This year I feel incredibly lucky at Thanksgiving. Nobody at my feast will have voted for Donald Trump.
Nobody.
And they will all be relatives.
Didn’t I tell you that I’m lucky? It’s true — I will gladly spend then next two days cooking for them.
But I know that not everybody is as lucky as me. I feel your pain, I really do. One of my brothers voted for Trump, as did a nephew and, I’m pretty sure, a great nephew. But none of them are coming — they don’t usually come so I did not banish them.
It’s hard to talk to folks about this election and why we feel so strongly that the wrong side won.
It’s hard to talk about this election and not place all Trump voters into Hillary’s stupid basket of deplorables.
It’s hard to talk about this election to Trump voters and not slap them upside the head for being stupid, for placing our democracy at risk, for threatening the future of the planet either by a Trump tiff or by his unwillingness to accept that climate change is real and to do something about it.
For those of you who need assistance, I give you this video — with a shout-out to my friend Karen:
Last Wednesday as I drove to work heartbroken over Trump’s victory, John Lennon’s song Imagine came on the radio.
It didn’t improve my mood any. Because I was already imagining plenty.
Earlier today while waiting for a doctor’s appointment, I read a blog from my hometown that posted the Democratic Town Committee’s commitment to not permit bullying, acts of hate or discrimination in town.
Expecting to see universal support for this stance, I was shocked to see the first commenters take a stand, not exactly against, the DTC, but pooh-poohing the need for such a stand.
Naturally, I commented that those commenters obviously hadn’t been paying attention during the campaign. The result was a fairly brief round and round with the commenter, named Dan. As it turned out, Dan was a troll; his comments were removed from the blog along with several damn good ones of mine, I will add.
But he made me think.
When George W. Bush was elected, I worried. I didn’t think he had the brain capacity to be president, and didn’t think he could handle the job. Obviously, I didn’t predict 9/11 or the Iraq war, but I did see in him a bully and a person too easily goaded. I was right. His policies led us into a stupid, unnecessary war. His economic policies led us into a severe, catastrophic economic crisis that only the end of his presidency and Obama’s election prevented from becoming a full-blown economic Depression.
I also thought that Dick Cheney would be a good, calming, fatherly influence. My bad. And his, actually.
With Trump, I am afraid on a deeper level. I’ve expressed those fears many times, so I’ll just say that nothing he has said since his election, and nothing he has done since his election, and nobody he has appointed/is considering appointing has allayed any of my fears. He is an ignorant, hate-filled bully with small fingers who will have access to the nuclear codes in two months.
But you know what? This is where this morning’s troll comes in.
I would love to be wrong.
I would love for each and every Trump voter to work towards proving me that I was crazy to worry.
Prevent bullying/hate crimes/discrimination. Step in at your own risk when necessary. If you say Trump will not increase these things, show me I’m wrong in thinking he will.
Protect social programs. Write to Congress. Let them know that programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are programs Americans have relied upon for decades. Show me that I’m wrong in thinking that these programs will all be gutted to my and the middle and lower class populations’ detriment.
Protest against any new military actions. If there’s time, that is. If Trump acts in a huff, then, you have my permission to bend over and kiss your own ass goodbye.
Pay attention. Be knowledgeable about current events. Remember who is doing what.
Assess the economic impacts by something other than your own tax returns. What is happening in the housing market, the jobs market. Have their been improvements in infrastructure;
Evaluate the importance of the industries that are succeeding in Trump’s America. Did Trump deliver his promises to restore the coal industry. Manufacturing?
Remember your history. If you believe, as my troll does, that comparisons of Trump’s America to Hitler’s Germany, watch what they do and prevent them from repeating history. (That’s why we study history, isn’t it?)
Show me that the Federal judges appointed at all levels are interested in justice and not in advocating from the bench a la Scalia. Make sure they protect the rights of the folks who can’t stand up for themselves.
Vary your news sources — none of them provide the full story or an unbiased story
Consider the other side’s position — and I will try to do the same
The list of things that concern me, of course, goes on and on.
Make it so that in 4 years, I will look back at the fears I (and so many others) had about Donald Trump’s election and laugh at myself for my foolish fears.
Make me eat crow
I will gladly eat crow. If there are any left given Trump’s plan to gut all sorts of environmental programs and the climate change pact.
Surprisingly, even here in polarized Northern Virginia where I live, there are still folks who haven’t made up their minds.
I’m doing all I can to help. I’m making calls, I’ve donated money. I fill out Donald Trumps surveys suggesting that he call Hillary “fat” and ask his followers why she isn’t home in the kitchen.
But the best tool I’ve found is this one:
People are asking me who I voted for. And they really want to know. And I don’t hesitate to let them know why I voted for Hillary.
To the guys in the gas station and the convenience store, I emphasized Hillary’s commitment to raising the minimum wage and the fact that the billionaire has never done anything except cheat working people out of the money they earned.
To the folks in the medical lab, I referred to Hillary’s commitment to science, to healthcare for everybody. Since they have such long working hours, I looked up where they too could vote early and encouraged them to do so.
To the affluent-looking folks in the grocery store, I emphasized the way the market react by falling through the floor whenever there is a hint that Trump is gaining. “Do you want his finger on the nuclear button — we live at Ground Zero — DC (and Northern Virginia) lives under one big target …
Wear your sticker. Talk it up. Don’t pick fights. Use humor however you can.
But everybody with an ounce of sense can help make sure that Wednesday is not the beginning of a long, terrible nightmare.
In January 1998 John, Jacob and I visited the town of Canterbury, home to Canterbury Cathedral.
Image from Wikipedia because it was a damn good picture.
It is a a beautiful cathedral. But part of the fascination with it is it’s history — the fact that it was the site of the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Beckett at the behest of King Henry II. Sort of.
Reportedly, the King was famously infuriated with his former friend, the Archbishop for a number of transgressions, including excommunicating a bunch of English nobles. He famously uttered:
“Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?”
Being the King, folks took it as a command. Wikipedia names the four knights, Reginald fitzUrse, Hugh de Morville, William de Tracy and Richard le Breton, either carried out the king’s command, or misinterpreted the king’s intention. Either way, they assassinated Archbishop Thomas Beckett on the altar of Canterbury Cathedral.
Google Image
In case you are hiding under your bed trying to get away from news about the election, Trump opened his trap again today, and once again said something that should disqualify him for the presidency.
Today’s vomit from Trump can be heard here:
Yeah, I know you didn’t click on the link.
He said:
“If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know.”
Now let’s see. Did Donald Trump just call for the assassination of Hillary Clinton? Or will one of his followers, you know, one of the disgruntled, racist, misogynistic white guys get out his gun(s) and do Donald’s bidding.
“Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?”/
“Who will rid me of this troublesome girl?”
Especially since, in spite of the fact that Trump’s campaign is tanking and he is hemorrhaging in the polls, and he’s claiming that the election, if he loses, will be rigged.
FiftyFourandAHalf 
