to political parties, she goes on to identify a group of MAGA women who are enamored with patriarchy. They like it. Of these women, she observes:

There is a subset of White women who have become involved in politics since Trump because they like Trump. They like strongmen. They like his vitriol. His racism. His sexism. His treatment of “elites.” His disdain for civil discourse. His blanket hatred.

It is important to note that patriarchy is not just a male ideology. Many women in our country buy into it. I place much of the blame for this if blame is the correct word, on conservative evangelicalism.

Once again, about 8 out of 10 evangelicals went with Trump, knowing full well the extent of his misogyny and sexism. This time, it was eyes wide open. They knew that they were voting for a man who was a convicted sexual predator. But no mind. The allure of religious nationalism was too strong for many women who were taught they were to be submissive, subservient, defer to male authority no matter what, and devalue their humanity on the altar of male dominance.

The late Rachel Held Evans, who was that rare female evangelical voice who spoke out for the empowerment of women within evangelical circles (and paid a dear price for it, too), made this observation about conservative evangelicals:

“White conservative evangelicals can do all the rebranding it wants, but it will look nothing like the Jesus it claims until it repents of its idolatrous relationship with the unholy trinity of Patriarchy, White Supremacy, and Religious Nationalism.”

We are about to find out just how evil and destructive this trifecta is now that it has seized power in all branches of the government. History is clear about the destructive nature of any religion once it is entangled with governmental power. Every form of oppression, discrimination, repression, and even brutality can be unleashed in the name of, well, fill in the blank: God, Christ, Mohammed. It doesn’t matter which religion because any action taken by the government can be sanctioned and justified as the “will of God.”

That brings me to my main concern. I choose to put my limited social and public capital and my white-cis privilege on the block for the marginalized. If I am to remain consistent with and dedicated to Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, then my focus will be on the “least of these,” the marginalized, the abused, the hunted, and the powerless. They are incredibly vulnerable now in a way that has never existed before in our nation’s recent history.

The Christian Nationalists are coming for those groups of people that somehow fall outside their definitions of what a “true American” is. It is the unholy commitment of these folks to religious nationalism that will bring havoc and disruption to countless people who are guilty of nothing other than just being themselves and being human.

All of us will need to look out for our neighbors more than we ever have. Those who have the privilege and the benefit of not being in a marginalized group need to stand up for those who will be vilified in the coming years. They will be voiceless and powerless to protect themselves from religious bigotry coming for them in the name of the state.

Who are they?

Latino Community

Let’s start with our Latino friends and neighbors. Mass deportations will be destructive to millions of people and their families. When the military or local law enforcement begins to “round people up” and take them to internment camps, those of us who are able will need to help them in any way we can. If a father is deported, how will we help the wife and children left behind? If children are separated from their parents, who will comfort and care for them? How will they get the food, clothing, and homes they deserve? You can bet Donald Trump and Stephen Miller, his white nationalist policy advisor, won’t care what happens to them.

LGBTQ Community

Then there is the LGBTQ community. The abuse and harassment have already started, and it will escalate. Violence has been inflicted on this community by right-wing zealots before, and with a green light from the Trump administration, it will continue to happen. How do we protect the innocent? Help stand up to the inhumanity? Will we fight back against attempts to overturn Obergefell? How will we protect same-sex marriage, especially for those who have already made life-long commitments? Will we stand up when the religious zealots attack job security for the gay community? How will we support this community of fellow citizens?

Think I’m being hyperbolic? Please look at this list of Trump’s rollback of civil and human rights during his first administration. It is breathtaking. There is little to stand in his way this time around with Presidential immunity and a DOJ that yet another criminal will control, Matt Gaetz.

The Black Community

What about the Black community? The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division protects Americans from discrimination based on race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status, and national origin. President Trump wants to undercut the division’s mission by proposing to eliminate 121 staff positions. This will make it even harder for a person of color to file a complaint with the DOJ for protection from discrimination. How will we help the Black community find redress?

Additionally, more than 90 percent of President Trump’s prior nominees for federal judgeships were white, even though by 2043, there will be no clear racial majority in the United States. His judicial nominees, many of whom used hateful rhetoric and supported voter suppression laws, undermine the idea of representative democracy—that government should look like the people it serves. How will we ally ourselves with the Black community to fight back against this continued discrimination?

The EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice protects low-income communities and communities of color from environmental hazards such as toxic waste and air pollution. The Trump administration wants to eliminate the entire office, jeopardizing the health and safety of countless Americans. How do we help to protect the vulnerable?

Then, there are educational opportunities through the Pell Grant program. President Trump wants to freeze Pell Grant awards—which help nearly two-thirds of African American students and half of Latino students pay for college—at their current level of $5,920 and slash the program surplus by $3.9 billion. How will we fight for sustained educational opportunities for all? These grants go to white students who have economic needs as well as students of color. This is classic lose-lose thinking.

Women’s Healthcare

We will need to think about women’s health care, even for those women who voted for the Mysogynist-in-Chief. With a total hold on power in Congress, you can bet one of the priorities will be a total nationwide ban on abortion. Despite prior protestations, you can bet it is coming and count on Trump’s signature. Trump owes the Christian Nationalists, and he will deliver for them.

Instead of stories of women dying due to lack of reproductive healthcare only coming from states like Texas, Georgia, and a few others, women everywhere will be put at risk, and many will die nationwide. This could be a catastrophic phenomenon for women. How do we help? Where will we turn for reproductive healthcare?

Teachers

There is one more group to consider: teachers. Let me make a prediction: An “inquisition” is coming for teachers who will continue teaching true and accurate history. There are already laws in many states that ban the teaching of any topics related to race, racial violence, white supremacy, or other topics that might make white students feel “uncomfortable.” Groups like “Mom’s for Liberty” will continue their rampage of accusations and attempts to silence and gag teachers for doing the right thing. They will feel more and more emboldened by Trump’s Christian Nationalist cronies promoting such “investigations.” This will include more and more book bans.

How will we help and protect the teachers from unwarranted reprimands and dismissals? How will we continue to instill within students a sense of the true history of the United States, both the good and the bad? “Patriotic History” is not history. It is propaganda. The study of history has no agenda other than to seek the truth of our past eras, find trends and evidence of who we are, and learn how to work to become better human beings and a better society. Trust me, they will be coming for teachers.

Now is the time to look out for our neighbors like never before. Consider this as an unnatural disaster of massive proportions that requires a coordinated, nationwide response. Get connected to organizations that can help and provide intervention for those vulnerable communities. Speak out, and don’t let the MAGA bullies silence you. Use your voice. It will be a rocky few years, and we will all have to do our part to protect the powerless and the vulnerable.