I am doing NaBloPoMo this month. 30 blog posts in 30 days. Come join me. #nablopomo2020
photo credit @blessthemessy
I didn’t know what I was going to write about today. When I outlined my NaBloPoMo posts, I purposefully left today’s date open. I expected that I would actually sit down today and write something about the election.
But the election is not decided yet and won’t be until every last vote has been counted. My mistake was that I allowed myself to have hope for a clear and overwhelming pointer in the right direction on election night. I know it wasn’t necessarily likely, but that didn’t make me hope any less.
But it’s 2020. We’re not allowed to have nice things. Why did I even for a second believe that this election could be an obvious repudiation of a racist, bigoted, misogynist man?
Well, excuse me, if I was optimistic that people wouldn’t be so stupid to re-elect a man who has made more than 20,000 false or misleading claims during his first term in office, who has been gaslighting his followers again and again, who has all but erased our reputation in the world (by alienating allies and cozying up to dictators), who refused to denounce white supremacy and who has repeatedly encouraged violence.
On top of that, he disregards science and expert knowledge. He doesn’t read, he doesn’t listen, he doesn’t learn. He’s been in over his head since the beginning and he doesn’t want the job of the president, he just wants the power (and praise).
People keep asking me “why are you surprised?”. Well maybe because all those above mentioned things seem like pretty good arguments against re-electing this despicable man, and maybe because I still always believe that people are better than they actually are, goddamnit. There are 67,000,000+ Americans who took a good look at Trump and thought “yeah, I want four more years of that”. That’s what’s mind-boggling to me, that people even saw a choice.
Trump’s never been the president for all the American people. He’s only been president for his base. He’s never tried to reunite the country or reach across the aisle. Also, let’s not forget that this all started as a personal vendetta against Barack Obama. It’s pathetic what a petty, weak man he is.
And what strikes me the most, he monumentally failed and keeps failing to protect and lead during this pandemic, the worst public health crisis of our lifetime that resulted in 240K+ Coronavirus deaths so far and the highest daily new cases of the pandemic yet, and people don’t care. They congregate in groups, they don’t wear masks, and they feel smug. Just don’t let the virus catch you.
How people accept so many lost lives (many unnecessarily), the lack of COVID-relief for those who lost jobs, health insurance, and homes, and all the lies and misinformation about the severity of this virus, is beyond me. How can people STILL vote for him again? Hasn’t he done enough damage? I guess, after all, (white) people really haven’t suffered enough and it’s also abundantly clear that they really don’t care about their fellow men. (Don’t even get me started on the single-issue voters. This is the epitome of privilege. You’re dead to me.)
Donald Trump once said he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and he “wouldn’t lose any voters.” We now know he can also preside over the deaths of 240,000+ Americans and not lose any voters. Even if he loses, that’s a profound indictment on America.
— Joy VOTE & MASK UP!! Reid 😷) (@JoyAnnReid) November 4, 2020
However disappointed I am by how many people have still voted for Trump after *everything*, that in fact, more people voted for him than in 2016, Joe Biden has a solid lead in the popular vote (as had Hillary Clinton) and it’s just incredible that regardless, we still don’t know who the president is going to be. One thing is clear: the very outdated Electoral College has to go. It’s not right that someone can become president when (s)he’s not elected by the majority of the people. I wonder when this will finally be taken on by the legislature. This has been talked about for years decades and boggles the mind of every other democratic nation.
We should just take a moment at some point tonight and reflect on just how fucking stupid it is that we know who is going to get the most votes, but we don’t know who will be President
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) November 4, 2020
I know there is hope that Biden’s campaign strategy pays off and he’ll be elected president. It’s not over until it’s over. Every damn vote has to be counted.
Inhale, exhale. Repeat.
But even if Biden wins, I am beyond disappointed in you, America. Maybe not surprised, but disappointed nonetheless. We have a lot of work to do.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
November 4, 2020 at 11:23 pmAmen to everything you said here. Perfectly laid out. One thing crossed my mind: 240+ death in the pandemic and “no one” is outraged. Compared to the lives lost in 9/11 and the annual memorial services… is it because it’s a silent death with no real staring event? Because the way Trump treats The US it looks like a terror act to me.
San
November 6, 2020 at 9:50 amThat’s a really good point. It is domestic terrorism!
Stefanie
November 5, 2020 at 6:12 amI am with you on everything. I am utterly surprised that this hasn’t been a landslide election victory. I am disappointed in the American people just like you.
San
November 6, 2020 at 9:51 amI was hoping for a landslide. That it isn’t tells you a lot about this country :(
Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
November 5, 2020 at 6:34 amThis OpEd piece on CNN sums up how I feel: https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/04/opinions/us-global-image-after-election-night-2020-wierson/index.html
I’m so incredibly disappointed. Even if Biden wins, which is becoming increasingly likely, it’s still very depressing that so many voted for that vile man. I thought that maybe those who gave him a chance in 2016 would see the error in their ways – but they didn’t. It doesn’t matter what he does and now I have no hope that the Republican party will change and return to the reign of people like John McCain or John Kasick. It just makes me sick sick sick.
Sadly, there is really no hope of getting rid of the electoral college. Small states will never go for it because they will lose so much power. So sadly we are probably stuck w/ this stupid process for electing a leader.
San
November 6, 2020 at 9:51 amThanks for sharing that OpEd piece – very well written.
ShootingStarsMag
November 5, 2020 at 7:12 amI really, really hoped that there would be less votes for him this round. I didn’t get why people voted for him then, but I DEFINITELY do not understand why people are doing it now after all that’s happened in the past four years. I’m hoping for a good outcome, and Biden wins, but the Electoral College definitely has to go. It should be the PEOPLE’s choice. It was Clinton most people wanted last time and Biden most people want this time. Shouldn’t that matter?
-Lauren
San
November 6, 2020 at 9:52 amYeah, the fact that people voted for him AGAIN is definitely something I can’t wrap my head around. 2016 was an “experiment”, this is a statement.
Stephany
November 6, 2020 at 7:56 amIt’s beyond disappointing to recognize how many people voted for Trump (slight edit: you named 67,000+ people that voted for Trump and it’s 67,000,000+ people, which is just so horrifying to type, even more horrifying that the number is now nearly 70,000,000.)
I wanted this election to be a strong indictment against Trumps’ awful rhetoric and it’s not. It just shows you how goddamn racist our country is. And how many people choose party over people. If this is the Republican party they want to belong in?? Man, we have some work to do.
San
November 6, 2020 at 9:53 amThanks for catching the typo! (I corrected it) although 67,000 people would have been 67,000 too many…. let alone 67 million. I am just so utterly disgusted that so many people think he was doing a good job.
susanne sray
November 6, 2020 at 2:12 pmI agree with every word from you! I am so very disappointed and disgusted that so many people voted for this horrible creature!
Sara
November 8, 2020 at 8:01 amThis election has certainly left me with a bitter taste in my mouth about the 67M folks who still support him and his terrible rhetoric and policies. I’m grateful for the ones who have been outspoken so I can purge them from my life. I’m all for working together going forward, but I can’t be friends with nor do business with folks that think the past 4 years are okay, normal, or even good. The worst part? None of them can even articulate a reason for a vote or how they look the other way on his gross behavior. They’re sad that I called their vote racist? Tell me how or why you looked the other way then. Oh, you can’t? Nope. I can’t entertain it and we can’t be friends. I work too hard for humans to be friends with other humans undoing all that work. Nope. Sigh. We have so much work to do to undo this administration and I don’t know how we fix the fact that there are still so many people with such hatred and intolerance in their hearts. It’s unequivocal though – there are not fine people on both sides of some debates.
Melisa
November 8, 2020 at 9:17 amAgree agree agree and this past week seemed like it was about five years from start to finish! Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work!
anne
November 8, 2020 at 9:34 amI, too, cannot believe that people I know – and love! – voted TWICE for this despicable, disgusting individual. It has baffled, saddened, and angered me for four long years, and it continues to do so. I am so thrilled that Joe and Kamala one, yet I am simultaneously scared stiff about the coming lawsuits and inability of the current occupant of the WH and his minions to accept the clear outcome of the election. I hope that things calm down and are resolved quickly… yet I know that in 2020, nothing has occurred in the way we hope they will.
Thank you for making your views explicit, and taking such a strong stand. I really admire you for doing so.