Feeling hale and hearty on this crisp and sunny day as I continue to grapple with what a Donald Trump presidency means for me, the people I care about—and the world at large. The despondence and shock of last week has morphed into purpose. I am excited by all the possibilities of the newly-emboldened activism, even as I mourn for the fact that the new regime has made this necessary. Just like W’s win in 2000 (which was not quite a win) we all brought this upon ourselves. Did I fight Trump as much as I could have? Probably not, but I did fight, and guilt is not particularly helpful for someone with so much shit to do. I will say that this is a process, and in my longterm goal to be as useful a person as possible, I do spend a fair amount of my day working to create a more compassionate world. So there is that.
I was lucky enough to participate in Saturday’s Trump Tower march, which I would recommend to anybody. There is something about shouting yourself hoarse chanting “This is what democracy looks like” while surrounded by people of all ages and colors carrying “Love Trumps Hate” signs to make you feel better about the world. The resistance has been launched.
But I do feel some lingering sorrow about the fact that so many white women voted for Trump. In my Facebook feed, I was shocked to see that an aunt, who rarely posts, was “sick” of people guilt-tripping her over her Trump vote. She wanted them to know she was a “moral” person. The defensiveness and confusion she seemed to be feeling was palpable, and I’m guessing some of her kids or grandkids got to her. It almost seemed like a cry for help, like no one showed her there was a better alternative.
At the same time it is important to note that I am not talking about a disgruntled unemployed rust belt machinist or Appalachian coal miner who has seen their possibilities evaporate in our winner-takes-all neoliberal economy. She lives in Florida and she and her husband own a small business. They sail for fun, and he’s been known to brag about the amazing work ethic of his Mexican employees—who he is most definitely not vetting for immigration status. So I’m left thinking that racism and misogyny played a part in her decision. And since the USA is a racist and misogynist country, still, everyone is somewhere on the curve, and needs to recognize that.
And if we are going to place blame for the election results, there is plenty to go around. Yes, the media was biased and had a double standard when it came to Hillary. The FBI shenanigans, email leaks, and breathtakingly out-of-touch DNC all played their part as well. But, ultimately, there is something deep and dark in us that responded to Cheeto Jesus. And the only way to fight that, longterm, is to create an alternative that is lighter and brighter than anything that hate monger and his movement can barf up. Strategize, plan and act, by all means, but also understand that it will take an internal shift in our neighbors’ hearts for us to really be free of this dark cloud.