Now that the Trumpocalypse is upon us...
Daily Hell, I knew you wouldn't let me down.
At least I don't have to dig out dusty old history books anymore when people ask "how is it possible that so many people follow a lying sociopath spouting hate?!" Though, my friends across the pond, I hope you believe me when I say that I'd wished from the bottom of my heart that you'd been spared getting trapped in a Monty Python sketch.
What now? If Brexit taught us one thing, one or the other bigotted ignoramus doofus out there will feel legitimised to wear their asshat in public rather than just behind the anonymous safety of the keyboard. I'm not talking about the obvious here - violence, attacks - I mean the more subtle approach: glaring, sneering, nasty remarks, the whole arsenal of psychological warfare your garden-variety of bully owns and now feels safe to display in public. You know the type - talking loudly on the bus about "some people" while "those people" are sitting in front of them.
It's very important to show courage now - I know, it's not easy, but it's up to the decent people to show the indecent ones that just because they won, they didn't win. That they did not get the legitimisation to hassle women wearing a heejab, or trans people, or gays, lesbians, or grab women, or discriminate against people with disabilities, or just Random People They Don't Like or whatever. Look out for each other. You can't rely on the state to do it for you.
And get active. A "like" on facebook is not activism enough, not anymore. Never take your rights and freedom for granted. We see over here in Europe as well the rise of a new fascism, and the lethargy and disinterest, especially among the young, is maddening. If they don't wake up now, they will wake up in a nightmare one day.
"Wah all that support and stand together stuff, that's omg socialism!!!11Eleventy!" Yes, I know, "social" is a horrible word... the opposite is "anti-social", and trust me, that's even worse. We're social animals, and it's now more important than ever to remember that. Stop with the petty squabble among yourselves. Don't allienate non-voters or Green-voters - yes, sure, they helped this disaster to happen, but do you really think anybody's situation will improve if you nurse your anger and grudge for the next four years? Get in touch, speak, discuss, find common ground. That's the way.
By the way, in case some stray Trump voter should come this way (doubtable, but who knows): I'm currently working with two refugees from Afghanistan and one from Syria. One went back to the supermarket today to return money because he realised the cashier had mistakenly given him too much change. He worried she might get in trouble at her job, and he didn't want that. We're talking about the equivalent of about $1. Clearly, the devil lives among us.
Molly originally posted this entry at http://joyful-molly.dreamwidth.org/451157.html. You can comment on LJ or DW, using OpenID.