After the Election

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I don’t want to write about Donald Trump, the U.S. presidency, or politics in general. However, I feel I would be remiss if I pretended this all didn’t happen.

Part of the problem is knowing my readers already know what I have to say. Do I really need to preach to the choir today?

Part of the problem is knowing other writers have already said it as well or better than I can. What more can I add?

This is what I believe: Trump won because a large segment of the male population could not stomach the idea of a woman in the White House. According to http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-exit-polls-how-donald-trump-won-the-us-presidency/,

The gender gap was substantial. Trump beat Clinton by 53 percent to 41 percent among men while Clinton won among women by 54 percent to 42 percent.

Clinton won among black women by a 93 percent to 4 percent margin. Among black men she won by 80 percent to 13 percent.

Let me go ahead and spell that last one out. Some black men voted for Donald Trump rather than vote for Hillary Clinton. I can’t even imagine the cognitive dissonance a black man would have to live with in order to think he would be better off with Donald Trump in the White House.

This is what we know: Trump was elected overwhelmingly by white folks. According to the aforementioned website,

Trump beat Clinton among white women 53 percent to 43 percent.

Clinton lost to Trump among [white, male voters] by 63 percent to 31 percent.

This is also what we know: Trump was elected by the under-educated. Again, from the same website,

Trump did best among white voters without a college degree, beating Clinton by the enormous margin of 72 percent to 23 percent. Trump also won among white, non-college women 62 to 34 percent…

Nobody reading this needs me to explain these things. We already knew all of this. We only hoped we were wrong.

What does the election of Trump mean for me? I don’t even know.

I  texted a friend the morning after the election and said, I should probably write about the election, but I don’t feel I have any new insight.

My friend said I could write about how I was going to respond, what I was going to do differently, to focus on what would change in my real life.

Honestly, I have no idea what I am going to do differently. I suppose if Trump privatizes public land (and I have no idea if he has the ability or intention to do so), I’ll have to figure out a new way to make money. Perhaps I need to think about keeping my big mouth shut, as the results of this election reinforces that this country is not a safe place for outspoken women. It’s not as if my big mouth has ever changed anything, as if being outspoken has ever done anything more than make me feel a little bit better.

Another friend said as an old revolutionary, I should be happy about this. That friend sees this as the beginning of the end, I suppose. When I pointed out that people were going to suffer under the new administration, my friend countered by reminding me people are already suffering. True enough, but the suffering is going to be worse now.

Don’t go thinking I saw Hillary Clinton as a savior, or Barack Obama either for that matter. The system is flawed. The system is oh so flawed. I just thought maybe, maybe things wouldn’t be quite so bad under Clinton. I thought maybe, maybe the suffering wouldn’t be so great under Clinton.

Do I think the election of Donald Trump is going to make people rise up and change things for the better? Nah. For the people who are doing ok financially, there are movies to watch and vacations to take and knick-knacks to buy. The people who are struggling are going continue to concentrate on just barely keep their heads above water, buying groceries and getting a collage education that will qualify them to work a slightly better shit job. The comfortable aren’t going to give up their comforts, and the poor barely have the time and energy to fight.

Yet, some things have changed in my lifetime. I never thought I’d see the legalization of same-sex marriage. I never thought I’d see legalization of marijuana anywhere, much less in Nevada. I never thought Denver would do away with Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. So maybe I ought to not give up hope.

Since I don’t know what to say, what to do, what to think even, I will leave you with the words of a dear, old friend:

I send love to everyone who feels less safe and welcome in this country today. I honor you and your struggle, and I pray my actions reflect these words. Know that I stand with you, especially my Muslim brothers and sisters, my immigrant brothers and sisters, my LGBT brothers and sisters, my African-American brothers and sisters, my Native brothers and sisters. My white, Christian brothers and sisters, I’ll stand with you too. If you stand for love and compassion and justice, I’ll stand with you.

 

About Blaize Sun

My name is Blaize Sun. Maybe that's the name my family gave me; maybe it's not. In any case, that's the name I'm using here and now. I've been a rubber tramp for nearly a decade.I like to see places I've never seen before, and I like to visit the places I love again and again. For most of my years on the road, my primary residence was my van. For almost half of the time I was a van dweller, I was going it alone. Now I have a little travel trailer parked in a small RV park in a small desert town. I also have a minivan to travel in. When it gets too hot for me in my desert, I get in my minivan and move up in elevation to find cooler temperatures or I house sit in town in a place with air conditioning I was a work camper in a remote National Forest recreation area on a mountain for four seasons. I was a camp host and parking lot attendant for two seasons and wrote a book about my experiences called Confessions of a Work Camper: Tales from the Woods. During the last two seasons as a work camper on that mountain, I was a clerk in a campground store. I'm also a house and pet sitter, and I pick up odd jobs when I can. I'm primarily a writer, but I also create beautiful little collages; hand make hemp jewelry and warm, colorful winter hats; and use my creative and artistic skills to decorate my life and brighten the lives of others. My goal (for my writing and my life) is to be real. I don't like fake, and I don't want to share fake. I want to share my authentic thoughts and feelings. I want to give others space and permission to share their authentic selves. Sometimes I think the best way to support others is to leave them alone and allow them to be. I am more than just a rubber tramp artist. I'm fat. I'm funny. I'm flawed. I try to be kind. I'm often grouchy. I am awed by the stars in the dark desert night. I hope my writing moves people. If my writing makes someone laugh or cry or feel angry or happy or troubled or comforted, I have done my job. If my writing makes someone think and question and try a little harder, I've done my job. If my writing opens a door for someone, changes a life, I have done my job well. I hope you enjoy my blog posts, my word and pictures, the work I've done to express myself in a way others will understand. I hope you appreciate the time and energy I put into each post. I hope you will click the like button each time you like what you have read. I hope you will share posts with the people in your life. I hope you'll leave a comment and share your authentic self with me and this blog's other readers. Thank you for reading.  A writer without readers is very sad indeed.

13 Responses »

  1. I’m shocked and sad. I expected better from my fellow citizens.
    But the good news is more than half of the people did not vote for Trump. We will have to fight to keep things in check. I’m just so worried that all of the hard won, small steps towards a more equal, more understanding and less polluted country will be smashed and destroyed.

    • We might have to walk in place for a while, or take a few steps back, but anyone who’s read Howard Zinn’s People History of the United States knows that the oppressed do keep fighting.I think I need some Howard Zinn today. I should write about him some time…

      Thank you for your comments, and as always, thanks for reading.

  2. If people vote for a candidate just because she is female (kinda-sorta), it’s every bit as stupid as voting for or against someone because of their skin color. I have a friend in Hot Springs, AR, where Slick Willy grew up and where they both lived after getting married. The people there hate and fear those two worse than a plague. She said when the Clintons go to a restaurant in Hot Springs, several people get up and walk out.

    When a presidential candidate is up for election, usually his own state votes for him. In AR, SIXTY PERCENT (60%) of the population voted against the Clinton witch. Do you know what word is used to describe a person who has no conscience? PSYCHOPATH.

    Voters didn’t vote FOR Trump as much as they were voting AGAINST HillaryDearest (if you recognize the reference). They would have voted for Ted Bundy just to keep that witch out of office.

  3. I don’t even know what to say about all this. I’ve stepped up my efforts to get an RV and remove myself from society and all the hate.

  4. Your data is interesting to read. I knew nothing about what happened besides the bottom lines. Delighted marijuana is legalized in Nevada (though I’m not interested in using it). Yes, we need lotsa love right now.

    Thank you for informing me!

    • Glad you thought the data was interesting, Laura-Marie. I found it with a quick Google search. I didn’t go indepth, really.

      I’m sending my love out to you and yours! Thanks for your comments.

  5. I’ve been thinking more about your post.

    You wrote: “Trump beat Clinton among white women 53 percent to 43 percent. Clinton lost to Trump among [white, male voters] by 63 percent to 31 percent.”

    I don’t know where you got your information, but that info is 100% false. American ballots are both secret and anonymous. There is no name, address or M/F on them.

    Perhaps your source was referring to POLLS. Polls are done by telephone. I don’t know about other people, but I have Caller ID, and if I don’t recognize the caller, I don’t answer the phone. This voting ‘season’, I probably received 40 to 60 of these calls. And I would bet that most other people did the same. Do you think a massive failure FU for the pollsters would distort the polls?

    [Always keep in mind that the polls are a way to control weak-minded and ignorant voters who will wait until the last minute to vote (after checking the polls), just to say they they voted for the winner.]

    Also, I find it odd that, while you blamed men for voting against Clinton, you failed to mention all of the women and college girls (who couldn’t tell you who Thomas Jefferson was if you put a gun to their head and a million dollars in their hands) who registered to vote JUST to vote for a woman president, and they never looked beyond her sex. And that’s absolutely pathetic.

    • Sue, I got the information from CBS News, via the website linked in the post. I did not make it up the information. And I did not write it, I quoted it.

      The information is based on exit polls. Had you clicked on the link (or even looked at it carefully), you would have seen all of that information: CBS News, exit polls.

  6. As a traveller I am dependent on the good will, hospitality and humour of all people. In the past I have always been rewarded. I hope that this spirit prevails . I hope that the beautiful forests and land remain available to free spirited travellers.

    • I agree with you George! I hope that people will continue to be kind to one another and that public lands will remain available to all of us.

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