Friday, January 20, 2017

Nobody Told Me There'd Be Days Like These

I was reading the morning newspaper today, and noticed an article about eager Trump supporters heading for the inauguration.  Okay fine, there were eager Obama supporters heading for his inauguration in 2009 and 2013; so the fact that Mr. Trump has eager fans is no great surprise-- all politicians have their loyal followers.  But what caught my attention is that one of the Trump supporters was someone I had encountered online, who liked to send me at times-gloating, at times profane, at times-angry messages.  I was the enemy, of course, because I was from "the other side"-- I was among the millions of Americans who did not vote for Donald Trump.  This offended the aforementioned person greatly.  One of this person's last messages to me was that I'd better "get on board the Trump train or it will run you over."  No offense, but that sounded rather threatening.  But then, so did much of Mr. Trump's campaign rhetoric and many of his tweets.

In Trump world, either you're with him 100% (meaning you believe everything he says, even when it's demonstrably false) or you deserve to be verbally attacked and then shunned.  And like Mr. Trump, that is how all too many of his fans react. If you try to fact-check some outrageous and false claim he made, you are told that "fact-checkers are liberal" or that you're just a tool of the "lying media," or worst of all, you must be a "libtard."  If you know me, you know I try my very best to be courteous on social media, even when I am disagreeing with someone; but I really dislike being called names, and much of the time, I find there's no interest in having a dialogue-- their side is right, everyone else is wrong, end of story.

Something tells me it's going to be a very long four years, assuming Mr. Trump lasts his full term without being impeached.  He claims to support only the American worker, yet he packs his cabinet with billionaires and right-wing ideologues who have never shown one ounce of interest in workers' rights.  He perpetually said Hillary Clinton belonged in jail for her alleged corruption and her ties to Wall Street, yet he refuses to release his taxes, refuses to address his many conflicts of interest, seems to be more concerned about enriching himself and his "brand" than anything else, and, of course, he has hired a multitude of current and former Wall Street insiders to help him run his government.  To those of us on the left, the hypocrisy is stunning.  Yet he claims he is "draining the swamp."  Sorry, but it does not look that way.

Today, I got an anonymous letter in the mail.  It seemed to be from a Trump supporter, someone who saw a recently published letter to the editor of my local newspaper, that I wrote in defense of Hillary Clinton.  (Note to Trump fans:  I was a Bernie supporter, but I still felt Hillary was subjected to some very unfair treatment by Republicans, and especially by Trump fans.)  The person, who didn't have the courage to sign his or her name, sent me my letter, cut out from the newspaper, with a note saying basically that Hillary doesn't deserve my defense of her, and that she belongs in jail.   I guess when you're a Trump fan, your enemies remain your enemies forever.  Sad.

It all just reminded me how I am going to miss Barack Obama.  I didn't always agree with him, but he was a gentleman, he was eloquent, and in a crisis, he was the adult in the room.  I cannot picture him sending out angry and vengeful tweets at 2 AM.  I cannot picture him petulantly attacking someone he perceived had wronged him.  Did the campaign rhetoric sometimes get heated?  Of course, on both sides.  But in his role as president, Mr. Obama was someone you could count on to be rational and logical.  He was also someone who never lost his optimism no matter how many times he was subjected to rudeness or obstruction from Republicans. 

I am also going to miss Michelle Obama.  It makes me furious when I read the tweets from Trump fans about how now, finally, we have an elegant and classy first lady in Melania Trump.  Excuse me, but Michelle Obama was absolutely elegant and classy.  She was also a role model for young women, especially young women of color-- yes, the custom for First Ladies is that they must give up any professional life they had before (a retro expectation that it's time we changed), but she handled the duties of First Lady with dignity and good humor.  She embraced pet causes like fighting against childhood obesity, and she also embraced popular culture, whether it was going on talk shows, or doing karaoke, or even dancing.  She was beautifully dressed, as we expect First Ladies to be, but she was also a passionate and eloquent speaker, and someone worthy of admiration.

The racist remarks made about both Barack and Michelle are shameful. Disagreement with a president's policies is to be expected, but some of the criticism was nothing more than crude racism.  I hope the current administration will not empower such attitudes, but I fear it will.  I fear Mr. Trump will continue to say outrageous things (as he even did in his jaw-dropping inaugural address), and more than his rhetoric, I fear that he will continue to do only what benefits himself, while he takes credit for the positive achievements of others before him (including Mr. Obama).  And above all, I fear that we will remain a nation divided, where those who truly do need help don't get it, and those who already have more than they should (including the billionaires in his cabinet) will just get even more.

If you are a Trump fan, I know you are happy right now, and that's understandable-- when our favorite candidate wins, we tend to rejoice.  But I beg my friends who supported this man to think about the rest of us. We are not losers.  We are not the enemy. We are not libtards.  We are Americans too, and we are worried about what lies ahead.  We don't want to get on board the Trump train (many of us still see him as the ultimate con man), but we don't want to be run over either.  I can't predict what lies ahead, but if the rhetoric up to this point is any indication, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.  

20 comments:

  1. Yeah, it sucks when you have to admit that you have been repudiated by voters who are fed up with the direction this country has gone. The Obama legacy is one of destroying the Democratic party. Liberalism is dead. Sorry.

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    1. Ah T-Bone, I can set my watch to you. Ready to gloat and missing my entire point in the process. The wheel turns, my friend. One day, you may miss the calm and steady leadership of Mr. Obama, and when that time comes, I promise to be courteous to you!

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    2. Well said Donna. Trump was not my vote either, neither was Hillary. But he's now my President. I sincerely wish him the best. And hope he does well. You see, most conservatives took him seriously and not literally. Most progressives took him literally and not seriously. If you look at his career and image arc as a whole. The version he ran as, the demographic he targeted, were just to win. The media used to LOVE him. Even Oprah LOVED him. How quickly we forget. I am not his advocate. I do remember every single election going back to the eighties, progressive and conservative press members asked...Even begged for him to run. He always said it wasn't his time. It wasn't his duty. He wasn't pleased with candidates. But he had faith someone better would come along, so he didn't need to run. I think he got tired of waiting for change. I think he wanted the challenge and the accolades. I think he gamed the voting public, the media who used to LOVE him so much and he won. So we'll see. We'll see which historical version of Trump does the job of President. We need him to do well. We need him to be the Trump of the 80's and 90's. Which I think is still in there. He used the tensions in the country to win. He capitalized on the rust belt, the conservative disenfranchised, the racist backwoods, and some of the salt of the earth types. We need him to do well. We'll see my friend. Thanks for continuing to bog your beliefs through the hatred. Nothing but LOVE from me.

      I'd love to talk to you about my take on why the non racist voting public chose that direction. It's interesting, and it's the fault of both sides. Most of his supporters are not racist as I know you know. Much love!

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    3. Donna, thank you again for a well-stated blog entry. I'm afraid that the person who said that those of us who won't ride the Trump Train will be run down by it was only half right; even those who DID board the train are likely to be run over.

      And to T-Bone... please do some fact-checking. Those of us who voted for Clinton--experience over fear--were in no way "repudiated" (an odd use of the word, but I digress). Mrs. Clinton won the popular vote by almost 3 million, despite the proven interference in the election by Russia. I truly pity you and all those who fear facts. Your faith in Trump will come back to bite you unless you are VERY wealthy.

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  2. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210614392968830&set=gm.1846394365604242&type=3&theater

    Attacking a school bus with Kids??? This is anarchy. This is your constituents!

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    1. Those folks are not ours, T-Bone. They are a group of "anarchists" who show up at every protest and try to cause mayhem. I'm with you-- arrest them. But don't blame us for them-- today, MILLIONS of folks in many cities marched and protested, as was their right. Not one arrest. None. Totally peaceful. Glad your side had a nice day yesterday, and from what I hear, it was quite an amazing occasion. I'm sorry the few occasional dummies tried to ruin it. But we can't let them succeed.

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    2. Thank you for that admission, but you can't discount the fact that Democrats have taken on the leftists. It's a hate motivation for the left.

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    3. I love ya, but that doesn't even make sense. What does it mean that "Democrats have taken on the leftists"-- Democrats have some ultra-lefties in the party, and maybe we don't always agree on issues, but again, that's not new-- Republicans have some ultra-righties in their party and some of the moderates don't get along with them; or there are power struggles between pro-business Republicans and religious-right Republicans. So what? Power struggles are not unique to any one party. Also, I've seen hateful Republicans, as much as I've seen hateful Democrats. Neither side can claim they have no extremists, yet you only wanna focus on what you see wrong with Democrats. That's kind of unfair.

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    4. Remember the riots at the Obama inauguration? Neither do I. That's all I need to say.

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  3. Donna I respect you highly but I really feel it's all a matter of perspective. I did not vote for Trump and I'm not necessarily a trump supporter but I do support the Democratic process. I feel like it's the left who is intolerant. I feel the middle and right are willing to have conversations but the left is just so intolerant and it's their way or the highway. And you feel the exact opposite.

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    1. So, did I say anything intolerant in my blog post-- or in any of my posts? I mainly try to offer my perspective, but I sincerely hope I haven't been rude, which is not my intention. I must admit that some of the Trump fans have said some very hateful things to me on social media, but I'm not willing to say ALL Trump fans are like that. And no, I don't believe "the left" is intolerant as a group-- both sides have their rigid extremists, and sadly, those are the folks the media love to focus on. The rest of us are just trying to live our lives and get along with others, even those who are different from us. Much love to you-- and I mean that.

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    2. You haven't been rude at all Donna. I wasn't agreeing with TBone. In not a Trump supporter at all. I'm not on the Trump train. I just have the ability to look at the man as a whole. Both parties as a whole. I feel like the languages and buzzwords are so different, we miss each other on the same principles. I just accept the fact he is President now. Not saying that you don't. I don't feel like you're making generalized statements either. I think that folks on both sides have raw nerves and are a bit trigger happy right now. But again, that's not everyone.

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    3. Donna is pretty cool when it comes down to it. She's the lib I love most. More class in her fingertip than most leftist d-Bags on the street.

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  4. I love a good stereotype as much as the next person. I just don't find them terribly helpful. But seriously, even the news reporters at Fox have acknowledged that the Obama administration had NO scandals or criminality. Those assertions you are making may make you feel good, but they are not accurate. And yes, I do remember the protests when Mr Obama was elected-- protests in the places where it mattered most-- congress. Mitch McConnell met with his leadership team and they agreed to obstruct EVERYTHING Mr Obama proposed, even if it was stuff they had previously agreed with. Members of the GOP called Mr Obama (and Michelle) rude and racist names. He was accused by Mr Trump of not being a real American (not being born here). I could go on and on. Imagine how the Obama kids felt about hearing their mom called an "ape" or seeing pictures of their dad online with a bone in his nose or photo-shopped to look like a pimp. Your side did that. And it was wrong. Just saying.

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  5. sad to say this t bone but ... you have select memory. there were burnt effigies, nooses, offensive jokes... the list goes on..but thats ok because i promise i will be out there getting the 45 % to 47 % who didn't vote to vote next time.. and i don't care who they vote for. people like me will be out there reminding people that everyone's voice counts. even yours. most of the people who marched today constitute what was once called the silent majority. they were polite, they were respectful. no property was damaged, no police offices had to arrest anyone. i'm sure some of these individuals will be out there with me getting people to the polls. then we can tally the votes and see who's vision of the country is viable and who's is fluff, bluster and smoke dissipating in the wind...

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  6. Nope. Nice fluff BS for excusing anarchy. You lost. Get over it. You are irrelevant. I could care less what you think because we rock this year. Stand by the wayside and cry. Weakest Democratic party since 1928. Get the message?

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  7. Do you want me to post a list of obama scandals Donna? I'll let you refute them one at a time. Are you ready? Want me to go first?

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  8. And here I thought you had turned over a new leaf and stopped name-calling. I guess you can't help it. If I'm irrelevant, why comment on my blog? I've done nothing but be courteous to you. You just wanna give me the same one-sided rightie talking points, and when I don't accept them, you call me names. Sad. But predictable.

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