Post-Election Fears & Anxieties

[Chicken Wing]

13 minutes ago, Revlonred said:

I feel like I'm going crazy, and then I feel like I'm not. I could not sleep last night thinking about Germany.  (I'm Jewish and my family has a strong history with the holocaust.  And you know what, I'm kind of scared that I'm posting this.)  Trump passing me by on the street doesn't scare me, but the people around him, the ones who helped him win this and who are going to be pulling the strings, probably front and center...no hiding anymore...are really terrifying.

So, should I not be posting that?  I'm asking for real.  Because I'm really scared.  As my husband said, we're not on the top of the list, but we're on the list.

Don't be afraid to post these thoughts, Revlonred, because I feel the same way and have this whole election. I'm less afraid of what Trump is going to do to this country (though I am plenty terrified of that) than I am about what the people who supported him, the people who will surround him, the people who actually follow and believe into the horrible, hateful, hate-mongering things he has said both directly and implicitly, will do. I'm afraid for the fact that, not two days after this man was elected, there are students spray-painting discriminatory and hateful messages toward minorities on walls and in bathrooms at their schools and chanting "Build that wall!" in the cafeteria while their Latino classmates cry at a nearby table. I'm afraid for the fact that swastikas are being drawn on buildings with Trump's name attached. I'm afraid at the realization that for the first time in my life, I, a black woman living in a predominantly "red" state, find myself seriously considering the possibility and even probability of a hate crime being perpetrated against me any time I leave my house. I'm afraid for the fact that, even though people say that they don't actually support or agree with the things Trump has said or the flames he fans and I'm sure the majority truly don't, the fact that they nonetheless elected him as president shows that they accept it. And I'm afraid of that. I'm afraid of the America we will become under this man.

[candall]

I'm rushing out the door, but I had to pop in and say I'm a little cheered up today, after watching the footage of DT's visit to the White House.  He MUST be crapping his pants a little, and having at least a trace of misgiving.

I mean, if **I** were suddenly POTUS, **I** wouldn't have the first idea how it all worked, and DT doesn't have one molecule more experience than I do.

I thought it was funny he expected the meeting to be 10-15 minutes and then, wow, it was almost an hour and a half!  Obama probably reeled off the Top 50 subjects where DT would have to get up to speed.  If it were me, I'd be begging Obama to let me move in and follow him around for the next two months.  Shit!  What have I done?  Is there an instruction book?  POTUS For Dummies?

I bet eighteen holes of golf never looked so good.  It would have been SOOOO much more fun to be scheduling interviews and press conferences and rallies to bitch about how Crooked Hillary stole the election.

[Jaded]

There's a thread I post in here pretty regularly that doesn't have anything to do with politics. Most of the people who post in it though are older than me and seem to have different political views so the ones who said so didn't mind sharing that they were happy Trump won. Then a few proceeded to comment about how stupid young people and the riots are. Since I'm younger it made me feel uncomfortable and angry at the same time. I kept my cool and didn't reply at all because multiple people in the same thread asked that politics not be brought into it. 

[Revlonred]

11 minutes ago, Chicken Wing said:

Don't be afraid to post these thoughts, Revlonred, because I feel the same way and have this whole election. I'm less afraid of what Trump is going to do to this country (though I am plenty terrified of that) than I am about what the people who supported him, the people who will surround him, the people who actually follow and believe into the horrible, hateful, hate-mongering things he has said both directly and implicitly, will do. I'm afraid for the fact that, not two days after this man was elected, there are students spray-painting discriminatory and hateful messages toward minorities on walls and in bathrooms at their schools and chanting "Build that wall!" in the cafeteria while their Latino classmates cry at a nearby table. I'm afraid for the fact that swastikas are being drawn on buildings with Trump's name attached. I'm afraid at the realization that for the first time in my life, I, a black woman living in a predominantly "red" state, find myself seriously considering the possibility and even probability of a hate crime being perpetrated against me any time I leave my house. I'm afraid for the fact that, even though people say that they don't actually support or agree with the things Trump has said or the flames he fans and I'm sure the majority truly don't, the fact that they nonetheless elected him as president shows that they accept it. And I'm afraid of that. I'm afraid of the America we will become under this man.

Thank you!  I sincerely hope with all my heart that you stay safe.  That we all do, but I am seriously doubting that we will.  His TWEET is scary. 

I never liked Bush, but I never, EVER, was scared like this.  I would never be feeling these things if Mitt Romney had won 4 years ago.  Sure, I would not have liked it, but it would have been normal politics.  This is not, and the media is starting to normalize what happened and is happening and it is so dangerous.  

[Tara]

Good lord, people!

Less people voted for Trump than Romney.  That means there was not this big wave of deplorables who came out and voted for Trump. 

Obama got 6.1 million more votes than Clinton.  THAT's why Trump won.  People just didn't like Clinton.

I voted twice for Obama.  I think Obama is by far the most impressive President I have had the honor of seeing lead this country in my lifetime.  (And that's quite a few years.)  That man caught a fly with his bare hand during an interview!  Dang!  He refused to act like other politicians, despite the fact that Hillary flung bullshit on him during the 2008 primaries.  Then the Republicans took it further.  But throughout it all, Obama stood tall and dignified.  I may disagree with some of his policies, but I have the utmost respect for him.  Always have, always will.

I did NOT feel the same about Hillary, and so did just about everyone I know that voted Obama.  THAT is why she lost.  For me, and the vast majority of those like me, it had nothing to do with racism.  Where were the 6.1 million that voted for Obama? 

[katha]

I don't think anyone needs to hesitate about drawing comparisons to Germany and posting them, but I am of the opinion that "just like Hitler!" is an argument that only ever stands up completely if a thing is, in fact, just like Hitler. The complexities of how the Nazis came into absolute power (and it wasn't through an election, they had the majority to form a government in a democracy, nothing more. They then proceeded to immediately establish a terror regime, they had no mandate to do that and in no way shape or form was any of that justified by the constitution.) are very much tied to the general rise of fascism and anti-semitism at the time, to the economic depression, to the particular problems Germany faced after WWI. And what's also historically unique about Hitler, Goebbels and their ilk is this: They were ideologues to a degree that's seldom been matched in the history of mankind. What they ended up doing, the genocide, the war, the enslavement, all of that was out in the open for years before they came into power. They also, ultimately, chose to go for the destruction of Germany and chose suicide instead of dealing with a world that wouldn't follow their twisted ideals. That's a level of commitment to ideology that I haven't seen in any of the far-right governments that periodically crop up all over the world.

A better comparison might be more recent far-right movements? Berlusconi in Italy, Jörg Haider in Austria. Con men who pandered to prejudices for their own selfish gain.

[Chicken Wing]

44 minutes ago, Tara said:

Good lord, people!

Less people voted for Trump than Romney.  That means there was not this big wave of deplorables who came out and voted for Trump. 

Obama got 6.1 million more votes than Clinton.  THAT's why Trump won.  People just didn't like Clinton.

I voted twice for Obama.  I think Obama is by far the most impressive President I have had the honor of seeing lead this country in my lifetime.  (And that's quite a few years.)  That man caught a fly with his bare hand during an interview!  Dang!  He refused to act like other politicians, despite the fact that Hillary flung bullshit on him during the 2008 primaries.  Then the Republicans took it further.  But throughout it all, Obama stood tall and dignified.  I may disagree with some of his policies, but I have the utmost respect for him.  Always have, always will.

I did NOT feel the same about Hillary, and so did just about everyone I know that voted Obama.  THAT is why she lost.  For me, and the vast majority of those like me, it had nothing to do with racism.  Where were the 6.1 million that voted for Obama? 

Indeed that is why she lost, not just because of the people who voted for Trump but the people who didn't vote for her. And with regard to my previous post, all of those people are complicit too. In doing nothing to try to stop him, in willingly standing by and letting what will be be, they too are complicit in accepting those things. They were fine to let it happen.

Edited November 11, 2016 by Chicken Wing

[hoosier80]

I don't think the protests are stupid.  It's actually one of our rights.

There is a local protest this evening close by - on a college campus.  I'm actually thinking of looking to see when/where - if it were feasible - I'm working probably later tonight - I'd go over.  I'm not rolling over for this regime.

As for people fearing this is akin to what happened in Germany with Hitler, no it's not being silly.  We must always be vigilant and on alert for any leader who is threatening our democracy and the rights of everyone.  This may have finally been the wake up call to those who do not participate or chose to ignore the fact that this puppet of Putin could be elected.   Someone posted that he could be in there fucking up for 2 years, but there are midterms coming up, so everyone needs to start planning, get involved, support candidates that represent your views, and vote in droves in 2018.

[clb1016]

27 minutes ago, Chicken Wing said:

Indeed that is why she lost, not just because of the people who voted for Trump but the people who didn't vote for her. And with regard to my previous post, all of those people are complicit too. In doing nothing to try to stop him, in willingly standing by and letting what will be be, they too are complicit in accepting those things. They were fine to let it happen.

As Rachel Maddow said on election night about people who voted for third party candidates:  if you vote for someone you know can't win, then you don't care who wins.

2 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

The one thing that worries me more the Trump being President is that with Republicans having control of both the House and the Senate there is no reason to do anything but pick a far far right Supreme Court Judge and basically start everything from the far corner of the right and nudge to the left only when the have to.  

Fof the next for years we are going to strain ourselves nudging.

Four years of Giuliani, Gingrich, Jeff Sessions, Rob Corker, Tom Cotton.  This will be an epic nightmare brought to us by the people who give us nightmares.

[Tara]

I remember when Obama beat McCain, and this guy at work was beyond inconsolable.  He came in all upset, saying over and over, 59 million of us didn't vote for him.  What about us?  What about us?  59 million people.  He was convinced Obama had terrorist ties, was a closet Muslim, and on and on and he feared for this country  I thought he was wrong to be saying that, and I think the people today are wrong to be saying that.

Obama won.  Now, Trump has won.  Our country decides the winner by electoral college and that's that. 

Sure, those 59 million McCain voters had the right to protest, and say Obama will never be my President.  Wouldn't have made it right, though. We are a democracy. It is our duty to uphold that democracy by respecting the outcome of the vote.  Too many states had a majority vote for Trump, and he won. 

And that is just my opinion. :)

[NinjaPenguins]

I accept that Orange won the presidency. I still will not call him my president. People are depressed and terrified because they have accepted the results and realize what it means. I believe millions of Americans are genuinely traumatized. 

[FuriousStyles]

43 minutes ago, Tara said:

Good lord, people!

Less people voted for Trump than Romney.  That means there was not this big wave of deplorables who came out and voted for Trump. 

Obama got 6.1 million more votes than Clinton.  THAT's why Trump won.  People just didn't like Clinton.

I voted twice for Obama.  I think Obama is by far the most impressive President I have had the honor of seeing lead this country in my lifetime.  (And that's quite a few years.)  That man caught a fly with his bare hand during an interview!  Dang!  He refused to act like other politicians, despite the fact that Hillary flung bullshit on him during the 2008 primaries.  Then the Republicans took it further.  But throughout it all, Obama stood tall and dignified.  I may disagree with some of his policies, but I have the utmost respect for him.  Always have, always will.

I did NOT feel the same about Hillary, and so did just about everyone I know that voted Obama.  THAT is why she lost.  For me, and the vast majority of those like me, it had nothing to do with racism.  Where were the 6.1 million that voted for Obama? 

Yep!  Last night on his show Don Lemon held up a graphic about the total number of both Republican and Democrats who voted since 2008.  It was so striking.  Basically the Republican voting block remained unchanged since 2008.  If anything, it went DOWN a few million this year. The Democratic voting block on the other hand?  It Crashed. Like you said, over 6 million didnt vote Dem this time around.  So yeah as much as we may want to blame the Republicans for electing that twat they did what they were supposed to do for their Party. Dems didnt do what we were supposed to. And by Dems, I dont just mean us voters who didnt vote for her or those who didnt vote at all. I mean the Dems at the top who didnt present a worthy enough candidate.  They were all so caught up in making sure Hillary (the first woman) got elected they sabataged one of their own in Bernie Sanders. Assuming Dems were going to come out in droves for her like they did for Obama. They took for granted the type of candidate Barack Obama was.  How inspirational and transcendent he was. I just thank God his coalition was powerful from the jump, because I have no doubt the DNC would have tried to crush him in 2008 just like they did Bernie to clear the way for Hillary.  

[backgroundnoise]

13 hours ago, random chance said:

14 hours ago, Revlonred said:

Yes.  And my friend was told, this is not like Hitler so stop being dramatic.  My head is going to explode.

I'm sure that back in the day plenty of people were saying "stop being so dramatic" about Hitler.

This is exactly like Hitler--identify a few groups in your country, blame all the troubles on them, and advocate for their removal.

Trump supporters cannot claim they aren't racist, IMO.  At best, it was tacitly condoned, at worst, they agree with the KKK.  Ignoring that part of his campaign is simply not fathomable to me.

[Chicken Wing]

1 minute ago, Tara said:

I remember when Obama beat McCain, and this guy at work was beyond inconsolable.  He came in all upset, saying over and over, 59 million of us didn't vote for him.  What about us?  What about us?  59 million people.  He was convinced Obama had terrorist ties, was a closet Muslim, and on and on and he feared for this country  I thought he was wrong to be saying that, and I think the people today are wrong to be saying that.

Obama won.  Now, Trump has won.  Our country decides the winner by electoral college and that's that. 

Sure, those 59 million McCain voters had the right to protest, and say Obama will never be my President.  Wouldn't have made it right, though. We are a democracy. It is our duty to uphold that democracy by respecting the outcome of the vote.  Too many states had a majority vote for Trump, and he won. 

And that is just my opinion. :)

Two things, though. This coworker seemed to have been upset about the prospect of an Obama presidency because of things he thought to be true about him, but for which there was and still is no actual evidence. He just convinced himself of things for whatever reason. The people protesting in streets are not making assumptions about Trump. Trump has actually said and done the things they are protesting against. That's why they're protesting.

Secondly, I think everyone on the streets does accept and respect the fact that the system has spoken and Donald Trump was duly-elected president of the United States, and that is how our democracy works whether people like the outcome or not. But they don't have to like it, and our democracy allows them to express that too. They can take to the streets and march and declare all they want how while Donald J. Trump may be the President, he is not their President. Not mine either. He is the duly-elected leader of the nation and its representative in the world, but he can never represent me. He represents my country, but he does not represent me. And so, to those people, I say protest on. It is your right. But keep it clean. Marching and chanting and demonstrations are your First Amendment rights. Burning buildings and smashing windows is not. That, I do not support.

[Chaos Theory]

For the record I was never an Obama supporter i was always a Hillary supporter but when she lost to Obama I voted for Obama because the thought of Palin as VP scared me shitless.  I am mad at the Sanders Millennials for not shaking it off and supporting their party and at least voting.  I voted for a leader I didn't support to keep the worse case out of office but now the worse case is in and yes it is the very worse case possible.

[PatsyandEddie]

Just saw a crawl on CBC that the KKK is throwing Drumph a victory parade in December in N.C.   Yep,there it is. 

[Shannon L.]

2 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

The one thing that worries me more the Trump being President is that with Republicans having control of both the House and the Senate there is no reason to do anything but pick a far far right Supreme Court Judge and basically start everything from the far corner of the right and nudge to the left only when the have to.  

Exactly.  I told my husband that what upsets me about Trump personally is that he makes us look like complete fools.  What scares me is Mike Pence, the people he'll have in his cabinet and the total republican control of the Senate. 

Edited November 11, 2016 by Shannon L.

[Chicken Wing]

5 minutes ago, PatsyandEddie said:

Just saw a crawl on CBC that the KKK is throwing Drumph a victory parade in December in N.C.   Yep,there it is. 

Mm-hmm. We are known by the company we keep...

[Tara]

Quote

Trump has actually said and done the things they are protesting against.

As much as I hate to be defending him, and I could be wrong.  (and if I am, I am sure you folks will let me know :) I don't think he spoke against gays, blacks, or even Latinos.  He did say that Mexicans coming in illegally were rapists and thugs, but I do think that was his buffoonish way of saying, SOME of them were.  Hillary was the one who was saying, over and over, he is filled with hate, he hates Muslims, he hates Latinos, he hates gays, he hates women.  I think that is part of why she lost....a lot of us remember her saying nasty things about Obama, as well.

And I know so many otherwise intelligent individuals who convinced themselves that Obama did not have America's best interests at heart.  Of course they wrong, but they truly believed it, and still believe it today.  They are filled with pure hatred for him, and it saddens me every time I hear it.

Maybe that's why I'm very, very reluctant to get aboard the "Trump is hateful, so let's hate him back" train.

[backgroundnoise]

Kellyanne Conway said when asked what make Trump happy is the public speaking and rallies.  Well, I hope that public appearances become the worst part of the job for him.

Remember when Elia Kazan* was awarded an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement and several celebrities protested by... not clapping? They got nearly as much focus as Kazan.  That is what I would like to see happen now.  Embarrassingly "polite" applause, or no applause.  Make him realize the tenor of future public speaking is NOT going to be like his rallies, comprised of nothing but screaming supporters.

So, I hope people don't shy away from attending his appearances, but just don't clap. Take part of the focus off him, and shine a light on the continuing disdain for the person, not the Office.

*Elia Kazan was a hollywood director who provided names to HUAC during the McCarthy commie witchhunts.

[Cupid Stunt]

"Once Upon A Time, There Was A Zombie-Eyed Granny Starver" and he just announced that as part of repealing Obamacare he plans to phase out Medicare and replace it with private insurance for retirees.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/paul-ryan-says-medicare-privatization-is-on.html

 

Don't get comfortable in your bitter despair ...

[Chicken Wing]

Quote

As much as I hate to be defending him, and I could be wrong.  (and if I am, I am sure you folks will let me know :) I don't think he spoke against gays, blacks, or even Latinos.  He did say that Mexicans coming in illegally were rapists and thugs, but I do think that was his buffoonish way of saying, SOME of them were.

There is so, so, so much more to it than that.

Quote

Hillary was the one who was saying, over and over, he is filled with hate, he hates Muslims, he hates Latinos, he hates gays, he hates women.  I think that is part of why she lost....a lot of us remember her saying nasty things about Obama, as well.

She pointed that out because of the so, so, so much more that he's said and done. And I don't think her spewing attacks on Trump when she said many nasty things about Obama during their primary fight had anything to do with her lack of support. Everyone knows that's just politics. Not ten years ago, Donald Trump praised Bill Clinton as a great president and Hillary Clinton as a terrific leader. They were all friends. The Clinton came to his freaking wedding, for crying out loud. The name-calling is all political b.s. -- when it's unfair and untrue. Hillary didn't point out anything about Donald Trump that he didn't demonstrate if not say himself. Most of her attack ads were just clips of him talking.

[Revlonred]

2 minutes ago, Chicken Wing said:

There is so, so, so much more to it than that.

 

What he did years ago to the Central Park 5 wrongly accused men...and then he reiterated his stance a few weeks ago about INNOCENT BLACK MEN was vile. And racist. 

[random chance]

2 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

I've read an awful lot of fear-mongering, and even invocations of Hitler. 

Fear-mongering or just common sense? If we don't learn from history we're doomed to repeat it.

[MulletorHater]

2 hours ago, Revlonred said:

I feel like I'm going crazy, and then I feel like I'm not. I could not sleep last night thinking about Germany.  (I'm Jewish and my family has a strong history with the holocaust.  And you know what, I'm kind of scared that I'm posting this.)  Trump passing me by on the street doesn't scare me, but the people around him, the ones who helped him win this and who are going to be pulling the strings, probably front and center...no hiding anymore...are really terrifying.

So, should I not be posting that?  I'm asking for real.  Because I'm really scared.  As my husband said, we're not on the top of the list, but we're on the list.

I wish I can tell you that your fears are for naught.  However I have no choice but to look at the company Drumpf keeps.  I have no choice but to accept the fact that he and his sons openly courted white nationalists for political gain and took their message mainstream.  I have no choice but to accept that those same folks will be rewarded and that they expect Drumpf to fulfill whatever promises he made to them in exchange for their support.

I also have to accept corporate media's role in normalizing the unthinkable.  I further have to accept that a segment of the population chose to condone Drumpf's hateful rhetoric.  Some of them were willing to take up weapons and assassinate Secretary Clinton.  And you know what?  Not once did Drumpf discourage them.  In fact, he whipped them up to intimidate minority voters, and they were more than happy to obey his call to arms.

That's why we have to be ever vigilant in these perilous times.  This is also why I find it deeply offensive that some folks want me to shut up about it and sing Kumbaya.  Not happening.

[clb1016]

5 minutes ago, Revlonred said:

What he did years ago to the Central Park 5 wrongly accused men...and then he reiterated his stance a few weeks ago about INNOCENT BLACK MEN was vile. And racist. 

And he still insists on the guilt of the Central Park Five EVEN THOUGH THEY'VE BEEN EXONERATED BY DNA EVIDENCE and another man has confessed to the crime.

BTW, just a couple of weeks ago 2 cops were shot in cold blood.  When the murderer turned out to be a white male, Trump supporter, who carried a confederate flag when he went to football games so that he could wave it in front of black people media coverage pretty much evaporated.  Wonder why.

[NinjaPenguins]

Pretending that Orange never insulted blacks, Mulims, and Latinos is gaslighting and it won't work. The man is on tape expressing himself quite clearly. I've seen a lot of people attempting to absolve Orange of his racism and xenophobia by boldly claiming it never happened. Say it once, say it a thousand times, it will never be true. 

My brother, an Orange fanatic, fervently believes George W. Bush killed bin Laden and that Obama created ISIS. His idea of convincing me of these obvious facts is merely to repeat them over and over again. You can point out hard information to him, like who was president when, but he just parrots his nonsense like you said nothing at all. 

In four years, I expect to hear that Obama cratered the economy, scuttled his own signature healthcare legislation, and privatized Social Security. None of it will be true, but enough people will repeat it enough times that it will become reality for a certain audience. 

[bmasters9]

3 minutes ago, clb1016 said:

And he still insists on the guilt of the Central Park Five EVEN THOUGH THEY'VE BEEN EXONERATED BY DNA EVIDENCE and another man has confessed to the crime.

BTW, just a couple of weeks ago 2 cops were shot in cold blood.  When the murderer turned out to be a white male, Trump supporter, who carried a confederate flag when he went to football games so that he could wave it in front of black people media coverage pretty much evaporated.  Wonder why.

Perhaps because FOX is the all-white channel (meaning that if whites do it to blacks, FOX doesn't bat an eyelash, but should a black do anything even remotely amiss, FOX is right on it like white on rice).

[MulletorHater]

23 minutes ago, Tara said:

As much as I hate to be defending him, and I could be wrong.  (and if I am, I am sure you folks will let me know :) I don't think he spoke against gays, blacks, or even Latinos.  He did say that Mexicans coming in illegally were rapists and thugs, but I do think that was his buffoonish way of saying, SOME of them were.  Hillary was the one who was saying, over and over, he is filled with hate, he hates Muslims, he hates Latinos, he hates gays, he hates women.  I think that is part of why she lost....a lot of us remember her saying nasty things about Obama, as well.

And I know so many otherwise intelligent individuals who convinced themselves that Obama did not have America's best interests at heart.  Of course they wrong, but they truly believed it, and still believe it today.  They are filled with pure hatred for him, and it saddens me every time I hear it.

Maybe that's why I'm very, very reluctant to get aboard the "Trump is hateful, so let's hate him back" train.

I have one word to refute that argument:  Birtherism.

It was the ultimate manifestation of racism.  The fact that he rode that lie out for years and to this day has yet to apologize to President Obama and his family speaks volumes.

[Ocean Chick]

14 hours ago, SoSueMe said:

It's funny, there is that old hint for public speaking, picture the audience as being naked. In Melania's case the audience is remembering seeing her naked. I wonder if it even enters her mind.

You are assuming that she uses her head for anything other than to show off her long hair.  She doesn't remember anything except what the Rump Roast tells her to remember.  She couldn't even come up with speeches that weren't plagiarized, remember.

[glowlights]

14 minutes ago, Tara said:

As much as I hate to be defending him, and I could be wrong.  (and if I am, I am sure you folks will let me know :) I don't think he spoke against gays, blacks, or even Latinos.  He did say that Mexicans coming in illegally were rapists and thugs, but I do think that was his buffoonish way of saying, SOME of them were. 

No, it was the reverse, he said the Mexicans coming to the U.S are the dregs but "some" of them might be nice people:

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re not sending you, they’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with them. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bring crime. They’re rapists… And some, I assume, are good people.” 

And then there is what he said about Gonzalo Curiel (who was born in the U.S. but is just another Mexican so far as Trump is concerned).

Not to mention attacking the family of Humayan Khan.

And then there is his track record of refusing to rent to black tenants.

And then there was the little problem with not wanting black workers at his casinos.

And then there is his cozy relationship with white supremacists.

And then there is that little thing about championing the birther movement against Obama.

And then there is the problem with only referring to African Americans as living in inner cities, and repeatedly using the term "thugs" in reference to them. 

And then he selected Pence as his running mate, which should tell you all you need to know about how much Trump regards the LGBTQ community.

Oh, let's not forget his anti-semitic comments about Jews and money.

There's more, but I mean, how much more do you need?!?!?!?!

[Revlonred]

2 minutes ago, MulletorHater said:

I have one word to refute that argument:  Birtherism.

It was the ultimate manifestation of racism.  The fact that he rode that lie out for years and to this day has yet to apologize to President Obama and his family speaks volumes.

This 110%

I cannot believe that I didn't mention this in my original reply.  

[Tara]

Quote

What he did years ago to the Central Park 5 wrongly accused men...and then he reiterated his stance a few weeks ago about INNOCENT BLACK MEN was vile. And racist. 

I haven't seen his statement on that, but I see part of it when I do a search.  However, I can believe it.  His comments about Rosie O'Donnell on a national debate watched by 80 million viewers were vile.  I remember thinking, she is a woman with kids who have to go to school tomorrow. 

Oh, sheesh, I'm trying to find the silver lining here....and failing.

[Chicken Wing]

1 minute ago, glowlights said:

No, it was the reverse, he said the Mexicans coming to the U.S are the dregs but "some" of them might be nice people:

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re not sending you, they’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with them. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bring crime. They’re rapists… And some, I assume, are good people.” 

And then there is what he said about Gonzalo Curiel (who was born in the U.S. but is just another Mexican so far as Trump is concerned).

Not to mention attacking the family of Humayan Khan.

And then there is his track record of refusing to rent to black tenants.

And then there was the little problem with not wanting black workers at his casinos.

And then there is his cozy relationship with white supremacists.

And then there is that little thing about championing the birther movement against Obama.

And then there is the problem with only referring to African Americans as living in inner cities, and repeatedly using the term "thugs" in reference to them. 

And then he selected Pence as his running mate, which should tell you all you need to know about how much Trump regards the LGBTQ community.

Oh, let's not forget his anti-semitic comments about Jews and money.

There's more, but I mean, how much more do you need?!?!?!?!

And this one is a lesser offense but speaks to the larger problem: Can he please stop "othering" minority groups when he speaks?

"I'm going to help 'the' African-Americans."

"We're doing great with 'the' Latinos."

He's so oblivious to his own deep-seated racism he doesn't even realize when he's doing it.

[sistermagpie]

7 hours ago, Fable said:

 

I wish people would stop with the “not my president” crap.  I didn’t like him and didn’t vote for him, but legally and lawfully, he has won the presidency.  Many of us think he is a buffoon, and I can’t disagree, but in refusing to accept the results of the election, that is acting just like he and his devotees did, and many were horrified by it.   He is your freaking President, and while I am saddened and sorrowful, that is a fact.

 

I have the same instinctual response to the phrase, but I've come to see it doesn't really mean they're not accepting the results of the election. It can also just mean that he does not represent their values. In a case like this I do think it's important to state as loudly as possible that those values don't represent you. You have to let people know you're there. Doesn't mean I consider him illegitimate in the way people did with Obama, with conspiracy theories about him literally not being eligible. He won the electoral college. I accept the actual reality.

 

2 hours ago, candall said:

I thought it was funny he expected the meeting to be 10-15 minutes and then, wow, it was almost an hour and a half!  Obama probably reeled off the Top 50 subjects where DT would have to get up to speed.  If it were me, I'd be begging Obama to let me move in and follow him around for the next two months.  Shit!  What have I done?  Is there an instruction book?  POTUS For Dummies?

And apparently that was a lie anyway--the meeting was not supposed to be 15 minutes. Either Trump was lied to in order to keep him calmer or else he just made up one of his usual lies to make himself look better, as if Obama liked him so much he wanted to keep talking.

 

2 hours ago, Jaded said:

Then a few proceeded to comment about how stupid young people and the riots are. Since I'm younger it made me feel uncomfortable and angry at the same time. I kept my cool and didn't reply at all because multiple people in the same thread asked that politics not be brought into it. 

One thing you maybe could post is that there are not riots going on. A peaceful protest is not a riot.

2 hours ago, Tara said:

I did NOT feel the same about Hillary, and so did just about everyone I know that voted Obama.  THAT is why she lost.  For me, and the vast majority of those like me, it had nothing to do with racism.  Where were the 6.1 million that voted for Obama? 

That's so frustrating, though. Because while I don't think not voting for Hillary in this context is racist, I honestly don't understand not seeing it as important to vote against Trump when his platform was so explicitly bigoted. I get people not being enthused about Hillary for president. I don't understand not being enthused about casting a vote to prevent this platform from winning. 

[random chance]

2 minutes ago, Chicken Wing said:

And this one is a lesser offense but speaks to the larger problem: Can he please stop "othering" minority groups when he speaks?

"I'm going to help 'the' African-Americans."

"We're doing great with 'the' Latinos."

He's so oblivious to his own deep-seated racism he doesn't even realize when he's doing it.

My favorite from back in the primaries, when I thought that surely the general population wouldn't elect this man (so I could still laugh) -- "I love the poorly educated!"

[katha]

Yeah, there's no explaining away Trump's racism and all-around bigotry. One of the (many, many, many, many) lowlights of this campaign was in one of the debates when Trump and Clinton started bickering about who's been more racist (of course Trump always "wins", but it was disheartening to see her tapdance around her own behaviour in the 2008 campaign. And they deliberately went for dogwhistling to court white voters in 2008 IMO.).

[NewDigs]

2 hours ago, Jaded said:

There's a thread I post in here pretty regularly that doesn't have anything to do with politics. Most of the people who post in it though are older than me and seem to have different political views so the ones who said so didn't mind sharing that they were happy Trump won. Then a few proceeded to comment about how stupid young people and the riots are. Since I'm younger it made me feel uncomfortable and angry at the same time. I kept my cool and didn't reply at all because multiple people in the same thread asked that politics not be brought into it. 

Since it's not a "political" thread you could maybe carry the quote and reply to the poster over here. 

[glowlights]

3 minutes ago, Chicken Wing said:

And this one is a lesser offense but speaks to the larger problem: Can he please stop "othering" minority groups when he speaks?

Gret point and I don't think that is a lesser offense at all, because as you said it exhibits his racism and xenophobia and general ignorance and awfulness. He loves "his" Jews? What are they, his house pets?

3 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

One thing you maybe could post is that there are not riots going on. A peaceful protest is not a riot.

BINGO. With the exception of the burning and vandalism in Oakland  it's been pretty good, right? What i don't get are the people complaining the protesters are "suppressing free speech". Um, by exercising their right to free assembly they are doing the exact opposite of suppressing free speech. FFS have we entered an alternate universe where up is down and down is up?

[glowlights]

20 minutes ago, Tara said:

I haven't seen his statement on that, but I see part of it when I do a search.  However, I can believe it.  His comments about Rosie O'Donnell on a national debate watched by 80 million viewers were vile.  I remember thinking, she is a woman with kids who have to go to school tomorrow.

Here you go:

There were no witnesses to the attack. The victim had no memory of it, and DNA evidence was in its infancy and was not presented at the trial. The five youths were convicted almost exclusively on their confessions, which they testified were coerced by detectives.

In 2002, another man, a convicted rapist and murderer, confessed to the assault, and his DNA did match semen that was found on the victim. No DNA evidence has been found to tie any of the Central Park 5 to the crime.

The Central Park 5 were exonerated, and in 2014, New York paid them a $41 million settlement.

Trump, however, still is not buying their innocence.

"They admitted they were guilty," Trump said this week in a statement to CNN's Miguel Marquez. "The police doing the original investigation say they were guilty. The fact that that case was settled with so much evidence against them is outrageous. And the woman, so badly injured, will never be the same."

http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/06/politics/reality-check-donald-trump-central-park-5/index.html

That link also contains a video clip that includes quotes of Trump's various statements.

[DeLurker]

1 hour ago, Tara said:

He did say that Mexicans coming in illegally were rapists and thugs, but I do think that was his buffoonish way of saying, SOME of them were. 

I don't think I am wrong for expecting the person who leads my country and is slated to be the most powerful person in the world to be able to clearly articulate his thoughts and beliefs.  Nor do I think it is our collective responsibility to interpret his statements.

And AFAIK, he has never apologized for any of the numerous offensive things that have spewed forth.

Edited November 11, 2016 by DeLurker

[clb1016]

51 minutes ago, bmasters9 said:

Perhaps because FOX is the all-white channel (meaning that if whites do it to blacks, FOX doesn't bat an eyelash, but should a black do anything even remotely amiss, FOX is right on it like white on rice).

Of course--this is what we expect from Fox.  What about MSNBC, CNN, The NYTimes, WaPo, HuffPo, and all the others?

[Danny Franks]

I don't know if anyone has listened to it yet, but Dan Carlin presents a really interesting analysis of the election and where we're likely to go from here in the new Common Sense podcast episode.

He talks about a lot of the things we've touched on here, about Trump perhaps being more moderate, and abandoning his campaign pledges. He talks about why Clinton didn't win, and what could have gone differently. He talks about the main fears he has (listed under 'Mussolini') and how he thinks that they're relatively unlikely to happen (although he admits that he thought a Trump presidency was unlikely, so he could be dead wrong).

I found it reassuring, although it did highlight one hilarious issue that I will bring up the next time I see a Trumper bleating about 'draining the swamp': Trump is taking Gingrich, Giuliani, Christie, Sessions, Bolton and others with him to the White House. He's not draining the swamp, he's just filling it up with older, dirtier swamp water. The failed politicians of the 1990s and 2000s. Either his supporters are blind or stupid... or probably both.

[Chicken Wing]

12 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

I don't think I am wrong for expecting the person who leads my country and is slated to be the most powerful person in the world to be able to clearly articulate his thoughts and beliefs.  Nor do I think it is our collective responsibility to interpret his statements.

And AFAIK, he has never apologized for any of the numerous offensive things that have spewed forth.

I can imagine his cabinet will include a newly-created position for someone to always constantly walk behind him and clarify what he meant to say.

[Ocean Chick]

15 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

I don't think I am wrong for expecting the person who leads my country and is slated to be the most powerful person in the world to be able to clearly articulate his thoughts and beliefs.

This this THIS!!!!!!!!  I can only imagine, after the nukes start dropping because Rump Roast said something that the North Koreans didn't like, RR saying, "Oops - I didn't mean it that way!"  Too late, NumbNuts.

[NinjaPenguins]

Bolton? John Fucking Bolton? The nut with the rage problem? That Bolton?

Gingrich, scumbag who dumped his cancer stricken wife, check. Rudy G, Noun-verb-9/11 and law & order fascist, check. Christie, buttkissing his way to a Bridgegate pardon, check. 

I think my anxiety is rising again...

[DeLurker]

1 minute ago, NinjaPenguins said:

Bolton? John Fucking Bolton? The nut with the rage problem? That Bolton?

Could we compromise and get Michael Fucking Bolton?

[SmithW6079]

2 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

Could we compromise and get Michael Fucking Bolton?

Well, let's not go crazy....

[Curio]

Quote

Considering rump's ties to Russia, I am very concerned about Eastern Europe. Putin has many tanks on the Polish border and rump wants to weaken NATO. I am afraid that under rump, the US will become Russia's pawn.

 

As an American living in Ukraine at the moment, I can tell you this is definitely not good news for Eastern Europe. Once Trump is in power, Putin has much more freedom to do whatever he wants to, and I can almost guarantee the war in Eastern Ukraine is going to get uglier in the upcoming year. I have family who voted for Trump knowing I live over here, and I feel like they don't even care about what happens to me overseas because they just voted for making my future more unsafe. (I bet a lot of Americans feel the same.) It'll be especially precarious if Putin ever does something to upset Trump or vice versa. How do two narcissistic, power-hungry rulers with weapons deal with their BFF insulting them? I hope we don't learn the answer to that in the next four years.

Quote

For the record I was never an Obama supporter i was always a Hillary supporter but when she lost to Obama I voted for Obama because the thought of Palin as VP scared me shitless.  I am mad at the Sanders Millennials for not shaking it off and supporting their party and at least voting.  I voted for a leader I didn't support to keep the worse case out of office but now the worse case is in and yes it is the very worse case possible.

 

I phone banked and canvassed for both Hillary and Bernie this past year, but I don't know if we can cast the blame on Sanders Millennials. Hillary's Campaign's job was to win over those Sanders voters, not take them for granted. However, when you look at the election figures, Hillary won in a landslide with Millenials. The white, 45+ crowd determined this election. Perhaps there was a good chunk of Sanders supporters who didn't vote, but it also could be the case that Hillary wouldn't have even gotten the amount of votes she did get without the Sanders revolution. We just don't know for sure.

What I do know is this—the DNC had the opportunity to keep up that Bernie Sanders momentum by choosing him or a similarly exciting VP candidate with name recognition like Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, or Al Franken, but they went with a rather vanilla Tim Kaine instead. There can be an argument that those people are more powerful in the Senate instead of VP, but the DNC knew going in that Hillary had an unlikability issue. She's ridiculously qualified, but no one can deny she needed some help with charisma, and that should have been resolved with the VP pick. That was the time to bring together the party and energize it going forward, but the big story coming out of the Republican and Democratic Conventions this year was that the Democratic Party actually looked worse off than the Republican Party. 

Anyways, on a postive note...I don't know if this article has been posted yet or not, but some sage advice from Leslie Knope:

Quote

I acknowledge that Donald Trump is the President. I understand, intellectually, that he won the election. But I do not accept that our country has descended into the hatred-swirled slop pile that he lives in. I reject out of hand the notion that we have thrown up our hands and succumbed to racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and crypto-fascism. I do not accept that. I reject that. I fight that. Today, and tomorrow, and every day until the next election, I reject and fight that story. I work hard and I form ideas and I meet and talk to other people who feel like me, and we sit down and drink hot chocolate (I have plenty) and we plan. We plan like mofos. We figure out how to fight back, and do good in this infuriating world that constantly wants to bend toward the bad. And we will be kind to each other, and supportive of each other’s ideas, and we will do literally anything but accept this as our fate.

 

I'm going to make some hot chocolate and plan to get more involved in local politics. Bring on 2018.

[Jaded]

6 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

Could we compromise and get Michael Fucking Bolton?

 

3 minutes ago, SmithW6079 said:

Well, let's not go crazy....