The Day After

[oloriel]

So the news have sunk in, and we're apparently not going to get a Groundhog Day style miracle, and the world will have to keep on turning.

And I have to admit that right now, some of what I hear from the non-Trump voters is almost as scary as the fact that Trump has won the election. (Or the electoral college? Or maybe they'll vote differently in December after all? I DO NOT GET THIS SYSTEM BUT THEN, I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO.)

I understand that the reality of it must be horrible if you're actually living in America and belong to a minority group (including, apparently, academics --- ow! what?!) or are a woman or *gasp* both. I realise that a lot of the things I'm seeing from my distant storm-threatened hill in the not entirely calm fields of Europe may look different from the eye of the hurricane. And I certainly get that a lot of the reactions I'm seeing from those who voted (or would have voted) for Clinton (or Other) are kneejerk reactions born out of disappointment, or very real fears.

But.

When I see people gathering for anti-Trump protests in the streets, I cannot help but wonder what these same people would be saying if things had been different, and Trump voters were heading out for anti-Clinton rallies. Look at them, can't even accept the result of a democratic election. Typical for them...
Yeah, well.

When I see people seriously considering emigration to Canada or New Zealand or Australia or the UK (um, the UK is actually not such a happy place right now, from what I hear; but sure, add a heavy wave of migration to their Brexit issues, I'm sure that's gonna go down well), I can't help but wonder who will be left to heal the wounds and protect those who cannot leave and write letters to their senators and try to move things back in the right direction. Nobody, apparently. And I can't help thinking that most people will serve their country and the world and, ultimately, themselves - emigration, I hear, is not a fun business - better by staying where they are and doing what they can.
(Unless, obviously, they're under actual threat, in which case, do try to get the hell outta there.)

When I see people posting on Tumblr that everyone who voted for Trump please (or not please) unfollow them, I actually facepalm. Because yes, Trump gives the impression of being a horrible person in a lot of ways, and his racism, sexism and sheer popularism are enough to terrify anyone, but he's still a human being, and so are the people who voted for him. I realise it's hard to stop and consider this - especially on Tumblr, where the "other side" never appears to be made up of human beings - but by blocking them from your friendslists or whatever the things are called on Tumblr, you'll only suggest to them that feminists, people of whatever ethnic background that isn't white, people who aren't (US) American, academics or people who believe in climate change are sore loosers and elitist and out of touch with the working/ middle classes or whatnot and refusing to engage in dialogue. Instead of showing them that uh, no, black lesbian feminists with a college education (or whatever else) are actually totally normal, quite reasonable people who may have interesting things to say and reasons to say them. Look, people are not gonna listen to media from the other side or read long eloquent articles about just why Trump was a bad choice, no matter how true they are. But they might absorb something from someone who's in the same fandom or shares their obsession with figure skating or their love for gardening or whatever. There's the adage of "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" and while I don't think you should consider these people enemies - because a lot of them may not, in fact, be sexist or racist or whatever, but just frustrated and uninformed - I think it applies now, too. You may be needing the bridges you're burning right now.

And that's the bad thing about these perfectly understandable kneejerk reactions, they are already burning bridges and causing damage. Because looking back, the people who are happy with the result of this election will always be able to point their finger and say "See, they don't want to play by the rules either, they hit the streets and rioted, too, so why should we do any different?", and they'll be sorta right. Because if you unfollow/unfriend everyone who happened to vote for Trump, the rift is only getting deeper. In the end, there'll just be a neat community of Trump supporters re-assuring and re-asserting themselves, with no information trickling in from outside (or if anything does trickle inside, it'll be easily stamped down in the way that every critical thought is stamped down in a Tumblr crusade).

So yeah. This is a bad, bad, BAD result and you have every reason to be angry and scared and to feel like lashing out. And I totally get the urge to disconnect from anybody who may be responsible for it, but it's not going to make things better. In fact, I'm worried that it has already begun to make things worse.

Sorry, had to get this out of my system. I know it's none of my business, really, sitting on, as I said, my little hill in the wide fields of Europe (haha). But as news about the election is everywhere, and as things that happen in the US tend to have an impact on the whole world, it's a bit of my business after all.

I hear things about an Interstate Popular Vote Compact and about writing letters to various electorals, which sounds like a route more fruitful than, you know, kicking the two or three Trump voters you can actually reach off your friendslist. At least in the long run. So look into that. And stay safe. And sane. Have a cup of tea or a good bubble bath or a pedicure treatment. Have a binge reading of Harry Potter or, if that's too uncomfortable right now, read fluffy fanfic until your eyes water. Or stay away from the internet for a while. Chop some wood. Bake a cake and eat it, too. Whatever makes you feel better. Hugs.

Comments

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Oh, sweety. I honestly don't know what to say. Because a lot of what I can think of saying is just based on hope and, perhaps, naïvety. And I might well be wrong.

But the thing is, I don't think there's any way of changing things for the better that's exclusive of people who voted for Trump, or would vote for AfD. The further apart these groups are drifting from "us", the less they can be reached.
Othering and dehumanisation and demonising don't make anything better, no matter which side oneself happens to be on (and no matter how demon-like aspects of the other side may be looking).

I also have the hope that if exposure to the other side (if there was any, either on Tumblr or here - after all, our communities tend to fill up with the like-minded anyway, and lines have probably been drawn for a full year) may not have made a difference in advance, it may make a difference now that the pre-election heat dies down. In theory at least, now will show how much was just rhetorics, and how much is very real concerns; and maybe sentiments of fear like the ones you voice on behalf of others will now no longer be seen as "bah, they're just trying to make my candidate look bad" but as "wait, she honestly is worried about that". Some people are only realising right now how deep that rift really is, I think, and maybe something good will come out of that. It's only a fool's hope, but, yeah.

I'm very much relieved you're aware that Trump and his supporters are human. I remember 8 years ago when one of my dA acquaintances was so disappointed in the aftermath of the elections that she posted very seriously about the End of Days and Obama being the Anti-Christ. It was embarrassing to read then, but it's even more embarrassing to read that kind of thing from people you actually agree with! ;) In that light, if you want to think of a Middle-earth analogy, maybe we should more think about Fingon being willing to communicate with the "other side" in spite of all those burned ships. Because maybe once the others realise that their grand leader was largely made up of bling and rhetorics*, reconciliation might be possible. (Hopefully without anyone losing a hand first. Well, the analogy only works so far.)

Avoiding these topics or even those people for right now, or even for a while, is a different matter. That's just reasonable. You can't heal while someone constantly picks at the scabs. But sending folks away (and it wasn't you who reblogged that post after all - something must have happened somewhere ;)) will send them off for good; they won't be coming back in a couple of months going "Hey, are you still mad at me?". I don't have any smart ideas, either; I'm just convinved that excluding people for good is not going to work.

I hope your walk helped! And I seriously hope we come up with other solutions, because, indeed, we have the AfD to worry about.
*hugs*

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