The Nikita Initiative

Ohio’s Voter Suppression Issue

The 2020 Presidential Election showed voter suppression all across the country. However, Stacey Abrams, demonstrated how to overcome that suppression. If you haven’t already, then check out All In: The Fight for Democracy on Amazon Prime and Abrams’ book, Our Time is Now. Both of these explain voter suppression. Ohio is one state notoriously known for it’s voter suppression.

While growing up in Ohio, I never had any problems registering to vote. Why would I? I had a driver’s license, steady address, and no criminal history. All of these seem relatively simply. But, that isn’t the case for many.

How can someone not vote? Well, I can answer that for ya. See, Ohio is one of the most difficult states to vote in. With voter list purges and a ridiculous set of requirements, Ohioans have a hard time making it to the polls. With a Republican controlled legislature and secretary of state, strict ID-laws remain intact. These rules stay intact so the Republican party can stay in power. Unfortunately, the Republican party has a history of supporting voter suppression. When less people from the other side vote, It maintains their status quo.

Domestic Attack at the Capitol

Now that I’ve had time to reflect.

Let’s not call them protestors. Let’s not call them pro-Trump supporters. Let’s call them what they really are: domestic terrorists.

Domestic terrorists who support President Donald Trump

We saw this coming. We all knew Donald Trump was capable of bringing his supporters together in violent ways. I’m angry at everyone who voted for Trump. Yes, everyone. I don’t want to hear their excuses or reasons. I’ve heard all of their defenses for voting for Trump. I now those voters don’t believe they’re bad people. If they’re good people, then they would take a step back to understand why we urged them not to vote for Trump. (Don’t say the economy. Look into the GOP’s economic policies closely to see if they actually benefit you.)

They heard Trump’s rhetoric: his racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, etc. But, they still voted for him regardless if they felt that way. Their silence gave us violence. It showed compliancy with bad behavior. They’re compliancy hurt me. But, more importantly, it hurt this country.

How I Survived 2020

Bring it, 2021.

I think it’s safe for me to say that everyone had a shitty year. We lost many greats and were exposed to many horrible leaders. Some of our favorite icons lets us down, while others inspired us. Our nation is not only divided politically, but morally. We saw how our morales intertwined with our politics. Simply put, we have politicalizes things that shouldn’t be political. Moreover, we saw how people are emotionally unstable especially during quarantine.

In a year filled with misfortunate, I can easily say that I am very privileged. I don’t have to worry about job security or paying my rent. However, COVID-19 still made it a pretty shit year. But, I want to take a step back from the all the horrible-ness and look back at what kept me emotionally stable. Hopefully, they will be there for me this year as well.

Please, enjoy my cheezy post and be safe.

In Defense of the White Male Celebrity

Made you look with that title. #clickbait

Recently, I’ve full-on disengaged from celebrity culture. No more online tabloids or frivolous following on social media. Instead, I only follow a handful of celebrities who work with great organizations. Or, celebs with great abs. However, I can’t entirely get away from celebrity news. Apparently, what famous people post on their public social media platforms is headline news. Moreover, what they don’t post speaks volumes.

Throughout 2020, two Chrises of Hollywood got plenty of media attention. One for an accidental nude picture and the other for religious beliefs. However, it was the ample support and love from their community that intrigued me. I noticed many celebrities standing up for them when injustice occurs to them. But, my mind drifted to the celebrities who didn’t get the same support like Chris Evans and Chris Pratt received. Then, I noticed that they received support for mainly one reason: they’re white men.

Screaming “TRUMP” Is A Racial Slur

Why we need anti-racism education.

Racism did not disappear with the election of Biden-Harris. Although hope returned, hate will continue to lurk. As some of you may know, being anti-racist is one way for our nation to heal. However, alone anti-racist teachings will not fully cure the four years of open hate that we’ve endured. Or, the centuries of discrimination.

Before the election results, I was walking my dogs in a park. As I was picking up one of their massive dumps, a pick-up truck covered in Trump 2020 flags slowed down near me. The two men in the truck honked at me. One screamed at me, “Trump” while the other screamed, “you go back to where you came from.” As they drove off, I thought, “I can’t even walk my dogs anymore.” When I came home, I cried for a moment then share the encounter on social media where I received ample support.

My Favorite Places to Donate

Let’s end 2020 on a high note.

I come from privilege. I wasn’t born into this privilege, which allowed me to understand my privilege. Throughout the years, I watched my parents climb the socio-economic ladder. It wasn’t easy. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into it. However, they manage to give my sister and I a comfortable life. To keep this paragraph short, my parents’ journey inspired me to give back to my community not only professionally but also personally.

When I review my own finances, I assess what I need. Once I figure out my savings, I find myself with some excess money that I don’t need. But, others may need that money. Thus, I like to donate and spread awareness! Here are some of my favorite places to donate:

What We Lose: The 2020 Edition

It’s a tricky balance: being mindful of how you make others feel v. being true to not only yourself but also the greater good.

This year, oh, this year.

For me, it started with a death in the family and ended with a relationship crumbling. In between, the February Bar Exam, COVID-19, a kinda break-up, more Trump Administration nonsense, and more death.

Whenever we go through difficult times, we can do one of two things: either ignore the problems or self-reflect. Before, I was the former. However, years of therapy made me the latter. But, too much self-reflection can lead us down a dark path. We beat ourselves up to the point where we punish our past selves instead of fixing the problem.

Nothing We Do Matters

If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do.

Hope. That seems to be lost theses days. Everywhere you look, you see COVID-19 deaths, incompetent leadership and a passive community. From protests to voter awareness, everyone is trying to inspire change. However, 2020 smacks us in the face every time we try to do something right. Yes, 2020 sucks for many reasons: COVID-19 and celebrity deaths. Although voter turn out is at an all time high, I am not convinced that anything will change. I am convinced that we still haven’t hit rock bottom yet.

Recently, I re-watched the entire Dark Knight Trilogy. Each of those films show Batman failing then rising from the ashes. He hits rock bottom then climbs back up. His heroism inspires all to be heroes in their own way. Whether it be fighting against oppression or simply seeing the humanity in others, the people of Gotham stood up for each other. They didn’t do this by passing invasive laws or militarizing the police. Instead, they showed their strength through their everyday actions. The people of Gotham showed that our choice to be better than what the villains claim we are fights injustice. In The Good Place, Michael summarizes humanity by saying that it does not matter if people are good or bad. Rather, what matters is if human beings are trying to be better today than yesterday. In the Dreamworks’ movie, Spies in Disguise, one of the main characters doesn’t see the world as good guys v. bad guys. Instead, the world is filled with people who are each worth saving.

Phone Banking

I am volunteering to be the change I wish to see in this world. And, it’s going okay-ish.

At the start of my training session for volunteering for the Biden-Harris campaign, the volunteer captain stated, “Don’t be discouraged. There will be tons and tons of people who don’t want to talk to you.” Personally, I hated hearing that. I am a goddamn delight to speak with. You should be honored.

However, there were many people who sent me straight to voicemail or blatantly told me that they didn’t want to speak to me. My favorite rejection: “Oh, democratic. Bye now!” Classic. Although many were quick to get rid of me, it was the ones who voting that got me excited.

Learning to Cope with the Bad Days

For all my badass ladies.

Image management is something I work on everyday. I recently learned that I am thrown “off-center” when my experiences do not always coincide with the images I made for myself. Simply put, I don’t live up to my own self-images. This can cause bad days. However, other factors do contribute to my “off-centerness.” And, when I am off-center, then I have bad days.

As I continue down my path of being a working professional, I realized that my public defender image is very important to me. It’s a large part of my essence. I am terrified of making mistakes and not making the right decisions for my clients. I also struggle with drawing the line between helping my clients and standing up for myself. So, when I believe that someone thinks I am not a good public defender, my mental health can’t take it. My anxiety increases. I don’t meditate, I attempt to distract myself, or my mind focuses too much on the event that pissed me off. I simply forget how to take care of myself because my anxiety overwhelms me.