This election cycle has brought up many emotions for many people. Here’s what happened for me. As usual, candidates came up that one liked, and we all complained about having no one to vote for, but let’s be honest. We say this every year. However, as things went on, they became more intense, but it didn’t just become about who was the right person for the job, but about who was evil. What I found most disturbing was the rise in White Supremacist and other hate groups, and while it’s true that these groups come in waves, a large group of Americans appeared to be apathetic. We watched these crowds surround the Trump rallies and shower their support for him and wondered what our future would be.
As we shared our stories, it seemed as if no one listened, besides those of us who felt this way. Our experiences and feelings were cast aside because, we’re just liberals, even though not all of us were, and since Hillary is so much worse, everything else is waved aside. I could list incident after incident, but none of them matter. No one listened when we shared them. We also tried telling people about the rise in incidents, but no one cared about that either, because we will always have racism and hate. The number of incidents rose to almost an unbearable level. Thankfully, it seems to be dying down, but yes, I will most likely always have a security guard with a taser or some weapon at the entrances to my synagogue during holidays, but hopefully that will be the extent and will remain a good deterrent.
After sharing my experiences, as well as other whom I’m friends or acquainted with, and was met with silence, or other comments I don’t wish to share. I stopped sharing. I didn’t see the point. I started to think about why it had to be this way. Why is it that people don’t listen? Why is it that we have to have racism, and bigotry, and hate? Why does always have to be here? I don’t want it here, and I know plenty of other people who don’t either. So how do we fix it? Many people say combat it with love, but that alone hasn’t worked yet.
Stories. If we can somehow collect stories. Maybe that can work. Stories have the ability to evoke great emotion, and if someone can read another’s story of pain, perhaps it will evoke compassion. Maybe that compassion could be what helps erase this hatred that we all wish didn’t exist.
If we can put all these stories into a book and then distribute it, maybe we could could spread compassion. So, as you can see, I need more than just money to accomplish this. I need your help to share this with others. The more others know about it, the more stories we can collect. We will also be able to have a variety people from various backgrounds and viewpoints.
I want this to be collaborative, so I welcome any ideas. Just please know that it’s impossible to execute every possible idea. I also want this to remain a positive and safe place for people to share their experiences. Any hurtful comments will be deleted.
I set up this page, because I do need certain supplies to do the artwork and create the book. Any amount you can contribute would certainly help, and if you can’t, no worries. There many other things you can do, such as sharing this post, sharing a story you have when relevant, and creating your own environment of compassion.
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