The Election: A Message to My Younger Self

Guest blogger: Andrea Portillo, graduate student, Masters in Migration Studies, University of San Francisco

Here’s something you should know we lost last Tuesday’s presidential elections. We as a people lost. Because unfortunately this country is still embedded with racist and “othering” rhetoric. Because unfortunately we live in a country where race, sexual orientation, citizenship status, and gender are still used as weapons against you. People will continue to stereotype and discriminate against you based on these things. They will say hateful, hurtful and wrong things about you. They will label you things you are not and they will even try to take some of your rights away—some of the rights that you were born with, some of the rights that your people have worked/ and continue to work for.

Here’s something you should know. You are still here. We are still here. We are motivated, now more than ever. We should all be ready to stand with our fists in the air, ready to fight back. Because it’s more important now. It means more now. For the student who is undocumented and whose dreams have just been cut short. For the people of color who deal with racism, and systemic oppression every day. For the women of color who have to work twice as hard to reach their goals. For everyone who continues to be discriminated against based on their gender, race, status and health. Now is not the time for self-pity. Yes things are harder but they have always been hard. We have to go harder. We have to put 150% into everything that we do because our families need it, our communities need it and this country needs it.

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