What Comes Next?

This is all I'm going to say on this topic, and I doubt this will ever go up on Facebook, because this is probably as strident as I will ever be.  So read or not, as you like, in case you're interested in understanding and empathizing with me.

I am appalled at what is being asked of me.

Not only am I asked to move on, to move forward, to bring the country together, I am asked to attempt to understand and empathize with those who voted differently than I did.

I am told that those who voted differently are feeling left behind.  That they’re economically disadvantaged.  That I can’t understand the stresses they’re under.

And I’m sorry.

I’m sorry, but I’m appalled to be asked to understand and empathize with people who voted out of bigotry, racism, misogyny and fear.

I’m sorry that I believe that those who did are a much bigger portion of the electorate than we’d like to believe.

Don’t agree with me?  Go ahead and take a look at the CNN exit polling breakdowns.  It’s quite granular, and it’s not going to have the same errors as the pre-election polling, since it’s based on people who actually turned up and voted (which isn’t to say it may not have its own errors, but you work with what you have).

Here are a few particularly interesting breakdowns (in case it’s not clear, the percentages are the votes for each candidate in the applicable category of voter.  The data on CNN’s website also includes the percentages of voters falling in each category, but that’s less meaningful for this application):

Race:

White: Clinton: 37%  Trump 58%

Non-white: Clinton 74%  Trump 21%

Also, white males voted for Trump 10 points more than white women did.  That’s a gender spread in line with other races that are broken out.

Income:

Under $50k: Clinton 52%  Trump 41%

$50k or more: Clinton 47% Trump 49%

Most important issue facing the country:

Foreign policy: Clinton 60%  Trump 34%

Immigration: Clinton 32%  Trump 64%

Economy: Clinton 52%  Trump 42%

Terrorism: Clinton 39% Trump 57%

Which candidate quality mattered most:

Cares about me: Clinton 58%  Trump 35%

Can bring change: Clinton 14%  Trump 83%

Right Experience: Clinton 90%  Trump 8%

Good judgment: Clinton 66%  Trump 26%

And one more for fun:

Marital status by gender:

Married men:  Clinton 37%  Trump 58%

Married women: Clinton 49%  Trump 47%

Unmarried men: Clinton 46%  Trump 45%

Unmarried women: Clinton 62%  Trump 33%

You can make your own interpretations, but I don’t know what else to make of these breakdowns.  Trump voters, in general, were white, male, relatively affluent, and worried about immigration and terrorism.  I’d love to hear a reasonable explanation of how this doesn’t essentially boil down to issues of racism and sexism for a lot of voters, whether outright or more subtly/implicitly. 

It also, by the by, would appear to debunk the idea that Trump voters are the economically “left behind” (yes, there could be some overlap between immigration and economic concerns, misinformed as it may generally be); instead, they appear to be people who feel socially left behind, just want to watch things burn, and have the means and privilege to be able to survive the resulting upheaval, if not benefit from it.

But let’s set aside that topic and take the claims at face value that Trump voters were more interested in the issues, enough so to look past all of the terrible, horrible things he said and did.  (Which is a nice thing to be in a position to do…)

I’m appalled I’m being asked to understand and empathize with people who chose to vote for a candidate who will get to replace at least one Supreme Court justice (nice to see that obstructing the nomination of a moderate, well-qualified, well-respected judge for a year carried a lot of consequences…) with someone who will likely limit suspects’ and criminals’ rights in the name of “law and order” rather than “due process”, continue to gut the Voting Rights Act to allow voter suppression along racial lines to continue and expand, and limit access to abortion.

I’m appalled I’m being asked to understand and empathize with people who chose to vote for a candidate who will destroy any chance at combating climate change.  (For that matter, I’m being asked to understand and empathize with people who deny basic science, as well as the value of education and experience.)

I’m appalled I’m being asked to understand and empathize with people who rely so thoroughly on their own biased, alternative sources of news and information that they live in their own epistemological bubble, where it’s impossible to have a real discussion involving facts.

I’m appalled I’m being asked to understand and empathize with people who chose to vote for a candidate who lies so consistently, brazenly and unapologetically, whether they realize he’s doing it, or are too far gone into their own bubble of “facts” to notice.

I’m appalled I’m being asked to understand and empathize with people who were perfectly willing to write off drug epidemics, broken families, joblessness and other issues in other groups as a moral issue, but now expect the country to treat it as a national crisis when it starts to affect them.

I’m appalled I’m being asked to understand and empathize with people who constantly preach morality and religion, and then turn out in droves for a candidate who seemingly the antithesis of everything they supposedly stand for, simply because he’s a member of their party and may give them some of the policies they want.

I’m appalled I’m being asked to understand and empathize with people who, for the last 8 years, have done nothing but whine, obstruct, delegitimize and throw temper tantrums that they’re not getting their way, who insisted despite losing the last elections that we needed to respect and include their views yet don't currently seem inclined to return the favor, who cling to outdated, debunked and damaging policies, and who certainly haven’t attempted to understand and empathize with me.

I have fundamental disagreements with their vision for how this country and this society should work.

And yet I’m going to do it anyways.

Because someone has to take the first step.

Because simply trying to force my viewpoint on them the way they are to me makes me no better than they are.

Because anger, contempt, hyperbole, and vitriol are apparently great ways to win elections, but they’ll never be the long-term solution to problems.

Because no one fits in all of those buckets above, and there are plenty of people who are honestly doing what they feel is best for the country, whether I agree with that assessment or not.

Because I truly believe that they’re voting against their best interests, and the only way to convince people of that is to meet them on their own ground and speak with them in ways they understand.

Because it’s the right thing to do.

This isn’t a promise to agree with or accept what is said, but to listen and consider.  This isn’t a promise to hold my tongue when things need to be spoken out against, but to engage in dialogue, not insults; constructive conversation, not flame wars.  I’d like to think I was doing that already, but it never hurts to state it outright for yourself and others.

Hopefully I will be met halfway.  Hopefully there are those on the other side who are interested in a similar exercise, who will take similar steps, who are truly interested in bridging this divide.

"Winning was easy, young man.  Governing's harder."