To the little girl with the beautiful scarf: “Je te vois” (I see you)
There’s no denying that November 2016 was a crazy month. It started with the political fiasco that was the US elections and ended with many of us still kind of scratching our heads and trying to pull humanity’s head out of the toilet.
I’m no stranger to wonky political rhetoric. If you’ve been around this blog long enough you know that I nose dive into political issues with abandon and don’t mind disagreeing with you if it means standing up for what I believe in.
As crazy as last month was, it also brought out a lot of true colours. Facebook was rampant with closet Trump supporters coming out of hiding the day after the elections posting valiant updates and Team Hillary supporters posting a ton of memes that had the general air of WTF. All that to say there were very few in betweens. Even though the elections took place south of our border, the winds of change have been felt up north. There’s no sitting this one out. You are either Team Trump, or Team Hillary. Likelihood has it that if you’re team Hillary, and sitting on this side of the geographical fence, you’re also Team Thank The Lord Justin Trudeau is our Prime Minister.
I welcome this political openness. It warms my heart. I was sick and tired of crickets. You know the quote:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
…well that was kind of how I felt for a long time. I wondered how everyone could just stay silent for so long. I get that it’s not polite in some circles to speak about politics. I get that in the PR/Marketing industry, most bloggers don’t want to touch politics with a ten foot pole. Once again though, if you have been around these parts long enough, you know that I’m not one of THOSE. That doesn’t make me immune however to what’s going on around me. I lived through the Harper era of divisive dog whistle politics and the stinky egg smells just as stinky now with The Donald gearing up to lead our neighbours to the south.
As much hate as I get (Facebook, Twitter, emails, blog comments, DMs…you name it), I gotta say, I get even more love. Maybe I choose to see it that way? Maybe life throwing enough lemons at you finally makes you want to start your own brand of lemonade. The other day, an acquaintance of mine shared something so beautiful with me on my personal Facebook page that it humbled me, warmed my heart and strengthened my resolve all at the same time. She is Québecois, not Muslim and shared two images of her daughters wrapping scarves around their heads. Her caption read that they are trying to look like me. I did a double take and paused.
Sometimes when it feels like we’re screaming about social change from rooftops and the wind is blowing our words into thin air, it’s not always clear if anyone is listening. To see the image of a young girl wrapping a scarf around her head told me they are.
For the naysayers (and yes they do still come around to read my blog), I am not trying to CONVERT anyone here. I am not trying to shove any religious rhetoric down anyone’s throat. I am simply saying hey, we all exist on the same planet. Let’s just try to do so in peace. That’s all.
So when the Trumpets blow their hot air (see what I did there?), we blow back. We stand up strong and we speak truth to power. Somewhere behind a screen, a little girl is watching. She is reading this. She is seeing me. And to her, I say “Merci ma belle. Je te vois” (Thank you sweety. I see you).
This is so sweet!
I actually have photos of *my* daughter trying to look like *my* friend and she had wrapped a thin blanket into a hijab and asked me to take a photo and send it to my friend. It was beautiful.
Children have a way of simply getting how easily we can find peace. If only grown-ups could be so easily led – to kindness.
Oh, and I *loved* your trumpet comment. 😀
Thank you. I couldn’t agree with you more!