Votesplaining

I’m the least qualified person to write this. I’ve never been very interested in politics until this election. Truth be told, I’m writing this to myself…to explain what happened. I’m having a hard time making sense of the election results. I know, logically, that it happened. But I guess I wanted to try to sort out WHY. 

Full disclosure, I’m a Republican who voted for Hillary Clinton. After this election, I’m not honestly sure that I’m still a Republican. I’ll take some time to decide.

What I want to do here is try to talk to friends and family on both sides…and maybe myself. Like I said, I’m not at all qualified to write this. If I were you, I’d ignore this and go back and play Candy Crush.

Also, to be honest, my coffee just kicked in so, here goes:

To my friends and family who supported Trump: Congratulations. Some of you were all in on Trump’s campaign…some voted as a lesser of two evils. In either case, here’s what you need to know to deal with those grieving over the election results: It’s not about losing. I said all along, I fear Donald Trump far less than I fear his followers…the “deplorables” that Hillary famously called out. (That was a HUGE mistake, by the way. I’ll get to that later.)

What my gay, black and minority friends are TERRIFIED about is America returning to a racism and hatred we naively thought was gone. Look around the nation this week. Look at the hate crimes that are occurring. Imagine being a black person once again called the N word. Imagine being a Muslim woman having your hijab pulled off. Imagine feeling like you are no longer welcome in the country in which you were born or had recently become a citizen. THIS is why they/we are grieving the election results. THIS is why they are protesting. (Click on the word THIS to the left for examples.) 

So, here’s what I’m asking: Please ask the president-elect to condemn the senseless acts of violence.  He needs to speak up now or he will lose the electorate. Perhaps sign this petition to demand this. 

And, for the record, I personally, condemn ALL acts of violence whether it’s against minorities or Trump voters. Not cool, America.

Like you, I actually do hope Trump creates all those jobs and sparks an economic revival. But what will a vibrant economy do for those who are dealing with hate crimes? To me, America was always great. I’m for immigration reform, not immigration brutality. Like it or not, we are a nation of immigrants. My grandparents emigrated from Poland. They fled their country to escape oppression by one of the most horrific dictators in history, much like the Syrians are fleeing their war-torn country. 

It's also about the hundreds of thousands who are afraid that they will lose their health insurance. A friend of mine has a sister who is on Obamacare. If it's repealed, because she is a cancer survivor, she's afraid that she won't qualify for insurance. Put yourself in her shoes for a moment. 

It’s about climate change. Many of you are global warming deniers. But many of those who voted for Hillary Clinton hoped that we would continue on a path that would, hopefully, preserve the environment for our children and grandchildren. That now seems all but impossible. One of my kids texted me this: “I would be more ok if it weren't for erasing all of our progress on climate change, basically dooming my future kids.”

Also, I get why you might be pissed about the demonstrations. I, too, wonder if it might be a tad hypocritical to protest when Democrats were beside themselves when Trump said he might accept the results only if he won. But peaceful protest is, literally, the constitutional right of all Americans. What they are protesting is the hatred seemingly allowed and encouraged by Donald Trump. They are protesting an America that seems willing to allow racism, sexism, sexual assault (it’s NOT “locker room talk”), misogyny, homophobia and anything that tells people of a vulnerable population – you are not worthy. THAT is what is being protested. If you're not part of that vulnerable population, you probably don't understand.

Also, stop telling people to “move on.” When you feel like suddenly your nation isn’t the free and open and accepting country you thought it was, this is a tough, tough pill to swallow. Instead, listen to what concerns them. Reach out to them instead of dismissing them.

To my friends and family who supported Clinton: Shit. Talk about a blindside. Most of you were Democrats, but many of you were Republicans, willing to take a leap of faith for a historic moment – a woman president. Well, we got history, just not the history we wanted.

Here’s what you need to know about those who voted for Trump – many, many, MANY of them did it for one reason – abortion. They voted for someone who said he’s anti-abortion. They want to save unborn babies. That’s right - humans who have not yet left the womb. To them, for many reasons, they will ignore everything else to save children. It was about Supreme Court vacancies and saving babies. You can scoff, if you want, but they (and I, to be perfectly transparent) believe very strongly in this, just as you believe very strongly in women’s reproductive rights.

Also, Hillary ignored blue-collar rural voters. I think she got caught up in the dazzling celebrities (Beyonce, Bon Jovi, Springsteen) who stumped for her campaign. In every city she went to, famous people were on stage with her. That’s the problem. America is made up of a lot of anonymous people spread far and wide. These people, who felt that they had been called “deplorable,” were working hard on their farms or going back to school after their factories had closed. They felt dismissed by the Democrats because they weren’t the shiny pennies that Democratic voters were. They were dirty, worn pennies that sit in the bottom of pockets. While you were trying to ignore Trump, he was reaching out to them with promises of jobs and a better world.

Back to the “deplorable” thing: When Hillary first said it, I was stunned. I know she was TRYING to say that she condemns racism and sexism and homophobia and hatred…but the people who wondered if Trump could actually be viable felt enraged. Here was this career politician, who may or may not have been personally responsible for the deaths of Americans in Benghazi, calling voters deplorable. If she won, she’d be their president too. Never a good move.   

If we're honest with ourselves, we know that Hillary was already an imperfect candidate. She had a LOT of baggage. Think back to the beginning of the campaign – she wasn’t a home run. But as the campaign gained steam, we all forgot about the issues that a lot of other voters couldn’t forget. I read yesterday that Hillary blamed FBI Director Comey for stopping the momentum of the campaign. If she believes that, she’s delusional. I don’t think the second letter truly changed anyone’s mind. We had two very polarizing candidates. One just had a slightly stronger voter base.

I’m going to end this whole thing with the speech from the end of the 1940 Charlie Chaplin film “The Great Dictator." It’s a beautiful speech that everyone should hear: 

Stay strong, everyone. Do better. Reach across the aisle. Listen with open ears and open eyes.  Love one another.