As 2025 rolls in, the state of this country becomes more oppressive, unpredictable and brutal. There is the sinking feeling upon opening social media, not knowing what terrible news you will be met with this time.
I, among other people, can agree on how the future of America is terrifying with recent administration changes. If I could describe the emotions I have felt seeing my people get detained, oppressed and abused all for the sake of “Making America Great Again,” it is true overwhelming sadness.
As a queer, Mexican woman myself, waking up with this uncertainty flying over my head not knowing what the next thing will be put in order, it feels like I walk around with this fear not knowing which part of myself I will be targeted for. The terrifying questions float in my head: If I’ll be the next person on the news for speaking Spanish in public, holding hands with my girlfriend or having the misfortune of being born a woman.
The fear that the sacrifice my parents made to come into this country for the futures of their children is going to waste simply because people view us as insignificant. The fear of getting a phone call to inform me that my mother has been detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement due to her speaking Spanish in public. All these festering emotions need to be used for actual change in this country.
All throughout history, we learn how minorities fight back against oppressive laws and systems set up to degrade minorities from society. I, myself, and many others are exhausted seeing rights being easily stripped away from people as if we are nothing.
Now more than ever, we need to show our pride for our “forma de ser.” We need to show that laws will never erase identities as much as they want to. Our voices matter and, even if everything feels so isolating and definitive, they never are. Generations before us fought for the change they needed, and we will carry their strength to continue fighting for ours.
My identity as a queer, Mexican woman will never be erased or taken away from me despite how much people want it to. I am not a law or a political statement; I am a person who deserves rights just as much as everyone else in this country.
Everyone is deserving of kindness and respect regardless of race, gender identity or sexuality. Never let bigotry diminish your power or your identity. Y con esto, quiero declarar que mi gente y yo seguiremos perseverando y seguiremos sangrando verde, blanco y rojo.
