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US election result has got me feeling down :(
"As a nation we had an opportunity to affirm the beauty of our diversity this day,... 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."
I've honeslty never really taken much interest in polititcs, but for some reason the US election result has got me feeling really down over the past 24 hours. I feel completely deflated and exhausted, like beyond normal outrage and sadness, and nothing, not even any of the ridiculous election memes, can make me smile. I''ve also been struggling to accept what I'm dealing with is greif because I feel pretty unentitled to it given I live on the other wide of the world and I'm white. This article has helped me start to understand and accept what I'm feeling, so I thought I'd share it here in case anyone else is feeling similar.
http://johnpavlovitz.com/2016/11/09/heres-why-we-grieve-today/
Peace and love to all xxx
Comments
Figured I'd post this here, in memoriam of one of the coolest Presidents ever.
Seemed timely, considering that Trump gets sworn in today.
Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House - Washington Post
Russian Hackers Acted to Aid Trump in Election, U.S. Says - New York Times
Well...Poop.
Mind you, those are just the headlines. The articles themselves suggest that it's a a lot less clear than that. They're almost completely certain that Russia hacked US political parties' private details, but the evidence that this was done with the express intent of getting Trump elected is basically speculative.
It makes me sad to see that America has elected a racist and sexist bully as their president.
I wish all the best for America in this tough time.
I also hope the Donald Trump can change the ways he acts and give America the future it deserves.
Good luck America xoxo
From Jo - Jo
@Autumn23 Same here, the US elections have just been so overwhelming this past year almost, and I definitely feel upset and just saddened at how much the world is going to change now because of it... I think my biggest hurdle in all of this was that I just wanted to flat out deny that any of this happened, but now I've kind of moved on accepted that what's happened has happened. And of course I know that there are always people to talk to about it and just rant and let off some steam! 🙂
Well, I found out about the election result while watching the sunset on top of a cliff on the Great Ocean Walk, so it rather dampened what was a great mood. I have an internet friend in Chicago, and I emailed him when I got back from the trip that involved watching sunsets from clifftops, and I basically said, 'I am scared and confused. Help.'
I want to share some of what he replied with because maybe some of you might find it valuable;
"I only just started being able to read and think about the election today. And I'll say this: a lot of people are confused and scared. And all of them have a right to be.
I haven't felt the same since before election night. It really messed me up. I haven't had anxiety this bad before. I couldn't sleep or eat right for days, and I'm still recovering. One day at a time.
I like to think I follow and understand US politics a bit more than the average person my age. I read a lot about it, I can name more senators and legislative initiatives than my friends, I understand the basic meta-elements of the political game, and let me tell you: the 2016 presidential election made no f*cking sense whatsoever.
A reality TV host with no political experience or knowledge, who, throughout the ugliest campaign season in living memory, was shown to be a racist, misogynistic, homophobic, fascistic ideologue, a serial abuser of women, a failed businessman with dozens of pending court dates, who is willing to incite and encourage violence, as well as validate and represent a troubling white-nationalist movement...is now going to be our president. Frankly the most powerful position on the planet.
I wasn't ready. I very much thought Hillary Clinton had it locked down. I had a GREAT day before the election. I wasn't super nervous at all. And that's why it hit me so hard. I was not prepared. I was destroyed.
You'll hear that Bernie Sanders would have destroyed Trump, which is probably less true than anyone might think. You'll hear that people just wanted a radical change, which I think is too simplistic a perspective. You'll hear that the US is still incredibly racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, etc, etc, etc. All of that is shamefully, disgustingly true. Maybe not on the whole, but we have a much longer way to go than anyone on Tumblr thought on November 7th.
I'm not going to sugarcoat it: this is scary and not good. This is not normal. And it is going to do real and lasting harm to my country, its citizens, and the world. The extent of which remains to be seen.
At the same time, however, there is hope. The US in not (yet) a unilateral, top-down system. States have a decent amount of power, and many state and local leaders have already pledged themselves in opposition to a Trump administration.
On November 8th, we also elected a number of awesome women of color to office, my state included! Tammy Duckworth demolished Mark Kirk in the race for my congressional district and that's something to be stoked about. I happily live in our state's bluest county.
Listen. We're all awake now because of this. And we're not going to take any bullsh*t lying down. It isn't just us lonely liberals out in the street. We have powerful people in elected office who are on our side, and will work hard to reject Trump's attempt to take our country and the world backwards.
It's okay to be scared and confused. We will make it through this. Look for the helpers."
My bf is over in the US, and is pretty worried about what's going to happen on a personal level. Trump made some seemingly unachievable "campaign promises" to people in the town where he lives and got a lot of votes based on that. There've been times over the years where I've wished I could just fly the bf here to make sure he'd have the resources he needs to live or be healthy. Hopefully this election doesn't increase the number of times this happens.
I've been following the US election pretty closely the past few months, and...yeah, I'm also pretty devastated over how it's all turned out. I've been doing a lot of reading -a lot of reading- over how all of this has happened ever since Trump took the lead in the polls, and...I don't know. It's complicated. (But isn't it always?)
In retrospect, I think it was actually inevitable that Trump would win, and now that his victory is confirmed (the popular vote won't overturn the electoral college. That's just not how it works, sadly), I'm kind of resigned to the fact that he's won...but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. Because the fact is, that the world will literally be set back years, if by this. And people are going to die as a result of this election. The poor and unemployed of the US are going to lose what little medical insurance they could get through Obamacare, and as funding to agencies like Planned Parenthood is cut by the conservative government, people are going to lose cheap access to contraception and family planning services. This'll result in an increase in STIs and unplanned pregnancies, which'll force women and girls to drop out of jobs and education if they can't secure the right support, limiting their economic prospects and potential for self-empowerment. Not to mention the increased risk that some women will be taking on as the closure of safe, regulated abortion clinics forces forces them to less sanitary alternatives. The US has lost out on a half a generation's worth of potential by electing Trump...and I don't know how to deal with that.
What really scares me though (apart from the idea of Trump having one hand over the big red button), is that the world might continue to follow America's example, just as it has these past decades. That's the real problem.
The newly released UN SDGs from last year, included amongst them the goals to establish:
- Good Health and Well-being for All (including universal healthcare for all, which'll likely be done away with in the US once Trump repeals Obamacare. Who knows though. Maybe Trump really will replace it with "something better". We can only hope.)
- Gender Equality (Need I say more?)
- Affordable and Clean Energy (Not likely, or at least not far enough given that Trump is in favour of improving traditional fossil fuels rather than moving to renewable energies like solar or wind)
- Reduce Economic and Social Inequalities (Unlikely, given his planned tax reforms and the historical attitudes Republicans have held towards minorities)
- Climate Action (The man claims climate change is a Chinese hoax.)
Admittedly, these goals are intended to be achieved by 2030, and not 2020, so there's still some hope that the milestones will actually be hit in time if Trump doesn't get a second term. But I'm not holding my breath. 99% of bringing about any sort of global change is about having momentum, and with a superpower like America actively vying against both the science and the goals, I'm finding it hard to be optimistic.
That said, I do see some light amidst all this darkness. Because I don't think most of Trump's supporters are Trump supporters, per se. Even within the Republican camp, there was widespread condemnation of Trump over his various controversies, from his attacks on the Khan family, to the infamous bus recordings. He didn't win because he's a sexist, racist fraudster, rather he won despite being those things, by being able to successfully court the rural vote in a way none of his opponents (on either side) were able to. Which he did by acknowledging what those voters had felt for years- that America wasn't so great anymore, and that they were losing to China. Neither of those things are actually true or apparent in the densely populated cities that have profitted off of globalization, but they probably struck a deep chord with the rural population who had watched their communities dying for decades as people lost their jobs due to the outsourcing of the manufacturing industry and the shrinkage of the coal and fossil fuel industry before the growing renewable energy market.
Hillary and her campaign (as well as the media) had been patting themselves on the back since the beginning of the year for their moral victories over Trump, without realising that they were losing the war in the impoverished (and white-dominated) countryside. It's an ugly truth, but people need to be fed before they can demand for justice. By focussing so heavily on social issues (while pushing for globalization and green energy, no less) the Hillary campaign undermined itself by showing just how out-of-touch it was with the needs of the countryside. From that perspective, it's not surprising that Trump won...even if Hillary had the better economic policy for everyone (including rural voters). She didn't sound like she'd listened, and Trump did, even though she was the one with the plan.
Kind of goes to show the importance of listening, I guess. Or even just sounding like you're listening.
Wow @Asche, thanks so much for that insight and going to effort of writing such an informative post!! As I mentioned I'm not a political person at all so wasn't aware of most of this. And I completely agree, making the people think/feel their concerns are heard and valid is key... I guess they aren't ready as a collective society to address these global social issues (as much as we need to asap! ie global warming) when there is inequality of a different kind happening in their backyard, as that rural population feel left behind and ignored, which is not really ok either...
It's definitely hard to be optimistic, but I think (HOPE) that these next few years under Trump's presidency will actually further generate this needed momentum for change (better late than never right?? Hopefully the earth can hold on til then... ) as those who voted for hum become dissatisfied with his inability to keep his ridiculous campaign 'promises', those who voted against him are fuelled to fight harder, and those who didn't vote at all become more politically aware once they realise the damage that can come from choosing to be passive / ignorant (*cough guilty )...
This experience has definitely ignighted something in me that wasn't there previously, and made me realise that sitting back and feeling apathetic about the state of the world because I think it's out of my hands and there's nothing I can do to compete with the the "big dogs" like Trump can't possibly be positive or help to change things
You're definitely note alone in that @Autumn23!
I know i was chatting to @Stealth_ninja about this a couple of days ago too.
For me it's the fear of how bad things could get, there are a lot of unknowns with this guy and maybe it won't be a totaly disaster, it certainly doesn't look good though ...
Hey @Autumn23 thanks for making a post! I wanted to but I didn't know what to say and I think what you've posted and linked us is the perfect thing. I think the media has a role to play here in that they have kind of made it seem like it's the end of the world but I have faith in humanity, Trump might be the president of the USA but he still has to go through checks and processes like every other person and the number of people willing to speak up about what they believe in is now more than ever. I have faith that we will not lot any awful things happen and believing that and making a promise that I will be part of that movement has really helped me deal with what's happened.
The good thing is many people here in Aus are choosing to see this as a lesson to make sure the people that feel neglected are heard and not disregarded, even if we don't agree with people like the people that support trump it's important that we see to them with reason and doing a little bit more of that in my day-to-day life is something i'm going to work towards. What do you think?
Thanks @Ben-RO and @Stealth_ninja, it's great to know I'm not alone in feeling misterable about all this..
I agree it's pretty scary that a man has so much power, though I'm not too worried about seriously awful things happening as you're right @Stealth_ninja, I hold on to the hope that human decency will prevail.. I also think a lot of what he's said he'll do was to "stir the pot" and he won't actually follow through with (hopefully!). But the problem is the flow on effect of these comments are normallising the violation of women's bodies and rights, alienation of minorities, and compelete lack of compassion for our shared world. I have already seen reports of women literally being "grabbed by the p*ssy" in the street in the US...
It's also completely heartbreaking realising that we who are inclusive and value the worth of ALL people, who I would have thought would be the majority, are in fact the MINORITY
Not to mention that frustration that a women lost to this dispicable man, who despite her flaws, was far more qualified for the job. We always talk about having women in leadership roles inspires young women to believe they can do anything. And I've always thought that made sense, but I've never actually felt that the absence of these women stopped me from believing that as I woman I can achieve anything. This is the first time in my life that I've felt this pain and it's heartbreaking.
Pretty sure Clinton actually won the Majority vote over all. I.e she got more votes however she didn't quite get them in the right place to win!
On another note. I think only about half of the population who could vote actually did show up to vote... so who know what the people who didn't vote thought about the whole thing?
That's actually a really good point @Ben-RO, and something that I haven't really considered.. I also saw a simular post which said that based only on the votes of young people, the result would have been the complete opposite!! So there is hope that our generation will drive positive change
All we can really do is keep looking to the positives. 🙂