11/10/2016
I woke up on the morning of 11/9/2016 in a fetal position hoping I had just had a long lucid dream in which Donald “Pussy Grabber” Trump had just been elected president. Of the United States. Of America. My two-year-old daughter had her hand on my cheek and her face inches from mine. “I’m sorry,” she said with her little lisp and eyes cast down.
“Why are you sorry, Bug?” I asked, knowing the weight of America’s election day drunk dialing was falling right on her tiny little shoulders.
“I farted,” she said. And with that I was awake in a new paradigm, where hillbillies had thrown the entire country into the potty.
I flashed to the terrorist attacks on the morning of 9/11/2001 that slaughtered almost 3000 people. Then I feared the election of Donald J. Trump is going to make that day look like a mild SARS outbreak.
Wednesday morning, I unplugged my social media for a bit. I grew up in Klan town in Georgia so my Facebook friend circle is filled with those “non-college-educated white males” that were crucial to Trump’s path to victory. I didn’t want to hear them braying, thinking Trump’s vacant policies would help them in any way. There were enough white males cheering on neo-Nazi and white supremacist websites. Former Klan Grand Dragon David Duke all but took credit for Trump’s win and delivering the South for the alleged billionaire.
The last post I saw was by a white guy of my peer group who wrote, “Relax. We lived through Reagan.” I thought of all the people who did not live through Reagan, including the thousands of Americans who died of AIDS because the president ignored the epidemic as just a “gay plague.” He could have done something but he turned his back on his fellow countrymen as they suffered some of the most excruciating deaths imaginable.
Elections have consequences and those consequences are never paid for by the people at the top. Hillary Clinton will be fine. Even the white guys in red hats yelling at Trump victory parties like they were at a frat house gang rape will be okay for the most part. (Although they might think about cashing out their 401Ks toot suite.) I began to think about all the likely casualties of a Trump administration and it quickly surpassed the 9/11 body count.
A brief sketch of coming casualties
I thought of the Americans who will die when they are thrown off of their health insurance. Trump has vowed to cancel the Affordable Health Care Act as soon as he takes office in January with a promise to replace it with some vague “open market” alternative. Millions of men, women, and children (including my family) will lose their health safety net and will, again, have to chose to go forgo treatment and preventative care. This will cost lives.
I thought of the women who will, again, die from back alley abortions. Trump has made it clear that he will end a woman’s reproductive rights by stacking the Supreme Court with “pro-life” judges. Justice Ginsberg can’t live forever so this return to those desperate days may come quite soon. Add to that the women who will die of various cancers because they couldn’t get screenings at Planned Parenthood, another target of Trump’s pandering to the religious right.
I thought of the people who will die because of the loosening, non-enforcement, and/or canceling of safety, health, and environmental regulations. Trump has said most of these regulations are unnecessary and get in the way of “job creation.” We now have a president who believes global climate change is a “Chinese hoax,” so I have to count the related environmentally-sourced deaths as he ramps up carbon-based fuel industries. Anybody remember Black Lung?
I thought of the women who will be raped and sexually assaulted as his “Move on it” misogyny has been given the seal of approval from the American voter. The president of rape culture is moving into the White House. Likewise, the casualties from hate crimes inspired by his “America first” rhetoric will only increase. Americans and residents who are Muslim, black, or brown (like my wife) are not as sure they will “live through Trump” as my white friend of Facebook. There are already reports of Trump supporters in liberal Portland, Oregon screaming the “N word” at black residents on the street. After one day of “President Elect Trump,” there are reports of hate incidents all over the country. It could get very ugly.
I thought of the people who will die in the justice system, in jails and prisons and on the street, just as Obama’s reforms are starting to get underway. Their lives matter. But stock in private prisons is surging as America anticipates a new war on minorities (sorry, “War on Crime”).
I thought of the refugees escaping the hell of wars we helped start who will die because they can’t find refuge for themselves or their children as Trump has sworn to shut down the border on “Day 1” of his administration. I thought of the Central Americans who escaped violence to find safety and security as (undocumented) immigrants who will die when Trump’s deportation force sends them back to the hell they escaped from.
I thought of all the American troops who will die as Trump’s “bomb the hell out of them” diplomacy goes into effect with war after war. Just like the over 4000 Americans in uniform who didn’t survive the Bush Administration because they were killed in Iraq, the Trump body count will mount, as this zero-experience commander-in-chief who dodged Vietnam plays with his flesh and blood toy soldiers.
I thought of the global body count as he alienates our allies from our overseas struggles. Body counts from withdrawing humanitarian aid around the world. Genocidal body counts as he promotes the sale of nuclear weapons to South Korea and Saudi Arabia.
I thought of the deaths of young Americans from suicide, bullied for being gay, or Mexican, or Muslim. The Trump Effect in schools has already been well documented. And then there’s deaths of girls from eating disorders as they starve themselves to be a Trump 10 and not a “fat pig.” I thought of the Americans who will suffer as he translates disrespect and cruelty into “so much winning.”
3000 deaths in Trump America? That might be a good day. And where 9/11 brought us together as a nation, 11/8 has ripped us apart.
Who are these red state people?
I know the people who voted for Trump. I’ve been studying this demographic for 30 years. It’s the “White-lash” (as Van Jones called). There’s a segment of White America that couldn’t handle a successful black president, devoid of scandals, while they faced their own hardships. They became obsessed with him just like the racist skinheads I studied in 1989 were obsessed with the Huxtables on The Cosby Show. Rural America blamed Cliff Huxtable/Barrack Obama for the changing complexion of small town life and Rust Belt America blamed him for the globalization (that took off under Reagan) that was stealing their solid wage unionized jobs. Those folks are in for a shock if they think anti-union Trump is going to bring back their line position at General Motors.
Sure, Trump managed to find a few women and people of color to climb on to his fact-free train, but let’s face it – This election was all about the push-back. It’s the same push-back that the Klan rode to mainstream appeal in the 1920s. Then it was the pushback against immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe (aka, Catholics and Jews) under the banner, “100% Americanism.” Now it’s the pushback against immigrants from south of the border and the Middle East under the banner, “Make America Great Again.”
Donald Trump is the greatest recipient of white male privilege in modern history. If any other person had stumbled though just one of his foibles, it would have been over. Imagine if Hillary Clinton had children with three different husbands and bragged about her sex life on Howard Stern. Imagine if President Obama said his opponent was holding secret meetings with “international bankers” and that he could do anything to any woman he wanted, because he was a “star.” Do you think Fox News would let that slide? Donald Trump lied to his followers on a daily basis they ate it up like coprophiliacs eating shit with a spoon. I wonder if that teflon will keep working for four years. But he was the white man, so he got the job over the actually qualified female. Happens every day in America.
So what’s next?
First I would like to tell the world that most Americans did not vote for Donald Trump. In fact, most of Americans who voted didn’t vote for Donald Trump. Clinton won the popular vote. But America has as an arcane electoral system that gives the few hundred people who live in a hamlet in North Carolina essentially the same say in the contest as the few million that live in Oakland, California. So know we’re not all crazy.
Secondly, as we enter a period of one party rule headed by a potentially sociopathic charismatic authority who wants to build a Supreme Court in his image, know that the founding fathers gave the power hungry a ticking clock. The 2018 mid-term elections are just around the corner, so if we can flip Congress before Trump burns the Reichstag, we might be safe from a fascism. Might. And then it’s Elizabeth Warren for president in 2020!
The big lesson is in how we talk to those “non-college-educated white males.” I’m certainly guilty of over using the word “moron” and perhaps, “mouth breathers” on my Facebook page. We were characterized as judgmental elitists and it was probably accurate. That position only served to push them away from anything approaching an intellectual discussion and into Trump’s cult of personality where simple slogan’s ruled the day. “Crooked Hillary!” “Build a wall!” “Trump the bitch!”
Trump is not going to build a wall, or ban Muslims, or lock Hillary up. The Constitution should prevent such folly. But he could amass a pretty massive death count before he realizes he probably should have stayed in his golden tower instead of moving into the People’s House on Pennsylvania Avenue. If we want to limit the damage, we gotta figure out how to talk to these knuckle draggers. Sorry, I mean economically fragile Caucasian-Americans.
Take some time, hug your children, go for ice cream, and then get back into the fight, but this time, try some dialogue. There should be some down-time while these boys in red hats wait for their wall to appear. The whole world is watching us.
Watching the Wheels 
You articulated everything in my mind. Thank you.
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Don’t worry, he will be impeached!
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Just make sure Pence gets impeached with him!
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If he does get impeached, he can always do what Bill Clinton did….get impeached but not leaved office.
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Thank you for this eloquent piece of writing. I am much older than you, but have so many of the same concerns around having this man in the White House. I live in a red state, so have also had to put up with the woot-wooting from neighbors and acquaintances. I feel like I was hit by a truck. I have these floods of tears that visit me on and off during the day. I know it will get better, but right now I’m scared out of my mind about the damage this man can and probably will try to inflict. I’m embarrassed as an American that this man will represent us in world affairs. I’m disgusted that he and his family will be occupying the house that many statesmen have occupied throughout our history. This is certainly a turning point in our country and I hope that we can all come out of this mess being better and stronger…it will be a challenge.
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I took some time off facebook as well, knowing that when I returned I’d face the cheering posts by my coworkers in Salem, and the devastation of all my friends. And so it was, with a twist. Now I have scrolled through literally hundreds of posts of people saying “hey, they said love trumps hate but now they’re hating trump voters, ironic” and “I refuse to hate anyone for their political opinions, some of my best friends are Hillary voters and trump voters.” This, for me, presents an enormous dilemma for discourse. It is, frankly, bullshit to insist that people shouldn’t be held accountable for their political opinions, that these “opinions” which center around disenfranchising and assaulting nonwhite Americans, are somehow morally neutral and deserving of “respect.” But I’m not sure how to actually approach it. I think that there were a significant number of trump voters who just weren’t concerned about his racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia, and voted for him because they hated Hillary. Now they are trying to wriggle out of their association with the actual deplorables, with whom they have been sharing a basket. How do we address this? We need to figure out what to offer these people to get them on our side, but I am loathe to let them sidestep their responsibility for voting with this miserable clusterfuck of a coalition. My black, hispanic, muslim, and LGBTQ friends and loved ones deserve better. But we HAVE to win big in the midterms.
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marchelegy, I feel the exact same way. There’s a lot of minimizing going on. That we shouldn’t be intolerant of others just because of a “difference of opinion”. Well, your “differme of opinion” might result in my mom losing her health insurance. Your “difference of opinion” might result in women losing their reproductive rights. This isn’t simply a matter of opinion. This will ruin people’s lives, and that is something I find unforgivable.
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I think that at this time, we as a nation have to come together. There’s people who haven’t liked nor approved of Obama, but we as a nation still survived. Yes, there are going to be some serious changes when President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office. But rather than destroying your city, come together in unity. Rather than complaining about Trump being elected, we as a country need to join hands and support our Commander in Chief as we have with Obama. Yes, I have my reasons why I voted for Trump, but racism, sexism, and scandals had nothing to do with it. I had to put ALL personal beliefs to the side and view things in perspective to what and how I think will be best for the country. Believe me, if Trump messes up, I’ll be the first to throw him under the bus as I did with Bush for sending me to Iraq. One thing I have to tell myself is that even the President of the United States is only human and he does have his faults. Obama has had his faults just like everyone else. The point that I’m making is that the voters did speak as the votes spoke in 2008 and again in 2012 for Obama.
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Unlike the 2008 and 2012 election, trump did not get the majority of votes. More people voted AGAINST Trump than for him, and that includes not only Clinton voters but also 3rd party voters. Trump, like Bush, is an illegitimate president and we will not stop fighting back until he is out of office.
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Let me ask, do you honestly think he’s going step down from Office? Do you think the House of Representatives and Congress is going to kick him out? Small town rural people such as myself is ready and wanting a new change in American politics. It’s absolutely obsurd are wanting to destroy their city that is going to cost the tax payers of their respected states to pay for damage repair.
People are saying it’s racist because the majority of the people who voted for Trump are white, but how does that make it any different than Obama getting majority of the black votes?
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What is wrong with these Americans? No one gave a care when I cried in 2012. I felt so sad that I could barely stand it. No one served hot chocolate, canceled my college classes and gave me color books and play-doh to express myself! Did you see any Republicans or me burning the American flag and stomping in the streets saying people will die? Hell NO! Guess what people, what happened Tuesday happened and America will be better for this change. When the pendulum swings to far left, it always swing back in the other direction. Against all the odds and naysayers, I felt that Trump had what it would take to win and WIN HE DID. NEVER SAY NEVER for you will surely eat your words with a fork and spoon! The universe has checks and balances. On Tuesday, you just witnessed one of them. This is the law and order of the world we live in. It is time to put on your big boy/girl pants and deal with it! Get a grip people! Now with that said, President Trump has the good sense to keep balance, he will stop the pendulum from going too far right…more than I can say for Obama over the years. He stood by and watched as people of color terrorized other Americans. They tried to silence others that had a different opinion while demanding tolerance towards their one-sided causes. Obama no DID NOT reach out and use his Presidential influence for the good of ALL OF US. One can only see the obvious that he did not have the best interest of ALL Americans and the silent majority was treated as if we were invisible. Obama appears to be “nice” to Trump with the transition thus far. After the nastiness it leaves me wondering why is he being so civil towards Trump? He only extends the olive branch to foreigners & a few choice groups (we know who they are). Just wondering if it is possible for him to actually continue his niceties thru this entire transition. This election gave me the greatest sense of joy & hope for our country. I LOVE THE TRUMPIANS WHO SUPPORTED HIM. THE TRUMPIANS OF COLOR & THE GAY TRUMPIANS WHO CAME OUT WITH FLAIR FOR TRUMP HATS OFF TO ALL !! Here is to a better America for ALL. Trumpian’s have shown the same tolerance for ALL AMERICANS just like our PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP. I am sorry for those that are distraught time to get over it! We/I did in 2008 and again in 2012. We are about to witness America turning around under good strong leadership.
I cannot believe that people wanted to vote for Hillary – have you been floating through life on psychedelic drugs or just enjoying the excrement that the democrat/liberal party has been spoon-feeding you. It is amazing to me how much I had forgotten until people actually wanted to vote for this charlatan Hillary! When Bill Clinton was president, he allowed Hillary to assume authority over a health care reform. Even after threats and intimidation, she could not even get a vote in a democratic controlled congress. This fiasco cost the American taxpayers about $13 million in cost for studies, promotion, and other efforts. Then President Clinton gave Hillary authority over selecting a female attorney general. Her first two selections were Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood – both were forced to withdraw their names from consideration. Next, she chose Janet Reno – husband Bill described her selection as “my worst mistake.” Some may not remember that Reno made the decision to gas David Koresh and the Branch Davidian religious sect in Waco, Texas resulting in dozens of deaths of women and children. Husband Bill allowed Hillary to make recommendations for the head of the Civil Rights Commission. Lani Guanier was her selection. When a little probing led to the discovery of Ms. Guanier’s radical views, her name had to be withdrawn from consideration. Apparently, a slow learner, husband Bill allowed Hillary to make some more recommendations. She chose former law partners, Web Hubbel, for the Justice Department, Vince Foster for the White House staff, and William Kennedy for the Treasury Department. Her selections went well: Hubbel went to prison, Foster (presumably) committed suicide, and Kennedy was forced to resign.Many younger votes will have no knowledge of “Travelgate.” Hillary wanted to award unfettered travel contracts to Clinton friend Harry Thompson – and the White House Travel Office refused to comply. She managed to have them reported to the FBI and fired. This ruined their reputations, cost them their jobs, and caused a thirty-six month investigation. Only one employee, Billy Dale was charged with a crime, and that of the enormous crime of mixing personal and White House funds. A jury acquitted him of any crime in less than two hours. Still not convinced of her ineptness, Hillary was allowed to recommend a close Clinton friend, Craig Livingstone, for the position of Director of White House security. When Livingstone was investigated for the improper access of about 900 FBI files of Clinton enemies (Filegate), and the widespread use of drugs by White House staff, suddenly Hillary and the president denied even knowing Livingstone, and of course, denied knowledge of drug use in the White House. Following this debacle, the FBI closed its White House Liaison Office after more than thirty years of service to seven presidents. Next, when women started coming forward with allegations of sexual harassment and rape by Bill Clinton, Hillary was put in charge of the scandal defense. Some of her more notable decisions in the debacle were:She urged her husband not to settle the Paula Jones lawsuit. After the Starr investigation they settled with Ms. Jones. She refused to release the Whitewater documents, which led to the appointment of Ken Starr as Special Prosecutor. After $80 million dollars of taxpayer money was spent, Starr’s investigation led to Monica Lewinsky, which led to Bill lying about and later admitting his affairs. Hillary’s game plan resulted in Bill losing his license to practice law for ‘lying under oath’ to a grand jury and then his subsequent impeachment by the House of Representatives. Hillary avoided indictment for perjury and obstruction of justice during the Starr investigation by repeating, “I do not recall,” “I have no recollection,” and “I don’t know” a total of 56 times while under oath. After leaving the White House, Hillary was forced to return an estimated $200,000 in White House furniture, china, and artwork that she had stolen. Now we are exposed to the destruction of possibly incriminating emails while Hillary was Secretary of State and the “pay to play” schemes of the Clinton Foundation – we have no idea what shoe will fall next. However, to her loyal fans (supporters) – I guess in her own words “what difference does it make?” I guess being a female Democrat is all that matters. You see, she’s already been in the White House, she has a record we can review. Hillary for prison 2017 would be a great start to help make America safe again.
What is next – are we going to demand that the Chicago Cubs share the World Series title because the Cleveland Indian fans are so unhappy, are unable to function in their daily lives, and are unwilling to accept defeat? Please, if this country is so unsatisfying and a disappointment, you have the freedom to relocate – do not take to the streets and destroy the community in which our tax dollars help build.
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The issues you mentioned are subjects Democrats ignore and want to criticize the other for his flaws. It’s obvious those who voted for Hillary didn’t want to recognize that Hillary is what Trump had been saying all along and that is she is CROOKED.
My absolute favorite thing right now is there are people who are taking to the streets and shouting against Trump against Trump and DIDN’T EVEN VOTE. We heard about this from the knee bender National Anthem protestor Colin Kaepernick.
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bmwilliams – Hillary is no more “crooked” than the man who is now the president-elect. And… how do you know the protesters didn’t vote?
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Jennifer…I feel sad that you feel this way. I did not vote for the man who won. My reasons could fill a book, but I won’t go into them here. I have serious doubts that he is going to make many of the changes he has proposed. Some I would like to see. Others I want NEVER to happen.
He is in my opinion a snake oil salesman, well versed in the “bait and switch” tactics of con men. He has promised a lot to his followers, but I notice he is already changing his tune on several issues. Thank goodness it looks like he will not be pursuing “the wall” on the US/Mexican border. I live only a few miles from the border and hope like hell a wall like he is proposng will never be built. People who do not live near the border have NO CLUE about what life is like here. They hear only the negative horror stories – good fodder to get more government money for “security” reasons.
This man is so self absorbed that I don’t think he will be able to take the pressure of being the “leader of the free world.” How will he deal with failures, and criticism of his decisions, and statements made against him? How will he deal with members of congress who do not agree with him? If he handles those things the same way he did when he was a candidate, we are all in for eally tough, sad and embarassing times ahead.
And as for Hillary, you might want to consider doing some research on her and her accomplishments outside the information bubble you seem to be living in. She would have made an excellent POTUS, and would have gone a long way to be the leader of ALL Americans.
Let’s all hope for the best – we are going to need a lot of hope to keep our country from imploding over the next 4 years.
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Eileen, if you watch the news or even last night when I was in Portland, there were people downtown who were “protesting” and there were people down there who said they were mad but never voted. Colin Kaepernick admitted he didn’t vote.
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Elieen… I’m exposed to the same information as you are. Living in a blue state, the only accomplishment I every hear about her is that she’s a woman. If Hillary is well accomplished — please share it. I do not live in a border town, but I have business associates who do. They get their cattle stolen on a regular bases. They also mention that drugs are worse now then they have ever been. Too bad the wall will not be built, because the “fence” we have is just not working. EVERY presidential candidate over promises on the campaign trail and under delivers. I know Trump will do his best with what he’s been given. He will surround himself with knowledgeable people, and get things done. Gay marriages will still stand and more than likely people will still be able to use whatever bathroom they want and unfortunately abortion will be used as a form of birth control while those same people riot in the streets for tougher gun laws because a local child was killed in their community. Change will come, I hope it isn’t too late. The best positive change is our nation will once again be true allies with Israel — this is a blessing.
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