Love Trumps Hate

What a weekend! We had a great one personally, but seeing how many people showed up to fight for women’s equality made it extra special. I love these photos taken from marches all over the world. It gives me goosebumps just to look. Scrolling through social media on Saturday night and talking to friends who attended marches around the country gave me a sense of hope that I didn’t think I’d feel in the coming years. Although I didn’t join any of the marches myself, I felt proud to be an American woman, and supported everyone marching in spirit.

Last week, I wrote in a post that I was going to skip watching the inauguration, which caused a bit of a stir in my email inbox, as you might imagine. A lot of you were supportive of my decision (thank you for your amazing emails!), but more than a few told me I need to accept the fact that Trump is president, and stop spreading negativity. The second part of that sentence, yes. 100%. Although I’m sometimes terrified for our futures, I will aim to spread love, positivity, and hope going forward, instead of hate, negativity, and despair. That is something that I promise to strive for when talking about any topic here on Lemon Stripes.

A few of the emails I received mentioned that I need to accept this presidency and hope for the best. And here’s the thing… I accept the presidency. Of course I do, I don’t have a choice, but this article pretty much summed up exactly how I feel:

I accept that Trump is the president. But I condemn his unabashed bigotry, and his hateful comments about women, Muslims, Hispanics, and other marginalized groups. I condemn him for mocking Serge Kovaleski, and for welcoming white supremacists into his administration. I condemn him for running a campaign based on division and for lying to the American people. I condemn his inability to admit personal fault. I condemn his lack of intellectual curiosity and his disrespect for American norms and values. On the most fundamental level, I condemn Trump as a human being.

For those of you who’ve asked me to stop speaking my mind about politics here, that’s not going to happen. You don’t have to agree with me, and a little healthy debate is always welcome. What you should know is that I’m coming from a place of love. Love for people who are different than I am. Love for the systems we have in place for those who can’t support themselves. Love for women and our right to choose what’s best for our bodies.

But I’m sure there will be plenty of times in the next four years that I want to talk about something important to me politically. I’m lucky to have a voice that lots of people hear, and while I plan to continue with home makeovers, healthy recipes, and lots of outfit inspiration, I’m also going to use that voice to speak up about what matters most.

So much love to all of you!