Have Y'all Lost Your GD Minds?

"..."

Can we just... not?

Protesting in the streets is about as American as it gets. Riots, vandalism, violence, and other bullshittery sucks for everybody.

I can't even.

Between that and the ever-so-naive, "You should tolerate opinions different from your own," some of us are left shaking our heads, trying to find the words.

Um,.. yeah. See, the thing is not all opinions are tolerable. At all. If you're standing next to a man who suddenly turns to you and says, "You know, I think we should lower the age of consent to 10," then... I hope like hell you get what I am saying here!




The President-Elect is... ugh... Donald J. Trump. He was the hand we were dealt, and I hope we play it smart. On the other hand, many of us are shocked and horrified. Over the past year or so, we've gone down like dominoes, at different points falling into the W.T.F Abyss where we cannot understand how THAT one did not shut his campaign down like a burst sewer pipe. And then...

Some. Shit.

At first, I was like everybody else in this camp. What... the Hell... do I say to my kids now? It took me a day or two to realize the only thing that has changed is that the worst parts of us are now not hidden but very much on display. It is still not okay to discriminate based on skin color, sexual orientation, religion, gender... Do I need to go through this list? I hope not. The truth is, there are a whole lot of people in the world who are nasty and just plain awful, and they were there a month ago, and they feel emboldened now. However, as it affects my parenting, now I simply (horrifyingly) have many show-and-tell examples of how not to be, and one huge, very effective example of why it is so important not to be like that. 

While I cannot overlook Trump's glaring flaws, I do understand why good people voted for him. I get it. Not only are they just as sick as I am with politics as usual, but I understand many of them have as much as a visceral reaction to Hillary Clinton as I do to Donald Trump. They saw him as the better alternative and agreed with some of his... other platform... parts. I get it. I can't do it, but I get it. That part, anyway.

However, there is a reason the most sexist, and/or racist Americans voted for Trump. I have no doubt I know what I am looking at when I see Trump, and guess what? They see it too. 

I don't know where we are going from here, but I do believe most people just want a better country, even if we don't agree on how to get there... or even on what "better" is. I do know that if we continue to fight each other as "liberals," "conservatives," "Trump supporters," "Hillary supporters," and all manner of "us" and "them," we will never get there. Not ever.

So, understand the assholes on either side are assholes. They are! Every group includes them. Don't let them get in our way. Or, if that is all much too kumbaya for you, (and right now, it kind of is for me too, honestly) just remember that in 4 years or (gawwwd, I hope not) 8 years, when we throw his rear to the curb like rancid trash, we are still going to need to carry on together, because we are still here long after the Presidents finish whatever they create.

You need me to protect your rights. I need you to protect mine. Have our backs this time. We'll get yours next time.