Trump Supporters, What Are You Thinking?!?

 

I’ll admit that, at first, I was one of those holier-than-thou liberals who threw all Trump supporters into the same basket of deplorables. I did not do this on social media, for the record, but I did make such comments to my husband in the privacy of our own home. Which I acknowledge was still bigly ungood of me. However, I now understand that the 25% of eligible voters who did cast their ballot for Trump are a diverse group with a whole slew of explanation/justification. 

 

I’m in a place now where I feel like I understand the explicitly racist Trump supporters much better than the “non-bigoted” ones. Like, of course the white supremacists voted for the candidate whose rhetoric mirrored their own. And the single-issue anti-abortion zealots? Their votes make total sense to me. They don't even have to care whether they like or support Trump, they just have to believe that he’ll influence the Supreme Court to protect all bundles of human cells - regardless of viability or any other very personal and likely distressing factors - as promised. Their politics are myopic, of course, as is true for anyone who votes based on a single issue.

 

These racists and these zealots, I get them. I can appreciate that these supporters followed a logical decision-making process when casting their vote for the 45th President of the United States of America. I disagree with them, fervently, of course, but at least their political affiliations directly reflect their self-proclaimed values. But also, I don’t know these types of people, and I truly doubt that there is much room for the kind of discussion that changes any minds. Mine or theirs.

 

It is the rest of the heterogenous group of Americans who helped elect Trump to office (via the electoral college, NOT popular vote) that have me all kinds of anxious. These are the ones I might know. They seem to be in hiding, sure, but maybe it’s just because I’m a well-read opinionated nasty woman. 

 

There are the Trump supporters who simply voted for their party, as they have always done. And will always do. They weren’t well-versed on the issues. They didn’t pay attention to the campaign. They ignored the media circus. They certainly couldn't have watched the debates. These are the same ones who also aren’t reflecting on their vote, nor thinking about or commenting on the current state of social-political affairs.

 

Then there are the ones who are afraid. And while I don’t understand precisely what you are afraid of, I do understand the universal experience of fear. I understand that you might feel threatened.  Disenfranchised. Worried that your loved ones are not safe. Maybe you face mounting financial stresses, have unaddressed medical issues, feel displaced from your job or your home or your life. And then this rich, famous, white man instills in you hope. Hope to be not only heard, but truly listened to. Hope for a better “economy.” Hope for a piece of whatever pie he’s eating. I feel for you, I really do. And while we may not agree on a whole lot of things, I do think your situation and your life and your voice - especially your feelings and your fears - these matter.

 

There are the Trump supporters  who are angry, enraged even. I won’t assume to know your individual experience. But I do know that anger is usually a secondary emotion, precipitated by fear. See above.

 

There are the “religious ones.” Mormon. Evangelical. Some non-denominational Christian faction. Likely not Muslim or Jewish, as Trump did not have anything nice to say about your people. As I don't identify as a Christian myself, I have only a superficial understanding of your particular brand of faith. All I do know is that Jesus was supposed to be a good and righteous man. One who spoke for those who could not speak for themselves. The poor, Lepers and the like. He espoused kindness and compassion and love and selflessness. So WWJD? I simply cannot imagine that is would have voted for Trump.

 

There are the ones who hate Hillary. They’ve always hated Hillary. To them I say, “why bother? why so much vitriol? what did she ever do to you, in her 30 years of public service?” And then, inside my head, I assume that you just don't really like or respect women. At least, not strong women. Not bold women. Not brave women. Not women who challenge the status quo and the gender norms. You don’t see that she “stood by her man,” that she’s a mother, or a loving grandmother. Never mind her experience, skill, and expertise in many facets of what I imagine would be essential to be president. Because she’s a woman and she’s not “likeable,” you simply hate her. But you’ll never admit this to yourself or anyone else, instead offering more pragmatic explanations for your hatred, about emails and donor dollars and her husband.

 

But then - and these are who get me - there are the ones who say that they want “change." To “make America great again." Or to do away with the two-party system. These are the ones most likely to be in my life. Maybe they serve my coffee or deliver my mail or are a patient at my hospital. Maybe they are my best friend’s mom, a random Facebook “friend” from high school, or even my aunt. Maybe, but hopefully-not-and-I-seriously-doubt-it-but-just-in-case-I-have-a-chance-to-reach-them, maybe they are a friend of mine.

 

So to the latter faction of Trump supporters - what is it about a (suspiciously vague and otherwise empty) promise for “change” that has you all twitterpated? So much so that, although you don’t identify - and likely adamantly deny - as racist, homophobic, misogynistic, xenophobic or discriminatory in any other way, you are willing to prioritize “change” over humanity? A “great America” ruled by a hateful demagogue? 

 

And to all supporters, how are you more Republican that you are human? More afraid of your current situation than of an unknown future governed by a man who might have promised you things that he likely never intended to follow through on? More angry at the status quo than at bullies and bigots? More aligned with the parts of the Bible said to reference homosexuality or a woman's "place" than the parts about loving your neighbor and serving the poor? How do you have more hatred for Hillary than hatred for racism, sexism, or injustice of any kind? How can you defend putting your desires for “change” ahead of your fellow American’s human right for safety? For shelter? For the autonomy to (peaceably) do and say and be who they want to be, in a country who prides itself on being founded on personal freedom? 

  

So ask yourself (and feel free to explain to me and any other “leftist liberal"), why although you adamantly deny being discriminatory yourself, you appear okay with so many others, including the next leader of our country, not only promoting and normalizing bigoted rhetoric, but even bragging about behaving in such ways (remember that "grab em' by the pussy" thing?). It seems to me, being a-okay with hate speech is basically like being a hater yourself.