He won.
Donald Trump – a man convicted of 34 felonies, accused of sexual assault 26 times, a “billionaire” with six bankruptcies, twice divorced, and twice impeached … once for working with the Russians to interfere with an election, an another for leading an insurrection to overthrow an election – that guy is going to be our president for the next four years. Again.
This time there was no funny business, despite Trump insisting on fraud right up until he started winning, after which it immediately went poof and the election was free and fair once more!
And there was no gloating or violent uprising afterwards … except for guys taunting women with “Your Body, My Choice” on social media and threatening execution for anyone deemed traitors for daring to oppose President Trump. You know, normal jokes about rape and murder that sane, rational voters make everyday…
That’s America for ya.
A common comment that we like to throw out at times like this is, “That’s not really us. America isn’t like that.” yet as I watched this campaign unfold and even when the MAGA movement first started almost a decade ago now, as his number of supporters rose enough to beat who I would honestly regard as two of the most qualified candidates to ever run for the presidency (YES – Hillary and Kamala), the hard truth of the matter as we stare down 74 million votes versus her 70 million is this – whether we like it or not, the MAGA movement does represent America in the majority today.
We’re a country that elected the biggest asshole possible to the most powerful office, and he was put there by a legion of asshole supporters who favored empty promises and deceit, hatred and bigotry and a divided populace to our first black woman president.
So is every last person who voted for Trump an asshole?
Well, there are certainly varying degrees of assholes, and I say this knowing that for example, a lot of his supporters are willing to overlook the awful things that come out of his mouth because they believe he’ll draw a hard line on abortion … which is weird to me alone to put forth so much care and concern for the unborn, but not give a damn about the actual living people who he denigrates every day, but I digress.
Does it make someone an asshole because they’re more concerned about the economy and keeping their family fed than they are about whether gay people can get married or transgender people can use their bathrooms of choice?
If it doesn’t make them an asshole, at the very least it makes them limited by their narrow perspective on life for not having the compassion to consider the basic rights of people who differ from themselves.
That’s always been my thing – of all the issues that I care about, human rights is by far at the very top of my list because I feel that here in America, the land of the free, if we’re not treating everyone fairly and equally, then none of the other issues even matter. It’s not freedom and justice for some, nor does the Statue of Liberty welcome those who have their shit together and have something to offer us and are willing and able to follow a lengthy, 18-24 month processing period.
“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
So yeah, even though it’s not going to be my name on the chopping block, it scares me that our new president will be striding into office in January with one of his first initiatives being “the largest deportation plan in history.” And not simply because I like to eat and I know that most of the farm work and animal processing in our country is done by … illegal aliens!
Or that he plans on sticking it to China and the rest of the world by introducing tariffs to everything, which will ultimately increase prices for Americans because that’s how tariffs work! I mean, does anyone on his staff even have Google?! Because I looked that up in like five seconds…
Oh yeah, and there’s also the guy who he wants as the head of Health and Human Services who is anti-vaccine or at the very least, vaccine-confused. He also had a parasitic worm eating his brain and apparently dumped a dead bear in the middle of Central Park like ten years ago???
I mean, at this point I suppose we should just hope that Trump doesn’t give a cabinet position to Kid Rock, but anything is possible at this point. “I like that ba-tib-awa song. Very catchy.”
So the real question is, how do the 70 million people who didn’t vote for absolute chaos survive the next four years until hopefully we’re still allowed to vote again and can maybe try somebody else?
I’ve heard a lot of answers to this over the last couple of days – everything from embracing creativity and trying to be productive to taking a step back and focusing on self-care to even just keeping your head down and bracing for the worst. I feel like in this position where all three branches of government will be red in the near future, resistance almost seems … futile at this point? Maybe this is time to regroup and let the Republicans have their way to see if the results of their actions can sway their minds…
…which definitely feels like a position of extreme privilege, but until we start seeing them actually acting out their horrendous political promises, the ideas are still just that – promises.
And if there’s one comforting thought that I can muster at this hour, it’s that looking back at Trump’s first presidency, his biggest initiatives actually ended up failing miserably…
- “Build that wall, and make Mexico pay for it!” – He actually built about 40 miles of new wall, and repaired existing fencing for another 400 miles. The total border is roughly 2,000 miles long. Mexico did not pay for it.
- “Repeal and replace Obamacare!” – He made some adjustments, but certainly never repealed it altogether.
- “We’re going to bring back manufacturing to America!” – He gave state incentives to A/C maker Carrier to prevent jobs going to Mexico, only for them to still outsource some and then send even more to China.
- Kill funding for sanctuary cities. – NOPE
- Gut the Dept. of Education. – NADA
- Eliminate gun-free zones at schools and military bases. – NO.
- Eliminate the federal debt in eight years. – LOL … he actually increased it by 33%, or $6.7 trillion
- (here’s more if you feel like reading Trump’s greatest hits and misses)
Of course, he’s still going to do some stuff and with both Congress and the courts on his side, Trump will no doubt do some serious damage. That said, I would argue that his supporters will likely do more damage in that while we’ll read about Trump’s latest idiot moves in the news every day, it’s his fanbase with their stupid, red hats and loud MAGA banners that we’ll encounter on a daily basis when we’re shopping at the store or driving around town.
Learning how to co-exist with individuals who have declared beliefs that are the polar opposite of our own is going to be the real challenge, considering that when you sit down with people on either side, there’s a good chance that one or both of them are going to be Trump supporters. And maybe they’re not the loud and crazy type who will get into a shouting match with you, but knowing that they’re against a woman’s right to choose what she does with her own body or simply apathetic to crude remarks about race and gender and sexuality is just as discomforting.
It’s hard sitting next to Granny, knowing that when she’s with her knitting buddies, they freely throw the n-word around or learning that the manager you work for thinks that foreign people should go back where they came from. Before it was easy enough to co-exist in denial, hoping the best for any random strangers that you pass in your day, but there’s no denying that 74 million of our fellow Americans voted to put HIM back in the White House, despite everything that he’s done that’s the antithesis of what our country stands for.
I don’t know the answer, but I’ll keep typing until I figure something out – at least for myself.
To anyone reading this, I hope that you can find something to provide comfort or solace during these challenging times when our very core values are the vocal minority. Try not to lose faith in humanity even when the numbers are stacked against us, and continue to spread kindness even when the person opposite you is shouting, “Fuck your feelings!”
Take the trouble to stop and think of the other person’s feelings, his viewpoints, his desires and needs. Think more of what the other fellow wants, and how he must feel.
– Maxwell Maltz
