| Tab Nute |
November 6, 2024
A Message to My Fellow Harris/Walz Supporters
I didn’t get much sleep last night, neither did my spouse. I, fortunately, slept more than her. So much was at stake in the election. There was so much to gain if it went our way. Conversely, there’s so much to lose now that it didn’t. Our house is typically happily quiet, but this morning it was silent. Quiet and silent feel different. There’s always joy, happiness, and contentment in the quiet. There’s sadness and devastation in the silence. In an attempt to process, I reached out to my friends and asked them how they were feeling. One by one, the answers started arriving:
Terrified
Angry
Sad
Scared
Devastated
Catatonic
Depressed
Anxious
There is so much grief to process. There’s also bewilderment as many of us weren’t surprised but couldn’t understand why what was so obvious to us wasn’t to most of America. Instead of trying to understand who voted for Donald Trump, I started looking at who I knew didn’t vote for him in my life. We’re Nurses, Educators, Long-Term Care Professionals, Mental Health/Substance Use Clinicians, Social Workers, and 911 Dispatchers. Our lives are dedicated to serving others, and we love people regardless of who they are or what they’ve been through. We love and hope sincerely, and we loved and hoped deeply there were enough of us to protect all the people in this world who need it unconditionally. So, it makes sense that we’re also going to hurt deeply. We’re going to be afraid for those who stand to be harmed the most.
We’re also going to be afraid for ourselves. My same-gendered spouse and I are worried about our rights and the rights of our queer community. We’re concerned about our trans brothers and sisters. We’re afraid for people of color. We’re afraid for women. We’re worried for Ukraine, Palestine, and every other disenfranchised and vulnerable minority in this world.
That is a lot for any of us to carry, and I know if we’re holding it, you are, too. To sound cliché for a moment: it’s okay not to be okay. It’s okay to be scared, angry, vulnerable, and anxious. It’s okay to feel exhausted. Please, however, do not feel defeated. We should be proud of the hope and love. We should be proud of the conversations we had, the calls we made, the energy we brought. Trying to improve the world and protect democracy was the right choice, one I know we’ll all need to make again. One thousand seven hundred forty-one people in New Gloucester voted for Harris/Walz. That means that 1,740 other people wanted the same thing as you did. When the next call to action comes (any day now), the more of us that come together, the better we’ll be. Let’s rest and find that resilience that we’ve reserved for these moments, and when we’re ready, let’s do this. Together, we can make sure love always wins.
In Solidarity,
Tab Nute
New Gloucester
Editor’s note: Tab Nute sent this piece to NGX on November 6, the day after the election.
