This Is Not Fine

After the initial shock, I must say that I feel a bit stupid for not realizing that the election would be closer (and in fact, close enough to put Donald Trump over the top). After writing an essay just last week^[1] about how the media and America at large dismiss the concerns and political strength of non-white people and fetishize the concerns of “real Americans”,^[2] I should perhaps have been less surprised that a celebrity running a nakedly racist and misogynistic campaign would do better than we (this “we” being the effete liberal elite) expected. I’ve already somewhat expressed my deep personal pain about these election results on social media, but I do want to talk about a broader response as well, as a window into what it might mean for our future.

As you might expect, as a black guy in graduate school at a top university in a deep blue state, I know very few people who publicly claim they voted for Trump, but some of the few I do,^[3] somewhat to their credit, saw the distraught response that his win provoked and expressed that they did not vote for Trump to support bigotry, and they would oppose bigotry from Trump supporters or any effort by a Trump-led government to carry out racial or religious discrimination. I do appreciate that response, but it does point to a larger issue: why weren’t those things that Donald Trump said and tacitly encouraged disqualifying to you before? Are you honestly surprised that black and brown people are terrified that a man funded an ad calling for the execution of the Central Park Five, and to this day still claims they are guilty despite DNA evidence exonerating them,^[4] is now the most powerful man on earth? I saw a justification that said that someone agreed with Trump on "fundamental issues” like trade, small government, and jobs.

Is racism not a “fundamental issue”?^[5] We fought a civil war because of white supremacy. The only American that didn’t serve as a president who has a federal holiday in his honor led a major movement against racism, and he was killed because of it less than fifty years ago. I can only speak for myself, but it would be nice if racism weren’t a fundamental issue that I had to deal with. I’ve heard people with power over me make racist comments. There are numerous studies showing that black people with “ethnic” names have a harder time getting job interviews, which doesn’t make me feel better as I’m about to be on the job market. It’s a fundamental issue to me, the son of African immigrants born in America, that the president-elect of my country spent almost eight years demeaning and delegitimizing the current president, the son of an African immigrant born in America.

I grew up in Virginia Beach, VA, a city that Trump won (as did Mitt Romney, I should add), and while he did slightly worse than Romney did in 2012, it is painful to me to think about people I grew up with, people who my family might have welcomed into our home, people who my mom made jollof rice for, supporting a candidate who supports such xenophobia. It is just as painful to think about people I came to know more recently that I thought I treated with decency and respect supporting someone who made a point of not doing so to others like me. I am honestly not sure I can ever get over it. Further, I imagine that it is also a big issue to survivors of sexual assault that their president was caught on tape bragging about committing such acts, 11 women came forward to accuse him of committing said acts exactly as he described, and people supported him anyway. I could go on to his specific threats to use the power of the government against Muslims, attacking a judge of Mexican descent because of his race, and on, but I want to get to the larger point here.

Most, if not all of these people would never consider themselves racists or misogynists, and if their kids or other relatives said or did some of the things that we have seen at Trump rallies, they would be pretty upset. It is obvious that racism in the sense of “people who want to lynch black people” has sharply diminished in this country, despite the continued presence of these “deplorables”, and that is something that we should be happy about. (not putting this in a footnote because it needs to be read: It is incumbent on all of us, but especially those who voted for Trump for non-deplorable reasons, to be forceful and active in resisting the surge of racist and misogynistic behavior we are already seeing.) It is not obvious that the insidious racism that leads even liberal white people to be afraid to put their kids in schools with black kids has sharply diminished. That flavor of racism doesn’t usually make the news, but the harm it does to black people (and, indirectly, white people too) has been thoroughly demonstrated,^[6] and it is just one way in which collective inaction furthers systemic racism.^[7] This analysis is somewhat of a hot take that is not based on any deep polling analysis, but I can easily imagine some of these people voting for Obama in 2008 because they were fed up with George W. Bush and Republicans in the wake of the financial crisis, and because Obama offered absolution for the country’s racial sins, and then when Obama proved unable to fulfill the promise he represented,^[8] deciding to go for Trump in 2016, because racism and misogyny have never been “fundamental issues” for them, and vague promises of “shaking up the system” are.^[9]

What worries me about this can be expressed in two arcs, one directly related to Trump, and one less so. In the latter arc, I fear that racial animus will now become a normal part of politics, as much of a part of normal political discourse as describing your opponent as “out-of-touch”. I fear that whipping up hatred against the other will become a permanent feature of Republican politics, which in a practical sense will keep most black and brown Americans supporting Democrats, and will also limit their political power to push for different policies that do not necessarily have racial dimensions. As a liberal, I also worry that convincing enough whites to ignore white identity politics will require more people with the political talent of Barack Obama, of which there are precious few. Of course, I also fear a racist-controlled Republican Party using its power to crush and oppress black and brown people.

With regards to Trump, I am deeply skeptical that he or the cast of buffoons he has surrounding him have any idea how to fix the problems of his core supporters (the problems not related to scary brown people); he certainly did not suggest that he has any policy aptitude or ability to learn at any point during the campaign, and, in any case, governing is hard. When it becomes clear that he cannot fix said problems (or that he doesn’t really care to do so), I fear that instead of admitting fault or preaching patience (two things it’s not clear he has ever done in 70 years of life), he and/or his supporters will turn to blame “others”, as his campaign at least hinted at with xenophobia and talks of a “globalist elite” conspiracy.^[10] I don’t think I have to spell out the frightening historical precedents on that front. I also fear that those who did not oppose Trump initially, both among the media and actual voters, will fail to recognize this darker turn until it is too late to stop it.^[11] I have seen some people trying to reassure those of us who are afraid that America’s institutions will stop Trump if it comes to that. They have already failed to stop an unhinged narcissist whom most of them did not want to become president, and, quite frankly, any serious look at history does not reassure me that America is immune to such things. I also fear that a more disciplined fascist will come along and seize this mantle from Trump, and take the country down a path it cannot recover from without bloodshed.

But, let us discuss the here and now. I have not and don’t anticipate participating in large-scale anti-Trump protests, but I fully support nonviolent expressions of resistance. He ran a campaign full of hatred and that ideology should be opposed vehemently. Donald Trump won a legal election to the position of President of the United States.^[12] However, I can never accept him as my President. I cannot accept a President who demeaned his predecessor specifically because of the origin he and I share, bragged about it, and refuses to this day to apologize. It is too much to ask me to respect the status his democratic election gives him when he does not respect my legitimate membership in this democracy. That being said, I also do not intend to reflexively oppose whatever policies he chooses to pursue; I will decide, in each case, on the merits, although he is a deeply dishonest man who lies without shame or restraint, so I do not plan to give him the benefit of the doubt either. I would hope that those who voted for him but claim not to support the darker aspects of his candidacy will stand with us to oppose his policies if they go in that direction. In the immediate future, this election has focused my mind on trying to strengthen my community and using the gifts I have been given to put goodness into this world. Any suggestions in this vein are appreciated.