Trump triumphs

I always write my posts days or weeks after the posted date. So I know how things went “today.”

I was a Bernie supporter who voted for Hillary given the alternative. Towards the end of the race, I got caught up in the Hillary hype on Facebook. When she lost, I remembered why I preferred Bernie. People are so fed up with the inside-the-beltway system that a woman who cozied up to NYC banks and promoted trade treaties is hardly going to reassure them.

My reaction to all the fears of racism/sexism/ableism etc. on Facebook was that not all Trump voters--maybe not even most of his voters--were motivated by the isms. The rich want to get richer and the poor want someone who will kick the status quo in the balls. It drove me nuts when Michelle and Hillary yelled at the Democratic National Convention that America is the greatest country in the world. #1 No. and #2 A lot of people who are watching opiod addiction spread across the land don’t see it that way. Neoliberalism has been a disaster for the middle class and we are seeing blow back in country after country, where politicians are skilled at creating scapegoats. Still, I don’t blame blue collar workers in OH, WI, MI and PA for being fed up with empty promises. I don’t see the orange one doing a damn thing for them. But I totally get why Hillary wasn’t their candidate.

Having said all that, the emboldened people who are tearing at women’s hijabs and spraying racist graffiti are clearly creating terror and the orange one created the atmosphere that enabled that. Scary times. Scary that Russia enabled Wikileaks to eat away at Hillary’s support. Scary that Trump could get us in a freaking war--he’s spoiling for a fight with China, the only place with a thinner skin than his. Scary that he is pro fossil fuel. It’s hard to know where it’s all headed.

Silver lining for me is I’m here in Belfast. I don’t have to walk around in a state of shock/fear/anxiety. I also hope that maybe everyone aggrieved by Trump--quite the rainbow--will form a working coalition that has eluded them in the past. Although such a coalition will never succeed without finding common cause with the white working class who is angered by benefits provided to the poor and angered by the Washington elite. A portion of that squeezed, neglected middle cares only about guns or abortion. But a large portion votes on economic grounds and the Dems haven’t given them much to cheer about.
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