Twitler’s first week (and an Accountability Group check-in)

It’s the end of the fourth week of 2017, and it’s time for another round of writing accountability. Let’s begin!

Word Counts for 1/21 – 1/27

January 21: 875

January 22: 0

January 23: 765

January 24: 1,735

January 25: 820

January 26:0

January 27: 360

Weekly Total: 4,555 words

I have to be honest here… I have been actively avoiding writing for the past couple of days, because I am genuinely scared of what has happened in the first week of Trump’s presidency. All of it is designed to turn the U.S. from a free to a fascist nation, and it’s all happened in the space of just five days.

That is utterly terrifying.

It’s hard to even write this post, because for the first time in my life I am genuinely afraid to write and post things on my own website, under my own name. I’ve never been afraid to write or speak my mind before, because I have always trusted that the American government was NOT run by a dystopian tyrant who could simply throw me in jail for anything I might write or say against him. But ever since the Predator-in-Chief (h/t to Jane Fonda for this apt title) took office, things have been different. Free speech no longer feels guaranteed. And I have been avoiding writing this week, because it doesn’t feel safe to express those opinions anymore.

I have been sitting here at my computer, trying to write, but held back by the threat of what might happen if I push “publish.”

I have started – but not finished – several essays. Some have explicitly addressed these issues, and my hatred for Trump and his evil agenda. Others have been on topics unrelated, but I have abandoned them because it felt frivolous to write about something like music or even love in the face of such genuine hatred. Trump has the thinnest of skins, and he continues to dismantle everything our country stands for because of the names people have called him online. What kind of behavior is this for the President, the leader of the free world?

Here are just a few of the absurdities and abuses that have happened this week in the Trump White House:

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• He continues to tweet from an unsecured Android phone – even though Hillary Clinton was punished, repeatedly, for using unsecured servers… apparently it’s not a problem for the President to continue endangering national security, right this very moment!
• He greenlit the Dakota Access and Keystone pipelines – which Obama had previously nixed
• He began plans to build his wall on the Mexican border – even there is already a wall there, and the new one is estimated to cost $25 billion (not including labor)
• He began dismantling the Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka “Obamacare”), with no alternative ready to take its place, ultimately stripping millions of Americans of their healthcare
• He placed gag orders on multiple government agencies, and simply deleted tons of vital content from government websites
• He has revoked the status of U.S. green card holders and refused entry to visitors and refugees from seven mainly Muslim countries – something he did on International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27), no less
• And the list goes on…

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Please remember that Anne Frank and most of her family died at the hands of the Nazis because of America’s xenophobic policies, which denied them from immigrating to the U.S. as refugees. Now, Trump uses the same tactic to prevent refugees from entering the U.S., on the pretense that Muslim = terrorist.

I am very afraid for my country’s future, particularly if the first week of this nightmarish presidency is any indication of what’s to come. I’m afraid for my husband (a Canadian immigrant), for my friends (many of whom are also immigrants and women and members of the LGBTQ community), and for millions of people I don’t even know. Because once the government comes for the Muslims, eventually they will come for ALL of us so-called “undesirables.”

It’s almost unbelievable, but it’s all happening again.

HITLER 2.0 IS HERE. THIS IS NOT A TEST.

Trump is trying to distract people with ridiculous claims and “alternative facts” – which are simply lies. His Inauguration crowds were NOT the biggest ever. The election was NOT somehow “stolen” due to voter fraud. Muslims are NOT terrorists.

But he will not misdirect me. He will not derail me. He will not intimidate me. Because now I am ANGRY. And I will not be afraid of this Tangerine Tyrant with his tiny-fingers and his tempestuous temper. I will fight back. I will gather my weapons – my words – and I will fight.

I will resist.

Weekly Goals

Set: Finish essay #3 and write essay #4, start research for Careers if You Like Music, write blog post about Christina Alexandra’s presentation to the San Diego Writers/Editors Guild meeting.

Met: I finished one essay, which you just read above, so let’s call that #3. I signed the contract for Careers if You Like Music on Friday. And I posted about Christina’s presentation here, if you’d like to learn more about writing romance.

Missed: I have not yet completed my week 4 essay, nor have I technically started researching the book. So…

Goals for Next Week

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• Start researching and writing Careers if You Like Music (due March 6)
• Write essays #4 and 5
• Continue writing on a daily basis, without fear
• Participate in InCoWriMo – International Correspondence Writing Month!

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What About You?

Got any goals for next week? Have you been tracking your words this year? Need some friendly advice or encouragement? Post your deepest, darkest fears – or just your goals – in the comments section!