StatCounter

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Rant

So now we have a new President-elect in this country. Half of the voters chose a man who, by his own words and actions has marginalized a large part of the population of this country. Muslims, refugees, immigrants, LGBT people, people of color - anything other than white - the disabled, women of all types and in so many ways from health care to their appearance, and who knows how many others. I can't remember them all as there have been so many.

I get that there may be other reasons, like Mr. T (no disparagement to the REAL Mr. T*) isn't a Washington insider, but then most of the incumbents (Washington insiders) were put back into office. What's with that? I also get that Hillary has a lot of baggage and may not be seen to be a suitable president, but she knows how things work, or don't, in the political landscape. She knows when to keep her mouth shut and her temper under control where the president-elect is often out of control and reacts like a thirteen year old bully. That will not bode well in the international scope of the world. Don't forget that the rest of the world knows a lot more about us than we know about them.

The president-elect promised to rescind the ACA (Obamacare) in it's entirety last week and take millions of people back out of the rather lame health care system that we have. This week he is backtracking on that. We'll have to wait and see what his base thinks of that broken promise.

By the way, I know he is not technically the president-elect until the Electoral College votes, but it is easier than calling him by name, so it will have to do for now. I will not forget that he insisted that the current president was not born in the United States and maintained that for years until very recently when he denied ever saying it.

The evangelical support he got makes me rethink what a Christian is supposed to be. Certainly not the loving and caring follower of Jesus who said something like, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," at his sermon on the mount. That must mean something else to his Christian supporters.

I guess the point of all this is that a KKK supported, fear-mongering, misogynistic, homophobic, xenophobic, racist, got elected by the voters to be the next president of the United States. I am not okay with that now nor will I be in the future. I am glad that at least half the voters did not vote for him and I will not support him nor the people that are his base. I will do everything I can to be sure something like this doesn't happen again and help folks to see the error of their ways.

For all those disenfranchised and marginalized Americans and residents in this country I am wearing and will continue to wear a safety pin so they know they are safe around me and know that they are not alone.


* P.S. I did not mean to insult this man by using the name Mr. T which rightfully belongs to him.
  

21 comments:

  1. I, too, will be wearing a safety pin to show my support for those who need it. All good and decent people need to hold tight to each other and stand together in the coming years.

    Thank you for being the kind of person who's keeping a tiny flame of hope alive in me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. a safety pin...didn't know about that...I shall wear one also.

    I still feel left out and angry; I wanna scream at the ignorant knuckle-draggers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I really like the safety pin idea.
    Sadly, his impact is ALREADY world-wide. Volunteering on the crisis line last week an individual felt free to be offensive. When challenged he told us that if the most powerful man in the world could do it - and get elected - it was obviously fine. Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I saw a photo of someone wearing a safety pin and didn't know what it meant. Thank you for the explanation. I have plenty of safety pins in my house. I will share them with anyone who wants one.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
  5. I still have knots in my stomach and shudder at the thought of what the rest of the world thinks of Americans now.

    I have hope that he won't do much of anything.

    I may have to stick my head in the sand for the next four years and play Christmas music, just to keep myself from going insane. Well, and wear a safety pin. Thanks for sharing that idea.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That is a great idea. I hope it doesn't get misused by people pretending to be an ally in order to harm vulnerable people. That would be tragic. I wonder how that can be headed off. Anyway, it is a wonderful gesture of support and solidarity. I wonder if it's being used in other countries? Time to speak to Mr. Google.

    People everywhere have to keep their eyes trained on that man. We have to.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Well he got fewer votes than Hillary, if that's any consolation. The next 4 years will be the time for America to prove its constitution and courts are stronger than the buffoon in the White House.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I heard about this safety thing today. I am going to buy a six-foot safety pin to wear. (It'll be YUGE!)

    This is a horrible smear on our country's history.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Jennifer, Maybe WE can be the hope so desperately needed now.

    anne marie, I am not about to roll over now. It will be a long fight, but it is the right one. Of that I am sure.

    Elephant's Child, We will do what we can here, but support from the rest of the world will be needed. We graciously accept any help we can get.

    Janie Junebug, A safety pin will symbolize a safe place for anyone feeling disenfranchised. Norway used the lowly paper clip to show solidarity during WW2.

    Pixel Peeper, I am finding a lot of emotional stress on many of my friends, especially women. They are in shock and are expressing great sorrow and sadness.

    jenny_o, there may be some of that , but I doubt it will get far. I believe we are stronger, more numerous, and hold the moral high ground.

    Gorilla Bananas, We certainly have our work cut out for us.

    Sioux, You are right. This may be a dark time in our history. We will do what we need to to rectify the situation.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I agree with all of this. So upsetting that this fascist clown was elected.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I didn't know about the safety pin until I spoke to someone wearing one today, and what a great idea. I'll go and find one as soon as I have written this.
    I read a few blogs from around the world, not many, but in all cases I have got the same message.... Trump isn't what the majority of sensible people in USA want as a chief. Just one comment was from a Trump supporter, and it just didn't make sense to me. Do you think Trump will last the whole 4 years? Only 2 years to go and this whole election shenanigan starts up again...... Good Luck America!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wouldn't it be nice, Jono, if Mr. T. stomped into the White House, pushed Prez-Elect aside and took over?

    I like your point about the rest of the world knowing more about us than we know about them.

    And finally, all I can say: Oy vey. Let us survive the madness with intact hearts.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Rant on, this is truly the time to sharpen arguments and work up skills in debating ones positions.

    ReplyDelete
  14. My dad once met Mr. T in a mall and was very disappointed by his height. He thought Mr. T would be a giant, but my dad was actually a couple inches taller than him (and my dad is 5'9, mind you).

    I guess there's really no point to this comment, except to say we're all in this together and we'll make it through one way or another. Also, Mr. T is deceptively short.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Gia, We're not going to just roll over and let him do anything he wants.

    Shammickite, Since many citizens have armed themselves to the teeth in the last 8 years. I think he might have trouble surviving if someone takes offense to his diatribe. The Secret Service will certainly have their work cut out for them. Mr. T certainly was a cultural icon for a while.

    Robyn, These will be trying times.

    Onevikinggirl,I am not so articulate, but I am likely to get a lot of practice.

    ABFTS, I knew that Mr.T was short, but so is Sylvester Stallone. It helped during that Rocky sequel. Which Rocky sequel you ask? One of the first 10 or 20.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I will be the drunk old lady in the corner muttering to herself.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm so upset by the election that I can't even write about it.
    And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, he appoints Bannon.

    Side note: I met Mr. T once. He was a total sweetheart. So nice.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I'm with you, Jono. I was sick to my stomach when that asshole managed to pull off the unthinkable. It's not that I didn't believe assholes don't really exist or couldn't possibly run for president. It's the mind-boggling fact that there are apparently enough people in this country so .... fearful? hateful? living in an alternate reality? ... to elect the sexist, racist, sex offender conman child-man, that has left my faith in humanity hanging by a thread. These so-called Christians can certainly claim no moral high ground going forward.

    And the man was right -- he could have shot an innocent person on the street and his base would still have supported him. I work with and am related to some of these people and was feeling pretty devastated and angry a week ago. Now I'm starting to rally and feeling a little more philosophical about it all. But the chasm between us could not feel any wider and deeper. On the upside, Hillary Clinton taught the knuckle-draggers a new word: Deplorable. They're all using it now. So they can learn.

    Thanks for passing on the safety idea. I'll be wearing one as well. Someone should create a bumper sticker or decal so the true moral majority can send an even louder message to the hateful.

    ReplyDelete
  19. There are two kinds of Christians, Jono. There are Christians who try to follow the Jesus of the Gospels and there are Republican Jesus Christians. The latter threw America and the world under the bus because their feelings were hurt that LGBT people got the same rights as they have and because they want to punish women for having sex.
    https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/the-painfully-simple-reason-christians-voted-for-donald-trump-that-liberals

    ReplyDelete
  20. You said in a previous post: we are all too young to die from a mistake caused by ignorance.
    It applies here too. Look at all the military T is putting in his cabinet. And then there's weakening, if not downright eliminating, the EPA. That could kill too.

    Depressing to have all of this happening in the dark fall/winter months.

    (Yes, I'm calling Trump voters ignorant. Some by not trying not to be, some just by chance.)

    ReplyDelete