it’s not anti-republican, it’s anti-trump

the only other person who could’ve probably incited so much protesting against the election was ted cruz. had john kasich, jeb bush, or marc rubio won, we wouldn’t be where we are now. i’m tired of seeing “get over it” and “chill out” and “stop your whining” from all the trump supporters. a vote for trump was a vote of ignorance for what was at stake.

i am tolerant of intellectual republicans. i was once a republican myself and know that there can be mutual respect and that there can be a productive exchange of ideas. i despised bush, jr for many reasons, but i never felt like i lost my country - even with the illegal war he started. to trump supporters, this was a pissing match. to me, and most others, this was about respect for life (and the environment), our freedom to be who we are, to love whom we want, to accept our differences regardless of religious beliefs, and a chance for us to win fights against hatred, women’s rights and minority rights. this wasn’t a republican vs democrat election. that would’ve been kasich/bush/rubio vs clinton/sanders.

kasich, rubio, and bush would’ve never said, “i could shoot someone and get away with it” and ignite crowds with excitement.

kasich, rubio, and bush would’ve never said, “i can grab any pussy and get away with it” and ignite crowds with excitement.

kasich, rubio, and bush would’ve never said, “‘knock out (anyone who protests us)’” and ignite crowds with excitement.

a republican is not someone who values violence towards others or values racism, but someone who does value violence towards others or who is racist is most likely a republican. 

a republican is not someone who is uneducated but someone who is uneducated is most likely a republican. 

a republican is not someone who is without an understanding of the world at large and our relationship to it, but someone who doesn’t understand the world at large and our relationship to it is most likely a republican.

republican politicians, while i may not agree with most of them, have education and experience to back up their views. they know the chess game. trump had no experience in the political arena, boasted about not knowing how government or foreign policy worked, but still made him captain of a ship he never once even sailed on. i wonder, would trump supporters go to a mechanic for a root canal?

we will be getting a team who will be guided by white, heterosexual, evangelical views. 

this is happening in a land founded by illegal immigrants who were intellectuals with views that government stay out of people’s business and who prided themselves on the notion of separation of church and state.

digest that irony.

so much hate, so much darkness, so much spite; my heart hurts

in regards to last night's presidential election, i'm scared for my rights as a woman and the future for my children, i'm scared for all my minority friends and their families, i'm scared for all muslims, i'm scared for our environment and Mother Earth, i'm heartbroken that someone who mistreats everyone he comes across, someone who doesn't respect his workers and doesn't pay his workers, someone who believes women are objects to be grabbed and jerked around, someone who doesn't understand how government works and whose followers believe he's going to just "fire" congress, someone who will represent me but spews so much hatred and violence - values i don't have and values i don't teach my children, someone who will flies off the handle on whim, someone with no respect for our country and all the gains, someone who doesn't *care* to understand the ins and outs of our government, or OUR WORLD, or our economy and its tangled web, someone who not once ever cared about anyone else other than himself so as to stroke his bankrupt-ass ego, i'm heartbroken that someone like that will get to call himself President.

this is just the beginning...

From Feminists United on Facebook:

and this from a woman named Ingrid Jackson on Facebook:

i don't want hate and darkness to win. i can't believe it has with lasting consequences for my and my friends' children.

and speaking of children, if you have them, this is an excellent article to read what to tell them about the results of last night's election.

and i leave you with the incredibly insightful blog post from John Pavlovitz about why those of us who wanted Hillary Clinton to win. among other things, it was a race "about our views of people's worth." please read it.

Dear Donald Trump,

“Make America Great Again.” Please explain your meaning of “again.” I, specifically, would like to know if there’s a time period that you have in mind.

Is it when wealthy, white, European immigrants came and raped Native Americans and their land?

Is it when wealthy, white, European immigrants brought over indentured servants to do the hard labor with promises of freedom and prosperity that most would never see?

Is it when wealthy, white, European immigrants realized indentured servants were too expensive and risky to keep, yet shipping Africans to the US and having them do all the hard labor proved more economical? Slaves catapulted America’s wealth, so is it their blood, sweat, and tears the “again” you’re referring to?

Or is it when wealthy, white immigrants used children and women to work in factories with no regulation during the Industrial Revolution the “again” you’re referring to?

Maybe you’re talking about when wealthy, white Americans ostracized the Chinese ignoring the fact that we have a transcontinental railroad because of them, or once ostracizing the Italians, or the Irish, or the Jewish immigrants despite their contributions to every aspect of society from constructing buildings in NY to food to music to art, etc. And now society wishes to ostracize Latinos forgetting that any food one has in his or her fridge or any food that one orders at a restaurant was brought about, most likely, because of a migrant, South American worker. Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta mean nothing to you, obviously.

Does your “again” refer to the time when wealthy, white Americans segregated towns and cities, sending money to white schools and very little to no money for books and materials to black schools but then ridiculed an entire race for being “dumb?”

Or is the “again” about the time when white Americans lynched blacks and other minorities, some even hog-tied and dragged behind pick-up trucks? Are you like a KKK member who’s so rebellious you’d refuse to wear your hood? Is a KKK America the “again” you’re referring to?

See, Mr. Trump, America is only as good as its leaders and citizens. Our history has a lot of pain and hatred. It’s astonishing that you are proud to be a face to that, and that you’re proud to encourage the continuation of that pain and hatred. Maybe you do feel that bringing back the laws that allowed for so much hatred, racism, and murder of specific groups is what would make America great “again,” but I would hope to think, no, I want to believe that there are more of us Americans who want to honor our differences rather than chastise and divide. America is a country filled with people who aren’t afraid of hard work, who aren’t afraid to try new ground, and who aren’t afraid to work together regardless of religion, background, sexual orientation, or race. Perhaps you’re hard-pressed to believe this, but America is not a reality show.

I was once a school teacher, and once gave a test to my students that most failed. I took a step back and realized that their inability to pass the test wasn’t a reflection on whether or not they studied, but a reflection on my inability to have correctly taught the lesson. So, I had to go back and figure out another way to reteach the lesson because it was important to me for them to understand it more than it was to keep my students down. Your strategy is to keep most Americans down, and when you have a country filled with people who are kept down, it is a reflection of the leader, not the individuals. A leader’s role is to think about what’s best for everyone, not just for the few. You may think you’re a leader because your bank account has more zeroes than I could ever fathom, but you mistake money for intelligence and your supporters mistake celebrity for intelligence.

You’ve run quite a circus and made a mockery of our democratic process, but I have faith that, at some point, the lights will turn dark on your circus and you will find yourself back in the board room trying to figure out another way to be a headline. Perhaps the headline will be something like, “Donald Trump Reinvents Himself Again,” because, after all, the chance to become someone in the US, even over and over, is what makes America great all the time.

Sincerely,

Vejune J. Baltrusaitis