So. The election happened.

There’s no changing the results, but God, I hope we can change some things going forward.

So this is where we are. We’re here. Where do we go now? Well, a lot of people a lot smarter than me are telling us what we can do now, so I’m taking their advice.

For example:

In the book world:

You can buy and boost #ownvoices books. You can donate to We Need Diverse Books. You can signal boost. You can report trolls when authors who are marginalized or who dare to speak up are viciously attacked.

Here is a piece detailing the small hope that Democrats can take back the Senate majority, due to a run-off race in Louisiana.

You can donate to this campaign. You can volunteer for it. If you live in Louisiana, you can vote for the man on December 10th and encourage others to vote for him as well to restore some checks and balance to our overwhelming partisan upcoming administration.

Here is a piece about why calling your senators and representatives is the most effective mode of communication.

You can email and write them as well, but if you want your views to get the most attention, call them.

Some things I’ve talked to them about/things that are on my ever-growing list of things to talk to them about:

• My desire for them to denounce the appointing of racist and hateful Steve Bannon for Chief White House Strategist
• Electoral College reform
• The blatant nepotism and conflicts of interest inherent in the President Elect‘s transition team, as well as my concern about the lack of a blind trust being established.

You can donate funds to the reputable organizations that protect marginalized people as well as the planet that we all have to live on.

I’m donating monthly to the ACLU and Planned Parenthood and John Oliver has a good list of these organizations and more that can use our help.

You can make sure that when you shop on Amazon, you shop through Amazon Smile and select one of these charities or their local branches.

You can search for local charitable events or donation-matching days.

For example, I’m donating again tomorrow, November 17 through givemiamiday.org. Donations to a bunch of local charities, or local branches of national charities like ACLU of South Florida and Planned Parenthood of South Florida.

You can also sign some petitions…

Though remember that calling your representatives is a much stronger way to have your voice heard than an electronic signature in a mass of others.

It’s time to take action friends. Because we’re heading down a very scary road if we don’t