What has LOVE got to do with it?: November 2024

First they came for the illegal and legal immigrants

and I did not speak out because I am not an illegal immigrant. I am a second-generation immigrant.

Then they came for women who asked for an abortion or had one in the past and I did not speak out because I am too old to get pregnant nor did I have one in the past.

Then they came for transgender people and again I did not speak out because I am not transgender.

Finally they came for me, a poor, disabled senior on .... with social security and no savings.

and there was no one left to speak for me.

(an adaptation of

a poem by Niemöller in Hitlers Germany)

"It is what it is...."

I will speak out, even writing this blog may allow the administration to act in retaliation. I am a second-generation immigrant. We are a nation of immigrants.

I am now a "foreigner in a foreign land."

I, as a woman , live in the most sexist nation, even over racism. As a 75-year-old, I have fought every inch for the right to live, work and educate myself.My parents had to leave school to survive the depression. I have a graduate degree. The first!

Voters have chosen a political puppet, criminal, convicted felon, womanizer, liar, with plans to trash our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Two strong women ran in opposition in 2016 and 2024 and America chose Donald tRump.

The American Dream is an illusion and will be only for the wealthy 1%.

NOT PROUD to be an American Citizen

I AM a proud American woman born into a lower middle class suburban home outside Portland Oregon.

I chose in many battles to stand up for my rights to live , work and be educated.

I accomplished high grades in order to escape my abusive neglect filled home and family. And with scholarships and two jobs, attended three state universities.

I graduated in 1973 with a graduate degree ,BFA ,after several battles to receive the same respect from professors as did my male counterparts.

I stood up to a rapist in 1970 at 19, when even my family did not believe me.

I did not back away from workplace threats of termination, 1971, by my supervisor to keep a "dress" code when slacks were needed to perform my job.

I demanded my family name be returned to me by the judge at my divorce proceedings 1975.

I led a strike , 1982, in a large construction camp of 200 men in Alaska. My all-female crew, kitchen and housekeeping, were continuously harassed verbally along with sexual graffiti. We won.

I stood my ground, 1989, verbally in public to the Abbot of the Zen Community/monastery over his verbal and emotional abuse.

J M Starz

November 7, 2024

PS: My final observation and conclusion IS that the stronger women in America become, the more attempts there will be to oppress US. Keep moving "Forward". " Keep the light on".

Lyrics from female contribution to new release , song by Cold Play September 2024.

"We Pray"

Pray that love will shelter us from our fears

Oh I pray,you trust to let me wipe off your tears

Confront all the pain that we feel inside

With all the cards we have been dealt in life

Pray I speak my truth and keep my sisters alive

So for the ones that parted the seas for the ones following dreams

For the ones that knocked down doors and

Allowed us to pass down the keys

Pray we speak with a tongue of honesty,

And that we understand how to be modest

Pray she looks in a mirror and sees a queen, a Goddess.

And so we pray..

Footnote: Election numbers show 208 million eligible voters. Republicans received 35% of eligible voters and 51% of registered voters. A minority of voters will dictate to the other two-thirds including millions of non-eligible voters. The future generations. This is democracy for a minority vs the majority.. and American citizens are ....?

From recent interviews with minority ethnic groups the American Dream is alive.Yet it is clear by their voting for this leader/party they are willing to give up human rights for the money they believe is proof of success in America. They may have left a war torn , poverty stricken and economic disaster of a country, familiar, and now in America they are willing to accept a loss of liberty, even if OTHERS do. By 2050 half of citizens will be Latino. I fear money over life and liberty will become the distorted " American Dream". I will not be here yet I can see it already in the 2024 election.. Including a national abortion ban planned, more anti-LGBTQ laws especially transgender, "Snitching" laws about abortion ,as in Texas, and an erosion of enforcement of the Constitution and Bill of Rights..........

All for the rights to buy MORE.......costs will always be on the rise here and around the world. As populations soar, demand grows for jobs, commodities / especially food ( also affected by climate changes), housing, this list goes on.. as more immigrants flee countries in already dire conditions. At the University, 1970, over population was the main issue facing us. Now 55 years later, I can see where we are headed after little concern by next generations to this issue...anti-abortion laws will only add to this future of ... ?

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