November Surprise - Donald Trump!

Watch his face, read his tweets, follow the news from his own team. It's pretty clear that Donald Trump was and is as surprised as anyone that he won the Presidential election on Nov. 8th. There's been an admission that a real transition plan hasn't been formulated, partly due to his own superstition about jinxing the outcome of the election. So here we are, 70 some days away from his inauguration with a surprised President-Elect, Commander In Chief-Elect. Whoa is me!....Someone reported that there are something like 4000 jobs to be filled. Drain the swamp? Please - give me a break. Lobbyists and elite Republican types are joining the team quicker then a blink. Some who were enemies a few weeks ago are now glad handing the winner, big smiles on their faces, hoping that perhaps this man known for holding a grudge and acting with vengeance, will forget recent history. We'll see, but lets watch Mitch  McConnell's and Paul Ryan's faces in a month or two as the reality of Trump's governing becomes evident.

Then there are the Democrats. Who knew that roles would be quickly reversed and they, as a party, would be trying to stamp down their own civil war and performing an autopsy on their body politic. I certainly missed that call, but I know I'm not alone. They were played well by Comey, Assange and it seems like Putin. There are many who will deny this but I think history will bear it out. Hillary and her team have been gracious but they are also blaming everyone but themselves. She was the flawed candidate and many knew it from the get go. The staff who supported her had time, money and numbers of all kinds but they failed to read the information or the mood of the voters. So an autopsy is in order no doubt.

Of course all of this gets worse. How could it you ask? Well here's the worst part of the November surprise. Donald Trump has unleashed a beast that many didn't think existed. We were naive and perhaps stupid. We fell victim to thinking everything had gotten better. That years of legislative, legal and street battles had in fact changed the world. Marches were organized, songs were written, movies made, TV shows produced that lulled us into thinking we lived in a world of love, peace, hope and diversity. But the underbelly of the beast was still there. Every once in awhile, when the beast was roused, we pushed it back into the cave that it slept in and called home. The beast is pure hatred and uncivilized behavior towards people that some among us consider 'the others'. 'The others' are people of color, immigrants, muslims, people with disabilities and members of the LBGTQ community, women making choices about their bodies and their relationships.

Although I don't think Donald Trump is totally responsible for all of this hatred and hateful behavior, he has to take some responsibility. Why? Because we all watched him empower people to hate, to empower people to bully, to empower people to take action. I also want to be clear that not all of the people who voted for or supported Donald Trump encourage or support this hate. In many cases they may have legitimate grievances with a system that has in fact treated them badly. But if they were able to excuse the hatred and bullying that they must have seen, what's wrong with that kind of society? People looking the other way when the evidence is in front of them - language, treatment of women, untruths and making up information. If you're angry does that allow you to close your eyes to the possibility of nuclear war?

I'm confused about a lot of what I've seen but mostly I'm sad for our country. I find it too difficult to process. The divisions are real and seem to be getting worse. Families argue or don't speak. Young people are fearful and disgusted with what they're left with. People honestly feel threatened while others tell them to not worry and don't take it so seriously. They say everything will be alright. Our system will correct itself, etc., etc.

But the beast is big and it's ugly. It won't be okay. People have been given permission to hate and there are hateful acts taking place right now to our neighbors. Don't close your eyes to these acts. I'm going to commit to intervening and protecting people who are threatened or who feel threatened or who I see threatened. Please do the same. Engage in conversations to break up conflict or bullying. Offer comfort, support and protection if it happens and if it's needed. Listen and assist all people who may be vulnerable to hate speech, hate acts and hate crimes. Hug and hold on to people. Yes, as an old friend pointed out, lets act like human beings to each other. Is that so hard in these difficult times? By the way, there's a lot more to do but that's a whole new article.