Why I Am Voting Against Trump

I do not believe a third party candidate will win this election. I hadn't heard of Gary Johnson until supporters started the hashtag, "Feel the Johnson," and that stuck in my memory because I am a child, I freely admit it. In my mind, he is the "Hey, Touch My Dick" guy, and I will need a few minutes to recover from my childish giggles. Hold on.

Really?

So, let me otherwise start this by telling you why my vote is not for Hillary Clinton, (but against Trump). All conspiracy theories aside, Clinton seems to be an extremely divisive candidate. Some people seem to actually hate her just because they do. Republicans have, for decades, attempted to bring down both Clintons. Although they have yet to find the smoking gun which brings them success, they keep coming at them, no matter the funding and time desperately needed elsewhere. I lost count of how many taxpayer funded investigations were conducted for her email scandal alone.

Fucking Useless.

Again, all typical arguments and apprehension aside, my concern for another Clinton term is that her entire presidency will be a clusterfuck of investigations and real or imagined scandals-- a clusterfuck of distractions that will undoubtedly obstruct any sincere efforts (hers and every others) to get things done; to fix real problems everyday people experience.

I have other concerns about Clinton as president. However, I am not listing them because I don't care to argue point by point when sources are typically so useless. I can find support for any idea or opinion I have, and so can you. These days, it takes volumes of information from many, many sources for one to gain some grasp of what is really going on in every given example, but that's another post. Maybe later. Maybe not. Because that's also a fucking headache.

Trump actually scares me for a number of reasons. I hear people say that maybe we need a president who is no politician. I hear you, and I get it. However, I imagine things look very different from the top view. I am seriously concerned about someone with zero political experience getting to the top and having no clue, having been unable to even imagine what things are really like up there. That is to say, I have no doubt some things do not work the way those of us who have never been there envision. (I have this impression after, among other things, listening to veterans talk about the ways civilians misunderstand or are completely unaware of what war really looks like outside Hollywood.) I imagine that would leave even the most sincere and intelligent person vulnerable to being taken advantage of, to being manipulated. Running the United States cannot be like managing Starbucks, or any business, you know what I mean?

Money, money, money, moooneyyyy

That brings me to my next concern. Some people think a businessman would make a perfect president considering the economy. It sounds good in theory, but nobody wants our entire country to be run like a business. I was a business student. In practice, that would be disastrous. There are many, many areas where you do not want the goal, or bottom line, to be profit. It is a conflict of interest where many social and societal issues are of concern. Researching private prison systems should lend a clue. Since some people give no cares at all for "criminals," I suggest thinking about a for-profit police force, a for-profit fire department, or the catastrophic consequences of Detroit hiring an Emergency Manager. That's not to say a businessman would privatize police forces, it is to say imagine the possibilities where it could and likely would go very wrong. The theory is short-sighted. You do not want the USA run like a business, and in this particular case, arguably by a dubious businessman.

You get me?

The last point I am going to make is the one that hits me deepest. I hear Trump's dog whistle loud and clear. Dog whistle politics refers to communication carefully worded so that the intended, targeted audience will understand the meaning, while others will take that communication at face value. In other words, it is an inside thing. If I was a speaker in a Q&A with an audience of people I know and people I do not know, I could say, "I just got the head-tilt." Most of my audience would think I just described a person tilting their head to the side, whereas people who know me would immediately understand I just described an entire demeanor and attitude.

I don't remember a time that I was not exposed to and engaged with families who were unlike my own, be that by skin color, culture, religious affiliation or no affiliation, etc. I knew a long time ago what Trump was saying because I had enough exposure and experience, directly and indirectly, to hear that whistle. I have friends from all walks of life. Of those who are people of color and talk about politics, I know not a single one comfortable with the fact that Trump has come as far as he has. I can tell you that among my Jewish friends, even those who never talked about politics before Trump, every single one has experienced the standing of their neck hair at one point or another. Some of us didn't need the Clinton campaign to tell us there is a reason white supremacists flock to and emphatically support Donald Trump. They hear his whistle, too.

Every person who ever ran for President of the United States of America has been rumored to be the one who will bring her down. Both President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama were going to take your guns. All sitting presidents from Clinton to Bush to Obama (at least) were going to enact Martial Law to avoid giving up their seat. Oh, and every damn one of them was the next Hitler. I say this to say there has always been plenty of overreaction and fear-mongering to be had. Now, I have no idea what a President Trump would and would not actually get away with if he ruled the country. It's complicated. I used to wonder how in the hell Hitler ever rose to power, and of course that was in hindsight. Textbooks can give a person only so much intellectual understanding. But now-- now, I get it. My friends of color, every single one of my Jewish friends and the organizations they belong to, support, or simply acknowledge, and I -- we all hear that whistle. And the white supremacists groups, they hear it as a battle cry.