Warning: Politics Ahead
I know this is a design blog, but it’s also a personal outlet for me. If politics aren’t your jam, go ahead skip over it. If you read it and don’t agree with me, fine, these are my opinions, not law. Right now I just have a lot of complicated thoughts and I think (or at least hope) I’m not alone. Also, I consider myself a liberal-moderate and this post is very reflective of that. You have been warned.
11/11/16 ETA: tl;dr Yeah it sucks, but don’t be a Trump about it
First I want to say that I am disappointed in a America. I did not want this at all. It also literally frightens me that so many people could support a xenophobic, misogynist, bully with no experience to be a world leader. That doesn’t mean that his supporters are all racists or women-haters themselves, it just means they were ok with it. They didn’t care.
I get that career politicians seem to suck but to go from that to someone with zero legal experience and a history of shady businesses tied to him? That makes no sense to me.
There was a lot of hate happening in this campaign on BOTH sides during the campaign. Trump was spewing hate, and the Dems were inciting violence at his rallies. Neither side was perfect, in fact they were both far from it. I’ve seen a number of Facebooks posts since the election that were essentially “If you voted for Trump I’m unfriending you because you are a worthless piece of scum.” While I am pissed as hell right now, I can’t support this attitude. I cannot encourage further division. I cannot tell people their political attitudes matter more to me than family or years of friendship.* Also, if someone really offends you, have a private conversation that’s not plastered all over the internet. Then if you still really feel like everything’s been ruined, unfriend them without making a giant stink about it. I.e, act like a goddamn adult.**
Right now I’m mostly pissed with the Electoral College. Hillary had over 300,000 more votes (and counting!) than Trump and still lost. This is why people feel their votes don’t matter because for three hundred thousand people, they didn’t.
11/11/16 ETA: I’m pissed with the DNC for giving us a lackluster candidate. Would I have preferred her to Trump? Definitely. Did I vote for her? No. Do I want to see a woman as president? Yes, but if anyone assumes that I will vote for someone just because she’s a woman, well I find that a little sexist. I actually vote with my brain and conscience instead of with my vagina. My personal complaint with Hillary was that she only seemed issues that were “safe.” That will never bring change. She also still supports issues that I am personally against. She just strikes me as pandering… and one of those groups she pandered to is women which irks me. While I care very much about woman’s rights (and minority rights, and LGBTQ rights) they are not the only issues out there and should not be focused on to the exclusion of everything else.
I’m also pissed with the media. We’ve been steadily building a culture of non-news news. It’s why I watch the Daily Show–because I know it’s actually supposed to be comedy. If I want to read a news site, I go to the BBC. That’s right, for me to read reasonably un-biased news I have to go to a different country.
But here’s the deal people. We actually having no effing clue what Trump’s going to do. This is actually a potentially good thing (I know, I know, bear with me). With politicians they have a clear voting record behind them. Would Hillary have kept on bombing countries we don’t really have any business in? Probably. Would Trump? No idea! Plus, remember that this guy was a registered Democrat at one point in his life. It’s entirely possibly that he talked big as essentially a marketing ploy (because day-um did it get him air time). I’m not saying that doesn’t still make him a giant asshole, but in terms of actual policy, that word is not law and would not be able to be made law at the snap of ones fingers. It’s sort of like parenting a teenager: you may not trust them and want to strangle them, but they’re probably not actually going to burn your house down.
It’s still hard for me to accept. I still have fear (lots and lots of fear). But if I don’t cling to some sort of optimism it’s going to be worse. I can’t believe the US is going to implode until I actually see policies that would lead to that legitimately trying to get put into play.
So this is what I propose. Let’s all try to calm the hell down about things that are now out of our control. Let’s try not to continue encouraging hate. Let’s also try to not go overboard with the bitching and moaning over the next 4 years. I’m not saying you can’t complain. Complaining is the true American past time (screw baseball). I’m just saying, remember the last 4 years of the opposing view point howling that Obama wasn’t a citizen and that the country was imploding when there was no actual evidence of it? It seemed insane! And obnoxious! Let’s not do that. Support change where you can like reaching out to your local or state governments regarding their future decisions. Remember to vote in your local elections (I admit, I kind of suck at that). You have a voice, use it well. Screaming insults at someone rarely makes people care about your views.
I’m not saying he’s going to be a good president and I’m not saying you ever have to like him (in all honesty I doubt I ever will). All I’m asking is to not be a dick about it. Also, don’t let jerks run you out of your own damn country.*** Canada’s cold and Mexico has Zika mosquitoes.
And remember, when they go low, we go high…. or at least make an effort. I mean, c’mon people.
11/11/16 ETA: Made a few edits because I realized I missed things. I fit them in where they should logically go (and marked them as edits). There’s also a new footnote. I have lots of Thoughts.
* Also, I’m reasonably sure that I wouldn’t have seen any of these statuses if Hillary had won. But guess what? The people these statuses are so pissed off at, their attitudes would still be exactly the same and the friendships would continue. Are people’s opposing views only ok when you can feel superior too them? Also, if you’re that for an issue, like say LGBTQ rights, than there’s a good chance most of your friends already either agree with you or are actually good people regardless. And family members… well we can’t change them, but you’ve accepted them for this long. So who exactly are these statuses speaking to?
**I pondered long and hard about whether I was being hypocritical by posting my complaints instead taking someone aside and talking with them…. but here’s the thing, I’m not personally offended by these posts. I get that people are pissed and want to vent… I just think this is a silly way to do it but it speaks more to the general temperature of attitudes at the moment than any one individual.
***Not gonna lie, a few drinks (maybe a bottle) in on election night and Matt and I were discussing his options for transferring to his company’s Canadian office.
