Since Facebook is my most direct connection with the political views of my fellow millennials, and since I happen to be part of a relatively politically active corner of that generation, I often use it as a bellwether for how my cohort is reacting to any given political story. Trump’s election is the story of stories for millennials, as it’s the first earth-shatteringly disappointing and anxiety-inducing news we’ve had to deal with as adults. Turning off cable news for a few days, I found some solace in the responses I’ve been reading on Facebook, and found an outlet for my own thoughts. I cannot imagine I am unique in this among my peers.
There was the Mexican-American woman who recounted the questions her elementary-age students peppered her with: would they or their parents be deported?
There was the Korean-American woman who asked Trump supporters “why do you hate me?”
There was the Muslim American woman who wrote poetry about her own humanity, proudly posting photos of herself in a hijab.
There was the Indian-American woman who vowed to fight, who felt she was in danger as she walked the streets of her city.
There was the white American man who compiled an ever-growing list of hate crimes against Muslims, immigrants, African Americans, and others, saying he would do what he could to protect all of his fellow citizens. There were many white men who vowed to protect others.
There were the white American women who felt their humanity devalued, their bodies revalued, and that the stories of sexual violence they knew too well must be retold with even more courage now.
There were the many, many Americans of all races and genders who apologized to the world for the decision we made. “I’m sorry,” they said, sometimes repeating it over and over. They were ashamed.
There were the Indians, Latin Americans, Pakistanis, and Eastern Europeans who studied in America but no longer live here and aren’t citizens, who didn’t mock us or tell us we’re getting who we deserved. They showed pity, in fact.
There were the Trump supporters — a minority in my network — who I will neither unfriend nor badmouth here. They are compassionate people who did not understand all the panic and sadness, but were clearly affected by it. I hope their dismissal of our fears turns out to be true, but I’m preaching to the choir on DailyKos when I say I’m doubtful.
I’ve tempered my own reaction in an attempt to focus on the future and political strategy. Personally, my disgust at Trump’s personality was outweighed by his policy priorities — many of which are textbook Conservative, and in-line with the GOP elite, despite the myth of his candidacy as a maverick outsider.
There is a time to grieve, but at some point soon we’re going to have to look towards the fights ahead and evaluate what our actions will be. We must steel ourselves against the following electoral consequences:
1. The repeal of Obamacare within the first 100 days of Trump's presidency with unclear prospects for a replacement program. I may lose my health insurance, and many of my friends certainly will along with more than 20 million Americans.
2. The potential deportation of more than 11 million immigrants. While it is unlikely a serious attempt will be made to deport this full number (due to it being logistically impossible), hundreds or thousands of families will literally be torn apart by armed federal agents or soldiers. On US soil.
3. Inaction on climate change, and an overt rejection of international climate agreements. The Northeast should get used to more hurricanes and blizzards, as well as annual droughts. The West should get used to perpetual drought and a shrinking agricultural sector. Florida, which went for Trump, should get used to losing a significant portion of its landmass.
4. The overturn of Roe v. Wade, as soon as the right justices are installed and the right case comes to the bench. Many states will still have legal abortion, but just as many will not - say hello to an underground network of abortions for impoverished women, and more poverty in general.
5. An explosion of the deficit and national debt, as absurd tax cuts for the rich are paired with an unnecessary increase in military spending. This will come as a nasty, although easily predictable, surprise to Trump's GOP supporters.
6. The repeal of Common Core educational standards, setting many states far behind the rest of the world in terms of producing quality workers and citizens. This is a feature, not a bug - uneducated citizens are more likely to vote for demagogues.
7. Inaction on criminal justice and gun control, and potentially the embrace of even harsher treatment of African Americans by police with the stop-and-frisk policies of an Attorney General Giuliani.
8. Inaction on infrastructure development and modernization, an easily visible bellwether of our status as a nation.
9. The stupid wall, which will never be finished, go way over budget, and be a perpetual boondoggle that hijacks our political conversation.
10. A general state of diplomatic alarm among our allies and rivals alike. Risk of a war with Iran. Trade wars. A rise in Russian and Chinese imperialism. Too many other small consequences to list.
11. Elimination of federal funding for Planned Parenthood, NPR, and other essential nonprofits. These organizations may survive in some form, but won't be able to provide the services they do today.
12. The continued investigation and possible political imprisonment (!) of Hillary Clinton or others. Because we're a banana republic now.
I think it’s important to list these issues as specifically as possible so that we know what we’re fighting against, and can start to come up with new ways to push our own concrete alternatives. This relates to my final point, which is that we must reserve some outrage for when Trump actually does something, rather than expending it all on his campaign rhetoric. His action on any of these issues will have resounding consequences, which will prove to be a rallying cry for Progressives as well as a hefty argument against him which his (not truly loyal) voters may pay attention to.
Trump now owns whatever happens under his presidency. He is a cartoonish villain, even to many who reluctantly voted for him because of delusions about a false equivalency with Hillary, and he has the potential to be a uniting force for the Progressive movement — even more universally than Obama was for Conservatives. And, with what I hope is a reshaped DNC that jettisons the Clintons and other failed members of the old guard, we will unite.
The silver lining is we may have needed this blow to the country’s sanity in order to get the political pendulum moving again — and it will swing back in our direction soon enough. Let’s get to planning how to ensure that happens.
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One final note: I hope everyone has a chance to read this letter from character Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler a few years ago on the TV show Parks & Rec), which surely sums it all up.
Happy grieving; make it quick.
