Trump won, and it really fucking sucks. You’re probably pretty upset right now, and you should be—his plan for his first 100 days in office provides a sneak peek at some of the concrete actions he’ll take to make his bigoted dreams a reality. If you live in Portland, you probably voted for Hillary, but the majority of white Americans did not. If you’re like me, you’ve got family members who support Trump’s racist/sexist/homophobic vision. You are not them—take a deep breath and repeat that to yourself—but you do benefit from the white supremacy they’re rallying behind.
Your shock is evidence of this privilege: If you’re surprised that America wants Trump, it’s likely because a) you live in a community/city/state that insulates you from his supporters and b) your white skin shields you from the very real, visceral threat their beliefs pose to the basic human rights of people of color (POC). You are probably not at risk here. They are. If you’re like me and have been a little too quiet about stepping up to support these groups, now’s your chance. As many have said before, Trump is a white people problem (but it’s not just Trump—it’s the entire white supremacy that our country has marinated in for hundreds of years). Here are a few concrete actions we should all take to work against whatever he’s about to sling our way:
• First, don’t blame POC who didn’t vote or went third party. This is not their fault.
• If you are physically able, consider protesting. There’s one tonight at 5 pm at Pioneer Courthouse Square (701 SW 5th).
• Donate your time/money to organizations that protect the rights of POC/queer people/women. Jezebel has a fantastic list right here.
• Support minority businesses in your area.
• Don’t forget about the thousands of protestors at Standing Rock trying to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. If you can’t be there, consider donating to the legal defense fund of those involved. Native Americans were largely ignored on both sides of this election, and they shouldn’t have been, since our country is *literally* built on their land.
• Don’t flirt with expatriating. Sit your bum down and don’t even joke about it. There are millions of Americans who can’t leave. Stay here and do the work to make it a less shitty place. Plus, whatever Trump does is going to ripple throughout the globe sooooo there’s no escaping this.
• Be nice to people. Check in with friends and offer emotional support. We should even try being nice to strangers—everybody’s in this together, and acknowledging someone else’s humanity could give them the hope they need to get through the coming days.
• Don’t stay silent. It shouldn’t have taken us this long to get angry, but going forward your silence will read as tolerance of Trump’s ideology.
Portland is considered a “progressive” place, so you might feel like Trump’s reign won’t affect you. But that’s exactly why you should be so moved to act right now—if an accused rapist who spouts hateful racist/sexist/homophobic rhetoric is elected president and it barely affects your day-to-day life, consider yourself massively privileged and start doing whatever you can to support those who aren’t.
If you look at the electoral map, it’s pretty clear that the swing votes came from people who voted for Obama last time. So… I think you’re failing to understand Trump’s appeal.
The Merc cares about white women’s bounty first, then women of color, then lesbians, then the homeless, then the trans, then the gay boys,, in that order.
Keep blaming it on the tiny percentage of actual racists who actually voted and actually voted for Trump. Instead, you should be blaming your own political party for putting up a weak candidate who did not invigorate independents or even her own supporters (how’s that Latino vote looking?). Blame her for weak policies that would continue to increase the national deficit and would continue to put America in harm’s way overseas (Syrian No-Fly Zone, TPP, etc.). Blame her for not trying to work with rural America, where Trump was strongest (yeah, skip out on Wisconsin, way to go). Then also blame her and her husband for having Black America not even trust her based on all the bad policy from the 90s (do we need to go there?). People with opinions like yours are pushing Independents away from Democratic party and in some cases, like me, pushing me towards being Independent.
Racism still exists in America and still needs to be worked on. But it’s not why Trump won this election and saying that it is makes you look extremely short-sighted and ignorant to what is outside your comfort zone.
I never thought “Progressives” would be so pissed off about a neocon loosing a presidential race. Too bad Hillary was too power hungry and corrupt to allow the more popular Bernie Sanders to get the nomination he deserved. Bernie would’ve owned all those rust-belt states and be the current president elect. Liberals are tools for not focusing their anger at the DNC. Hillary fucked you out of a true progressive candidate and you can’t bring yourselves to hold her accountable, and for that you deserve the Drumpfuck.
You knowWe didn’t protest when Obama was elected You people had him for 8 years now it’s our turn To fix all the shit that fucking asshole did undo his illegal executive orders and all the other crap Hillary should have been in fucking jailShe absolutely broke the law Get it!
o why don’t you quit your fucking whining and your protest in and go find a job you people make me fucking sick I had to sit in fucking traffic for hours because of you pukes Grow up Little children
While I agree with the overall sentiment of your comment Jose, the only way for progressives to hold Hillary and the liberal establishment accountable for squelching Bernie’s candidacy would be to vote for Trump anyway. They (we) would only be punishing ourselves at that point, not holding her accountable.