There is nothing I can say about the election, or Trump or
Clinton that has not been said and is still being said ad infinitum. All I can
say is what I see and what I feel. The
following is an example.
A Facebook “friend” (not a personal friend, just someone I
know) posted a response to the now-famous picture of the white nationalist
gathering where the attendees had raised their hands in the well-known “Heil
Hitler!” salute. This man’s comment was “that
is ‘heil Trump’, not Hitler; there are no Nazis today”. There was a back and forth string about that;
excellent and respectful writing by two intelligent college students. Of course, I jumped in as well. I know Nazis are still alive and well. This man’s last paragraph is what chilled
me. He said that he was fine with people
doing their own thing, as long as they didn’t infringe on his rights (e.g.,
take away his guns). “And if they do, my
response will make Criminal Minds look like Romper Room”.
What’s frightening about that? He didn’t say what those rights were, or what
constituted infringement. We have a new administration that defines immigrants
as a danger to our country. We have
people toting loaded weapons in all public places. We have a health care plan in place that has
afforded coverage to millions who never had it before that is threatened with
extinction. Environmentalists have become the enemy while global warming is
proceeding at an unprecedented rate.
What will this administration and its blind followers define
as infringing upon their rights? Being a
Muslim? Being an immigrant? Not being a Christian? Having bumper stickers on a car? Speaking out against the POTUS? Same sex
marriage? Transsexuals? Advocating for
the poor, the disabled and the disenfranchised?
I have read that conservatives or at least the right wing
have different brain processes than liberals.
I don’t know that I believe it’s biological but it is beyond my
understanding for sure. I know that
facts and logic no longer work, but being silent is a very slippery slope. We
can hope that when the things that were promised come true, reality will hit
and will hurt when it does. Truly,
wishing ill will seems reasonable at this point. When someone who thought it was amusing to
mock the disabled finds themselves disabled—or has a child with a birth
defect. Maybe when someone’s daughter
experiences “date rape” because it is now ok for a man to force himself on a
woman. When an uninsured person faces a
deadly disease and can’t afford the care and treatment. Maybe.
I’m all for the vote recounts, but I know it won’t change
the outcome we have to live with. I know
all the memes and Biden jokes and safety pins and Pantsuit Nations will make us
feel better for a while, but won’t change the reality we are facing. I blocked
that Facebook “friend” but that doesn’t make him or those like him go away. I
don’t have any answers but I know I will not keep silent—and hope I’m not
alone.
