The results of the election last week evoked a wide array of emotions. Feeling as though I had just recovered my strength from the Orlando Pulse shooting, I was reduced to a pile of tears in bed for two days, trying (and failing) to avoid the news on my Facebook timeline of hate crimes spreading across the country.
When I returned to work Friday, a debriefing lunch with video producer extraordinaire Allison Tate, helped to release some of the anxiety that had built up over the previous days.
In a world where hate and discrimination occur on a daily basis, I've been sheltered. But being queer -- and not ignorant of the fact that many people would like to send us to hell -- this is an anxiety that taxes my brain every single day.
Knowing my mental stability and knowing what would trigger this anxiety, I gave myself time to rebuild strength before participating in any rallies or protests against the president-elect. As I got closer to MacArthur Park on Saturday morning, my expectation that a couple hundred people would show up was shattered. Surrounded by thousandof people, possibly 10,000, with similar fears and angers filled me with strength and hope that I would have otherwise been searching for weeks or months.
Strength in numbers. We really are Stronger Together.
