Great words / pep talk from Michelle Green on this Wednesday morning.
At midnight, I woke up and checked the election results and began to cry. My first thought was about the conversation I’d have to have with my daughter in the morning. She stood by me as I proudly filled in the circles on my ballot. Like many of my friends and family, we were optimistic that the world might look different in the morning.
It does look different this morning. It looks like misogyny and racism and anti-intellectualism are now the colors that this country flies. How could it not look like that? Somebody’s drunk uncle just got elected president.
I got caught up in the news cycles, the Tweets, the demoralizing nature of these campaigns. My heart sank when I realized that what I had believed about my country was not true – that we were kinder, braver and smarter than we are.
It’s a wake up call. For…
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Bill Pearse 
It’s so fucking hard to even figure this stuff out in my head. I made the mistake of creating a FB account last week (to promote my blog…), and it’s more of the same vitriol on there this morning. The Trump supporters are gloating as hard as they can without looking like complete assholes. The Hillary supporters (or, really, the anti-Trump vote) are annihilated emotionally and are even affected physically, claiming they are too down or in shock to come to work (believe me, that’s how I felt this morning).
I wish so badly I could convey to the winners what their win feels like it represents. It sure feels like everything you said and more; it feels like blows against what is progressive, what is striving for equality and rights; it feels like a win for racism, anti-intellectualism, xenophobia… but the “winners” absolutely refuse to acknowledge this. For them, it was a win for their policies and issues and ideal. I keep asking myself, “Other than xenophobic border / international policies, WHICH ISSUES, POLICIES, and IDEALS?”
Just like the anti-Obama was, IMO, truly a way of justifying racism, this election was a way of justifying sexism, misogyny, and the last vestiges of the boy’s club. I don’t give shit one about Hillary. Sure, I think we should, at some point, have a female president. I don’t think we should have one just because we haven’t had one in the past. But by electing the not-Hillary, we elected the biggest fucking monster I’ve ever seen. And now he represents me.
I feel so played. I hate the gloaters. I hate that they can’t see how hateful they look, especially with their victory face on.
I don’t want to leave this country. But I do. I am so embarrassed that words can’t explain. I’m embarrassed to be from this country and to be called an American. This isn’t the same as when I didn’t want Bush for president; at least the guy acted presidential, or as much as he could muster. This one… I don’t know. Like I tried to say, words fail.
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You nailed it through and through (nail…through…hand) Justin. Boy, I reckon Portland must be in a state of mourning (or at least half of it)…our local DJ here was playing songs like Ship of Fools by World Party and Don’t Dream it’s Over…and his voice cracked when he signed off. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and feelings here and be well my friend.
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I’m sorry you’ve become the guy I trust and vent to and send (semi-) creative writing to… I’m not sure why, but I really dig your stuff and latched on. Don’t let me monopolize your time and force you to send me approving messages when my writing sucks. I appreciate having you (without your permission) as an informal bloggy mentor.
Anyway, drinky time…
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Hey don’t ever say that about your writing man. Leave that to others. Your writing does not suck I am sure. I’m hopping over there now to your place so fix one for me, I have The Thirst.
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A great post, Bill. Heartfelt and filled with fighting talk.
If it’s any compensation – and I’m sure it’s not – as a post Brexit Brit who voted to remain in Europe, living in a nation the rest of the world now deems insular and racist, I sympathise.
Thinking of you all
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That’s really, really kind of you Lynn. Thanks. Not much else to say on that…hugs.
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Hugs back, Bill
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Had a dream early this morning — I was leaving a building with lots of stairs and courtyards and rooms on different levels that I knew was a conference centre. Looked like many people were leaving, but suddenly, there was Donald Trump! He was clutching a bunch of stuff — binders, maybe, and a flag??? I actually said, “Congratulations, Mr. Trump,” but couldn’t shake his hand (blech) because of the stuff he was holding. So now I’m wondering where this came from; maybe a piece of mental garbage that needed to be ejected. And I’ve been bummed out all day, every time I hear someone say “President-Elect Donald Trump.”
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That sounds like those dreams Harry Potter had about Voldemort and the snake, Nagi. That burning scar on the forehead. I had weird dreams like that too, though not as vivid and I can’t remember them. Like others probably, I went to bed feeling off, but I didn’t know the outcome. So I awoke around 2 AM and lay there for a while debating if I should check, and then I saw Michelle Green’s post, and man…you know the rest. I went back to bed and lay there a while longer, went in and out, woke up with that icky feeling, had to tell my kids…same tale of many. Thanks for sharing Audrey, I wish you some peace. Don’t use those words, but I guess we must: President-Elect. Perhaps the best gift is the one he asked for. Fake it until you make it. Just don’t take the rest of us down with your F-d up dreams, right?
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