I’ve been positively sick and despondent about the election results ever since I woke up on Wednesday morning to find my phone full of incredulous WTF messages from my German friends. I almost rage-quit my blog out of the intense feeling that I would never have anything to say again- my faith in our country was that shaken.
But then I saw a bunch of news about the things that are going on, and I feel like I need to say a thing.
To all the #notmypresident protesters. To all the disgruntled Bernie-Bros. He is our President now. For all of us, not just the Red States. Half of our country may have voted against him, but the peaceful transfer of the Presidency is part of what makes us America. Let it go, and choose your battles carefully for the next four years. This fight is already over. It’s time to move on to the next challenge.
To all those talking about leaving the country. Don’t. If you don’t like what this is going to become, stick around and fight. And vote in Democrats at the midterm. And vote in a Democrat four years from now. And subscribe to your local newspaper, even if you don’t plan on reading it- we need those reporters to keep tabs on what a Trump White House is up to.
I saw a picture of the electoral map as voted by people in the 18-25 age bracket, and it gives me hope. This is our future:
To all the rampaging bigots who are taking this election as carte blanche to be hateful, a hearty hi ho fuck you. There are already reports of nasty behavior and intimidation to blacks, muslims, trans folk, and pretty much everyone who isn’t white. To the alleged perpetrators, get over yourselves. A Trump presidency doesn’t negate your obligation to be a decent human being. Stop it. Just play nice with everyone else.
Ann Coulter said this thing:
…and she missed the point. She missed the point by a LOT.
There aren’t that many people in this country who have four natural-born grandparents. I’m a second generation American myself- only two of my four grandparents were born in the US. I think that’s true of a great many people, because the country really isn’t that old. 240 years is not a long time when you’re talking about multiple generations. But I digress… my point in bringing up Ann Coulter is that she missed the point because we’re the United States of America, even if right now it feels like we’re anything but.
My country’s better angels are all about inclusion and adaptation.
My $.02: I am not a Trump supporter. I despise everything he said during his campaign. I find him to be a misogynist, a bigot and a bully.
However, he’s our President now, and we have to deal with that. We made it through eight years of Dubya (who seems positively mild by comparison), and we’ll make it through this. Maybe he’ll turn out to be an OK President- not evil so much as just mildly ineffective. Maybe he’s the guy that will finally actually unite us all. I kinda doubt that last one, but I live in hope.
Fellow Blue-State people, we have to accept that this is a done deal and move on. For my part, I will continue to advocate and fight for minorities, GLBTQ people, and people of all faiths. Even the ones I think are boogety-woogety nonsense. (Hint: That’s all of ’em. I don’t have to share your beliefs to fight for them.)
Besides, now that Sarah Palin is reportedly being considered for a Cabinet position, the late night talk show comedians are going to have a field day. I mean, what’s next, Michele Bachmann as Secretary of State?
Editor’s Note: I’m attempting to blog every day in November with CheerPeppers. I don’t expect to succeed because life be crazy, but any blogging in excess of my previous post-free month is a win, right?
Whimsy. Tacos. The DMV. 
WORD!
I agree with all of this – it sucks and I hate the fact that I must use the same title when speaking of him that I used speaking of President Obama, BUT that is the case. That’s what democracy is – defending the beliefs of those you disagree with. Death, right to say it, etc.
I’m going to do my best to spend the next 4 years being the best American I can be – just because our president-elect (and, god help us, his cabinet) are trying to turn back humanity and this country’s clock doesn’t mean I have to take that lying down! NO SIR.
“For my part, I will continue to advocate and fight for minorities, GLBTQ people, and people of all faiths. Even the ones I think are boogety-woogety nonsense. ”
This! Totally this! And for anyone who’s reading that isn’t sure where to start, here is a list of things to donate money and time to:
http://jezebel.com/a-list-of-pro-women-pro-immigrant-pro-earth-anti-big-1788752078
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Very well done! Thank You.
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Thank you for this post. I appreciate all of the points you have made here and I’d love to know your thoughts on the disparity between popular votes and electoral college votes. I’ve found it heartening to know that more than half the population chose away from Trump and also disconcerting that despite popular vote, he is our president elect. I agree that those who claim Trump is #notmypresident have forgotten (or are refusing to abide by) how democracy works. And yet, it seems undemocratic to have a president not elected by popular vote. What is your perspective?
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Hillary, the electoral college is kind of a flawed system, but it’s important- a lot of the red states are very very sparsely populated. The electoral college ensures that those tiny groups of people are still represented in the overall system. The biggest population centers – the cities – tend to be overwhelmingly blue in voting pattern, so without the electoral college those little red states would just get *steamrolled.*
Where it breaks down is in very very close elections like this one- Hillary Clinton may have the popular vote, but the margins are incredibly slim. I’ve seen people talking on Facebook about how the electoral college places their votes on December 19th, and how people are hoping that some of the delegates will vote against their state. This is incredibly unlikely- it’s never really been done, and it gives an entry point to all those claims of a rigged election.
The biggest problem here isn’t the electoral college, it’s the supreme court gutting the Voting Rights Act a few years back. That’s just madness, because it contributed to low voter turnout. I saw the numbers for Florida, and the population of this state is many, many times greater than the number of ballots cast.
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Thanks for this response. It gives me a different understanding, which is a good place to start!
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You’ve been wondering what to do for the next stage of your life — here you go. Steve Glassman for President 2020! I’ll be your campaign manager, we’ll run you as the Next Big Thing! Couldn’t agree more; however, I’m going to sulk a while longer as it just pissed me off so much, I need more time to get over it.
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You’re entitled to grieve at your own pace, Rae-Ellen. Nobody can take that away from you or say otherwise.
As for me, I’d be terrible at politics. Besides, I’d get five minutes into the campaign before all the photographs from my twenties came out. 😀
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