Reactions to the election, 11/9/2016

The following paragraphs are reactions to the election from my relatively small group of Facebook friends. These comments are among the most heart-felt and eloquent statements I have ever received from personal friends.  These are truly honest statements of deepest conviction from the depths of the soul. 

As I was reading, it occurred to me that there were similar themes in all of the posts: fear, shame for our country, anger, concern for the future of society, the environment, and the international community.  So I gathered them up into a single document, to place on this blog for all to read. 

I included a few words about the identity of the author of each post, just enough to characterize each author as an individual, with personal concerns about life and the lives of others.

Chemist, Missionary’s daughter, raised overseas, married with a young child–

I'm scared.

In the past few days, we have white supremacists marching in celebration. We have brown schoolchildren (many born on American soil) being told by their peers that they will be deported. We have high school students intimidating their classmates. We have women being threatened for wearing a hijab. We have members of the LGBTQ community being threatened and harassed. We have swastikas and all manner of hateful graffiti cropping up on every available surface.

This is not the America we are capable of being. This is not what the free world is supposed to look like. This is not a society worth being proud of. Now I -know- not all Trump supporters think this way. But it isn't enough to not-think it. To see it and say nothing is to tacitly condone it. To ignore the elephant in the room is to give it your silent blessing. So, if you think all of this is wrong? Don't just think it. Say it. Say it loud, say it early, and say it often. Shout it. Confront it where you encounter it. Let everyone know that this is not okay, and that America is capable of being better than this.

Mother of adult children –

I hate going out into the community and having people think that I voted for Trump, wondering if I am anti-minority, anti-gay, anti-immigrant, because I am a middle-aged white woman.

Classmate, geologist, Japanese-American anti-racism educator.  Her father served in the U.S. military immediately after WWII.

This week I'm posting in FB political fray (more often it's all about my awesome kids and dogs). But as you know, for 20 years my passion has been anti-racism organizing.  I'm devastated. Trump is aligned with the KKK and he has exposed the dangerous racial prejudice in millions of people in this country. The record turnout of voters was not for the most qualified candidate but sadly for Jim Crow.

College senior, writer –

I have never been so terrified for my future and the future of my family and friends.

I am afraid and if you can't see why, I'm going to need you to go unfriend me because clearly you don't know me well enough to be considered my friend.

It's not so much the governmental changes that I fear exclusively, though they're significant.  Primarily, I worry about a cultural shift where behaviors of racism, sexism, etc, become more normalized because of our leader exhibiting such behaviors. I can keep my head down, I can get by, but at the end of the day I am a woman in a country so afraid of a woman leader that we elected a bigot. It is the climate surrounding his election that I am truly afraid of, not the man himself.

Geology classmate, retired –

After a long, pretty much sleepless, night...for the very first time in my life, I am embarrassed to be called an American. I am ashamed of that portion of our country that found ANY redeeming qualities in the baboon we collectively just elected.
I'll recover. WE will recover. One way or another, our country will survive. But this morning, I am ashamed.
The anger will come. After the pain.

My best buddy, for more than 5 decades was on the email stream at 3:40 this morning, and we shared a couple of notes back and forth. Quoting him here, because I don't have better words right now...
-----

My morning note to my kids. I feel like I failed them.

And lo, a darkness fell upon the Earth and covered the land so that day was night and the animals of the ground and sky ventured not forth from their burrows and nests.

The last time I was this disappointed about an election outcome was in 1980 when Reagan defeated Carter... It felt like the world had ended the morning after. I was working in Idaho then, and still remember driving around the countryside in a state of shock.

It is now up to your generation to set a new path forward into the future, one that includes and treats all people equally, that does not know sex or skin color or ethnic origin, and treats each other and the Earth with respect.

Where things ended last night is where they start this morning. The battle has begun.

Love,
Dad

Harvard Law grad, mother of young children

A lot of reactions and quotes on Facebook this morning. The one that sticks with me most: "it must be nice to be able to look past racism when it doesn't affect you."

I would say the same of being able to look past bullying, restricting who people can marry and even openly love, abuse and sexual assault, objectification of women, lies, and hate speech against people of all ages who face intimidation and discrimination because of disability, gender and gender identification, sexuality, religion, ethnicity, and national origin.

I won't tell anyone what to do or think, and even the advice about comforting kids feels incomplete right now. I'm not feeling particularly like building bridges. Some of the aforementioned issues are divisions that I don't believe should ever be bridged. So, I can just speak for the impact of this election on my decisions going forward.

This has changed how I feel about discussing sensitive political issues. In recent years, I have been afraid of offending friends and family who disagree. I've read the posts about respecting political choices, about being tired of political posts on social media, and about agreeing to disagree. I can subscribe to those ideas to an extent: I absolutely agree with kindness toward all people. I absolutely agree that all people, no matter what they think, should be treated with respect.

I will not, however, stop speaking out against discrimination, against injustice, against bullying, and against lies.

The election is over, but I will continue to be vocal about my support of LGBT rights.

I will be vocal about my support of women's rights and women's issues.

I will be vocal about my support of decisions based on science and on the long-term survival of our planet.

I will be vocal about opposing policies that harm any person because of where they are from, their religious beliefs, or the color of their skin.

Repeating the poem from theologian Martin Niemöller, on the rise of Nazism:

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."

To my friends and family who are afraid right now: I will stand with you, and I will not be silent.

Retired geologist, father of adult children

So, let's tally up what will change --
> ACA (Obamacare) is gone, and with it my daughter's health insurance. I don't know what company will insure someone with epilepsy and high prescription medicine costs doing free-lance art work for a living.

> Roe v. Wade is gone. Abortion rights will disappear, at least in red states.  The result will be amateur abortions and deaths, and hundreds of thousands of unwanted babies. Women whose pregnancies have gone wrong (like my wife some 28 years ago), will be compelled to carry a baby for nine months, only to give birth to a baby doomed to die at birth.  Such pregnancies are a danger to a woman’s life, but few doctors will be available or willing to risk providing an abortion.

> Women’s access to birth control may be restricted, not covered by insurance, or not available through insured prescription services (e.g., the Supreme Court Hobby Lobby decision).

> The Paris climate change accord is gone, and any reasonable action on climate change.

> Scientific research into climate change will be stifled, through redirection of the USGS, NASA, and NOAA, as already pledged by GOP senators.

> An end to free trade will mean the return of inflation, a scourge that was eliminated from our economy because of the efficiencies of free trade.  This will mean a higher cost of merchandise and necessities, and a lower standard of living for those on fixed incomes.

> Trade wars with our trading partners will mean a decline in economic activity.  We already know the result of the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act, which was a major cause of the Great Depression.

> Ten million illegal immigrants leading peaceful and productive lives in the United States will spend another 4 years outside of any legal protections. Many will be deported to a bleak future.

> America will take no responsibility to care for refugees, although we share responsibility for the conflicts which shattered their lives.

> LGBT rights will be taken away.

> NATO defense of the Baltic states is gone.

> Uncertain relations with Islamic countries. Will we just withdraw, or start bombing indiscriminately?

> Cuts to government poverty programs.

> Public lands may be given to the states to auction off, as pledged in the Republican platform.

> Conservation efforts of all kinds will be impaired.

> Conservative-dominated Supreme Court for a generation. The Court will give more power to corporations, churches, and wealthy political donors.

> Weakening of the separation of church and state. There will be more influence by churches in the schools, courts and local governments.

Oh, and we will make America great again.
Anything else?

Young professional in Public Health

Today, we put a racist, bigoted, sexual predator in the white house. Yes, I am deeply saddened that we were unable to break that highest, thickest glass ceiling. But even more, I am heartbroken and afraid of what this means for our country.

I am scared for myself. As a woman of reproductive age who does not plan on having children in the immediate future, I am terrified of losing control over my decision of if, when, and how to have children.

I am scared for my friends and family who fear their marriages and families being ripped apart, who fear for their lives and safety. To my black, brown, Latinx, Muslim, immigrant, differently abled, and LGBT+ friends and family: I am sorry we failed you. I am sorry we did not do more. I'm sorry for the hatred that has become more brazen, because it has come out of the mouth of our president-elect. If you need to talk, yell, scream, cry, or be hugged, know that I am here for you. You deserve better, and I will fight with you to ensure that you get it.

I'm scared for the rest of the world. The US election does not only impact Americans. Our president-elect has made very clear his feelings on climate change. Decisions on climate made in the next 4 years will impact our entire world for generations to come. US foreign aid saves millions of lives, providing access to AIDS drugs, contraception, malaria prevention and treatment, and life-saving medical treatments.

Today I woke up and spent the first 20 minutes of my day trying not to vomit. I went to work, managing to not cry until my last metro stop. I had to stop after getting off metro to breathe through and stave off a panic attack. I cried during Hillary's concession speech, during our all-staff meeting, on the bus on the way home.

So first, remember this feeling. This deep sick feeling in the pit of your stomach that makes you want to curl up in a ball and scream. For many who live with inequality and injustice daily, this feeling isn't new. But for those most privileged among us, this feeling will fade as our lives return to some semblance of normalcy and complacency. So remember it. Sit with it. Get to know it.

Today, be kind to yourself. Practice self-care. And once you have healed, pull that gut-wrenching feeling up to the surface and use it to fight for your friends, your family, and your country. 

Young energy professional

Repost -- I feel like I don't even know my country tonight. People who proudly wear their "deplorable" label and don their red cap don't realize how unsafe they've made people feel – esp. my friends whose mosques have been targeted, my friends who are stopped-and-frisked for no reason, my friends who can't hold their partner's hand in public out of fear, my friends who have had to accept misogyny turned mainstream.

But to my friends: I'm ready to fight for you. Trump is not some political genius, he's a con artist who rose to prominence through a racist birtherism lie and has been normalized by the ignorance of echo chambers. I'm heartbroken, but we're not going backward. I'm ready to fight for you.

Message me and let's get started.

Geology classmate, retired

Heartsick for our country and the world.

A British friend just pointed out that they consider today 9/11 (day/month). Similar level of fear and despair for half of the country, but this time the attack on our values came from within  :(

Friend -- Frankly, I think this is far worse for our country than 9/11. I know it doesn't sound right to say that, and I mean no disrespect to the 3,000 murdered on that terrible day, but an attack from the outside is easier to understand than this being blindsided from within. And I think that ultimate the consequences of this election will be worse for our country and the entire world. Betting that somehow the literal body count of a Trump presidency will be higher than the attacks of 9/11, too.

I'm leaving Facebook for awhile. I'm too angry with some friends and family and I need to find some calm if I ever hope to reengage with them. If you cannot comprehend the fear and upset of over half the population, maybe you should ask for help understanding rather than being derisive and reaffirming your lack of compassion and empathy for others.

Classmate, librarian, mother of Down’s syndrome child

A racist sexual predator who cheats his employees, mocks the disabled and thinks he's smart for not paying taxes has been elected the president of the US. I'm still stunned and heartbroken. His words have already unleashed the darkest urges of Americans and given permission to those who share his prejudices to act on them. What kind of world will this be for my disabled daughter?

Repost –  http://johnpavlovitz.com/2016/11/09/heres-why-we-grieve-today/

I don’t think you understand us right now.

I think you think this is about politics.

I think you believe this is all just sour grapes; the crocodile tears of the losing locker room with the scoreboard going against us at the buzzer.

I can only tell you that you’re wrong. This is not about losing an election. This isn’t about not winning a contest. This is about two very different ways of seeing the world.

Hillary spoke about a diverse America; one where religion or skin color or sexual orientation or place of birth aren’t liabilities or deficiencies or moral defects. Her campaign was one of inclusion and connection and interdependency. It was about building bridges and breaking ceilings. It was about going high.

Trump imagined a very selective America; one that is largely white and straight and Christian, and the voting verified this. Donald Trump has never made any assertions otherwise. He ran a campaign of fear and exclusion and isolation—and that’s the vision of the world those who voted for him have endorsed.

They have aligned with the wall-builder and the professed p*ssy-grabber, and they have co-signed his body of work, regardless of the reasons they give for their vote:

Every horrible thing Donald Trump ever said about women or Muslims or people of color has now been validated.

Every profanity-laced press conference and every call to bully protestors and every ignorant diatribe has been endorsed.

Every piece of anti-LGBTQ legislation Mike Pence has championed has been signed-off on.

Half of our country has declared these things acceptable, noble, American.

This is the disconnect and the source of our grief today. It isn’t a political defeat that we’re lamenting, it’s a defeat for Humanity.

We’re not angry that our candidate lost. We’re angry because our candidate’s losing means this country will be less safe, less kind, and less available to a huge segment of its population, and that’s just the truth.

Those who have always felt vulnerable are now left more so. Those whose voices have been silenced will be further quieted. Those who always felt marginalized will be pushed further to the periphery. Those who feared they were seen as inferior now have confirmation in actual percentages.

Those things have essentially been campaign promises of Donald Trump, and so many of our fellow citizens have said this is what they want too. 

This has never been about politics.

This is not about one candidate over the other.

It’s not about one’s ideas over another’s.

It is not blue vs. red.

It’s not her emails vs. his bad language.

It’s not her dishonesty vs. his indecency.

It’s about overt racism and hostility toward minorities.

It’s about religion being weaponized.

It’s about crassness and vulgarity and disregard for women.

It’s about a barricaded, militarized, bully nation.

It’s about an unapologetic, open-faced ugliness.

And it is not only that these things have been ratified by our nation that grieve us; all this hatred, fear, racism, bigotry, and intolerance—it’s knowing that these things have been amen-ed by our neighbors, our families, our friends, those we work with and worship alongside. That is the most horrific thing of all. We now know how close this is.

It feels like living in enemy territory being here now, and there’s no way around that. We wake up today in a home we no longer recognize. We are grieving the loss of a place we used to love but no longer do. This may be America today but it is not the America we believe in or recognize or want.

This is not about a difference of political opinion, as that’s far too small to mourn over. It’s about a fundamental difference in how we view the worth of all people—not just those who look or talk or think or vote the way we do.

Grief always laments what might have been, the future we were robbed of, the tomorrow that we won’t get to see, and that is what we walk through today. As a nation we had an opportunity to affirm the beauty of our diversity this day, to choose ideas over sound bytes, to let everyone know they had a place at the table, to be the beacon of goodness and decency we imagine that we are—and we said no.

The Scriptures say that weeping endures for a night but joy comes in the morning. We can’t see that dawn coming any time soon.

And this is why we grieve.

Retired female minister –

My idealism is mightily bruised.

I know that the religious right has felt their country slipping away from how they were brought up, away from all they feel is good and right and, most importantly, away from their understanding of God's Law; and that this slipping has been a slow movement over many years.
- 1967 Teaching evolution in schools is protected by freedom of speech
- Late 1960s and early 1970s Sex education was opposed because it promoted promiscuity ... and the Sexual Revolution proved it.
- 1973 Abortion is legalized
- 1980s Courts began ruling that religious displays are not allowed on public land, including nativity scenes and Ten Commandment displays at City Hall
- 1990s to present Stem Cell Research
- 1994 first state legalized Physician Assisted Death
- 2015 same-sex marriage is legalized
(As I made this list I found it interesting that so much of what was done or undone had to involve legislation and/or the courts, and God's Law.)

On Tuesday night, my idealism got beaten up pretty bad. This is not simply the idealism of growing up in the 60s. My idealism is as a woman of faith who puts greater importance on how we treat each other than on how we legislate the way others should treat each other. All of a sudden, my ideal America began shaking, threatening to tip over.
- refugees welcomed into safety and given a chance to thrive
- racism and all other negative isms noticeably decreasing
- religious freedom, even religions that are not Judeo-Christian
- a fair percentage gap between the wages of the CEO and the cleaning lady
- true concern and care for the environment
- all people are equal and so all share the same rights
- generosity of the riches of our country with all the world
- health care for everyone
- a willingness to use our military to protect against cruel dictators and genocide throughout the world
These are among the ideals of America that make her great and these are just some of the ideals that Christians can support and work toward.

My bruises will heal and I will again pray that I may be used to spread God's Grace.

Fifth-grade teacher, foreign-born, recently retired –

Okay , so I lied. Here I am on Facebook. I'm only here because I have heard so much from my friends and former students about how disillusioned they are with the electoral process and how disturbed they are by what this election showed about the American people. I suggest that you can take solace in this. It's easy to gain power, it's not so easy to rule a nation. When Americans begin to suffer the repercussions of what I suspect will be some significant changes, they might not be so happy with the choice they made. It will be difficult for Republicans to deflect blame for the problems that ensue when they are in charge of the entire government. It is possible that we will all be proven wrong. Perhaps Mr Trump was just acting. Perhaps he will rise to the occasion. More likely the American system will prove itself to be fairly resilient. We will go through a rough period but then change will come once again.  You can also take solace in the fact that people have felt as you feel now for quite some time. Consider this quote from HL Mencken: Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people. This too shall pass.

            Friend --  If we are not killed or deported in the process

Classmate, professional theater actor and musician

I am scared.

I am scared for our planet, because four years from now may be too late to take action to avoid catastrophic climate change.

I am afraid for my friends and relatives of color, for my friends and relatives whose faith is other than Christian, for my friends and relatives who are immigrants, for my friends and relatives who are LGBT and/or Q, for my friends and relatives who have a disability, all of whom have now been given even more cause to feel that they are not full citizens of this great country, and who may be the target of folks who have been emboldened to think that their sense of entitlement is just.

I am afraid for all the women I know and love, that their long march toward equality with men must stretch even longer. (I also grieve for my mother, who at 86 may not now live to see a woman become president of the United States, something she has dreamed of for a very long time.)

I am afraid for my country, that our faith in our institutions of government, and of the media, even our mechanisms for agreeing on what is true and what is a lie, have been deeply, deeply damaged.

I am afraid that, while I trust that Martin Luther King is right about the arc of history, justice is even further off than I thought.

I know I have plenty of company. I read today that 55% of Democrats are scared of Republican policies, and 49% of Republicans are scared of the Democrats’. As a character in a play I was just in said (about the previous presidential election): “I’d ask them—you both spent how much on this election? I think I read—two billion dollars. Maybe I’m wrong but it seems to me it was mostly spent scaring people about the other guy. So now—look what you’ve got—a whole lot of people who are very scared.”

That is indeed what we’ve got. We got what we paid for.

But.

Hillary won the popular vote. (The only reason she is not our President-Elect is because our Founding Fathers—as they then were—didn’t trust the unwashed masses and invented the Electoral College to save us all from demagogues and charlatans. Thanks, guys.)

Let me repeat that: Hillary won the popular vote. If you think you woke up Wednesday morning in a country you don’t know, you’re a little less than half right.

I’m sure Hillary feels much better.

But.

I can’t spend the next four years scared. That won’t do either my oncoming ulcers or this country any good. I’m not suggesting that there is nothing to fear. But fear helped get us here—I can’t see how being (only) scared will get us to a better place. One of my acting teachers was fond of saying, “You don’t run away from a bear, you run toward a tree.” So where are my trees?

A few days ago I posted a video of a flashmob dancing in pantsuits in Union Square. There were all ethnicities, there were men, there were strong women who weren’t shy about taking centerstage. They were joyful, cheeky, determined; they weren’t in lockstep but they were unified. As a metaphor for the America I love, it’s pretty damn good. I can run toward that tree.

My other trees are you. Each of you. All of you. Whenever I’m inclined to hide under a rock, will you please remind me of that dance? Or better yet, tell me about the America you love, and what you’re doing to dance it into being.

One of our pastors is fond of using a benediction adapted from William Sloane Coffin:

“May God grant you the grace never to sell yourself short. Grace to risk something big for the sake of something good. Grace to remember that the world is now too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love.”

Amen.

Retired Norwegian musician, grandmother, former resident of USA and Trinidad --

The world will never be safe again! I feel so sorry for my grandchildren and us all.

I feel for you all and it's a sad day for all of us! It was terrible to wake up to this shocking news. Will we ever feel safe again and will the next generation ever forgive us?

Neighbor, college friend, breast cancer surgeon

Repost:  If you wonder why so many of us are scared...How many times was I told this election cycle that it was safe to vote for Trump because all that bigotry was just bluster and would go away as soon as he was elected. Bannon was just named his Chief Strategist?! Doesn't sound like he wants those ideas to just go away as a campaign stunt.

            Following: 1930s News article about the rise of Adolf Hitler

Friend from high school church group, author of book of children’s book on learning techniques.

It's time to look in the mirror.

What do you want to recall about yourself and what do you want others to recall about you when you think back on this election?

It seems folks are able to remember every negative thing said about each candidate, but very little about the good.

How is what is being said and done now having a positive effect on our culture?

Rather than feeling angry, find a positive outlet for your emotions.

If you don't like the way the opposition is behaving then demonstrate the appropriate way to behave.

Make a donation, volunteer, do a good deed.

Not only will others benefit, you will begin to heal.

Anger breeds anger.

Goodness breeds goodness.

Do you like the way you feel right now?

Only you can change that.