What Happens When Trump DOESN’T Win?
This has been the. Most. Hellacious. Week. Starting with the largest mass shooting in US history since the battle at Wounded Knee in 1890, to the Trump rally in Greensboro, NC last night, which was painstakingly (and painfully) documented by Jared Yates Sexton here. America is not exactly on its A-game at the moment.
I went to bed last night wiping tears from my face, shaking from frustration and anger, at who we — Americans — have become. What we’ve allowed to happen. It’s horrifying. It’s heavy. And as a parent, it’s absolutely heartbreaking. This is the world we’re priming for the next generation. This is what we’re handing to them. Aren’t we proud?
So, even more than being terrified at the prospect of a Trump presidency — which is no longer the humorous distraction it was months ago, but is now straight horror-flick-worthy — is the prospect of him losing. Because now, he’s plucked all of these lunatics out of the woodwork and giving them a tangible platform to spew hate and evil. What happens to all of those people when Hillary is elected? These heathens who last night, at Trump’s rally in Greensboro, were wearing — IN PUBLIC — in the presence of CHILDREN, shirts that read “Hillary sucks but not more than Monica,” and “Trump That Bitch”? Do these worthless slugs just sulk back into the holes from which they came? Do they go back to their Lazy-Boy recliners, Budweisers in hand, relegated to yelling their expletives at the television from the confines of their double-wides? Or do they — now that they’ve been given a platform and a “leader” and such broad-reaching, sensationalized coverage — continue to fester like an untreated wound, poisoning the areas around them and becoming a larger threat to society?
This is what keeps me up at night. This is what scares me as a parent. This is what makes me question American values. This is what has me Googling “Escaping America,” or “Raising kids in Norway.” (The latter of which intrigues me more and more every day, despite the cold weather and accompanying “chilly” demeaner of the people, overall.)
We can continue to watch these tragedies unfold on CNN and Twitter, more and more frequently. We can change our Facebook profile picture to rainbows or hearts or hands holding each other in solidarity. We can use every #iamOrlando or #CharlestonShooting or #PrayforNewtown hashtag as they trend. We can send our meaningless, trite “prayers” to the victims families. We can continue to support candidates who spew hatred and evil. We can continue to allow the NRA to control our government. We can keep turning the other cheek. Until the next crisis, that is. And the one after that, and the one — inevitably — after that.
Or, we could shake off the bad juju. Wake the fuck up. Grow some balls. Act responsibly. Be sensible. Grow love and kindness. And come to terms with the fact that the world is a very different place now than when our founding fathers wrote that Constitution with their muskets by their side. Assualt weapons were not something they could even fathom. They’d be horrified if they were here now to witness how we’ve butchered their intentions for our own selfish agendas. It’s time for us to get over ourselves and take some steps to make this a safer, more inclusive place for future generations, before we kill ourselves off completely.
So what can you do?
- Go here and find the phone numbers and Twitter handles for your local Senators and Congresspeople. Call them. Call them again. Tweet at them. Implore them to take action to reduce gun violence.
- Join Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America and get involved. It’s our duty as bears to protect our cubs. That starts with fighting for common sense gun laws.
- Donate blood. When there’s bloodshed, there’s the need for blood. And there’s a lot of bloodshed these days.
- Do something actionable. And making sure that love trumps hate, ALWAYS. It’s our responsibility as citizens of the WORLD.
