A large portion of the US is feeling very vulnerable right now on both sides of the election. I had an interaction today with a former colleague. In talking about random things, she informed me of who she voted for. Much to my surprise it was not who I expected or who I voted for. We talked more and she lamented at how horrible this election season has been and that she can’t believe the violence and hate being spewed by both sides of the ticket this post election time. She went on to talk about how her “Facebook friends” had been incredibly mean to her because this election and her candidate. They attacked her character, called her a racist, and in short told her she was a terrible person. I don’t know her all that well. From my interactions with her she has always been kind, thoughtful and a generally good person. I have never seen any behavior in her that would cause me to attack her in that manner. My initial instinct when she told me who she voted for was to ask her, “Why?”. I refrained from doing so. She has her reasons.
I keep seeing things in the news and social media decrying that Trump supporters are uneducated and poor, among other things, many very unkind. (1) She is neither. She is hardworking and educated and as mentioned above a good person. I do not understand how she could vote the way she did. From my perspective it goes against the things I hold important. But in this situation, I did what I was taught to do. I respected that she had a right to her choices and “agreed to disagree”. I didn’t call her names, threaten her with violence or make her feel horrible. I smiled and changed the subject. This situation is easy. After my project is over, I probably wont see her again for years. There will be no awkward dinners, or meetings.
I am as apprehensive as the next person about what comes next out of this election. If you listen to some of the media, the US as we know it is over. Will the rights and freedoms we have now be set back because of this incoming administration? Will the climate crumble? I am not sure anyone can say definitively. Watch and be wary I guess. But I do know that I am not going to scream racist, bigot, monster at a Trump supporter. I may “unfriend” them. I may choose not to invite them to my Christmas party. I will speak up when I see injustice. These things I’m allowed to do. But I am not allowed to insight violence or hurl abuse. That is not how we were raised.
Side note: (1) Before you bash me for writing that, I am smart enough to know that those types of generalizations are wrong and frankly, offensive. The point I am trying to make is some very smart people had reasons outside the racism, sexism and bigotry that brought them to the polls to vote for him. It’s politics.
The Mad Ramblings of a Hungry Mind 