I know. It's Veteran's Day and I had hoped to stay away from political talk as not to take away from what today should really be about - ya know, our veterans. This is their day and I hate so much that celebrating them in honor of their sacrifices is getting overshadowed by election stuff. But I have seen a lot of hurt being talked about today because of said election so.... here we are.
So here's the thing. I constantly struggle with knowing when it's better to speak up about something and when it's better to keep quiet in order to keep the peace. And when I do decide that speaking up is the correct thing to do, I struggle with finding the right words that will be uplifting to others according to their needs. It's hard. And I fail at this often. And I may fail again here. But people are hurting, y'all. For real hurting. This kind of hurt warrants addressing. I've seen stories of both Trump supporters and Hillary supporters acting out in violent ways and It. Is. Not. Ok. But that's not what I want to get into here. Because people I know have stories of hurting people. I'm not talking about stories heard on the news or read on social media articles. Stories that they have lived and/or seen up close and personal in their lives. GOOD people who supported Hillary and are not in the minority group that is protesting violently. They are devastated and fearful about a Trump presidency. And they have good reason to be fearful. We can't blame them for that. Trump is unpredictable and has made a pretty bad reputation for himself. And if I'm being perfectly honest, I have personally seen, in my own real life, at least as much, if not more, childish behavior from Trump supporters than Hillary supporters. People I know that refer to Hillary Clinton as "Killary" and call liberals "libtards." CHRIST following good people have resorted to this kind of low. I've heard stories (from people I know - not 3rd party news stories) of minority kids being the butt of racial jokes and other kids high-fiving each other because Trump is going to build a wall and then saying they are going to buy an AK47 and find Killary. Local stories y'all. Happening in communities I used to live in. If anyone thinks this is ok and acceptable, then we have a huge problem. This is absolutely craziness. And turning our heads and pretending it's not a big deal isn't ok. IT IS NOT OK. These are KIDS for crying out loud.
Sadly, a lot of us are the ones who fueled this flame. Well intended, good people. But that doesn't change the consequences of our reckless words. Instead of addressing Hillary Clinton's downfalls like adults, we did it like assholes. In doing so, we set an example of asshole-ness to our kids who are taking that to school with them. Thankfully, my own kids don't seem to know much about the election other than the names of the people who ran and that Donald Trump apparently has orange skin. I'm glad for that. They will have plenty of time to deal with the world's craziness as they get older. But that could change at any moment because there are a lot of kids in one elementary school and who knows what they know or have heard and will eventually spread.
So I implore you, Donald Trump Supporters, please please please be mindful of the words that you use. Our children are listening. And second, please be mindful of the people who are legitimately hurting right now. Don't ask them to bottle up their feelings and just get over it. If the roles were reversed, that's not what you would want to hear and it's not fair to disregard their feelings so easily. Let's try to understand where they are coming from and be there to offer an open ear and open heart.
I know this kind of request can be hard to swallow from Hillary supporters as it comes across one-sided. I have been guilty of that recently, myself. So know that this request comes from someone who also voted for Trump. I haven't made that public because I didn't want anything I said about the election to be accepted or rejected solely on the basis of who I voted for. But I think it's only fair now to be honest and transparent. I voted for him in spite of being radically against the idea of him being the Republican nominee because at the end of the day, actions speak louder than words for me. I was outraged when Brock Turner was sentenced to just 6 months jail time for raping a young woman and I think it would have been hypocritical to not be just as outraged about seeing Hillary Clinton not be held accountable for criminal acts as well - and not only that, but also in a sense be rewarded for it. It would have been the ultimate show of abuse of power. I see Hillary Clinton as someone who tries to keep her baggage behind closed doors and that is far more dangerous to me than someone who lets it out in the open. This comes from someone who on separate occasions, has been sexually assaulted and abused before so please don't tell me I can't relate to the people that Trump has insulted so I can't fully understand. Because in my personal experience, when someone tries to hide the bad inside of them instead of bringing it to the light to be addressed and moved on from, it is much more insulting and demeaning than the latter. I struggled with casting an actual vote for Donald Trump for a while, but in the end I felt like it was worth giving him a chance. I believe (while there's a very strong chance it is selfish based) that he has a genuine desire to leave a positive legacy so that will be great motivation for him to succeed. That is not the only factor in my decision but since that's not what this post is really about, I'm not going to spend a lot of time making a list about it.
That's where I stand for whatever it matters. To anyone who is hurting or is scared and wants to talk, I'm here. Maybe a little late and for that, I'm sorry. But I'm here now. Please forgive those of us who are still struggling with how to approach conversations about this in the right and loving way. Some of us are working on it.
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