Because I need to get this out of my system...

[aragarna]

I don't really feel totally legitimate to comment on the US elections. I am not an American citizen, therefore, I do not vote. And if there is one thing I've learned, living in the US, is that we, Americans and French, are two very different people. We built our countries on a different history, a different heritage. And in the end, we are different countries. If only by the size and diversity. I think it is very hard, for probably most other countries to grasp how contrasted the US are.

Like most of the people around me, I didn't want to think it was possible. It just seemed like a bad joke. Yes, we all felt a little worried but come on, the guy is a bad joke.

Now, I don't want to judge the people who voted for Trump. First, because, like I said, this is not my country. I'm a guest - officially a resident alien - and I respect their choice. Second, because those people who voted for Trump most probably felt legitimate in their choice, and even though it does feel ridiculous to me, I am not in their shoes. We live very different lives and I won't pretend I can truly understand.

But still, I'm worried.
We don't really know what kind of President Trump will be. Will he be a docile puppet of the Republican party or a downright announcer of the Apocalypse? We don't know.
What we already know though, is that the future President of the United States is openly racist, sexist, a bully, unapologetic and ignorant on many topics.
And that's the head of the United State - which is not far from the head of the world. I'm sure the American people who voted for him had their good reasons, and I'm sure not all of them are racists and sexists. But still. It sets a terrible exemple. If the President himself says all those terrible things, why not us? Now it's okay to be racist, xenophobe, to grab women by the pussy.... Hey, after all, the President himself does it...

And it's not like we discovered it too late. No. He said all those things before. Before he was a nominee, before the election. He's been saying horrible things his whole life. And yet he got elected. Even worse, Trump won the election by saying all those horrible things. So what does that mean? Are we really living in a country where hate speechs and insults against all kind of groups matter less than the elusive promise of change?

I'm worried for what it means for the society. For all the minorities, for women, for all those hard-won civil rights. For the humanity inside of each of us.

Last week, as we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant, we were still joking "let's go there before they get deported." A bad joke for a scenario that wouldn't actually happen. Suddenly it feels a lot harder to find this funny.

Comments

[sherylyn]

I pretty much think most anyone anywhere is allowed to be appalled at what's been done here. I'm not saying this is an "the US is superior" mode at *all*, but the fact is, the US plays an almost ridiculously large role in so bloody much that happens in the world that I think it's perfectly reasonable for others (whether living here or not) are more than allowed to be horrified at what's happened (have you seen JKR on Twitter lately? She's been having a field day!!). And like I've said in multiple other places, this isn't a typical "gee, I'm disappointed my person/party lost" reaction; this is a "oh HELL NO, how did THAT get elected?!???!!" reaction. This isn't about partisanship. This is about human rights, and the utter lack of respect and understanding that is now sitting in one of the most influential and powerful positions in the world, and geezapeet, it's horrifying!! :-P~~

[reve-silencieux.livejournal.com]

Ok, so I had to go read JKR's tweets... and wow, she's gutsy and speaking her mind! But I had to laugh and grin at this person's response:

Dear Americans from a French person: remember that any legislation that threatens your safety or freedom can be fought with massive strikes

Too bad we're too freaking big for a strike to be effective.

[sherylyn]

True... but I suppose it also depends on what it is, and what we choose to do in relation to a strike or boycott or whatever. It'd take a bit of doing, obviously, but at least certain aspects are *possible*!

[leesa_perrie]

Saw the following on FB. Pretty much sums up the feelings of many people right now.

[sapphire2309]

Dude. I'm in college in India, not a US citizen, not directly affected, and I'm still freaking the f*** out. Along with plenty of people in my college. It is okay. I mean, the man's going to have his hands on the nuclear red button. We're allowed to be utterly terrified.

This article offers a whole lot of very sound-seeming reasoning on why the people who voted for Trump may have voted for him.

[aragarna.livejournal.com]

Oh I'm not saying I'm not terrified. My gut reaction was "HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?! THIS IS SO IRRESPONSIBLE AND STUPID AND TERRIFYING AND WRONG.". That's what is going on in my head. But I'm just trying not to be judgemental. This was not my election. This was not a choice for me to make. And this is democracy. We have to respect the choice of the majority.

I can understand their reasoning. I understand they felt left out by a system. Maybe if I was unemployed and living in a caravan, and had no education and not much perspective for the future, maybe I would consider that it's not so much of a big deal if the President is a bully, as long as he gives me a job and keeps me safe. Maybe.

As it is, from my own perspective, I am horrified.
On social rights alone, this country is going to go 15, 20 years backward. Racist and sexist acts are ALREADY on the rise. And I'm not even talking about the danger of having a commander in chief that is short-tempered, speaks before he thinks and can't even handle a Twitter account with dignity. And then, there's the issue of climate change... Etc, etc...

So, yes, I'm freaking out. But they voted for Trump in reaction to those "elites" that they felt acted superior and judgemental without really understanding their problems. So, I don't want to do that. It's not my place. I'm not even a US citizen, and this election was first and foremost the result of huge social and economic inequalities in this country. This was a cry of anger from the powerless against an obsolete and not so democratic system.


But even though I don't want to be judgemental of a choice that I still very much disagree with, most of all, it very deeply and sincerely pains me that it seems okay to pick that guy who is just a horrible human being inside and out. It shouldn't have been acceptable. He shouldn't have been nominated to start with. All his hate speeches SHOULD have disqualified him right away. It is not normal to live in a society that can just hand waves all those words, or weight them equally with an email scandal and saying it was just two equally bad choices. It was not.
This, more than anything, troubles me.

[aragarna.livejournal.com]

Yep. Saw it too. Sums it all pretty well. Everyone here is appalled. Seriously, it's like a collective post-electoral depression.

[aragarna.livejournal.com]

But that's the thing. I think probably exactly the same thing as JKR, but I do not feel this is my right to be judgemental on those people. Inside we should, all, collectively, ask ourselves, how did we get there? how did we let that happen?
How did we let so many people feel so desperate, angry (or ignorant) that they felt that voting for that racist jerk was the right choice?

If we just express anger and don't try to understand the reasons, we won't fix anything and it'll just stay as bad.

[aragarna.livejournal.com]

oh it's not a matter of size, it's a matter of strategy. Obviously, blocking the public transportation in the US wouldn't be as powerful a tool as in France... But, I don't know, road blocks, or blocking oil refineries. Hacking Trump's Twitter account... Whatever derails the system.

And no matter what, try something. A strike is never guaranteed to be effective, but if you don't go on strike, if you don't show your opposition, then you're guaranteed the law will pass, and the next, and the next.
You can still fight. He's just the President, not a dictator. Protest, make sure to vote at the next elections in 2018, etc...

[sherylyn]

I absolutely agree with all you just said!! :-D

[sherylyn]

This is very true. And in that same context, I can understand wanting to vote for someone who's not part of the DC elite/career politician, etc., etc... just not *that* version of the anti-DC person. I understand the frustrations and anger, definitely. I just can't make *him* make sense in my head :-P

I also understand that a *lot* of people voted for Trump because they still have such extreme distaste for the Clintons, and felt like they were truly voting for the lesser of two evils. And in relation to a lot of Bill's actions in the past, I get that. But Bill wasn't the candidate, and I just can't fully fathom voting for Trump, and all he's spewed, no matter what :-P

[sapphire2309]

That's just one subset of voters, I think, but yeah. Overall, bad/selfish decision making on the part of the voters of America, from my distant perspective.

The thing that terrifies me the most is the international ramifications. America sets the international standard (which, tbh, it shouldn't, who picked them?) and them going backwards means that a lot of other countries will feel justified in doing the same.

*hugs* because i think everyone needs them right now.

[maryrose-it.livejournal.com]

I'm not American , but I can understand your feelings and to be worry about the future because we had in the past a President of the Parlament called Berlusconi ...He became President in the same way Trump did using the fear,the anger and the disapointment against the Goverment but he used his power for his own interests he cancelled some laws that could incriminate him... and enacted others just good for his " Empire" ( TV , Newspapers, magazines, a football team and many others "Interests" ...he "loved" to meet many women even minor and he had no " education about diplomacy and as Italians we collected a lot of bad embarassing moment during international meetings..... cause of that "president" when I was abroad I was so ashamed to say ..I'm Italian ...that I prefered to say ..It happened that I was born in Italy!!
So fight ! Legally and peacefully but fight

[maryrose-it.livejournal.com]

I forgot to say that before Berlusconi we had a worse one ...Mussolini and Mr Trump in many facial expression remember a lot of Mussolini's .. do you know that Trump keeps Hitler's speeches book on his nightstand and watched many times Mussolini's videos ( source ...his Biographer!)

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