Anatomy of this Outfit: Kenzo for H&M | Coat: Forever 21
Shorts: Misguided | Boots: Thrift | Hat: Independent Shop in Berlin


Kenzo Outift - lovefromberlin.net - Rae Tashman - photographed by: Sara Tortora

*Warning!: If politics are not your thing, skip this post!

Now I might be living abroad in Germany, but at the end of the day I am still an American citizen. Which is why I would like to talk candidly about the election results from yesterday and the election in general. Yesterday Trump became president elect and will be ruling the United States at it’s sovereign power, along with the congress and supreme court.

Now it would be gross understatement to say that everyone and their mother chose to air their thoughts out in pubic via twitter and facebook yesterday. To be honest, I haven’t seen twitter and facebook poppin like that since Brexit. And as any political leftist would do, I took to my facebook and did the same.

Kenzo Outift - lovefromberlin.net - Rae Tashman - photographed by: Sara Tortora

Here is the thing – I cannot say that I was overly excited by either candidate. But what truly horrifies me about Trump’s presidency is that he was elected on the pretense of hate and intolerance, rooted in the otherization of minority groups, and some notion that America needs to return to the way it was when iron fisted oppression was the norm. The statment “Make America Great Again” is an insult to the generations before us who fought to get us this far. It is an insult to the civil rights movement and anyone who took part. It is an insult to every person of color who is still screaming to make white privilege and the true face of racism understood. It is an insult to any of us who were (and hopefully still are) fighting for a better future. It is an insult to the poor who have been awarded more care under Obama. It is an insult to women who have fought decades of oppression and mansplaining. It is an insult to those who have finally been given the legal right to love whom they choose to love. The list goes on. There is no greatness in oppression. There is no greatness in hate.

Kenzo Outift - lovefromberlin.net - Rae Tashman - photographed by: Sara Tortora

I was additionally flabbergasted at the GOP for calling this “A historic moment.” Historic was when we elected the first POC president. Historic would have been electing a woman. Electing a rich white male who has thus far shown that he cares little for the rights of others is not historic. If anything it is anachronistic considering the times we live in. Now I am not saying that a white male cannot be president. I am saying that this is the status quo and there is nothing revolutionary in that. And by choosing one who has spouted hatred we are choosing a white oppressor whose only (projected) legacy mirrors that of previous generations who ruled with whips and used the law to create power structures, many of which we are still suffering from today. This is where I find fault.

Kenzo Outift - lovefromberlin.net - Rae Tashman - photographed by: Sara Tortora

The general tendency towards conservative radicalization is alarming. On the heels of Brexit and the growing political instability in places like Poland, I am scared for our future as human beings. However, I must believe that the oppressors screaming hatred from the rooftops are doing so because they feel threatened. Threatened to live in a time that has become much more liberal than previous generations in many ways. And I hold onto the fact that those 18-25 year olds who voted in the election voted predominantly blue. I take solace in the fact that my state Virginia voted blue for the 2nd time in history – and in a row no less.

Kenzo Outift - lovefromberlin.net - Rae Tashman - photographed by: Sara Tortora

We survived under Bush and we will survive under Trump. The future is uncertain and these are frightening times. But part of me feels (hope!) Trump’s actual rule will be rather moderate. He has never held office and will hopefully be some form of a puppet president, allowing his Vice President Mike Pence, who happens to be moderate, to make most of the political decisions. I hope that his rhetoric thus far was a sick way of securing the votes he needed in order to be elected. But still what bothers me the most, should this be his tactic is that by spreading hate and intolerance, he has legitimized this mentality amongst those who have elected him.

Kenzo Outift - lovefromberlin.net - Rae Tashman - photographed by: Sara Tortora

Watching the GOP rally around Trump as he gave his speech made me die a little inside. I saw not one person of color – and even if there were some amongst the audience, this does little to assuage the fact that the overwhelming majority that has elected Trump does not represent the fabric of America. Again, please understand that I am not condemning white Americans or finding fault with white Americans in and of themselves. What I am condemning is any party whose constituency is overwhelmingly represented by a homogenous group of people in positions of power. This is not what I call democracy.

Kenzo Outift - lovefromberlin.net - Rae Tashman - photographed by: Sara Tortora

We will have to wait to see how things will develop within the next weeks, months, and years. And it is too soon to start jumping to any specific conclusions or jumping ship. As hilarious as I found that the internet broke Canada’s immigration page, this is not the time to give up or flee the country. (However, I am seriously considering marrying a European and spending the rest of my days in Germany – despite the problems here things are a lot more liberal on the whole.) This is also not a time to point fingers or for those across the pond or border (Canada I’m looking at you) to stare smugly back at us as some kind of confirmation of America’s idiocy. Yes there are a lot of morons out there. But they are all over this planet and to try to jump ship for someplace else or wag a finger saying “I told you so, America!” is to deny that oppression and hate are universal problems we need to work towards solving as members of the human race. Still, I hope that Americans can band together and prove that our country is about inclusion and a willingness to fight for those who have no one to fight for them.

Kenzo Outift - lovefromberlin.net - Rae Tashman - photographed by: Sara Tortora

I am in everybody’s corner who has ever been disenfranchised. I am holding hands with anyone who has ever dealt with hate and oppression. I am fighting for the kind of future I want to award my children one day. And I hope you will do the same. Let’s not make America great again. Let’s make the America that we have right now an even more tolerant and inclusive place to be.

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Rae Tilly

Rae the EIC of LFB and YEOJA Magazine. She is also a photographer and social media influencer.

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  • You are just so perfectly put together. Your hair color, your bangs, your face, and outfit. Too cute!

    http://orcmilk.org

  • THE PHOTOS ARE SO DAMN GOOD AND YOUR HAIR IS AMAZEBALLS. and you look super pretty too, i can’t even. you probably sick of me writing how goddamn beautiful you are but please T___T everytime i see your photos i silently weep because you’re too beautiful huhu

    i remember my heart sank reading the news after work last night. i’m not even american and it bothered me too much. i have many friends over there, many are hispanics, hijabs. they genuinely afraid for their life, knowing the neighbor next door could be the one who voted that pumpkin and secretly hated them. also the overwhelming fact that misogyny exist in form of a very qualified woman was lost against white male just because he’s a male. with no experience in politic, nonetheless! this is a sad moment in history. but trump pretty much has less control in everything. he couldn’t just declare war without having approval from others (a.k.a much more sane people) in congress. basically he needs to pass everyone, be he like it or not. and i believe those people wouldn’t let trump do whatever the fuck he want just because he’s a president. i believe there are more sane people up there than him. and i believe they will fight.

  • I love your positive attitude. Things will get tough, but we need more brightness and positivity in the world! There are already too many bad vibes out there

  • i may not be american but i am also devastated by the news. i was sure clinton was gonna win because it seemed like A LOT of people were voting for her and then when i saw posts on twitter and facebook only to know that this corn toupee clown won… i was like WHY AMERICA WHY. like you, i don’t like both candidates because there will never be a 100% clean politic, at least i don’t believe in it. i believe that politic is evil, flawed and sly and it’s not like clinton is a saint because she isn’t but this isn’t about good vs evil anymore. it’s about choosing a human with both good and evil personalities or a full on idiotic sexist racist satan and people certainly picked satan to rule their country, metaphorically speaking.

    my friends, who live in america, were freaking out on twitter and my timeline was so full of retweets about nothing but the election. the disappointment was and is no joke. sigh, what have some people done. that corn toupee really disgusts me. some trump supporters be like, ‘why do you care? you don’t even live in america! you don’t even know the struggles america has to face’ thus justifying that trump is going to make america great again …geez, i can’t even.

    sigh, i just hope that trump does not suddenly cause a massive apocalypse. plus, it’s not like when trump says A then it will be done in an instant. he still needs to address his plan to other people of the higher rank and stuff so yeah. godspeed.

    Milkboxed

  • sileas

    Neither of those candidates should be proud of their election as the results were SO close. Not to mention those who didn’t vote, but at least they shouldn’t be complaining. In absolute votes Hillary won, but the election system is what it is – and despite all the verbal sh*it that has come out of Trump, he understood better to use all the (negative) publicity for his campaign. Well done Trump, that’s a quite a remarkable achievement! Let’s hope there’s a sparkle of humanity left in him and he’ll realize the responsibility he has towards all Americans…

  • Maybe this is the push that the human raise needs to work harder for a more kind and equal place for everybody? I wish it is!

    Lii
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  • I can relate so much, I totally agree with your opinion. And yes, I do feel like at this point we can only stick together as the world to make the best of it. This was definitely a lesson to be learnt and I hope that in four years of time, it will all take a turn for the better.

    Hugs, Hannie
    Missing Wanderer

  • It was weird to see it all unfolded – I remember going to bed, waking up slightly horrified and spent time yesterday at work hearing commentators doing their analysis of what happened… I watched the concession speech too and it was just a mixed bag of feelings – especially as an ‘outsider’/non-American, I can’t imagine the disappointment and on the flipside the arrogance that’s currently filling out the entire social media space.

    On my facebook timeline, a few of old classmates were so self-righteous about the outcome (i.e. they were pro-Trump) that it felt all a bit daunting… for me, I honestly don’t know what to think of this but I’m hoping this will bring more good than change (but who knows).

    Cherie | sinonym

  • I can totally agree with you and I’m Canadian. Scary times ahead. I really hope that he doesn’t f*ck it up.

    I am more scared of the people who voted him into power.

  • I have no words about this situation. I felt the sincerity from this post and those tweets I read yesterday when they announced the winner. All I can say is – America, stay strong. The future is yet to unfold. I agree, this is not the time to point fingers.

    Love, Kandice & Thoughts

  • I completely agree with you; “Make America Great Again” has no other meaning than returning to a time when white men were in charge of everything and everyone else had little to no rights. We’ve come so far in the 100 years – now is not the time to backtrack, but to continue pushing forward.

    Kate | girlinthebluejacket.blogspot.com

  • <3 Beautifully expressed. It's all so depressing and I hope things won't be as bad as I fear.

  • I agree with everything you’ve said. It’s a crazy and scary time to be an American. But we must stay strong and persevere. What pains me the most is that all the great work Obama did to progress us, only to have us now set back by Trump. It’s very very heartbreaking.

    -Emily http://www.coatandcoffee.com

  • Kai

    I didn’t like Trump, really. It’s like my dreams are shattered because I am not white-skinned and the Trump presidency will cater Americans first, especially the white ones. It’s really an insult to me. Urghh.

    Kai
    http://kittyjournal.com

  • It’s been so scary because there have already been instances of severe racism and it hasn’t been a week yet. Protests have been all over the country so we’re hoping that the electoral college votes to make Hillary president. I won’t get my hopes up but the country is truly divided now and people are living in fear.

    • rae

      Oh I know, I have posted so much about this on my facebook. It is so sad and scary and 100% unacceptable. I get really annoyed at conservatives who take to facebook or twitter calling the protestors disgusting and being more upset with those burning flags than those committing crimes of hate all around the country. “Make America White Again” is the scariest racist grafitti I have heard about in a long time.

      • School children are walking out of class even. I saw a image of signs above school water fountains saying “whites only” and “coloreds only”. Trump supposedly told them to stop but we’ll see if it makes a difference

  • You’re so right that the concept of making America great again is a spit in the face of everyone who has fought to push it to where it is today. It implies that at some point in the past America was better than it is today, but at any given point in the past it was a much worse, less safe and less tolerant place for POC, women and minorities generally. In Sydney pretty much every person I’ve spoken to about it has been in shock that Trump won the election because we just didn’t really believe it could happen.

    But just because he’s president doesn’t mean he can say something and it becomes law and I’d like to think there are enough other politicians who will have a say and won’t let any of his more radical campaign promises become a reality. And like you said hopefully he’ll take a bit of a backseat and let his advisors make most of the decisions for him because he’s in an incredible position of power and responsibility now and I can’t imagine he could possibly handle it alone.

    littlehenrylee.net

    • rae

      I agree with everything that you have said in that first paragraph. As far as how much power he really has – it all has to do with the other two branches of government and when the majority of congress is republican, it will be very easy for conservative agenda to become law. He also has the ability to appoint the next supreme court justice which will have terrifying ramifications for decades :(

  • Sophie Lee

    Love your outfit so much <3

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