So normally I like to keep my blog posts light: recapping my races, talking about fun things, new sponsors, and food. Mmmm food! But with how polarizing this election was and now that we've all had some time to digest what happened with it, I want to share some of my thoughts. I'm not trying to change anyone's mind, but rather to gain a better understanding of other's thoughts and viewpoints.
REAL TALK
First of all, I want to say that whether you voted for Donald, or Hillary, or Gary, or Jill, or anybody else, I will not stop being your friend. I think it's silly how some people are ending friendships over the election. I understand that we are passionate about our beliefs, but can't we be adults and talk it out?
I think my brother put it perfectly, and I am going to paraphrase what his thoughts were/are:
"To my friends, to my family, to everyone, I love you. Whomever you voted for...I love you.
To the LGBTQ community. I love you.
To the people of color. I love you.
To the different religions. I love you.
To women everywhere. I love you. And I respect you.
As a straight, white, male, I love you all. I respect you all.
It would be an absolute insult to all of you if I said I understand what you are going through. I don't. And I never will.
Your lives matter to me because everyone's lives matter.
There are many of you who feel scared, alone, or even lost.
I am sorry.
I am so sorry.
Bigotry. Hate. Judgement.
These are not values that I stand for.
It is not, nor will it ever be, my place to judge another person.
I have my beliefs and you have yours.
I accept you for who you are.
We are all in this together.
I stand with you."
I DON'T GET IT
There's one thing I don't understand about voting for Donald Trump. These things my brother touched on: bigotry, hate, discrimination, lies, and fear, these are the pillars of the platform that President-Elect Trump ran his campaign on. He has openly said that he does not/has not paid his federal taxes and that "makes him smart." He has said that it's okay to grab a woman by the crotch if you're a celebrity and he mocked a man with a disability. THIS IS CALLED BEING A BULLY! Can you imagine if that was your child who made fun of another person simply because they had a disability which they cannot control? Or if they thought it was okay to grab a member of the opposite gender by the genitals?? Unbelievable. They would be grounded for sure! I know I would have had my mouth washed out with soap and/or gotten a wooden spoon to the behind.
But what do we do when a man who is running for president of the United States does this? We elect him president. How sad. I don't care if he has the best ideas ever to turn our country around. He is not the role model I want for the children, nay, the PEOPLE of America. He is not the person I want representing the United States to the rest of the world. One of my friends said, "Well, the rest of the world hates us, so it really won't make much of a difference." What?? Really? That might be the worst argument I've ever heard. That's like saying, "Well, everybody thinks I'm a jerk already so I'm going to kick this puppy." Right, like THAT'S going to change their mind. I just could never vote for someone who said some of the things that Mr. Trump said. What I don't understand is why so many people DID vote for him. I feel like the only demographic he didn't offend was the straight white male. Even then, as a straight white male, I was deeply offended by many of the things he said. I know that the other choices we had weren't the best, but I just can't wrap my head around electing him.
I think more than anything, I'm embarrassed and ashamed that Donald Trump was elected as our president.
QUESTIONS
Now I'm going to ask a few questions. They may seem like I'm accusing you, but I'm not. I honestly want to know WHY you voted for The Donald.
To my friends with children: how do you tell your kids this man is president? No I'm not talking about the fact that your horse didn't win. Mine didn't either. That's fine, I'll get over it. (cue the music: "You can't always get what you want.") No, what I'm talking about is that it's okay that you voted for a man who he uses terrible language, mocks people who are different, and is so full of hate, but that they shouldn't act like that?
To my friends who are women: just how? How could you vote for a man who treats women with such disrespect? I was appalled by the things he said about women, yet 53% of white women voted for him!!! Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor.
To my friends of different races and religions: Trump has called you "Bad hombres", "rapists", "criminals", wants to build a wall, and was supported by the KKK. And he did NOTHING to denounce that support. Do you not mind that he made those comments or that the Klan gave him their support?
To my friends who are pro life: just because the other side is pro choice, doesn't mean that all pregnancies are going to end up in abortions. It's 2016. Shouldn't we all have the right to choose...well, anything?! Whether that's an abortion or who to marry or whatever. People have different opinions and that's OKAY! But telling someone they have no choice in the matter, especially one as significant as a pregnancy, just seems so archaic.
One of my good friends said that he "wasted" his vote by voting for Gary Johnson. I am totally fine with that and I don't think his vote was wasted at all. That is their right because they weren't happy with either of the two major party choices. But seriously guys, if ever there were a time to vote AGAINST a candidate, it's when they are supported by the KKK.
Now I'm not saying that Hillary would have been a perfect president. There is no such thing because there are no perfect people. I'm not even super pro Hillary; I voted for Bernie Sanders in the primaries. However, I do think Hillary would have done a good job continuing President Obama's legacy and how cool would it have been for her to be the first female president after being the first lady only a few years ago? Are we really so hung up on Hillary's emails? The same emails that were never proven by the FBI saying that she has done anything wrong. It's like Tom Brady and deflate-gate. They never proved he did anything wrong. Let it go!
THIS GUY?
This man is the next president of the United States. A man who (from the looks of it) can't even trust his own wife to vote for him.
The man who had to have his Twitter taken away from him for the 10 days leading up to the election AND PEOPLE PRAISED HIM FOR THIS! "Oh he's doing really good in the polls since he had his Twitter taken away. He's sticking to the cards and saying the right things."
IT WAS 10 DAYS! HE IS GOING TO BE PRESIDENT FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT 1,461! Do we need to get Donald a Twitter translator? (like President Obama got an anger translator as portrayed by Key & Peele. CAUTION: Strong language in this video)
WHAT IS "AVERAGE"?
Maybe I'm just too far removed from the "Average American" and I'm living in my own little bubble. I've never lived outside a college town (Big Rapids, University Center, Mount Pleasant, and East Lansing), most of my friends and the people I interact with on a daily basis have much the same way of thinking as I do, and I get most of my news from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (viewed as more "left" news broadcasts). So maybe I don't know all the terrible things that are happening in the rest of the United States. That's why I was so shocked when I woke up on Wednesday morning and Trump was elected President. Are things really that terrible under President Obama? I would have gladly voted for him for a 3rd term. Even if you hate his policies, you can't argue that he was, and still is, an extremely likable, charismatic, and genuine person. So "Thanks Obama." Sincerely.
THIS...
Regardless of how I feel, Trump is going to be the next president. There is even a website to "Make America Great Again" ... www.greatagain.gov. On his website is this link:
This is actually a thing. How do YOU want to Make America Great Again. Wait, isn't that the president's job??
SIGH...
I guess the good news is that Alec Baldwin and Frank Caliendo will, no doubt, be giving us some hilarious sketches over the next 4 years.
Hopefully, they will give us something as good as Will Ferrell's George W. Bush
HERE WE GO
Donald Trump ran his campaign on fear, hate, discrimination, and lies. None of which I can stand for. However, he does seem to have changed his tone since then. In his acceptance speech, he almost looks overwhelmed with emotion.
I sure hope that his presidency is nothing like his campaign. Perhaps he was just "playing the game" and telling the American people what they wanted to hear. Hopefully he will change his tune once he is inaugurated. Well, you've got 4 years to convince me of that Mr. Trump, or should I say Mr. President. And that time starts now.