Do you remember the precise moment it hit you? Where you were when you realized everything had turned? That months of polls and expert analysis were dead wrong? It took me longer than most, I think, at least until the heads on CNN, well into the night of November 8, began to refer to “the president-elect.”
That’s when I stood up and left the gathering where, along with a hundred or so other would-be revelers, I had thought I’d celebrate the election results.
And the next morning: The utter silence on the bus or light rail or ferry into work, your fellow passengers staring into the empty space before them. Or sitting behind the wheel, radio off, nosing through traffic in a trance.
My morning also included conversations that resulted in the issue you hold in your hands.
Because here’s the thing: Ninety-one and a half percent of registered Seattle voters who cast a ballot did not vote for the winner of the Electoral College. It’s not exactly surprising, of course. But it does mean something. That regardless of ideological differences that exist in our city—and they are manifold—nearly every one of us rejected the racism and bigotry thrown in our faces for more than a year. That Seattle stands for inclusiveness and diversity. That Muslims and Latinos and members of the LGBTQ community and women need not feel threatened here.
At Seattle Met we knew we had to do something different, something special.
“Hope and Resistance in Seattle” explores all the ways the region has responded to the election. However, starting here and continuing through the issue, you’ll find this symbol (above; in print only) denoting where another part of the magazine picks up on the same theme, from the story of Seattle’s first mosque to the tale of our city’s all-girl jazz band. Even the superb “Seattle’s Best Italian Food,” though not flagged like the other stories, pays tribute to how immigrants shaped our community nearly a century ago.
We hope our readers who voted differently than nine out of 10 Seattleites will also find something useful and enlightening within. The overall message, though, is simple. We might not all be happy with who’s running the country for the next four years. But those years don’t have to be hopeless.
Published in the This Is Sanctuary City issue of Seattle Met.
|
|
|