And this morning, it feels like the world has gone mad...

I understand the anger. I understand the sense of marginalization which drove people to vote for a man whose entire campaign was based on hatred, fear, and divisive language. I understand feeling like burning down the house because there's no other way to get rid of what's wrong with it.

I understand, because I'm a woman, and I have children who aren't textbook perfect, and I have friends who are black, Hispanic, Muslim, Jewish, gay, trans, or otherwise outside the comfort zone of those very angry people who just made Brexit look sane. 

My autistic son will become one of their targets. He certainly won't get services, if they have anything to say about it. Too expensive, too great a burden for us to care for those who, by virtue of a genetic roll of the dice, aren't "normal," who are innocent to a degree the rest of us have lost.

My trans child faces a world where violence is seen as acceptable, where fear of something one cannot understand means beating it out of a body. Will I relax when my child leaves the house now? Probably not. My phones will become harbingers of dread once again, as they were when my father was dying, and all the news was bad.

All we can do now, those of us who can't fill our hearts with hatred, is to live, and live in a way which shows we will never surrender to hatred. We cannot let fear win, and we need to reach out our hands to all those who will be left out of the new definition of what makes America great.