It is November 6th, 2024. Trump just won his second term as president. Everyone is expressing their thoughts and emotions on social media. Instead of adding to the melee on there, I figured I’d put my thoughts in the place I created to put my thoughts in. Besides, I have too many to limit myself to 280 characters.
There’s a lot of shock and fear going around. Anger and blame, too. Emotions are high, and understandably so. Undoubtedly, people have died and will die as a direct consequence of Trump in power. Everyone is in danger. Not just women, not just school-aged children, not just black people or Muslims or immigrants or queer people—everyone is in danger. It doesn’t matter how rich or white or male you are. It doesn’t even matter if you live in America or not. This will harm everyone.
Am I shocked? No. I expected this. I don’t block people at the slightest sign of their bigotry anymore unless they direct it at me. Not because I agree with them—of course I don’t, they absolutely disgust me to the point of literal nausea. But they exist out in the world, and I won’t pretend they don’t. So maybe that’s why I expected another Trump win, when so many of my friends were blindsided.
In the last mayoral election in Calgary, I saw very nice, polite people whom I knew personally express that they would never vote for a woman because a mayor was supposed to be a man. They’d attack the leading female candidate with insults about her race and gender, rather than criticizing her platform or even her as a person. This was in Canada, and the female candidate won, but it was closer than it should have been and I saw enough to be disgusted. The same attacks were used on Hilary Clinton four years ago, on Greta Thunberg when she was only a teenager, and on countless female celebrities to this day. Of the last three elections, the only one Trump lost was to another white man, and even then he won the popular vote. So no, I did not believe the US would elect a biracial woman over a white man, no matter her competency or his impeachments.
With every mass shooting, gun sales go up. With every natural disaster, people deny climate change. When masses died of coronavirus, others claimed it was made up. When Trump attempted a coup, people praised him for it. Every time he says something bigoted, it’s treated as a feature. Bigotry is a monster that feeds off its own regurgitation, so of course it grew. The check engine light has been on for a long time. It was never a matter of who was best for the job. Facts and debates and carefully thought-out policies did not matter. They want their demagogue.
I may not be surprised, but I am disappointed. I’m worried about the future, too. It will not be enough to brace for the next four years. The effects of Trump’s first term are still being felt, and will be for a long time. The consequences of this election will last beyond our lifetimes, especially considering everyone’s life expectancy probably just got a little bit shorter. There are so many things to worry about; loss of media integrity, cuts to education, bans on certain ideas, religious indoctrination, inequitable transfer of wealth, mass deportations, unethical incarcerations, increase of death penalties, cuts to healthcare, widespread political corruption, loss of bodily autonomy, cuts to workers protections, attacks on unions, prosecution of political opponents, international ramifications, world wars, genocide, and—if you try to do anything about it—attacks on protesters rights and America’s beloved freedom of speech. It’s overwhelming.
Most worrisome of all, is that I expect Trump to try to change the rules so that, when his second term comes to an end, he will either be able to run for a third term, or there won’t be another election at all. I hope I’m wrong, but we already got a taste of it on January 6th, 2021. Trump will not give up power willingly, and his followers are okay with that. With “his followers” being the majority of American voters, I think it is entirely in the realm of possibility that he’ll attempt to cling to the presidency for longer than four years. Even if he doesn’t, the people he puts into power will stay long after he does, and the laws they pass or overturn will be effective longer still.
But right now, with all the hypotheticals and possibilities in front of us, getting overwhelmed with fear is easy. So first and foremost, take care of yourself. I won’t say don’t be scared. The future is bleak. I can’t tell you it will be okay. It might not be. Cry it out, and then eat some fruit and go for a walk. Don’t let yourself freeze and fall into a pit of despair. I mean, if it can’t be helped then so be it, but drag yourself out of there as soon as you’re able. Make sure you are okay, because you are needed. When people show their hatred of others, your kindness will matter. When the going gets tough, be someone others can lean on. Foster your community. Shelter the vulnerable. Do what you can. Focus on one thing at a time and pace yourself. That is how we will bear this. In a world of hate, the best rebellion is kindness.
Precarious Writer 