Election 2024: The Morning After - When Fear and Hate Win

Reflections on Election Results & The Weight of Uncertainty - a Queer, NeuroDivergent, Perspective

I woke up before my alarm this morning, laying in bed as long as I could stand it, not ready to greet the cold that had crept into the RV overnight (or face the election results).

By four-forty, my restlessness had gotten to me, and I began to shuffle around, looking for my fuzzy, yellow, unicorn bathrobe. Wrapping myself in its soft folds, I tightly pulled the belt on my robe around my waist and slipped my bare feet into my well-worn, faux-fur-lined, rose-gold glitter house slippers, stumbling around in the dark.

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When I went to sleep last night, the tyrannical orange was already in the lead, so I went to bed, knowing that I would likely be waking to bad news.

But first... Coffee (and heat)!

I woke to a cold, dark home—48 Fahrenheit (8.88C) outside (and not much warmer inside since our RV is poorly insulated).

Dreading checking the election results, I first tended to my need for heat and coffee, firing up the generator and then turning on a space heater and my electric kettle.

Five minutes (or less) until coffee time. In anticipation, I move the space heater into the kitchen (closer to me) and start prepping my spill-proof (in theory) coffee mug, measuring perfect portions of instant coffee and Ovleteen out with a recycled plastic spoon.

Still avoiding checking the news, I open Prime Video on my iPad and re-start the documentary series I'd been watching before bed about brainwashing (comparing the similarities between cult membership, catholic church priesthood, basic training in the military, and abusive relationships).

Somehow, this (a documentary about coercive control) seems less heavy than the reality I feared was waiting for me (just a few clicks away within the same streaming app).

As the documentary continued to play, talking about how influential leaders use hate and fear-mongering (against group outsiders) to coerce and manipulate their followers, I couldn't help but think about how both political parties use these (fear and smear) tactics to drive voters.

I was also reminded of school sports, spirit days, and rivalries, and I couldn't help but think about how this "us VS them" mindset is something we're indoctrinated into from a young age.

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I hate our two-party system.

Neither side is great, but one side this time around was notably worse.

Both sides think they are in the right, but from where I'm sitting (as a multiply marginalized person), none of our options are EVER perfect. However, this year, one option seemed more dangerous than the others.

Only one candidate openly preached and encouraged hatred for trans and other Queer people.

Only one candidate was preaching fascist, Christian Nationalist rhetoric.

Only one candidate is backed and praised by racists, skinheads, and Nazis.  

Only one candidate was violently anti-DE&I (the field I work and believe in).

Only one candidate is tied to the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 (a plan which includes the use of criminal laws to punish gender-non-conformity in public life and punishing people who produce and distribute Queer/Trans content with classification as "registered sex offenders"and imprisonment for distribution of this type of content, which the Heritage Foundation considers pornographic).

Those are just SOME of the things that will impact me. There are many more things in this plan that will also harm many of the people I care about (like mass deportations, loss of abortion access, loss of government benefits, and rolling back civil rights and protections for many groups of marginalized peoples).

Only one candidate did all of the above, and that candidate had been leading the election when I went to bed.

Stock photo of a coffee in a white cup, that is not Lyric’s coffee because Lyric has to have a sippy cup so they don’t spill.

When I'm waiting for the water to boil for my coffee, the first few minutes of the morning always seem long, but eventually, I've got my coffee in hand and ready to sit and sip for a moment.

As I settle down at the table behind the documentary on my iPad, I hear a noise outside, and the house door to the RV opens.

David, who just got back from an evening at his other partner's house (we're polyamorous and currently living on David's partner's property), makes his way inside.

"I'm sorry," David says.

"About what?" I ask before realizing David must be talking about the election results. "Did he win? I haven't looked yet," I confess. "He was ahead when I went to bed last night, so I had a feeling it would go that way."

David nods.

I find myself slipping into a familiar numbness as I switch the iPad from my relaxing show about coercive control and brainwashing to live election coverage.

Trump has won... again. It's going to take a while for this reality to sink in.

Thank goodness for term limits (except Trump has spoken about getting rid of term limits and has said his goal would be to become our first-ever "three-term president" if reelected in 2024).

Things are grim... they would have been grim either way, but though neither side is perfect (and I have many gripes with our entire political system as a whole), one side has been openly preaching hate, making promises to harm people like me and those I care about.

So now I'm trying to sort out what I need to do with my life as a NeuroDivergent, transgender, DE&I consultant under a president who is actively ableist, anti-Queer, and anti-DE&I.

I will start by renewing our passports next week (just in case).

After passports, monetary concerns are the first to come to my mind (since our survival depends on them).

For the past several years, my “day job” has been working with organizations that want to make their spaces more inclusive for Queer and NeuroDivergent People.

When I started NeuroDivergent Consulting, half of my business was Queer Inclusion, and the other half was Neuro-Inclusion. However, two years ago (when anti-trans laws began to become more prominent), I saw a drastic decline in the Queer Inclusion portion of my business, starting with Pride Season.

Paid subscribers have access to the rest of the story. Thanks to every one of you for supporting my work.

If you are in need of a discount, please use the link below to get your subscription at a deep discount (because I don't want money to be an obstacle to people):

https://neurodivergentrebel.substack.com/LowIncomeDiscount

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Please, kindly refrain from taking this offer if you do not need it.

I hope this helps,
- Lyric