Time to Do the Work
Joe Biden won the Presidential election and Kamala Harris is the Vice President – Elect. People are celebrating, because Biden mentioned trans people in one of his speeches. This means we can all breathe a sigh of relief and assume the war is over, right? Not so fast!
In Pirke Avot – The Teachings of the Sages, the last book of the Talmud, our great rabbis taught:
We are not obligated to finish the work, but we must not desist from it either!
What do we need to focus on right now? Let’s take a look.
The Dems barely held on to the House by the slimmest of margins. The Senate still has not been decided, but it is highly likely that the GOP will keep the Senate. This means that they control things such as Supreme Court nominations.
And do not forget that Kamala Harris, while she may be a Black/Indian Woman, which is great from a multi-cultural consideration, is still carrying a cloud. She has a transphobic background as Attorney General of California. She apologized for this, but we all know what that means in politicians. Further, while Attorney General, she did nothing to change the system that saw Black people locked away for “crimes” that white people were never even charged for. This is hardly the best outcome for anyone. But we have to live with it.
And with Transgender Day of Remembrance coming up, we are painfully reminded of how bad this year has been. Aside from COVID, which has been bad enough, we have seen a record number of trans murders this year, primarily Black trans women. Remember that we are ALL created in the Divine image; however you may understand that. In the Talmud, the rabbis taught that to destroy a life is akin to destroying the world. Our world has been destroyed countless times over by this senseless hatred.
White Supremacists are running rampant globally. Security alerts are pinging left and right in the Jewish and LGBTQ communities nearly every time I open email. It’s almost too much to bear. These people are largely driven by the rhetoric of Trump, who affiliates with the Evangelicals, supposedly God fearing Christians. I just do not understand it at all.
It feels like our whole world has gone crazy. This year has truly been a year from hell. We can only hope and/or pray that things get better. They CAN get worse of course, but let’s hope not. We have to work to improve things in every way. And remember, as I opened with, it’s up to us to do the work to make things better. So let’s roll up our sleeves, even if we are approaching Winter.
Stay safe.
Peace out,
Rona
Category: Transgender Community News, Transgender Politics
About the Author (Author Profile)
Rabbah Rona Matlow (ze/hir) is an AMAB NB trans woman. Ze is a retired navy nuclear power officer, permanently disabled veteran and ordained rabbi. Ze is the author of the upcoming book “We are God’s Children Too”, part autobiography and part text which debunks the myths that conservative clergy have been teaching about trans and queer people for millennia. Ze is a communal activist, pastoral counselor and educator. Hir websites are http://www.RabbahRona.us and http://www.RonaMatlow.com.Subscribe
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