The 70 Million Who Voted for Trump

Is it really possible to meet in the middle?

In light of what seems like a never-ending election (Everyone needs to accept the fact: Joe won. It wasn't rigged), one thing I am struggling to come to terms with is the voters who seemed unfazed, or worse, satisfied by the way the commander-in-chief handled the last four years. Or the way he handled the last few months, even.

It is hard to accept that in a post-George Floyd America, more than 70 million people voted for this man again after him consistently undermining the perils of this virus, referring to COVID-19 as “China virus”, and telling the proud boys to “Stand back and stand by”, not including all the atrocious things he’s done in the last four years, his campaign for president, and how he first made headlines: being sued for not renting to Black people.

It deeply perplexes me that every racial/ethnic demographic except for White men grew in support of Trump over the last four years.

Further, it infuriates me when media personalities, celebrities, and people on my timeline beg for those of us who advocate for real equality and justice to unify with those who voted against those ideas.

I’m not saying that I don’t want peace, or that I don’t want an eventual kumbaya. Believe me, I do. But it is not fair to ask the people this administration has tormented (I’m not being hyperbolic; the Trump administration has incited violence and are actively taking away basic human rights for people like me) to unify with those who have oppressed us and our loved ones.

It would be impossible to truly unify at a time when these “United States” are at peak levels of division. This country will never experience true unity until we reckon with our oppressive structures. We cannot come together until there is some form of reparation, some form of healing and accountability, for all the bullshit certain populations (BIPOC, LGBTQIA, and others) have had to endure.

A large amount of the 70 million don’t see (or won’t admit that) their vote for Trump was rooted in white supremacy. Instead, it’s disguised under policies such as “pro-life” or believing Trump is a literal godsend.

[Newsflash White people: Just because you don’t identify as racist, doesn’t absolve you from it. You have to actively work against the racism that was taught and embedded in you.]

If we still have 70 million Trump supporters after the entire world watched George Floyd be executed on film, after all those books on antiracism sold out, and after the last four years, there is literally nothing I can say or do to change those minds. I am no longer begging White people to understand my humanity. (White allies can try to do so on my behalf, though).

Racism aside (humor me for a moment), those 70 million do not care about the way this man has handled coronavirus, and that he still, going on 11 months, does not have a comprehensive plan to get it under control. He has no tangible alternative for Obamacare. He did not successfully complete his wall and make Mexico pay for it. He did not make abortion illegal. Any business success we saw during this administration was the aftermath of the Obama administration (as every president inherits the previous leader’s economy). This man will scam poor White people to their graves and they’d still praise him from the afterlife.

So, maybe we can't unify as a country just yet, but can we meet in the middle? Is it possible? The answer: Joe Biden is the middle. He, the old White moderate man, is who the left chose in spite of our most diverse pool of candidates to date. He won both the popular and electoral election, and is as much of a compromise as America is going to get. Still, Republicans use the same talking points about him being a socialist as though he were Bernie (who I would have preferred over Joe).

It saddens me that there is a need to meet in the middle at all. We should not have to fight for basic human rights! Most of the issues on the ballot should not have been partisan! Ending the pandemic, believing in science, having equal, civil rights - should be a given. Especially with our country being named The United States. Especially with our constitution stating that all men were created equal! Not to mention that our European and Canadian counterparts have the same things the right views as “radical” and socialist” (such as universal health care).

As Eddie Glaude said in an MSNBC interview, “... America is not unique in its sins as a country. We’re not unique in our evils to be honest with you. I think where we may be singular is our refusal to acknowledge them, and legends and myths we tell about our inherent, you know, goodness to hide and cover and conceal so that we can maintain a kind of willful ignorance that protects our innocence.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKiB0APdxTo

I agree wholeheartedly with Glaude, and often wonder, how long before we do acknowledge our evils? How long before we quit ignoring the fact that our commander-in-chief is a fascist? That he is a constant threat to our democracy, and for a lot of us, our livelihoods? It’s so surreal. Like NOW is the time to sound the alarm. Actually, yesterday. Last week. Four years ago.

I believe that at some point in the near future, the shit under the rug will hit the fan. And boy, it’s gonna be ugly. But similar to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, it has to get ugly before it gets better. I just don’t know if Trumpism (White hetero-patriarchal supremacy) can ever really die in America. I pray for the future generations that it does.