Now that the election is over ....

In an earlier post, I talked at length about the origins and now dominance of what I call the new majority in the United States. As a member of this group, I am, of course, ecstatic. Yet, I have many concerns.

As I watched the numbers increase during the last two decades, I also began to notice that rather than a bridge being constructed between the brown and black communities, we began to chip away at each other. Rather than recognizing our commonalities (one of my favorite words), it seemed that many of the members of both communities began to exhibit what is called the "crabs in the bucket" mentality. This mentality alludes to a bunch of crabs in a bucket, all attempting to climb to the top of the bucket and freedom, pulling each other down, somehow thinking "if I can't get it [freedom], neither can you. This saddened me tremendously. The black and brown communities share the same issues and problems: crime, drugs, teenage pregnancy, poverty, high drop-out rate and many more. Rather than recognizing our strength collectively, we began to denigrate and chip away at each other, each afraid the other would attain something the other lacked.

With the election of 2012, these two communities, along with the LBGT community, are now the new majority. I'll say that again, they are the new majority. This word brings with it power, both political and economic power. Now what are we going to do with it? We now have the power to exact not revenge, but fruit, fruit of the centuries of labor and enrichment of this country exacted from our ancestors. If, and this is a big IF, we work together collectively, we can move mountains. We can continue to elect politicians who will enact legislation that benefits the majority, not the minority. We can boycott businesses who treat our members unfairly. We can join and support each other in our respective battles. We can educate our young people both about the past battles and the battles to come. We must pass the baton on to these younger people so that they can do the same to their children. We can do a lot, collectively.

Be neither naive nor misled. The former majority is not going away quietly. Already, they are conferring behind closed doors in their country clubs and executive dining rooms. They are angry about the election loss. Their ethnocentrism and arrogance will not let them rest nor be satisfied with the wealth they've obtained through the abuse/misuse of the former minority. They will attempt to categorize the new majority as people with their hands held out for "goodies" or "handouts." They will attempt to create problems within the new majority. They will even find a few members of each respective group in the majority to join their team, promising them a share of their wealth and power. These "tokens" will attempt to convince members of their own group to join them.

Now is the time to continue the momentum. Don't stop with the presidential election. Vote in the off-year elections. We cannot afford to stand still nor to go backward.

Blessings,

Tee