This post was going to be about the obligations of the winning party in a presidential election. Events, however, as they often do, have outstripped the speed of my mind and my pen. So this post opens with a quote I read. Here it is-
"I am not mad at you that Clinton lost. I am unconcerned that we have different politics. And I don't think less of you because you vote one way and I vote another. No... I think less of you because you watched an adult mock a disabled person in front of a crowd and still supported him. I think less of you because you saw a man spouting clear racism and backed him. I think less of you because you listened to him advocate for war crimes, and still thought he should run this country. I think less of you because you watched him equate a woman's worth to her appearance and got on board. It isn't your politics that I find repulsive. It is your personal willingness to support racism, sexism, and cruelty. You sided with a bully when it mattered and that is something I will never forget. So, no... you and I won't be "coming together" to move forward or whatever. Trump disgusts me, but it is the fact that he doesn't disgust you that will stick with me long after this election. "
Here I reply personally to an impersonal quote. It is telling me I support racism, sexism and cruelty and that, by extension, I am a racist, sexist and cruel. This will really help politics and society nationally. Let's demonize and label everyone who voted for Trump. It wasn't enough for Clinton to call me, and them, a basket of deplorables. Now we are all racist, sexist pigs. Probably all benighted Breitbart readers and therefore anti-Semites as well.
All nuance is lost in labels. You are so sure of the lesser evils of your candidate that you can insult others, impugn their values. If you turn the 'logic' around, it means anyone who supported Clinton is a prevaricator, a supporter of big banks, duplicitous, has different public and private values. I loathe Clinton but don't label her supporters that way.
What kind of arrogance gives you the right to label Trump supporters? Are you that sure your values are superior? You lost. By electoral definition, your values were judged inferior. Sure, you had more popular votes, by running up big margins in exactly two states- California and New York. Outside of that, you lost badly. And, for the constitutionally challenged, this is why there is an electoral college, so that the president has to win in more than just a couple of states. The whole basis of our constitutional government was the Virginia Compromise, allowing proportional representation in the Congress and by state in the Senate. And requiring that the president appeal everywhere, not just (in those days) Virginia and New York.
Instead of labeling me, you need to ask yourself what are you doing that would allow reasonable, considerate, egalitarian people to vote for Trump. But you don't do that. You protest in the street, you hurl insults, you priggishly assert you know better. You label people in wildly inaccurate and unfair ways. You are even trying to manipulate the electoral college! Is there nothing to which you will not stoop to get your way?
Here's a brief response to the ugly, insulting, divisive post I read. Everything in it is garbage, and here's why-
-Read about the context of Trump supposedly mocking a disabled reporter. Makes great mainstream media news (those who actively tried to get Clinton elected), but is totally false. Trump used the same gesture multiple times to mimic reporters broadly, and the futility of talking with them. Go look it up.
-Trump is not a racist because he called out inner city neighborhoods. I don't care whether they are black neighborhoods or not, they are a mess, and that is simply true. If most of those messy neighborhoods are black you need to ask why, not reflexively say it is caused by 'systematic racism'. Ask yourself why Trump has a solid reputation for promoting black and female executives if he's such a racist.
-He called Rosie O'donell fat (specifically fat faced). Tell me that's false. Is it fat shaming, misogynistic? They are having a feud and you don't like his language. While I think it's bad manners, I don't see it as fat-shaming or sexist.
-He called a beauty contestant fat. She is there, by choice, to have her body judged, by men, and when someone says she's too heavy to be competitive he is the sexist? It's just the rules of the game they are both playing.
So please cut the crap with labels you think will resonate with the press, and get on with life. The apparatus of government is controlled, for now, not by your enemy but by your fellow citizens, who look at things differently than you do.
Stop insulting, yelling and claiming Trump is not your president. How are you any different from the people who claimed Obama isn't an American? Why is it OK for you to insult millions of Americans, but if someone says a woman is too fat he's a misogynist?
To put it bluntly, your insufferably arrogant behavior is what let perfectly rational, kind people vote for anyone, anyone at all, who would keep people like you out of power for a little while. Stop pointing fingers and look in the mirror for the cause of your angst. And do your duty as a citizen, and seek compromise and understanding, not inflammation and discord. And I said, and continue to say, the same about Republicans. While I read an impersonal item personally, labeling and demonizing people is wrong no matter what your party or beliefs. It is only in talking that we understand each other.
Ted
"I am not mad at you that Clinton lost. I am unconcerned that we have different politics. And I don't think less of you because you vote one way and I vote another. No... I think less of you because you watched an adult mock a disabled person in front of a crowd and still supported him. I think less of you because you saw a man spouting clear racism and backed him. I think less of you because you listened to him advocate for war crimes, and still thought he should run this country. I think less of you because you watched him equate a woman's worth to her appearance and got on board. It isn't your politics that I find repulsive. It is your personal willingness to support racism, sexism, and cruelty. You sided with a bully when it mattered and that is something I will never forget. So, no... you and I won't be "coming together" to move forward or whatever. Trump disgusts me, but it is the fact that he doesn't disgust you that will stick with me long after this election. "
Here I reply personally to an impersonal quote. It is telling me I support racism, sexism and cruelty and that, by extension, I am a racist, sexist and cruel. This will really help politics and society nationally. Let's demonize and label everyone who voted for Trump. It wasn't enough for Clinton to call me, and them, a basket of deplorables. Now we are all racist, sexist pigs. Probably all benighted Breitbart readers and therefore anti-Semites as well.
All nuance is lost in labels. You are so sure of the lesser evils of your candidate that you can insult others, impugn their values. If you turn the 'logic' around, it means anyone who supported Clinton is a prevaricator, a supporter of big banks, duplicitous, has different public and private values. I loathe Clinton but don't label her supporters that way.
What kind of arrogance gives you the right to label Trump supporters? Are you that sure your values are superior? You lost. By electoral definition, your values were judged inferior. Sure, you had more popular votes, by running up big margins in exactly two states- California and New York. Outside of that, you lost badly. And, for the constitutionally challenged, this is why there is an electoral college, so that the president has to win in more than just a couple of states. The whole basis of our constitutional government was the Virginia Compromise, allowing proportional representation in the Congress and by state in the Senate. And requiring that the president appeal everywhere, not just (in those days) Virginia and New York.
Instead of labeling me, you need to ask yourself what are you doing that would allow reasonable, considerate, egalitarian people to vote for Trump. But you don't do that. You protest in the street, you hurl insults, you priggishly assert you know better. You label people in wildly inaccurate and unfair ways. You are even trying to manipulate the electoral college! Is there nothing to which you will not stoop to get your way?
Here's a brief response to the ugly, insulting, divisive post I read. Everything in it is garbage, and here's why-
-Read about the context of Trump supposedly mocking a disabled reporter. Makes great mainstream media news (those who actively tried to get Clinton elected), but is totally false. Trump used the same gesture multiple times to mimic reporters broadly, and the futility of talking with them. Go look it up.
-Trump is not a racist because he called out inner city neighborhoods. I don't care whether they are black neighborhoods or not, they are a mess, and that is simply true. If most of those messy neighborhoods are black you need to ask why, not reflexively say it is caused by 'systematic racism'. Ask yourself why Trump has a solid reputation for promoting black and female executives if he's such a racist.
-He called Rosie O'donell fat (specifically fat faced). Tell me that's false. Is it fat shaming, misogynistic? They are having a feud and you don't like his language. While I think it's bad manners, I don't see it as fat-shaming or sexist.
-He called a beauty contestant fat. She is there, by choice, to have her body judged, by men, and when someone says she's too heavy to be competitive he is the sexist? It's just the rules of the game they are both playing.
So please cut the crap with labels you think will resonate with the press, and get on with life. The apparatus of government is controlled, for now, not by your enemy but by your fellow citizens, who look at things differently than you do.
Stop insulting, yelling and claiming Trump is not your president. How are you any different from the people who claimed Obama isn't an American? Why is it OK for you to insult millions of Americans, but if someone says a woman is too fat he's a misogynist?
To put it bluntly, your insufferably arrogant behavior is what let perfectly rational, kind people vote for anyone, anyone at all, who would keep people like you out of power for a little while. Stop pointing fingers and look in the mirror for the cause of your angst. And do your duty as a citizen, and seek compromise and understanding, not inflammation and discord. And I said, and continue to say, the same about Republicans. While I read an impersonal item personally, labeling and demonizing people is wrong no matter what your party or beliefs. It is only in talking that we understand each other.
Ted
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