Dear President Trump, We did one more writing exercise in the Saturday allyship class. It was to write a first person poem from the perspective of someone we conjured whose life is directly affected by the ‘ism we chose to write a letter to in the previous exercise (see 8/13/18 letter). Several of us read … Continue reading High Alert
“Dear Racism”
Dear President Trump, I told you yesterday that I took a class over the weekend on allyship and shared an initial take on my manifesto for wholeness based on one of the writing exercises we did. Another of the exercises involved writing a letter to an ‘ism or ‘ism-like construct; sexism, racism, classism, ageism, able-ism, … Continue reading “Dear Racism”
Make it so
Dear President Trump, Yesterday I went to a writing class for people who want to become better allies both through their writing and in real time encounters. I left quite humbled and feeling as though I have a lot of remedial work to do. One of the exercises involved writing a manifesto framed by the … Continue reading Make it so
May the Holy Fire not be a harbinger
Dear President Trump, Yesterday evening I saw an HP piece on the man, Forrest Gordon Clark, who is accused of intentionally setting the Holy Fire in California. Intentional fire setting is something that deeply freaks me out, and this particular act of arson, should it prove true, has me even more unsettled than most. Clark’s … Continue reading May the Holy Fire not be a harbinger
Cruel and usual
Dear President Trump, I’ve decided writing to you and sending us all loving-kindness meditations has become too important to me to let go of yet. Besides, it’s highly likely I would become impossible to be around if I didn’t have these letters as an outlet for my frustration, dismay, and anxiety over what’s going on … Continue reading Cruel and usual
“What keeps you awake at night?”
Dear President Trump, This morning I went by the Christian Cavalry Church near us. They have a huge sign at the edge of their parking lot; it’s black with bold pastel rainbow letters that say “Sweet Dreams” and smaller white letters that ask “What keeps you awake at night?” I immediately started generating my list; … Continue reading “What keeps you awake at night?”
Rashida Tlaib is already a hero
Dear President Trump, Most days I spend 20 or so minutes during my lunch break catching up on news via NPR. Today the headline article was about Rashida Tlaib who is going to become the first Muslim woman member of the House of Representatives in January; she is running unopposed for the 13th District seat … Continue reading Rashida Tlaib is already a hero
Be careful who you hate
Dear President Trump, By now you should know that I’m someone who actually reads and is often affected by bumper stickers. Part of it is that they are usually short and pithy; easy to digest. More importantly, though, is that someone has chosen to adorn their car with one or more statements that will be … Continue reading Be careful who you hate
Crowd fillers
Dear President Trump, Remember how last February after the MSD mass shooting there were claims that the survivors who were speaking out about gun violence were crisis actors, that they weren’t really students who witnessed the murder of 17 people from their school community? Do you remember when those claims started burbling up to discredit … Continue reading Crowd fillers
Systemic consequences
Dear President Trump, Just giving you a head’s up; this is going to be a longer than usual letter. I found out from Laura yesterday that our brother-in-law’s oncologist told him that people with his type of cancer (i.e., bone metastases from an organ tumor) have a median life expectancy of 20 months. This is … Continue reading Systemic consequences
Daily Trump Letters 