As I start typing this, it is 1:50AM, central time, here in the United States, and Donald Trump has just been elected as the 45th President of the United States of America.
The second half of this post will be written upon waking up, but I want to express myself on this. This will, as best I can plan, be the only other political post here on Xadara for the foreseeable future: Gaming and other tech goodness will follow, but tonight.. today, whenever I fully write and publish this, I wanted to make my thoughts known.
I don’t care to hear what you think on this – I’m not going to argue, and a reader would do well to simply respect that, and my choice to express myself here and let it be what it is. That’s all I ask – not for a change of mind but simple understanding. I’m not coming into your turf, so to speak, and antagonizing you. Please just allow me to have my say on this.
Let us begin.
I would expect someone being elected to what is arguably the most powerful position on the planet to spread love, compassion, and unity. This is not what Trump has presented to the world. His moderated speeches, from the teleprompters he derided just months ago paint a different picture, but his off the cuff talks show what we can only presume truly lies inside: A being of hate, lacking empathy. Trump has been recorded to talk terribly about ethnic minorities, immigrants of all types (both legal and illegal). He has been endorsed by hate groups such as the KKK. He has openly mocked those with physical and mental handicaps, and talked of women by such legendary phrases as “grab ’em by the pussy.”
Is this presidential material? I guess so, according to the bulk of the United States. Granted, I will not defend Hillary, but when compared and contrasted she is about par for the course with United States politics. I don’t much care for her, but when compared to what I have seen of Trump, the lesser of two evils argument comes to mind. One can argue there were more candidates, but as the system works there are only 2 viable paths, so it is best to consider it as such.
It isn’t just Trump. It isn’t just the issues that we know, and more that we don’t know. We have a majority republican congress. We will have a republican president – the supreme court, which has had a vacant seat for months, will have a republican appointed to it. Our government will have party domination in such a way that legislation from the right will easily pass.
Legislation against progress. Legislation against civil liberties. Legislation against a bulk of the United Sates population that doesn’t fit their ideals. Legislation that will only further their own agendas.
Before you go accusing me of such, I am not a “Social Justice Warrior”, and do not identify with, “Social Justice Warrior” culture. There are many items of the general SJW agenda that I don’t agree with, but core elements – equality for all people, a respect for differences, personal rights and the like are principles I agree with. Basically, I’m in the moderate left on social issues.
I have many, many friends who fall into various minorities that have been directly targeted by the moderate to far right wing. More friends than you can imagine are absolutely terrified for the next 4 years. This isn’t how it should be. Let me repeat that:
PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY SCARED FOR THEIR LIVES DUE TO THE RESULTS OF THIS ELECTION.
That is not how it should be. That is not what the United States exists for. This is not what we should be facing in 2016. We have a president-elect who seems to care about no one. We have a vice president who is a young-earth creationist. It’s terrifying to think of what could happen should something happen to Trump and Pence somehow get into power. Truly that is the more terrifying element. Trump is somewhat passive, sure, but between the possibility of Pence gaining power and the ebb and flow of a republican congress, who knows what could get pushed through.
Fear of what could happen is the order of the day. A fear of an uncertain future that could go horribly.
I am serious on this too, there are people in varying minority classes who are contemplating suicide rather than face the future. They are that scared, be it truly warranted or not, that their lives will become unbearable. That is not the way life in the United States should be.
I could go on and on on this. I really could dive into detail, but my website isn’t about politics. It’s about gaming, technology, space, science, all that stuff I love. This isn’t what I wanted to write today, but it’s what I need to, sadly. I have to express myself on this. This election, for me, was about keeping a man who, I feel, is completely unfit for the office of President out of that position, and yet he made it.
I will say this much: I don’t want to hear any complaining about anti-Trump sentiment from the same people who, for the past 8 years, have called Obama a “Muslim” (like it would matter if he was, but for the record, he isn’t), who claimed he wasn’t born in the United States (which again, he was) and who seem to complain about every action he takes when he has been more militarily active, albeit in a more passive way via drone strikes and the like, than Bush was. Oh, and don’t get me started on the Affordable Care Act, and how people who should know better seem to not comprehend how it works and then want to blame the ACA when it’s their own fault (I would say more on that later, but I’m not about to go over it here).
My point is, if you could outright lie about the President, and insult him nonstop for 8 years, don’t get mad when we do the same.
On a final word, and the reactions I get to this article will prove who reads and who doesn’t, I am not saying definitively that the next 4 years will be a disaster. Who knows, this man might do great. I have my doubts, and my worries, and I am choosing to express them here.
Again, let me bold this for you: All our fear could be unwarranted! Goddamnit I hope we are wrong, but I doubt it. I feel, with the current look of things, we are in for a dark time. If you aren’t a financially well off white christian male, or a white woman married to one, you are in for a bad time.
Yes, that is the most SJW thing you will probably ever see me write, and I stand by it.
People fear an unknown future. Some would say they don’t think it can get too bad, but on the other hand, there is nothing to say that it will stay good, either. We simply don’t know, and the unknown is frightening to most people.
We will see, in the end, though, won’t we? Not if you excuse me, I have games to play, old technology to enjoy, and a life to live.
Thank you for reading, have a wonderful day.
APPEND: I realized after publishing I failed to address how Trump handled questions about the world – quite simply, I feel he didn’t. He ducked and dodged around every question (as would be typical of most any politician) but beyond that, he seemed to not have a clue how things actually work. That, or perhaps he was playing a fool to rack up support among the uneducated masses who equally don’t understand how tense international politics are. He takes an almost childlike stance that, if it is truly his take on things, is horrific.