Feelin’ Blue (Musings on a Trump Presidency)

On November 10, 2016November 10, 2016 By StevenIn The U.S.7 Comments

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:

18-25map

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:

If only people with at least 4 grandparents born in America were voting, Trump would win in a 50-state landslide.

— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) November 8, 2016

…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?

Fear is the worst reason not to travel.

On March 26, 2016March 26, 2016 By StevenIn International Travel - Europe12 Comments

My employer is sending me to Europe for some meetings at the end of April, and I shared my excitement to Facebook after I received my booking confirmation. “Airfare for Germany: Booked. Bazinga!” Most of the comments were the usual sort. People want to know when and why I’m going. A while after the initial post, one of my old buddies said this:

“Are you sure you wanna travel there right now?”

My initial response was flippant- “Germany and Switzerland are fine. It’s not as if I have a business meeting in Syria.” The more I thought about it though, the more I wonder how many of my friends truly think that the world is that scary right now. This response, one of trepidation, is almost certainly because the Brussels bombings have been in the news for the last few days. Before that, it was Charlie Hebdo. Or the Boston bombing. Or any number of attacks in various places that seem like they should be safe. If you believe the news, everything is terrible and we’re all going to die any minute now.

If you watch the news in the US, it’s all fear, all the time. But that’s not the reality. It’s no more dangerous to go abroad right now in most of Europe than it is to walk alone at night in a major city in the US. Be aware of your surroundings. Travel with common sense about your personal security. And stop worrying about the statistical unlikelihood that you might meet a terrorist.

I’ve never felt uncomfortable or nervous anywhere I’ve been in Europe. In Germany, I worked side by side with Muslims and I never felt like they were doing anything more objectionable due to their faith than abstaining from the wonderful German beer that was all around us. Since 2011, I’ve traveled to more than two dozen countries. The only time I’ve ever felt uncomfortable was in Cairo, and that was mostly because of the terrible terrible drivers. And the pushy people along the Nile who want to sell you stuff.

Fear is the worst reason to stay at home. There are so many wonderful things to see out there, and if you let the news give you nightmares, you’ll miss all of it.

Have you ever felt nervous in an unfamiliar city?

Unexpected Homophobia In Stuttgart

On March 6, 2014May 30, 2020 By StevenIn International Travel - Inside Germany4 Comments

I just returned home on Tuesday afternoon from a trip that included Karlsruhe, a bit of Stuttgart, and Cologne for the Karneval festivities on Sunday and Monday. I’m still sorting those photos, and I’ll post about Karlsruhe and Cologne next week.

It was a very interesting weekend, though. When I was in Stuttgart, I saw a very large Polizei presence walking through the Hauptbahnhof on either side of a small group of people carrying pink flags. One of the flag carriers shouted, in English, “This is what democracy looks like!” I had no idea what he was talking about. Later on, I saw a second, much larger group of men without any noticeable flags or placards being escorted by another rather large group of Polizei.

The Stuttgarter-Nachrichten had the story- there is a plan to include more details about homosexuality in the sex-ed classes in Baden-Württemberg, and there was a homophobic protest against that change. What I saw was part of of a counter-protest, hence the pink flags. The Stuttgarter-Nachrichten has a great article about the protests here, including some pretty terrific photographs. I was mildly surprised to see the old “Gays are pedophiles” canard written out on a German protest sign, but it was there.

Here’s a few pictures I snapped in the Hauptbahnhof before I found out what was going on. If I had known this protest was happening, I would have tried to get over to Palace Square to see more.

Have you ever stumbled across an unexpected political protest?

Voting Time In Germany

On September 12, 2013September 12, 2013 By StevenIn Life In Germany19 Comments

I don’t often talk about politics, because it’s the fastest way I know to divide people. However, it’s election season here in Germany, and that means the political placards are coming out.

Politics here are, by American political standards, incredibly complicated. Germany has a multi-party system, with two major and three minor national parties. However, the states here also have their own parliaments and there are many, many more political parties at that level. There are multiple elections- one for national races, one for state races. Some of the political groups have really entertaining names, too.

Here’s just a tiny selection of the many, many political parties here:

Anarchist Pogo Party of Germany (APPD)
Bavaria Party (BP)
Citizens In Rage
Communist Party of Germany
Ecological Democratic Party (ödp)
Feminist Party of Germany (DIE FRAUEN)
German Communist Party (DKP)
German Social Union (DSU)
Green Party
Human Environment Animal Protection (Die Tierschutzpartei)
The Left
Marxist–Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD)
Party of Bible-abiding Christians (PBC)
Party of Reason (pdv)
Pirate Party
Revolutionary Socialist League (RSB)
Social Equality Party (PSG)
Statt Party
The Freedom – Civil rights Party for more Freedom and Democracy
The Republicans (REP)

I liked the sound of the Party Of Reason until I found out that it was endorsed by Ron Paul. Anyway, the biggest sign of the upcoming elections is the sudden manifestation of the political placards everywhere.

Most of ’em are pretty dull, just faces with vague slogans. For example, Astrid Lamby is with the Ecological Dems and she says values are choosable!

This dude just says “you have it in hand.” I hope he means the vote.

I don’t know much about this candidate either, but her placards are nondescript as hell, and everywhere.

This smug looking liberal bastard says that how you live is your choice. The URL translates to “cheap and free,” so you can pretty much imagine the talking points.

This guy “keeps the word.” Literally. He’s holding a giant word in his hands.

“Color your world!” Graf Lerchenfeld’s political slogan would be right at home with Disney.

I’ve been saving the next few posters for last- the Bayern Partei! They advocate Bavaria breaking away from the rest of Germany.

No, really, they completely want to secede from the rest of Germany. Like now.

This last placard is my absolute favorite. I love this so much that I went online and found the source image instead of using a picture of my own, because it’s just so magnificent. The slogan means “Paid enough.” As in, “Bavaria has given enough money to the rest of Germany.”

The donkey shitting out gold is a particularly nice touch.

And finally, we have the bastard side of politics. The NPD, or National Democratic Party, is an extreme right-wing political party with Neo-Nazi leanings. They’ve met with David Duke, and they’ve managed to stay just barely on the correct side of the law. While Naziism and Nazi symbols and paraphernalia are illegal here, simply being a hate group isn’t illegal by itself. The group has survived numerous attempts to ban them, and they’re still kicking. In November 2008, the NPD published a document entitled “Africa conquers the White House” which stated that the election of Barack Obama was the result of “the American alliance of Jews and Negroes” and that Obama aimed to destroy the United States’ “white identity.”

On 5 September of this year, the NPD came to Regensburg for an authorized political speech. The local newspaper Mittelbayerische posted this photo of the speech. The NPD people are on the right side of the photo. The huge mass of people on the left, behind the Polizei vehicles cordoning off the area, are the counter protesters. I’ve never been prouder of this city than I was when I saw this photo.