Donald Trump

Letter to Donald Trump and David Duke

Dear Donald Trump, David Duke and others of that ilk,

(Ilk means people in the same group as you. From now on I will try not to use any words I learned after sixth grade.)

I am a white woman of privilege and I recently had my DNA tested by Ansestrydotcom.  The results show I have more British DNA than the average person living in Great Britain today.  The other 25% is Scottish, and Northern European.  I was hoping for something more exotic but no- just white, white and more white.  My family goes back on both sides to the founding of America. One Great- Something- Grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War and another Great- Something- Grandfather chose indentured servitude in America over prison in Scotland.   (That is the fun side of the family.) I have relatives that fought in both the Union and Confederate Armies. (Extra credit for that one, right?) My Grandfather was an honest –to- goodness cowboy in Wyoming. My Father, two Uncles, and my nephew all served in The United States Marine Corps. Semper Fi! In addition to being a Marine my father was an attorney who successfully defended a member of the Hell’s Angels in a murder trial. He even voted for Richard Nixon- which may have contributed to my parent’s divorce a few years later. In other words, I am about as white as you can get and assuredly I am whiter than you.  So……. By your standards I win! I win! I win! Fuck you! I win!

 

Now that we have established that I am in fact “Superior” (your word not mine) to you, let me explain why you won’t be taking my country back.

 

In your all white world I would not have had the career I did as a dancer.  My first ballet teacher was Puerto Rican and as a professional dancer I trained with a Gay African American. I’m not saying there are not straight white male dance teachers and choreographers- just not enough.

 

My favorite book was written by a Russian and my favorite artist is African American.  I’m not saying there aren’t any straight white male writers and artists- just not enough.

 

Currently my favorite musical is Book of Mormon with a cast full of gay men and African American’s.  You would just hate it! I’m not saying there are no straight white men in the theater- just not enough.

 

If you get rid of Gays and Jews in Hollywood movies and television will have a really hard time getting made.  I’m not saying there are no straight white men in Hollywood- just not enough.

 

What kind of music do you listen to in White America? Okay, actually here you got me.  There are enough straight white musicians and I know because I dated a lot of them. (Groupie is a strong word.)

 

If you take away all the Black people, Hispanic people, Asians, Muslims, Jews and Gay people I will not have any friends left. Pretty sure your coming for Intellectuals and Artists too so that would reduce my friend count to a handful of old dancers. (However, do not underestimate us old dancers.  We are smarter than you think and we kick really hard.) I’m not saying I don’t have any straight white friends- just not enough.

 

Most importantly, I would not have my daughter.  I brought her to this country and when our plane touched down on the tarmac at LAX she immediately became an American citizen.  It was one of the proudest moments of my life.  I will not allow you to take that from us.

 

I believe Donald, your presidency is the last dying gasp of the straight white man trying to maintain power. Why are you so afraid of women and brown people taking your stuff?  Here’s a secret for you.  We don’t want your stuff. We don’t even like your stuff. Keep your stuff but you can’t have our country back. It is no longer only yours.

 

I don’t want to live in a country where Kid Rock is the Poet Laureate. *  I don’t want exclusively white neighbors whose only work of art they own is on their arm and although they are both fine actors, I don’t want to see movies that only star James Woods and Gary Sinese.  I don’t want America First.  I want us to be a part of the Global Community.

 

Lastly, and please read this part very carefully, your violence, your exclusion, your racism, your misogyny, and your hate will not be tolerated. This does not make me an “intolerant Libtard”.  It makes me a compassionate human.  So please, take your lily white, fat, tiki torch carrying, cowardly asses back to whatever pit of hell has only white people in it and men are in charge.  And, by the way, if any of you believe that after you die God will be waiting in heaven to give you a high five you are sadly mistaken.  She will be standing there with her arms crossed pointing to the exit.

 

Sincerely,

DeAnne Spicer Todd

 

*Poet Laureate is an official poet** chosen by the government.

** A poet is…. Oh never mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Hundred-sixty-six Reasons to Love Myself

Just for a minute I have to discuss everyone’s favorite topic- my weight. I really thought I was finished with the yo-yoing, but I have yo-yoed again and in the wrong direction. The total inattention to my health, lack of exercise, and eating everything in sight has surprisingly led to weight gain.  When am I going to finally figure this out?  It’s just math and I was good at math.

I haven’t been “thin” since I was in my early 40’s and I thought I was fat then because I wasn’t as thin as I was in my 30’s – when I felt fat because I wasn’t as thin as I was when I was a borderline anorexic dancer.  That’s when I really felt fat because after I hit 100 pounds I thought I would be too heavy to dance with Baryshnikov.

Hmmm…. I am seeing a pattern here. My sixty-year-old self is screaming at me to stop it now.

I have lost weight on a restricted diet.  I have lost weight by exercising excessively. I have lost weight by giving up sugar and everything white.  None of those things have lasted.  In fact, before I gave up sugar I didn’t even really like sugar and now I can’t get enough sugar.  What?

The only thing any of those plans had in common was I did it because I hated the way I looked and therefore myself.  Nothing born out of hate can live very long. (Did you hear that Donald Trump?)   Why would I take care of myself if I didn’t think I was worth it?  I hear you sixty-year-old DeAnne- enough.

I am going to feed myself, nurture and care for myself like I was one of my own children.  Wait, I’ll have to do better than that because sometimes I forget to pick them up from school. No giving up of anything, everything in moderation including exercise.  But here is where my new plan becomes different and difficult- I have to find a way to feel good about myself that has nothing to do with how I look.  Yikes! I want to write and I feel good about myself when I do that so I am going to do that a lot more.  Being a writer and sitting all day is the perfect way to lose weight!

Anyone want to join me?  Go to the Not So Empty Nest Facebook Page and post what you weigh- be loud and proud!  I’ll start. I weigh 166. Let’s stop being embarrassed and own it! If you, like me, would like to weigh a little less let’s try to lose it by taking care of ourselves and each other first.  I think we need to work on feeling fabulous now and the rest will sort itself out.   Let’s give it a try.  It couldn’t hurt and it just might work.