Hate Ain’t Great and That’s All Republicans Have to Offer
By the time you’re reading this, Election Day will be over. Notice I didn’t say that the election will be over. Just the day. Because it’s unlikely we’ll have election results until later, especially for down-ballot races. We might know who the next president will be, but it’s not a guarantee. I was alive in the year 2000. I can remember at Thanksgiving of that year my right-wing aunt expressed absolute shock that my mom, twin sister and I voted for Al Gore. It was the first time, but definitely not the last, that I wondered if [NAME REDACTED] was OK. Sadly she has just gotten more conservative over the years.
I was also alive on Jan. 6, 2021, so I have no doubt that disgraced former President and proud Pretend Garbage Man Donald Trump’s supporters will be violent douche bags if he loses. And probably also if he wins. If he loses, they’re going to claim that the election was rigged and lose their minds. If he wins, they’re going to see that as a license to go after minorities.
You don’t have to just take my word for it. The Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) laid it all out in an Oct. 28 piece. They start, of course, with the violence that is already happening.
“This week, Jeffrey Michael Kelly was arrested for shooting at the [Democratic National Committee] office in Tempe, Arizona and charged with terroristic activity, GPAHE reports. “He was found to have 120 guns, 250,000 rounds of ammunition, body armor, and a grenade launcher at his house, and law enforcement believed he may have been planning to commit a “mass casualty event.” Um, yikes.
GPAHE also mentions the assassination attempts on Trump and violent threats against Vice President Kamala Harris. Their report continues, “[A] Texas man was arrested after punching a 69-year-old poll worker who asked him to remove his pro-Turmp merchandise while voting, a longstanding rule to ensure neutrality at polling stations. In another incident that went viral, a woman went on a crude tirade targeting a poll worker who asked her to remove her MAGA shirt. Police in Arizona, Oregon and Washington are investigating ballot box fires started by incendiary devices. In Vancouver, Washington, hundreds of ballots were burned and 20 were damaged in Phoenix.”
What a time to be alive.
Win or lose, Trump will always be a loser. Whether he likes it or not. But if he wins, the loser is the United States.
We already know that Trump was a terrible leader. If you’ll remember, the news headlines were full of reports on whatever wild thing he just tweeted. He hasn’t stopped putting wild things into the universe via social media, it’s just that he is using Truth Social, which is an echo chamber and fluffer for his ego.
Now the headlines are dominated by wild things he says publicly. You know, things like fantasizing about journalists being shot, the size of Arnold Palmer’s penis, fellating a microphone. But he still posts plenty of crazy shit online.
The United States is not a perfect country. Far from it. But the outcome of this election is going to determine what kind of country we are. A good county, or a bad country. Honestly wouldn’t mind a house dropping on me from the sky for a good distraction.
There’s an opinion piece in the Cincinnati Enquirer by Ari Jun titled “We Must Hold Empathy for Those on the Losing Side of Presidential Election” that I’ve seen posted on BlueSky. And let’s just say it’s getting a lot of, um, feedback. A lot of things that are basically, Fuck that.”
But my favorite response was from @nome.bsky.social: “Here's my compassion: In the future I want to build, their kids grow up healthy, with clean water, good schools, and bright futures. Their elders grow old with dignity, and can enjoy retirement. They're free to practice their faith, find fulfilling work at jobs where they're safe from undue risk.”
This is absolutely what we have to do, win or lose. We already know that the entire Republican Party Platform is one of grievance and hate, belittling and marginalizing, mean and angry. There will be no empathy from Trump supporters because the very basis of being part of the MAGA Army is to have no empathy for others.
But no matter what, we have to keep fighting for the things we believe in. And, trust me, I know it can be hard to have hope. I struggle with it every day. But if we give up, what do we have left? We can’t turn our country over to people who hate us and, frankly, themselves.
Now if you’ll excuse me I am going to eat a weed gummy on a completely empty stomach. Should be a fun night.
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