Today I woke up feeling incredulous.
For barely literate white supremacists Donald Trump's victory must instill that hopeful feeling that Obama gave many Americans eight years ago.
What depressed me most during the election was how certain men who I admired and respected (and many more who I didn't) were willing to excuse any vile thing Trump said.
No matter how racist, homophobic, xenophobic and misogynistic he got, he was still "better than Hillary."
Expressing a sense of entitlement toward women and their "pussies" was watered down to "locker room banter."
A complete ignorance of politics was laudable.
Running a scam university and robbing from your own charity was forgivable.
Being openly racist was courageous.
What the ever-loving fuck is wrong with people?
If you are not brown skinned or Muslim or gay or female or a combination of those then no, it's really "not that bad." Not for you. Not for your kind.
I've been thinking of the time I met the man who became the first African American admiral in the Coast Guard.
I asked him if he felt like he could relate to what women were struggling with within the military and he said no because even though he was a minority, he was a male and that was still preferable to those in power.
Clearly this attitude hasn't changed.
From other global vantage points, America now reads like a badly drawn graphic novel where the main characters glory in the worst aspects of human nature.
If anyone in New Zealand asks, I'm Canadian.
I can't stand to be called to account for the actions of those Americans anymore.
To me, one of the most illustrative examples of the current American mindset occurred when comedienne Samantha Bee sent reporters out to ask Republicans "when was America last great?"
Their responses all harked back to a time when slavery was legal, women couldn't vote and minorities had no power.
And now they have their marshmallow-haired king.
Like those of us who dreamed big with Obama, these people will now get to see what campaign promises turn into; one or two major victories followed by business as usual.
Or perhaps not.
Perhaps their wildest dreams will come true.
Republicans do own Congress now and Trump essentially stands for the same things they do; the power of the almighty dollar, a disdain for ovaries, minorities and non heteros and a fierce pride in anti-intellectualism.
Do I hear the hoof beats of the first horseman of the Apocalypse?
For barely literate white supremacists Donald Trump's victory must instill that hopeful feeling that Obama gave many Americans eight years ago.
What depressed me most during the election was how certain men who I admired and respected (and many more who I didn't) were willing to excuse any vile thing Trump said.
No matter how racist, homophobic, xenophobic and misogynistic he got, he was still "better than Hillary."
Expressing a sense of entitlement toward women and their "pussies" was watered down to "locker room banter."
A complete ignorance of politics was laudable.
Running a scam university and robbing from your own charity was forgivable.
Being openly racist was courageous.
What the ever-loving fuck is wrong with people?
If you are not brown skinned or Muslim or gay or female or a combination of those then no, it's really "not that bad." Not for you. Not for your kind.
I've been thinking of the time I met the man who became the first African American admiral in the Coast Guard.
I asked him if he felt like he could relate to what women were struggling with within the military and he said no because even though he was a minority, he was a male and that was still preferable to those in power.
Clearly this attitude hasn't changed.
From other global vantage points, America now reads like a badly drawn graphic novel where the main characters glory in the worst aspects of human nature.
If anyone in New Zealand asks, I'm Canadian.
I can't stand to be called to account for the actions of those Americans anymore.
To me, one of the most illustrative examples of the current American mindset occurred when comedienne Samantha Bee sent reporters out to ask Republicans "when was America last great?"
Their responses all harked back to a time when slavery was legal, women couldn't vote and minorities had no power.
And now they have their marshmallow-haired king.
Like those of us who dreamed big with Obama, these people will now get to see what campaign promises turn into; one or two major victories followed by business as usual.
Or perhaps not.
Perhaps their wildest dreams will come true.
Republicans do own Congress now and Trump essentially stands for the same things they do; the power of the almighty dollar, a disdain for ovaries, minorities and non heteros and a fierce pride in anti-intellectualism.
Do I hear the hoof beats of the first horseman of the Apocalypse?
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