Look, I understand the disappointment when "your guy" loses the election. My guys lost the last 2, and I'm 5-4 in presidential elections. I get it.
I was very afraid when Obama was elected. Specifically I was worried about my 2nd Amendment rights, and I was justified in that--Obama talked about gun control all through his candidacy and all through his presidency. Only Heller kept his worst impulses at bay.
I was worried about my 1st Amendment rights. Candidate Obama talked about implementing the so-called Fairness Doctrine. Fortunately, he dropped such talk within the first year of his presidency, and for that I was truly relieved.
I was concerned about socialism, and one of my worst nightmares came true when Obamacare was passed. On the day that I learned that Chief Justice Roberts was the deciding vote that declared Obamacare constitutional, I admitted to myself that I was no longer a free citizen but a subject of a far-away government.
So yes, I get that you're disappointed, and I understand that you have some fears. I don't understand what those fears are.
To my gay friends: what are you freaking out about? Gay marriage is a right as determined by the Supreme Court. There's nothing a Republican Congress and president can do about that. I get the impression that you're worried about violence against gays. Why? Because, after the election, someone points out that VP-elect Pence believes in gay conversion therapy? Why do you care, do you think he's going to compel anyone to undergo it? Do you think Trump is going to make anti-gay actions a part of his agenda? If so, on what basis do you believe this? Do you think that there were plenty of homophobes just dying to harm gay people, but were kept in check by Obama's presidency, but are now somehow freed from their shackles by a Trump victory and are going to go on some rampage? What possible reason do you have for believing such a thing? Have you checked even left-leaning Snopes? Try here and here.
To my ethnic minority friends: what are you freaking out about? Do you think a President Trump is going to advocate lynching for American blacks, and deportation of anyone who isn't lily-white? What basis do you have for believing such a thing? Yes, he wants to temporarily stop Muslim immigration until we can feel relatively safe that we're not going to admit a bunch of jihadis into America and suffer the fate of Paris, Brussels, Cologne, etc. One 9/11 here was enough. And you may not like to believe it, because it goes against your worldview, but huge majorities of Americans of all stripes support that. What is it, though, that you really think he's going to do?
Remember that Trump got a higher percentage of both black and Hispanic votes than Mitt Romney did. Why do you think that is? What do you think he's going to do, round Americans up and put them in camps or march them across the continent? No, that's what Democratic presidents did in the past. Why are you worried about a Trump presidency that might enforce some of our immigration laws, but don't lift a breath to complain when Obama's tenure has seen a significant (Trump would say huuuuge) increase in deportations of Hispanics? What do you think he's going to do, such that you wail and, in some cases, burn down your own cities?
To women: yes, Trump was recorded (10 years ago) saying vulgar things. Have you never said vulgar things in private? I have. Yes, it was foul, but do you really believe that he's a misogynist? Do you really believe that he'll--what, compel women to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen? What is it, exactly, that you fear? Did you support President Clinton, after all of his actions were well-known? (This Vanity Fair article, as you can tell from the URL, appears first to have been published in 1998.) I get that you're not on the Republicans' team, and I get that you may not like Donald Trump, but what is it that you fear? Do you think he, a long-time Democrat and liberal, is going to somehow unilaterally overturn Roe v. Wade--which, like gay marriage, has already been decided?
If you really, genuinely, truly believe that Trump has the desire to do these things, and that the president has the power to do these things, then I invite you to join me on the right and work to keep from consolidating so much power and authority in Washington, DC. Let's return to having 50 states and a "laboratory of democracy", where we in California aren't impacted by what they do in Alabama and the people of Wyoming don't care what they do in Massachusetts. If you support consolidating power in Washington, DC, you have no one but yourselves to blame when the "other side" takes control and tries to implement their vision of what's right.
Again, I understand being disappointed. But I'm trying, and failing, to see the logic of your positions. Please--with the same decency and civility I've shown in this post--help me understand. I may not agree with you, but this is a genuine outreached hand I'm offering.
Update, 11/12/16: Added the Snopes links.
Update #2, 11/14/16: What else does the man have to say in order to make his position known?
These groups' concerns aren't real. They're manufactured in order to generate fear and divisiveness.In an apparent attempt to assuage the fears of LGBT Americans, President-elect Donald Trump told Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes that he has no plans to roll back same-sex marriage rights. Asked by Stahl if he personally supports marriage equality, Trump replied, “It’s irrelevant because it was already settled. It’s law. It was settled in the Supreme Court. I mean it’s done.” He went to clarify that even if he were to appoint a judge who opposes marriage equality, the issue has been “settled” and he’s “fine with that.”As for the “fears” that other groups, such as blacks and Muslim Americans, have expressed since his election, Trump told Stahl, “I think it’s horrible if that’s happening.”
I think a lot of it was because Trump failed to phrase his policies or ideas in a professional, non-inflammatory way. Trump won in part because people liked his more conservative, country-first ideals, but saying you want to secure a border and have protective immigration laws sounds a lot better than saying lots of Mexicans are rapist and drug addicts. Trump speaks in hyperbole, which ended up being a double edged sword because a lot of folks liked that he was "telling it like it" in terms of securing the border or his other policies, but the news and others on the left saw the rhetoric as targeting and dangerous, whether it be Muslims, Mexicans, LGBT people, etc.
ReplyDeleteThe sad thing is that the way the left engaged with those on the right also ended up being in hyperbole making these claims about racism, sexism, xenophobia, etc because that's how their nominee spoke. I'm not saying they weren't justified per se due to the sound bytes, but most of his supporters didn't support his rhetoric or his negative behaviors, they supported the underlying ideas he had. They didn't see this as a race issue, they saw this an issue with finances and personal safety regarding their country. They came to that conclusion and support focusing on logic, so the extreme response from the left just confirms and entrenches their views further, just like when lots of people on the left felt more strongly about gun measures when those on the fringe right thought Obama was going to destroy the Second Amendment for wanting background checks.
I'm not saying we shouldn't take what Trump says seriously, or that he should be excused for his past behaviors or words, but in the context of his campaign and presidency, the policies he's outlined and the way he is currently working with other Republicans in a respectful and logical manner should indicate that we aren't going to die. Though I'm personally concerned about the RNC's outlined policies on LGBT issues as well as the more dogmatic, socially conservative influence on the Supreme Court nominations (I have concerns on his stances on creationism, climate change, lgbt issues, and his tobacco lobby connections), I'm cautiously optimistic that there won't be a reversal of those rights already put into place due to Trump's general apathy towards social issues. At worst, the "LGBT movement" will politically stagnate and *gasp* not depend on the government to make their own progress.
Nicely put, thanks.
ReplyDelete"Fail to see the logic"...that is your mistake. The left does not operate on logic. The left is all about emotion. It is how they campaigned and it is how they respond to outcomes. It is why it is impossible to debate or discuss issues with a leftist. They do not operate logically. They cannot use facts in a coherent manner. They tend to jump to emotional responses or devolve to name-calling because logic is "cold".
ReplyDeleteThe media will need to continue to whip up hysteria or the emotional responses will flame out as it takes work to sustain them. There is no "reason" for them.
It's been my experience that liberals like to only embrace and reflect with those who share their worldview. They refuse to listen to others even contrarians within their own party. This is by and large why they lost. The New York Times is now admitting they only reflected views that would sell paper in their region choosing to ignore any demographic groups that were not fully in the Democrat fold. In doing so NYT along with MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, Washington Post and AP were made into fools. The reason I often read British newspapers is that they pull no punches. I read the UK Guardian and frequently find political stories covered that have been ignored or deliberately covered up by domestic media. That is because our domestic media outlets have become entrenched in shaping the story to their liking rather than reporting the facts and allowing the population to make up their own minds. Imagine that-imagine a population left to make their own decisions rather than being stampeded into action by shell organizations, canned protests and false flag operations.
ReplyDelete