Did you know that Trump and I could have been besties?
I mean, we share a lot of things in common. We have a shared childhood trauma and we have both been strong supporters of the Democratic party, especially supporting Hillary Clinton. We are also both in the top 1% of wealth in this country. What?!?!?! A Social Worker has made it to the 1% Club? Yep, it’s true and with that I think of what could have been. Perhaps there really was a 1% Club that had an extravagant annual celebration. I fantasize that Trump and I would be members together, sitting at a table drinking our Non Alcoholic Wine together in our black tie apparel. We would bond over our shared experience of growing up with alcoholic parents and how we rose from the ashes by our bootstraps. How we both love our families and we both like to say what is on our mind, even if it us upsetting to others. We are so similar on so many levels and then I would realize: OMG, it’s like Trump and I are totally besties!!! I would then feel compelled to give him half of a BFF necklace to commemorate our mutual understanding and affection which he would graciously accept.
I envision us sitting together laughing and making jokes about the ridiculous wealth around us and secretly talking about how to use our power and success for good. I would ask “Ok BFF, what are we going to do with our shared success? Shall we start a school in Africa? Donate to the poor? Bring water to developing nations? Increase access to education? Oh I am brimming with ideas of how we can change the world for the better….together.” Oh I can’t wait to hear your response. Xoxoxo.
What was that? It’s loud at this fancy event…..I think I misunderstood your response. Please say it again.
Wait, what?!? You want to target the Transgender Community? You want to take our status as the most powerful 1% to target and attack the most disempowered 1%? Oh no, friend. Say it isn’t so. As BFFs I just want to make sure I am understanding this correctly because I can’t imagine that someone at this level would use their energy and resources to directly target the disempowered. Sigh.
It is estimated that about 1% of the US Population is Transgender. Though both Trump and Transgender are powerful words that seem to evoke a sense of fear in our society (one warranted and one not), they couldn’t be more different even if they do share status as part of a 1% group.
While Trump grew up in a family of wealth and privilege (let’s be real – he is probably the 1% of the 1%), the Transgender community is the most attacked 1% of the population at the moment, and they share none of the other T’s 1% privilege:
- The # of Trans adults that are unemployed is double that of non-trans adults
- 28% of Trans individuals have postponed medical care because of discrimination
- Transgender individuals are 4x more likely to live in extreme poverty
- Transgender individuals had double the rate of being homeless
- Transgender individuals have 4x the risk of becoming HIV-infected
- HALF of Trans persons attempt suicide
I mean, Wow. If those statistics don’t open your heart and make you want to hug every Trans person you meet on the street then I don’t think we can be friends, and definitely not best friends. Because friends don’t kick you when you are down.
“With great power comes great responsibility” – Is that a Spiderman quote? I don’t know, but I believe it to be true. I know that it is true that when you hold 1% of the power and the money that you have a responsibility to help the others. We should be compelled to fight on behalf of our fellow humans that weren’t as fortunate as us and simply had a different stroke of luck. Not better or worse… just different, and different is ok.
I envision talking to my former BFF and asking him how he became so rich and powerful – was it hard work or was it luck? Maybe a little bit of both? I know that despite my significant efforts to build a sustainable business, I didn’t have a parent that gave me millions of dollars to start my empire and I still believe myself to be a little lucky. If that isn’t luck to be born into such privilege then I don’t know what is.
Not everyone achieves the 1% level and for that Trump, you get a bright shiny gold star. Good on you for getting there, even if you started 10 million steps ahead in the race (but that is for a different blog post). Now that you have arrived in this special 1% group, what will you do with all of your power and money and influence?
Will it be used to help those in need of your support or will it be used to buy fancy shoes to step on their necks? Because we know that though it is a small number, the 1% can be mighty in both directions.
We are in a cultural moment – the war between the 1%. Though the 1% will be in the history books it is our choice as to which side of history we want to be on. I keep hope that my former BFF will see this and make a different choice with his 1% status – a more supportive choice. A choice of an ally and a choice that will save lives of the other 1%. Because I think we can all agree that the 1% matter and deserve compassion and a gesture of humanity, on whichever end of the pendulum they were born lucky enough to be.
Man. I'm just so disappointed and would probably leave our fancy fantasy party in tears of rage. I won't go silently, however, even if we were besties at one time in my mind. If nothing else I would want Trump’s side of our BFF split heart necklace back because I can’t be besties with a bully that abuses his power of being in the 1% to harm those in the other 1%.
Though we shared so much, we are not the same after all it seems. I do miss what could have been and I'll try my best to use my 1% to help the other 1% because that is what good humans do.
Resources:
https://www.kff.org/other/issue-brief/trans-people-in-the-u-s-identities-demographics-and-wellbeing/
Change It Anyway 