America Did a Bad, Bad Thing

I’m not angry, I’m disappointed. Isn’t that often the typical parental saying when a child does something incomprehensibly abhorrent? Well, I’m both angry and disappointed, and more than a little scared, after last week’s presidential election.

I’m angry that some of my LGBTQ+ friends are facing a future with a president who wants to render their marriages invalid and that all of them will have a vice president who advocates for dangerous, ineffective “conversion therapy” in hopes of turning them straight.

I’m disappointed that the electoral college has failed us for the second time in my lifetime, as Hillary Clinton has won the popular vote — in fact, she is on track to receive more votes than any other candidate in history with the exception of President Barack Obama — but did not receive enough electoral votes to win the election. There are efforts underway to convince the “faithless electors” — those not legally obligated to vote for the person who won the popular vote in that state — in red states to switch their votes to give her the presidency, but I’m not convinced that’s likely.

I’m scared that, now that Republicans will have control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives, I will lose the health insurance I was only finally able to get because of the Affordable Care Act and its subsidies. I can only imagine how terrified those with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses must be.

I’m angry that a man who has bragged on tape about grabbing women by the genitals was allowed to be elected president, yet many people in this country don’t understand why victims of sexual assault often don’t come forward about their abuse.

I’m disappointed that our nation’s first black president will be followed by a man who was officially endorsed by a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan and that Trump has chosen Stephen Bannon, a well-known white supremacist, as his chief strategist.

I’m scared that, as happened after Brexit in the United Kingdom, those on the winning side will ramp up their harassment of and violence toward minorities or anyone else who may have voted for Clinton. In fact, there were already countless reports of this happening across the country within a day of the election — people ripping off women’s hijabs, telling people of color to “go back to their country,” vandalizing public spaces with antisemitic graffiti, forming walls of people to block Latino students from entering their school, leaving violent notes for LGBTQ+ people, and so, so much more. (New York Daily News writer Shaun King is collecting reports of such incidents on Twitter, @shaunking.)

I’m angry that in several states, the gap between Clinton and Trump was far, far narrower than the number of third-party votes cast. There is no guarantee that if those people had voted for one of the two main parties, the vote would have gone the other way, but maybe it would have. We’ll never know for sure.

I’m disappointed that this election season has revealed to me just how racist, sexist, and homophobic some of my loved ones are, and how quick many of them are to deny it or excuse it with “just stating the truth” or “just being blunt.”

I’m scared that, even though I voted for Clinton and primarily other Democrats (not that it’s any of your business, but I did vote for one Republican judge), I helped play a role in Trump getting elected by not speaking up enough for those who can’t speak for themselves, or by not doing enough to boost the voices of those who dared to speak up despite the risks.

I’m angry that there are some people, including members of my own family, who think that because I work for a newspaper, I should not be allowed to have an opinion and express it — even in my own, personal spaces.

I’m disappointed that someone who couldn’t be trusted to have control of his own Twitter account in the final days of the election will soon have access to the nuclear codes and be making decisions that will affect the entire country.

I’m scared that this country is going to be, if not set back, then at least halted from moving forward in terms of equality for people of all races, genders, sexualities, and religions (or lack thereof).

I’m angry that a reality television star with no political experience will be the next president, while in this country it is often difficult for college graduates without experience to get even low-paying, entry-level jobs in their fields without previous experience.

I’m disappointed that such a skilled, eloquent orator as President Obama is going to be followed by Trump, who can barely manage to string three sentences together in a coherent manner even when they’re scripted for him.

I’m scared that the suicide rate in this country is about to increase because there are a lot of people who are terrified about how the next four years are going to pan out.

Let me be clear: I’m angry, disappointed, and scared, but I’m well aware I have enough privilege to keep me out of immediate danger. I’m a straight, white, able-bodied atheist; my concerns are trivial compared to the concerns of people of color, the disabled, LGBTQ+ people, and those of non-Christian religions. Many of them are terrified, and they have every reason to be, given the incidents I mentioned earlier.

The office of the President of the United States is one that should command respect. Donald Trump has ruined that, and he will receive no respect from me. As we say on Twitter, he is #NotMyPresident.

This commentary originally appeared in the Nov. 17, 2016, issue of the Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat.