Today I’m caring less about frugality than I am about American citizens who just elected a sexual aggressor who courts racists, mocks the disabled, insults minorities, wants LGBT people to lose their hard earned rights, and is proud in his goal to dismantle a health care system that has allowed millions to no longer worry about their pre-existing conditions.
I am numb, in shock, angry, close to tears and flabbergasted with the election result.
I normally steer very clear of writing about politics on the blog, as I want this space to be a welcoming space for all. But when the former leader of the Klu Klux Klan crows that “This is one of the most exciting nights of my life -> make no mistake about it, our people have played a HUGE role in electing Trump!” I simply can’t sit down to write another blog post about a garbage picked scarf.
Will I lose readers over this blog post? Probably. But that’s okay. I refuse to sit back and pretend this didn’t happen. I’m not going to watch baby hedgehog videos to tamp down my anger, and I’m sure as hell going to have my say.
So if you feel the need to no longer follow The Non-Consumer Advocate because you support Trump’s hateful values, I’m okay with that. I support the rights of our immigrant neighbors, beloved minorities, the LGBT community, the differently abled and I present zero apology for this stance.
Tomorrow I will probably blog about frugality and simple living, but today that seems like a hedgehog video.
Love,
{ 525 comments… read them below or add one }
yes. #powerhungrymadman
PREACH!! I have been a long-time follower of your blog but never commented before. I echo your sentiments wholeheartedly. Thank you for not being afraid to say what needs to be said.
Now let’s get out there and fight the good fight!
Well done. Very classy of you to risk losing followers in the name of doing the right thing.
I agree this is a horrible, terrifying, disgusting day. I’m not even an American and I am traumatized. The impact this will have on human rights, social programs, the environment, will impact the whole world.
Thank you for using your public platform to unapologetically take a stand for the rights of all. I and many others support you even more for this!! This election was a wakeup call. We are not “out of the woods”, nor are we nearly as close as most seemed to think.
Right on. <3
Well said and well done. I am agreement.
Perfectly stated Katy! I have spent the morning trying to convince myself we will survive this. Just wondering what will happen when his supporters begin to realize that he can not possibly give them everything he promised. Time to start finding the best possible candidates for the 2018 midterm elections!
I am with you. Your post gives me hope. I hope your followers are on your side/my side/the fair and honest side, but I admire you for standing up for your beliefs.
Here! Here!
I just can’t believe this is my country. That he represents me to the world. Absolutely unbelievable.
That’s what I said to my husband this morning. I no longer feel like I belong here.
I love you and I’m right there with you. This is devastating.
I am right there with you <3 I'm not sure what is going to happen next but I can only come from love. I just hope when the rest of the world unites against us that they remember almost half of our populous did not want it.
Actually, more than half of those who voted, voted against he-who-shall-not-be-named. But roughly 50% of eligible voters sat this one out. To my mind, they’re just as responsible as if they’d voted for the Evil One directly.
Thank you for this.
Good for you, Katy! I, too, am stunned by this turn of events. I truly didn’t see this coming. I am a feminist and a mother of three sons, and I shudder to think of what kind of role model he will be for them. One of my sons also has special needs and I wonder what kind of a country this will be for him, at least for the next four years as he becomes a teenager. I refuse to be fearful though, because I do have a voice and I won’t be silenced. That’s what these past few months have taught me.
YES! Thanks for speaking the truth.
Thank you for this.
Right with ya. Gutsy move and I applaud you.
Thank you for writing this. I’m so saddened this is happening to your country.
You go, girl! And I’m not using the word ‘girl’ in a disrespectful manner 🙂
I used to hate posts like this, but yesterday was a smack in the face. The only way we are going to defeat this in the future is if all of us who normally try to be quiet, respectful, and polite start banding together, outloud, to make sure the world knows this is not okay.
Amen sister!
Not going anywhere, Katy. Thank you for taking a stand.
Same here.
I always read your blog but never comment. Today I will. I wholeheartedly agree with you. I am heart broken. I feel like I did after the 9/11 attack. Empty, angry, and saddened.
That’s interesting – a journalist compared this event with the events of 9/11 and the Kennedy asasination. Of course there was terrible loss of life, but the same feelings are involved. Shock, disappointment
The stages of grief
Good for you Katy….hugs from your northern neighbours.
AMEN!
Well said. Still a loyal reader.
Yes!!!! I’ve been sick to my stomach since I heard the official news! I’m still in shock that this could have happened. Thank you for speaking the truth!
I live in North Carolina and I have literally cried since I woke up at 3:30 this morning to check the results. I went to bed with a bad feeling but it still felt like the Twilight Zone when I saw the headlines this morning. I’ve majorly cried since then–including at her amazingly classy concession speech. I didn’t vote against Trump–I voted FOR Hillary and all that she’s done to champion the causes I care about. I have never been an avid Facebook user until now–I’m seeking community with people who believe in kindness, equity, peace, civility, and understanding for ALL people. To quote MLK: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” We must find a way to renew our hope and back it with ACTION to fight for the rights of the marginalized and oppressed (including women’s rights!!). Thanks for taking a stand, Katie. You probably will lose readers but I’m even more of a fan than ever.
me too Teresa P… fellow NC gal here, I’ve been on a rollercoaster of emotions since yesterday morning.. I’m just shocked and angry and absolutely terrified.. and Sad and ALLL THE EMOTIONS… all of em…
I just posted saying I cried in the middle of the night when I got over the shock of what happened. I thought people would think I was silly for crying. It is 4pm (9th) and I have not been to sleep since yesterday (8th) morning. Read the link in one of my comments. You will be ill.
Another one in NC. Katie – I applaud you for taking a stand. I cancelled my newspaper subscription today and deleted the link to NPR off my car radio and phone. I can’t bear to think of what will happen to our country. I am deeply, deeply sad more than angry, sad for my daughter and other young women and sad that as a college educated white woman, 45% of women like me voted for trump. My teenager cried when she read what Trump pledges to do in his first 100 days and I cried with her. This is not about republicans and democrats – this is about the worst elements of our society being in charge.
I’m not sure canceling your newspaper and ignoring NPR will help, Tish. Hiding our heads in the sand will only allow things to continue, if not worsen. We need to stay informed and speak out against each injustice, to support what the Constitution ACTUALLY states, and fight to be the inclusive, welcoming country we should be.
TRUTH! I support you – I will enjoy the blog even more now.
Thank you Katy. This restores a little bit of my faith in humanity.
Thank you! Today, I am in mourning. Tomorrow, I will be preparing for an even more uncertain future. It is going to be a very bumpy ride and a great many people may be casualties along the way. I’m shocked, saddened and fearful. I will endeavor to live in the moment because, right now, I don’t want to think about the future.
Not going anywhere either, thank you for saying what we are thinking. This gives me such a sick pit in my stomach and I don’t know how I can explain this to my daughters. Truly frightening.
Jennifer,
Please don’t put me in the catergory of “what we were thinking” I am a proud American who voted for Trump…
The majority of the people who voted (the popular vote) did not vote for Trump, so yes, many of us are thinking the same thing as Katy.
I too am a proud American who voted for Trump. I have enjoyed this blog but might not follow any more. no big deal. I prefer to keep the politics out and just talk about NCA. that is what I signed on for. We can be NCA and not agree politically
I am a Trump supporter. I actually felt like Hillary would win and I would be having some of the feelings you do now. To be honest, I didn’t feel completely confident about either of them. Of course, I will continue to come to this blog because we all have opinions and learn from each other here. I hope that somehow we can find a way to unite because this election proves that this country Is severely divided.
Look, I get the unemployment issue, my husband is a white male who’s been underemployed since the crash of 2008. But you voted for a racist, a hate-mongerer of all people not like him, a man who will dismiss women who don’t meet his unnatural beauty standards, and clearly supports molesting and abusing all women. How can you justify that to your daughters? Hilary was no saint, but she was also not bent on tearing our country apart. You helped enable someone who is.
The abuse and harassment is starting with religious and ethnic groups, but do you really think women will be allowed to thrive in that kind of climate? Were you not paying attention in history class?!
I agree with you and plan to continue read your posts! All along we would hear “there is no way he will become President” well just saying it and no follow through let it happen anyway.
I’m with you all the way, Katy! When I first heard that Trump was considering running for president, I thought it was a Jon Stewart joke. And now it is a nightmare come true. The only comfort I find on this sad day is from people like you who share my values. And there are many of us who will go on in our quiet (and some not so quiet) way, doing what we can to make this country and the world a better place. “When they go low, we go high!”
I totally support your point of view! I too am not American, and also worry about how Trump’s win will affect women’s rights, civil rights, and LGBTQ rights, etc. in the United States and in the world. I fear that gains will be lost. Let’s not go back in time! It is a sad day when someone who talks and acts the way Trump does wins the presidency! Good for speaking out, Katy!
Thanks Katy for having the balls to tell it like it is!
Some of us intensely dislike him also, but we come on this site to escape the proliferation of political posts that we are being inundated with on our facebook page, in the news etc.
Yep. Get over yourself.
That was rude, Denise….and you were rude to someone below who was actually agreeing with Katy. Did you vote and make your voice heard?
I guess I’d have to say I’m disappointed by this post. There were wins and losses on both sides. Presidential upsets happen… life will go on.
I would have rather seen a post about how you’ll move on with resources that are still available to individuals who may be affected, versus an emotionally spurred rant with a lot of finger pointing and name calling.
Am I thrilled with the election results? No. But I am willing to support the American voters who wanted this result–because maybe they see something I don’t see. And maybe America is getting what it needs. We can’t have radical change without someone willing to do it.
I expect I’ll learn much in the upcoming four years.
Very well said. I agree with you.
As a person who teaches in a school with many minority students, your reply strikes me as one written from the vantage of privilege. Do you really think my students will benefit from the racist and hate filled policies the trump administration will foist zone them? Hate crimes are up 5 % in my state, a blue state, by the way, since he began his campaign because he allowed people to come out of the shadows and act on their hate.
I grieve for all of us but especially my students, who deserve more than a fear-based life. Thank you, Katy, for telling the truth and refusing to be part of the trump mindset.
You’re welcome. And thank you for this important perspective.
Hate crimes are just crimes. Just a way to separate the populace into thinking in categories rather than as Americans.
No, it’s actually the hate that separates.
I am in utter disbelief, how could our country be so divided, how on earth did he win.
His win was akin to shooting fish in a barrel, he said anything to get their vote.
I will grieve for our loss of what could have been, the step forward with our first woman president who has the experience and skills that our country needed.
The only consolation this morning is HRC has inched ahead in the popular vote – I am going to sit with that for a while.
I do admit to viewing kittens yesterday to sooth my soul.
Best to this wonderful group of people here and to Katy for shouting it out!
Kitty USA
Thank you, Katy, for posting this. We all need to stand up and say that it is NOT OKAY to demean women, people of color, the disabled, the poor, the LGBTQA, the immigrants. And if we need to put a frugal spin on it — love and kindness cost nothing.
Totally agree and please know I am a follower for life! I am trying to come to terms with the fact that all 3 of my sisters and my niece voted for him. Let’s just say that Christmas should be very interesting.
My oldest son took a semester off from college to work for our state Democratic Party. The last 2 months he has worked 7 days a week with 14-20 hours a day, surviving on very little sleep. We are devastated that this is what our country truly is. We seek comfort that our state and our county went blue. As a person of faith, I am appalled at the fact that so many could vote for this man as a viable candidate for President.
We will fight on but today I’m going to comfort myself by eating an entire bag of Halloween Reese’s bought for 75%. Maybe that will stop the pain.
Candy helps for sure! Good on your son for working so hard. It has also been a difficult defeat for my son who believed we would prevail. He says his minority friends are very afraid – a situation which should not happen in America.
We should learn how to disagree civilly, but it is difficult to tolerate intolerance!
Glad to see you speak up, Katie. I share your anger and your values. I’m dismayed and hurt that such a hateful, unqualified person could win the presidency.
Well put, and I agree with you. I’m still reeling today.
Thank you. Frankly, I’m terrified to live in a red state among people who think that this is ok. I was less frightened by 9/11.
It feels as if this threat — because yes, blatant intolerance is a threat — is not only closer to home, it’s everywhere all at once. It’s as if it’s not only okay to be hateful, it’s encouraged and celebrated.
Some neighbors who were smiling and friendly on Monday are now glaring smugly at me as I pass, as if by being a liberal libertarian (the best way I can describe my politics), I’m less of an American than they are. It feels like, unless you are white, straight, and Christian — and preferably male — you are now the enemy.
I never thought I would feel this way in my own country, and certainly not made to feel this way by people I thought were compassionate.
Just a side comment because Annye brought up “Christian”… as a Christian myself, I am so sad when people who call themselves Christian espouse a hateful ideology that is completely antithetical to what Jesus worked for. Who was Jesus? He was a man who ate with prostitutes, comforted the ill, touched the untouchable, fed the hungry. He came to the lowest and the poorest and said ‘I am one of you and you are blessed.’ Not to get all theological on y’all, but that’s what the Cross was about: to descend to the depths of fear, hate, despair, and loss, and then to rise to light and life. Love conquers hate, hope conquers fear.
Maybe this election is our darkness? Maybe we need to find the light now?
In these uncertain times, I hope I am brave enough to be the Christian I try to be: peaceful, open, safe, protecting of others, full of love for all.
Maybe you can start a grassroots/what can we actually do to survive and thrive now. What can we do to effect change?
All the yeses, Katy. I am taking a day to mourn. But will no longer stand by and ignore oppression.
Katy, I could not have said it better. I got up this morning hoping it had just been a bad dream. I am very afraid of what will happen with the ACA now. It has its flaws, but it has also saved a lot of people from financial ruin when they became ill. We need to remain united and if we do, maybe we can mitigate the damage.
Amen! I stand with you from Idaho.
I agree with everything you wrote. Felt sick to my stomach when I woke up at 5 this morning to see the results, although by 9:30 last night, I had a feeling things were not looking good. But now we can hope Trump is not as bad as he seems; maybe it was all an act to get elected???
We can hope.
I, for one, am desperately hoping that he proves me we. I do NOT want this country going down in flames….
I suspect I will be leading a more frugal life in the very near future, and so will many more.
I’m with you too Katy! As a mother of two sons and a daughter I am suddenly worried about their futures in ways I never could have imagined before. For the first time in history daughters may have fewer reproductive right than their mothers did. My LGBT friends may have to fight all over again for the right to marry and be equal in the eyes of the law. My brother in-law has MS, will he be able to find health insurance if the ACA is repealed? I thought we were better than this…I’m ashamed, angry and so sad that this is now the definition of America to the rest of the world.
Yes! I couldn’t sleep last night with the knowledge of this impending doom. I felt like too much progress had been made. But when I look at all the red states, it felt like I was the delusional one.
I’m sad for the racist & bigoted people in the small town I grew up in thinking that Trump is going to bring his wealth to a community that is rural and has virtually no industry.
Thank you for your post!
And any industry that does come in is likely to be highly automated. Companies wind up getting giveaway tax breaks, in exchange for hiring far fewer workers than they would have prior to automation.
I’m glad you took a stand and I doubt that you will lose too many readers, but if you do, oh well. I keep thinking of all those old ladies I read about that were voting for Hillary and hoping to finally get a woman president. I’m 72 and I was hoping as well.
Thank you, Katy. Well said.
Preach!
As in – “you’ve made a good point, Katy”
or as in “you’re being preachy”??
I live in a town that is over 90 percent African American and all of my close girlfriends are African American (I am Caucasian). ….”Preach” in the Southern African American culture means that they agree with Katy. I hope you are not a trump troll trying to be sneakily nasty and hateful.
To be clear, the above comment is directed at Denise. I do not see how she could not understand what it means….
Ummmm, Cindy, I was genuinely asking because I live in London, am English and (not that it’s used often here) but when “preach” is used (other than in phrases we’ve adopted from the US such as “preaching to the choir “) in England, it’s usually a criticism. It is tended to be understood as someone who is “banging on” about something.
Genuinely not a troll, just an anti-Trump woman worried about the election result.
It’s the imperative form of the word, as in “Keep preaching!” Equivalent to an affirmative “Amen!”. It means keeps doing it, you’re getting our attention with something that needs to be proclaimed loud and clear.
I love everything about this post. Just like I love ALL people. All people. I will spend today trying to keep my bitterness and anger in check. I simply cannot believe so many can justify the disgusting actions of a person based solely on his race and wealth. I’m in shock. I am disgusted.
Half of the country is upset, as am I, and half are happy. Polarisation leads to bad decisions.
Well said, Katy. I was truly shocked when I saw the news this morning. I cannot begin to imagine what the next 4 years will be like for you, in the US. Lots of people around me are also worried, even though we’re in the UK, as this will have global repercussions.
I wish you all the best and I hope the damage he will undoubtedly do to your country will not be too great.
Thank you Katie!
I checked some of my fave blogs to see if anyone had anything at least respectfully furious to say.. and you are the only one. Pissed as hell. Painting my kitchen (I’ve been busy canvassing up til today) while plotting how to use my anger, with others, in some damn powerful way. “Not whipped yet.”
Katy, I love your blog and the facebook group and I applaud you for this post.
I am sorry you are not encouraging unity, licking wounds, learning and moving on, etc. as Hillary and Barack have recommended today. There were no good choices in the election and I believe all reasonable voters felt uneasy with either candidate. Regardless, at the end of the day, be kind and respectful to others’ point of views and choices. Berating their choices will not sway their decisions. Personally, I’d rather you stuck with frugalism but this is your blog to do as you wish. I will still follow you as we have that mission in common.
I encourage free speech and activism.
Thanks for this post. It is quite a disappointment for a lot of people.
If Hillary had lost to a typical republican candidate, this would be my reaction. Our future president however is not that. He showed the worst of America pretty much every time he opened his mouth.
I voted for Hillary both in 2008 and yesterday and am sad and devastated that we won’t see what she could have accomplished. I am also tearful that my daughters are witnessing her loss to this unqualified person. Such a horrible message that sends to them.
I was with her Katy, and I am with you on this post!
YES! This is exactly right.
Thank you , Katy!
We feel the same way at our home. Thanks for saying something!
Agree 100%. This is a big wakeup call for me and many others. I really believed that Obama’s presidency was the beginning of a new era and we could finally make racial progress in America. But the last 2 years have caused me to doubt my hopes and this election……
Hopefully, it’s the last horrifying howl of a dying monster.
Thank you Katy. My heart feels broken today. Knowing that there are kindred spirits around the world is helpful. I’ve also been following the count of the popular vote which has Hillary in the lead. I know that it doesn’t make a difference, but it make me feel better to know that MOST Americans did not vote for him. Today, it is some consolation.
Well said!
Thank you, Katy. I’m glad you posted this. I feel the same way. Have lived through many presidents, good, bad, and middling, but what happened yesterday is unprecedented and terrifying.
You have a new reader here — hope I can make up for someone who ditches! I’m completely sick to my stomach. Someone above said they didn’t feel this bad on 9/11… That’s how I feel. I can look out my office window and literally see Canada (not like Palin seeing Russia!) and it’s looking so tempting. But reading the comments above is getting me into a fighting mood. Michigan turned into a red state last night and I’m very ashamed of that, but I will continue to fight for equality, fairness, and a return of the country that the founding fathers envisioned.
Also in Michigan, and sick to my stomach over this. My sons asked me what we should do now, and all I can think of is to cut the budget and save more for the uncertain future we have, and fight like hell to help the causes (and candidates) we believe in. Michigan cannot stay red! 🙁
You didn’t feel this bad on 9/11, when thousands of people died?
Thousands more will die now if the ACA is repealed and Planned Parenthood is de-funded.
Exactly right, Jill. And many more who aren’t allowed to escape war zones and gang deaths by coming here. And still more poisoned by waters sullied by unfettered industry, and can anyone who’s paying attention to the *science* around climate change possibly believe there won’t be even more suffering, more deaths?
Perhaps Mr. Trump will just auction off the Statue of Liberty to covers is expansion of corporate welfare. Putin might like it for his ego collection.
Katy, well said!! I stand beside you in your beliefs, I worry about my 3 granddaughters, how do we explain this to our kids, I cry because i worry about our future, I worry about those you may lose insurance, about my husband who has brain cancer and may never be able to leave his current employment for better because of pre existing medical issues. I stand happily with you and will continue to worry about our future, our countries and allies, and our children and grandchildren. I dont normally comment but today I had to i am in total agreement with your thoughts!!!
Your sentiment is well said. I fear for the next four years.
I have watched kitten and puppy videos and I am planning on what to make, to sell to raise money for… Planned Parenthood, LGBTQ groups, the hungry, Latino groups, and the local mosque. I will double down on doing good. #Bebetter
Thank you Katy. I’m in shock as well, and in tears.
Well said, it’s your blog, only your words and opinions should matter. Canadian nurses and doctors in our Emergency Department were watching the election results unfold…and we were shocked at the election of your new president!!
Even the patients in the waiting room were shocked. We have free basic healthcare and it’s a blessing.
Well, at least SNL episodes for the next four years have great content coming!!!
Good for you for voicing your feelings. Thank you for your wonderful blog!
Assuming, of course, that journalists and satirists aren’t jailed and disappeared as they have been under Trump’s role model, Putin.
Amen!
I’m totally with you. I expected this morning’s forecast to read, “The Doppler radar did not give us any indication of this, but Hell froze over last night!” I find myself not only distressed and concerned about the fate of our country but the views of our fellow citizens we live amongst. How is this even possible? It’s frightening!
Thank you ❤️
I couldn’t agree more. Long time reader and rare commenter here. But I wanted to say that I appreciate your honesty and the courage it takes to speak your mind on these important issues, even at the risk of losing readers. I feel much the same way as you described. I’m saddened and depressed that half of our country either agrees with Trump’s hate or is at least is complacent with it. Again, thanks for your honesty.
I respect and appreciate your desire to create a welcoming space for all. It’s too bad so many in our country don’t hold the same values.
Our antioch roots require that we speak!
-Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.
Go, Katy!!
Thank you Katy.
My own prediction: Four years from now, there are going to be an awful lot of folks who voted for Trump yesterday and have lived to regret it. He isn’t going to be able to bring back their old world, no matter what they think. In fact, the world as we know it now may be crashing in ruins around us, and sooner rather than later.
Meantime, let’s use what we’ve all learned from Katy and each other to cope with the hard times ahead. And hang tough, everyone.
Well said, A.Marie!
Let’s use what we have learned to prepare and cope as we face the future.
I agree with you. And almost feel like saying, “hey, this is what you wanted, enjoy!”.
PROUDLY I say I am with you!!!!
Thank you Katy! if it’s any consolation, we have one teen daughter defiantly wearing her Hillary shirt to school today in our heavily Republican suburb, and the other teen so inspired by Hillary that she is contemplating a run for office someday. There is hope.
Mary, please tell your daughters there are women who have never met them but are cheering on their bravery and their commitment! We are also cheering their mom for raising such intelligent, caring women!
Thank you! I’m right there with you.
As I’ve said to many today – I am sad, sickened, depressed and frightened. I can not imagine how this has happened.
You kicked me out of your fb group for exercising free speech to stand up for free speech, but I applaud yours today. We will NOT be shushed by white supremacist narcissist maniacs and their followers.
Bless You! I, too am sick to my stomach. Who the hell thought that this misogynistic, rascist, sexual predator was the best we could do? Well, My inlaws for several.
I worry about reproductive rights; the disabled, my gay sister and cousin, the undocumented that I volunteer with and all Americans. I am astounded that people can be so blind.
So, preach on. I am with you, sister!
Joyce
Over here in Australia we were watching the results in shock. I think hardly any of us got any work done. It just boggles my mind.
Thank you Katie. Your words are important and in alignment with your blog. Being nca is keeping things with value out of the landfill and protecting the environment. Trump says climate change is a hoax. I am sad with you.
Still reading. Stay strong.
LOVE IT !!!!
Looks like quite a few of us aren’t going anywhere! Baby hedgehog videos sound pretty good about now…
#notmypresident
I am deeply saddened that you need to attack readers who don’t agree with your opinion. This post makes me feel unwanted because I don’t have the same opinion as you do, as you so forcefully voiced. I myself am more than one thing, I am conservative, against abortion, believe in climate change, want to protect our resources, love immigrants (we all are immigrants), etc. I can’t be pigionholed into one category. Just because I didn’t vote for Hillary (for those of you singing her praises, I hate to tell you but they both sucked) doesn’t make me all of the things you stated. I thought this site was about empowering people to non-Consumerism and while we all have the right to our opinion, my opinion is that people who voted for Trump were sending a message to the establishment that they were tired of being ignored by politicians and they have just as much right to their opinion as any of us do. Throwing labels and name calling makes you as bad as they are, don’t believe everything in the media.
Well said. Don’t generalize what I am just because I didn’t vote for Hillary. You have no idea.
But you just did that – saying they both sucked. I do not feel that Hillary ‘sucked’.
Thanks you Michelle for your post. I hate to be pigeonholed too. I wrote in a candidate that felt best stood for what I believed in. (Even though there was no chance….I vote my conscience and don’t consider it a wasted vote)
Meg, that’s exactly what I did, too. Thanks for your opinion that it wasn’t wasted.
As someone else said more clearly than I could:
>>You thought that you had more than a binary choice in the election of the president. You don’t.
This isn’t a nation with a Parliament and real representative government. We’re stuck in a binary form of national politics with two massive Parties and there is simply no way out of that paradigm, short of another Revolution.<<
Could not agree more! I actually thought Katy was describing Bill Clinton in her first paragraph. Linking Trump voters to the KKK is beyond the pale. You do realize that if you are trying to grow your brand, expand your blog, half of the country is conservative?
Yankeegal, you do know that the KKK endorsed Trump, right? I didn’t hear any conservative groups complaining about it (though I guess they might have).
That doesn’t mean that Trump voters endorse the KKK.
“….tired of being ignored by the establishment.”
From over here in England, that was very much how many analysts have explained many voters’positions in the Brexit vote.
But I would make this observation: in a democracy, each voter is entitled to vote as their conscience dictates. I just have this ghastly feeling that (many) people in the US just haven’t challenged themselves enough about the “why?” of voting for Trump. He has no policies which stack up (for instance, tonight we’re hearing figures out of the BBC that he’s promising $3 trillion in tax cuts and over $700 billion in infrastructure spending- how??? And why was this not interrogated by his voters??).
So yes, I genuinely do think that pigeon-holing those voters into a category of recklessness is a legitimate thing to do. This git will have his finger on the nuclear button, so I have, as some Americans would say, “skin in the game”.
But, really, sod it. This is not US voters choosing a social conservative like George W. Bush, whom I can respect as a human being, even as I disagree with all of his policies.
Half the people have, as I would say, elected a Grade A shit of a human being. I feel your pain – we are in shock about it, even more so than Brexit.
Go Katy.
No, Sarah G…..
You’re right. That doesn’t mean that all Trump voters endorse the KKK. But, when Trump voters (I’m not saying all of them!) remain silent about the KKK endorsing Trump and celebrating his victory, then the association between the voter and the KKK can be made. It reminds me of this Desmond Tutu quote:
“If you are neutral at times of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor”
Personally, I haven’t seen much (or anything) that has illuminated individual Trump supporters’ actions to separate themselves from the KKK and other neo-nazi groups. Not saying it doesn’t exist by any means, just saying that I personally haven’t seen it.
ClaireL
(Just to be clear Sarah G….I’m not saying this is you. You may not be a Trump supporter at all or you may be a Trump supporter who has gone out of her way to denounce the racist rhetoric of the KKK and/or Trump in your community….I really don’t know. I’m sure you are a lovely person…No personal attacks, I swear!)
I am not trying to “grow my brand.”
And it’s no secret that the KKK endorsed Trump.
I too voted for Trump..and I am a WOMAN and a register DEMOCRAT. The reason was he was simply the lesser of two evils. Yes I know he said mean, hurtful and damaging things. But she DID mean, hurtful and damaging things. Her and her husband STOLE from America when they left the White House. They not only were made to return what did not belong to them, but had to pay restitution. Did we really forget the Clinton years?! If the DNC had not force fed her to us, Trump would have never had the chance. They cut their own throat. Yes the KKK did endorse Trump..just like you endorse Hillary. Doesn’t mean he endorsed them or she endorses you. Stop being dividing and angry. Maybe if we start being Americans first and foremost, and not pro this or anti that we would realizes have a lot more in common than we think. You can be “mad as hell” , believe me if she would have won I would be, but what are you gonna do with that anger? Pout? Rant? Use this blog as it was unintended(is that an abuse if power)? Or are you going to start to be the change? Treating those with different view points and background as humans. Bring mean or allowing those on your blog to be mean to others who think differently is a prejudice as well. You can’t call someone out for thinking differently and saying so, even if their thought process is askew; and then do it yourself.
I just read an article an hour ago that referenced Trump’s intention to do away with the Department of Education. Just reading your reply really drives home what a egregious mistake that would be for this nation.
Using this blog as it was unintended?
Sorry. No.
This is her blog, with her voice and no one else’s. It is her intention and no one else’s. It is not a businesses, not a group that has to come to consensus, it is this woman’s. She damn well will let her voice be heard, whatever that is she has to say. If you like some but not all, that is up to you, as some will feel the same about posts that are “on topic.”
Please. America is founded on the first amendment. That is what she so chooses to exercise. Unlike the evil that shall not be named.
THAT is AMERICAN.
I just reread the original post and don’t understand how you feel attacked. Katy stated her strong objection for the values of the president elect and indicated that she knows she’ll lose readers over stating that objection (which she is ok with).
She did NOT call any readers names or label them in any way. I honestly don’t get how an Internet stranger posting an opinion on her personal blog that people seek out and choose to read equates to ” attacking” readers. What am I missing?
I, too, am sad that you brought politics in your blog, but at the same time I realize that you can do whatever you please…it’s your blog. I liked coming to your site to have something free of politics to read these last few months. Yes, I am against abortion – I believe that the place to say, “I don’t want a child” is in the bedroom (or even before that!) NOT in the abortion clinic. Yes, I am a Christian, a conservative, and know that this country became great because of LEGAL immigrants. I hope that both political parties do some heavy thinking about what they are doing to destroy the country, and the media do a lot more soul searching so they quit opening pandering….and telling lies!
Open your eyes and realize that many women don’t have the option to say “no” in the bedroom, because they are powerless in their relationships, are young and being taken advantage of by older men, or are god forbid being raped. And many women desperately DO want a child and face the terrible reality that having that child puts their own lives at risk. Giving women power to decide what happens to their own bodies is the best way to prevent unwanted pregnancies, and a man who believes he can grab a woman by the pu**y without asking her because he’s a star isn’t going to do that.
Evidence from reputable research institutions and government bodies from across the world demonstrate that the best ways to avoid unwanted pregnancy are:
1. Classroom sex education, which puts relationships and sex in a responsible context and which explains contraception thoroughly; and
2. Widespread access for women to free or affordable contraception.
Would most Republicans, and core Trump voters, support that, on the basis that it was the rational approach to minimising the issue of unwanted pregnancies?
Suspect not.
I was a Trump supporter and I agree and support all the mentioned ways. Now who is being prejudiced?
It’s a crime that women in other parts of the world have no choice or voice. Gays who are thrown off of buildings because of their sexuality. Hillary slapped them in the face when she freely accepted millions of dollars from countries that do just this. If she was for women, gays everywhere, she would have rejected the almighty dollar from places such as Qatar, but she didn’t. She’s no better than he is!
Heather
Fair point about my post. I guess I didn’t think through that I should have added one final point to the list, not that that would cure your justified criticism about me making assumptions.
That if all that fails, and whether through stupidity, illness or harm being inflicted, a woman or girl ends up pregnant, then she should have proper access to counselling and support. If she then decides to have an abortion, she should also have that right, without criticism or fear. If someone else decides on a different path, or could never countenance abortion, then that is an equally valid choice.
What I found deeply concerning about Trump was his slippery stance on this issue.
Patti,
It is ISIS who has thrown gays off of buildings, not the state governments of UAE, Qatar, etc. See, for example, the fact-based analysis here: http://www.politifact.com/arizona/statements/2016/jul/11/donald-trump/did-hillary-clinton-take-money-countries-treat-wom/
It’s shocking and saddening to see how fact-free many Trump supporters’ decision making is. Such wanton disregard for reality when the stakes are so very high.
The people have voted and whether you are for or against the rightfully elected President we need to all stand as one in the greatest country on this earth. Accept and strive to make America a better place. We can if we all work together.
My freedom of speech did not end on election day.
#Hesnotmypresident
Great article, Katy. Frugality: just one more thing Trump understands nothing about.
Ummm he was elected, so if you’re an American he’s your president! lol that’s how it works.
He might be our President but we don’t have to agree with him or even support him. It is our right to voice our opinions, just as I have been listening to the complaining about Obama for the past 8 years. Why is it fair for once group to complain and then when the next one does, it is a totally different story. He was elected, but NOT by popular voice which is total BS in my opinion. I don’t like the way our elections are ran but that will never change.
You mean, like how Cingress and white supremacists and Faux news accepted Obama?
*Congress* (Auto-correct, what were *you* thinking?!)
I’m with Katy. Striving to make America a better place is what I’m doing by speaking out against Trump. I’ll never accept his racism, sexism, or xenophobia.
AMEN and I second everything you shared. I’m mad and sad. I’m sad that some very loving people I know voted for him anyway. I guess they will vote Republican no matter who is the candidate? It still feels like a bad dream to me. I want to be proud of my country but today I’m just not. I’m sure I will feel better tomorrow but today I’m going to mourn with you, Katy.
Thank you, Katy!
Amen sister!
Long time follower, first time to comment.
Thank you for speaking up and out. Gives me hope. Nice to know I am not the only one shaking my head in disbelief.
thank you.
I love you, Katy!
Much truth, thank you for these words!
I’m with you! I have cried in utter disbelief and have lost faith in my fellow humans. Trump is an evil man who does not have the best interest of humankind at heart. I am shocked and scared at what this may mean to the future of my children and how this change may impact their lives. But I will not lose hope and will continue to support what is right and true.
Thank you for this post!!
THANK YOU!!
So happy to see this here. I cried last night and again when I told my daughters this morning. He is not my president.
I’m with her ^
Thank you, Katy.
Good for you K. I’m proud to be a longtime reader. You are awesome.
Glad to see that I am not the only one who feels I woke up to a nightmare. My office today is silent and depressed as we contemplate the reality of Mr. Trump as President of the United States. While I respect the political process, I am unusually dismayed by this result. However, my motto is “Be the change you wish to see in the world” so I carry on as always.
God bless you! Thank you so much! You were a small measure of comfort this afternoon. Thank you!
Way to go Katy, there comes a time to speak out and this is it. This is as scary as hell for us over here in the UK, I just can’t imagine what it must be like if you’re an American and even worse if you’re an American who happens to be a not white, a woman, disabled or LGBT.
All through the election I didn’t post anything because I didn’t want to get into it with people. But now that this has happened I’m in shock. I agree with you.
As a young girl of twelve, I was “grabbed” by an adult male. My parents always accused me of trying to attract attention, so I never told them, as it would have been “my fault.” Everything was my fault. So when the adults continued pinching, grabbing, rubbing, hugging, kissing me, all against my will I always felt powerless. When I finally filed sexual harassment charges against a coworker, all my female friends in the workplace abandoned me, although they confessed to the investigative lawyer that he had also harassed them. I had so hoped we were building a better world for my granddaughters, but now I’m just scared for them.
Well said. I agree that we need change in this country, but not at the expense of those that are already marginalized. And watching Paul Ryan this morning, you could just see him rubbing his hands together, even more frightening. I just wonder how long before he gets impeached? What happens with the lawsuits that are pending against him? How did this happen? I honestly don’t even think that this is a republican/democrat issue. It’s a human rights issue. The start of a lot of uncertainty.
“It’s a human rights issue.”
You nailed it, Gail.
Yes she did! Thanks, Gail!
I am in complete and total agreement with you! It is a sad, sad day in the USA. I truly fear for our future.
Not going anywhere!! Keep speaking your mind.
Thank you for this Katy . I am a long time follower and first time commenting . I have such a bad feeling of dread and disbelief that this could actually happen.
I will proudly, gladly keep following you – and agree with your statements. I’m a 60+ year old, have seen a few presidents come and go. I’m greatly saddened and distressed that our fellow Americans put this man in office.
Another Susan feels the same way! Thank you for your post. Heart. Broken.
Today I’m also mad as hell. I’ll think about the rest tomorrow. I’ve been saying that all day and I sort of feel like Scarlett O’Hara. I think it’s perfectly ok to give ourselves a day or two to go through the very real disappointment and fear we’re feeling.
I’m just so deeply saddened to see whymy fellow citizens truly think of women, minorities, immigrants, Muslims, and the differently abled. I had no idea.
Proud to be a member of this group today. How can a person who has alienated so many claim to rule for all Americans. And he and his lovely wife are definitely NOT non-consumers. So much more impressed with Katy’s fight to pay for her sons’ college tuitions than any achievement this man has mentioned.
I am with you Kathy and with millions who are crying today!
Spot on girlfriend. I lost a lot of faith in humanity last night.
I cried this morning. Never thought I would cry over an election. I am ashamed hate won and the environment will be destroyed and racism is the new old way. Cripe what a disaster. Oh and I will still be reading.
Thanks for speaking out, Katy! I also feel confused and scared when thinking of the situation our country finds itself in. And I think it important to stand up for those who are being denigrated. Living together in strong, respectful communities should be our goal!
There are so many that share your view. Many, many, more all over the world are simply stunned by the results. Hard times, labour unrest, stagnating wages, and extremist politics; to me it sometimes feels that we are caught in a re-run of the 1930’s. I shared your post on my google + page.
Thank you! We are heartbroken about the outcome of this election.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Katy. I read your blog all the time, but I don’t think I’ve ever commented. I’m numb, shocked, grief stricken. You have expressed exactly how my family and I feel.
AGAIN, FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK
Thank you for sharing Katy.I’m with Hillary and with you. I am sad and scared and I did not like the America I woke up in this morning.I will continue to follow your blog and enjoy every word! Small comfort.
I’m going to be the unpopular opinion on here, but I’m OK with that. In 2008 I went to bed crying. I woke up the next day with a pit in my stomach, genuinely worried about the future of our country. I couldn’t believe what the outcome of the election had been. It was a terrible day, and I won’t ever forget that feeling. That being said, in the last 8 years I’ve gotten married, had babies, established my career – life has gone on and it’s been great. I say this as a way of showing that I know how you feel, and I feel for you all. It’s not a fun thing to go through, but I promise it does get better. What matters most is how we treat each other now. Regardless of who you voted for.
“Pause. Breathe. Love. It’s okay to disagree. It’s not okay to be mean. ” -KidPresident
In 2008 we were not dealing with a sexually aggressive racist. I think that’s the point.
There’s a huge difference between not agreeing with someone’s policies and electing someone who has never held a political office, is a horrible business man who takes pride in cheating the little guy, is a sexual predator and has no respect for women, and goes for the lowest common denominator by playing on the uneducated persons fears and hate.
I’m a very well educated person, and I’m sure in the almost 50% of this country that voted him, there are many more well educated people. My point was not about Trump himself, but about how we treat each other as individuals. Being considerate and understanding of other’s opinions, and treating both sides with respect.
I have yet to encounter an educated Trump supporter who has been able/willing to communicate why exactly they support this man. My guess is that they can but they won’t. The silence speaks volumes.
Jennifer, I agree with you. It is important to treat everyone with respect. By listening to others, we can find common ground.
Which is of course exactly what Trump does every time he opens his mouth.
318,000,000 Americans
128,324,634 who voted
60,477,537 voted for Trump
That’s *19%* of Americans. Not half the country, not even half the voters.
Trump is a package deal, it doesn’t matter *why* anyone voted for him. They knowingly voted for a lying, misogynistic, racist, homophobic sociopath who will soon go on trial for raping a 13 year old. There is no way under the heavens that sort of behavior can be excused.
Respect has to be earned, and neither Trump nor his either willfully ignorant or knowingly acquiescent enablers are deserving of it.
Hi Jennifer,
Please reference your education that you so espouse to realize that NO, not HALF of the country voted for this person. Half of the HALF of the people that voted voted for this person. That makes it 25% not 50%.
Simple math can be difficult but let’s keep it honest.
There’s no equivalency whatsoever to be made between Barack Obama and Donald Trump. There’s no overlap in the venn diagram.
GO KATY! THANK YOU for saying it so beautifully!
Thank you for coining perfectly what I am feeling today. I will turn off the news, the media. Will watch old movies, dig out some old CD’s. Sit on the couch & sew, listening to music. This insanity has got to stop. Thanks for your beautiful words, Katy.
P.S. My only comfort is knowing that more than half the country actually did vote for her. So we’re definitely not the minority.
Right on, Katy! This piece of human garbage should never be elected president.
A bigot who also offers wholesale condemnation of the second most populous religion in the entire world, who insults “the wrong kind of immigrants,” who knows neither truth from fiction nor lies from veracity, who has the audacity to demean Gold Star parents, and who has not, to boot, paid taxes like us. JEEEESH!!!
I couldn’t agree more!
I am shocked and saddened .
I keep waiting for someone to wake me up from this nightmare!
I’m with you Katy. I feel like I’ve been sucker punched. So sad that fear and hate won.
Thank you for writing this. I had a high opinion of you before and this post enhanced it even further.
thank you Katy! This was so good and true. This is Katy’s blog it is not her job to support the voices of bigots so bigots will feel more at home here. I understand that Trump does not support the first amendment, and feels that free speech is just for him and hist hate mongers, but freedom of speech truly is one of the things that makes America great. If you support a racist, you are one.
Thank you, Katy, for expressing your values and speaking your mind.
Yes yes yes. I am with you Katy. I feel adrift today….and so sad and worried for the people and future of our country.
Thank you so much for your post, Katy! I completely agree with everything you said! I am numb with shock and disbelief and, for the first time after an election, keep crying. I am truly scared for my children.
Amen to all of it. This morning I tied black ribbons on my kitchen chairs to show my mourning for our country. Absolutely appalled!
Thank you for your post. I have been sad and anxious since ladt night. Thank your for your views. I am terrified of what could be coming
Mad as Hell here too! SHOCKED that our country is this hateful ! This is NOT about politics, not about democratic/republicians .. This is about one mans EGO to add another notch to his list of “accomplishments” ? There isn’t one nice thing I can say about him, but literally hundreds of negative things (we all know!)
I do now that I am taking action in my personal life – finally! And will NOT be afraid of the bullys!
Not going anywhere, either. Online or in real life. I get the “idea” of “I just want to move to Canada”, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let racists, bigots, misogynists and fearful, selfish bullies claim this country for themselves.
Well said, Katy.
Oops – I meant “Well said” Leslie.
I sat here in shock in the middle of the night. Then, I cried and cried. It’s sad. It is about 3:45 pm and I still cannot sleep.
As a liberal atheist I struggle to find frugal living bloggers that resonate completely with me. I love your blog and have for many years! The events of yesterday have left me gutted and wondering where to go from here. Thank you for taking the time to voice your outrage. My husband and I are planning to figure out a way (volunteering, donations) to counteract some of the bad that is sure to come from this unfortunately election.
Bethany, we are so similar and I’ve felt so alone in the past! It takes a tremendous amount of courage to do what Katy did and I respect her a lot for it. This post has brought some solace to me today. I live in the deep red and have a hard time finding people to commiserate with.
Another liberal atheist, grateful for finding like-minded thinkers here.
Thank you Katy.
I’m used to being on the losing side; I’m a Liberal in Utah. So I’m not willing to simply equate all Trump voters with Trump. HE showed himself to be racist, misogynist, and bigoted. HE said horrible things about women, Muslims, Mexicans, the disabled, LGBT, and on and on. Do I believe that many share his beliefs? You betcha. But I don’t believe all do. I’m sure there are lots of reasons people voted for him. What I cannot understand is how anyone could admit that Trump’s prejudices are awful and still have voted for him. Any other candidate on the Republican ticket, I’d be disappointed, but not afraid. I spent last night consoling my teenage son whose girlfriend is first-generation Mexican-American and whose parents’ are on the waiting list to become citizens. Now they are all terrified of deportation. He consistently lied throughout the campaign, so why believe he’s a changed man today just because he says it’s time to “bind the wounds of division”?
Please tell your son that Trump can not unilaterlly determine immigration policy. President Obama attempted to change current laws via Executive Order earlier in his administration , but the Supreme Court would not allow it to stand. He would have to support of the House and the Senate.
True, but we’re one Justice down on the Supreme Court, and Republicans now control Congress. I’m concerned that our checks & balances system will not work the way it’s supposed to (though I’m hopeful it will). And no matter what I believe, the Latino community here is spooked. The local news posted an article about it earlier today.
I agree Cathy. Checks and Balances are fine if you don’t have every single thing now controlled by one party. We are screwed as far as that goes. Hopefully some of his own party will stand up to him, but I’m not going to count on it.
Up thread, someone said she would double her efforts to help the marginalized. I will, too. I am fortunate to have a little time and some discretionary income. Both can make a worl of difference.
Read this to see how Trump won.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/10/donald-trump-2016-white-nationalists-alt-right-214388
Thank you Katy for so eloquently saying what I feel but can’t express..
Thank you for putting words to all the feelings I felt today.
Agreed. And in addition to all the things you mentioned, and this is about frugalness – he’s the epitome of a consumer!
Living in and constructing tremendous opulence, multiple bankruptcies, obsession with his name/brands. I wondered today if he had ever bought a gallon of milk (or any groceries) or even knew what it costs us regular folk.
I’m with you til the end, Katy 🙂 I loved you since the Simple Living Network days and will continue to do so. Thank you for using your platform to shake up the status quo. Donna
Dear Katy,
For as long as I have been reading your blog it has been clear you have been a supporter or financial freedom, affordable education, and fair employment. Therefore I am really appreciative of you sharing your political stance. It is all connected. People need to understand that the financial values you write about are disconnected from conservative values. The American Dream of our parents and grandparents are not acceptable if we keep allowing greedy politicians and business owners to be in charge of our policy.
All my Best,
Amelia
Thank you, Katy!
As a Canadian neighbor, I agree that the election results are a scary thing. I’ve heard a lot of negative about it today around me. Lots of people are shocked and disgusted. Hopefully he’s just all talk and no action…. This next 4 years could be devastating for the whole world…
I’m also Canadian, and hear shock and fear all around me. Hilary may have a shady side to her, but she is experienced and competent. She was cleared of wrong doing by the FBI. Trump isn’t even competent competent as a businessman. Repeated bankruptcies. multitudes of lawsuits. Hiring illegal immigrants. Not paying invoices. His make America great again swag are made in China. Ties to Russian and Italian mafia.
Do those who hold him as the key against abortion really believe he’ll keep his word? He doesn’t on anything else. If he were a church member, he’d be ex-communicated.
Trump’s team had to take his Twitter account away from him. And he’s to be trusted with nuclear weapons?
There was opportunity for real non-establishment leadership in Sanders. But people stop dead at the word socialist, ignoring the Democratic and without examining his platform.
I was worried there would be rioting if Trump lost. My fears are now much larger.
So glad you posted this. I’m going to re blog it if it’s ok.
Wow, am I tired. This Southern Belle in GA has been doing the happy dance all day long. Victory is sweet!!!!
I’m English so I do really want to know. What motivated you to vote for Trump?
This. This right here. Seeking to understand and not automatically put down. This is the right response.
Hi Delorise- if you are not the least bit concerned about your (or your family and friends’) physical safety or welfare based on some of the comments or actions trump has made toward people of different religions, nationalities, races, ability levels, sex, or sexual orientations etc etc, please know that you likely live an EXTREMELY privileged life in an EXTREMELY privileged community.
That was a prejudiced response. She could be a Doctor or a high school drop out, you don’t know her and yet you make a snap judgement and use mean language to make her feel bad. Makes ya sound like Trump? Watch those rocks in your glass house.
Heather, can you point to the mean language? I don’t see it above, and I think it’s really important for all of us to differentiate between “mean” and “truth that makes me uncomfortable.”
It is absolutely true that if the OP has zero concerns for her family and friends – no concern about losing insurance, no worries about being threatened or attacked for their appearance or because of who they love – she is in a terrifically insular bubble. In this country at this time, the people in bubbles like that are mostly spectacularly privileged, even if they occasionally feel the need or desire to think in frugal ways.
So if that characterization is painful to you, why is that? Perhaps the question makes you realize that you, too, are in a position where the lives of people you care about aren’t really affected. Or maybe you woke up to heaving anxiety around the world and realized that you had voted thoughtlessly and selfishly, maybe even against your true values. Realizing that is painful, but it isn’t “mean” of anyone that you feel that way. And to compare your discomfort with the physical harm occurring already throughout the country is appalling. As is, frankly, the thought of anyone with a shred of human decency celebrating the results of this election.
Heather in LA: I’m sorry to belabor the point, but could you explain what snap judgement I made? I still don’t understand. I understand what snap judgements are and what prejudice is, I just don’t understand how my comments can be categorizes as such.
I did not assume who she voted for, as you implied. And, I clarified that privilege is ok. So, how was I prejudicial? Also, what was the mean language?
Again, don’t want to belabor the point, but I’d like a little feedback so I don’t make this type of ignorant mistake again.
Thanks!
Hi Heather in L.A.-
Thanks for your response. While I do not agree that I used mean language, your comment made me think that I should clarify mine:
Privilege is not bad. I’m white, Christian-ish, upper-middle class, educated and live in a very liberal area. While I am disappointed that Trump was elected, the race/religion/community I was born into means that I am really not concerned about my personal safety or welfare when he becomes president.
That is extreme privilege; I am extremely privileged.
I recognized however, that many friends, family and community members in many minority groups are not as lucky as me. A US-born Latino colleague worries about her safety when someone yells “build that wall” to her as she walks down the street. A gay friend who just married the love of his life now wonders if their marriage will be void before their first anniversary. These are experiences I will simply not face because of my ethnicity and sexual orientation….factors I have no control over, yet from which I benefit immensely.
Not only do I worry about the safety and welfare of those not as inherently privileged as me, I also feel like it is my duty to talk about my privilege. So, in that regard, I stand by my comment: If Delorise is not concerned about her safety or her friends’/family’s safety, then she is in a privileged position and needs to know that many people are not in that same position based on their race/religion/ethnicity/etc. Privilege is only bad if one is not aware of it (which, regrettably, I assumed Delorise was not aware of hers) or prevents others from the benefits received as a result of such privilege. My [ill-written] point was not to judge her or her class, merely to point out that whether she is a high school drop out or an accomplished doctor, Delorise–like me–is very, very lucky to be who she is and in her position. Many people are not as fortunate, which is why the election results are so scary to so many people.
Honestly, I’m not trying to use mean words or throw stones….just trying to give a different perspective. Hope this comment is more clear than my last!
Thank you for your response and calmly and eloquently written. A snap judgement regarding whom a person voted for is prejudiced and prejudice is mean. While I live in a conservative area, I am not necessarily conservative. I am a register democrat, but also refuse to swallow what at times can seemed crammed down our throats on either side. To put it plainly I voted against her, she also said mean things. She called folks that I love and whom are smart, educated, hard working and kind”deplorable”. If you focus on one candidates use of foul, angry name calling you must also consider the others. We are a military family, so accepting money, more money than most Americans will every be able to make, from a country like Qatar makes me a little more than concerned. Our country stands against the values that they hold high, especially on the platforms of women’s rights and gay rights. How can someone take money from one group and speak soothing words to another and we not question their integrity? I only write this to give you a calm measured insight as to why I crossed party lines. She was not right for our country, never has been. Do not vote without research. Do not take everything at face value, educate yourself. That being said, let’s all work together to make our country what we want it to be. I am saddened and disheartened that destruction has been the response the last two nights. How can destroying what others have worked for and attacking those who are sworn to protect and burning our flag going to help heal our nation?
Wait, and Delorise’s boasting of an extended victory dance, here on Katy’s lawn, wasn’t mean? You’re right -it was cruel!
Here in Australia… wholehearted agreement
With you that is Katy!
Nope – agree with you totally.
I have yet to agree 100% with any politician. My problem with Mrs. Clinton goes back to a speech she made in April 2015: “And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.” I do not try to force anyone to believe what I do. The fact that someone demands that I change my religious beliefs scares me. It goes against the very foundation of our nation. To assume that someone with an alternate opinion is ignorant makes one no different from those they claim to be against.
I, too, am in disbelief. I think it’s the Kim Kardashian effect…. America’s obsession with celebrities. That’s the only way he even got his foot in the door with ZERO political experience. The xenophobic, misogynistic, racists gave him a platform. And then handed him the most important job in the entire world. I am ashamed of the United States today.
I think that if the “celebrity effect” was at play here, more people would have voted for Hillary due to her overwhelming celebrity presence. If you scroll through the Instagram or Facebook feed of a young college student, all of the popular celebrities they follow, you would see an overwhelming wave of support for Hillary. There were little to no A-list celebrities endorsing Trump, he’s not an A-list celebrity himself. This is in no way a support piece for Trump, but I think Hillary failed to identify with the working class citizen. Everyone keeps asking, how did the pollsters get it so wrong? Well, were they hitting the ground in the rust belt or the corn belt? Speaking to the farmers (that make up 2% of the population but feed EVERYONE), the people paving the roads or picking up the garbage? She did little to reach out the the little guy. Those people don’t need free healthcare, free education, free daycare, or government assistance. That’s not to say they don’t understand that others do need it. I think this will be a huge wake up call to the Democratic party that they didn’t do enough to identify and connect with every type of person. It is sad that their only other option was him.
I’ve been upset all day, tried to keep my mind and hands busy as possible. What a sh*t show.
Me too, VanessaKC. I spent hours raking pine straw in my front yard just to dispel some of this nervous/angry energy I have. It worked for a little while.
That is, until I read Katy’s blog today….now I’m back to stage 2 again, Anger.
Thank you, dear Katy! As a gay women in her late 60’s, I can say I am truly afraid, shocked, and saddened by this election. It’s not party politics…I’ve voted for both in my lifetime. It is the character of the man, the hate he spouts, and the fear that so many are following him in that hate. I’m ashamed, embarrassed, and confused. I thought we were better than this.
Amen, Susan.
I know this is your blog and you have the right to say whatever you chose. I am disappointed that you choose to use it as a political forum instead of what it was intended to be.
I am sure I speak for many when I say that because of this I do not want to follow your blog any longer. It is okay not to agree with everyone, but ranting about it is never going to change anything, and I don’t care to read about your political opinions.
Equal rights are not politics, they’re the cornerstone of decent humanity.
Amen, Katy.
And ranting? After the hate, lies and neo-Nazi crap Trump has spouted for the last 18 months and you DARE to accuse Katy of ranting?????
I truly wish that I still believed in God, as it would at least give me the comfort that, if he follows through with his proposed institutional hate crimes, he will burn in hell.
Here in Australia we are shocked , there have been some people Comparing this result to 9/11 well here in Australia we put our day before our month so yesterday when Trump was voted in it was 9.11 here …. we are all shocked that’s he was voted into your country and worried about what this means I need the wider world he is a horrible arrogant sexist man and I hope he is reigned in and while I don’t want to get older quickly I hope the next 4 years go fast
This is nothing at all like 9/11. There was an election. Someone has to win, someone has to lose. As it happens, I dislike both candidates and voted for someone else altogether. But comparing this to 9/11 is wrong. It trivializes the innocent people who died that day, and makes light of the heroes who lost their lives trying to save others. Shame on all of you.
Way to usurp your platform. I guess you view that as the high road. I’ll take the road less traveled.
Nope: the racists, the bigots, the women-haters (which includes, so sadly, plenty of women) have, throughout history worn your allegedly “less-travelled road” into a monster ten lane interstate highway. Don’t trip yourself up as you tootle off along the road.
And how can Katy, the creator, writer, controller of The NCA “usurp” her own blog??
Thank you for posting this, Katy! I rarely comment, but your blog has meant a lot to me on my own frugal journey. You have all my respect for using your platform to call out this hate. Hate and bigotry should never be tolerated. I expected better of my country and I am heartsick at how wrong I was. Reader for life here!
Amen Sister! I am broken-hearted .
Thank you! The political is personal, and the personal is political. It all comes back around no matter what we do or don’t do. Everyone deserves the space to grieve, no matter what that looks like.
This is a frugality blog, true. BUT it is also a blog with a strong environmental message. And the carbon-reducing impact of the reusing, reducing, recycling you and your readers do will be quickly canceled out by the elimination of Obama’s CPP and other environmental regulations that have been put in place. As a result, I think it is totally appropriate for you to discuss the election on this blog.
Excellent point!
Also, bigotry is my “Do Without.”
You created this blog. You decide what to write. Take it or leave it. I decide to take it.
Thank you for speaking up!
I went to bed last night feeling very alone. Your post, and all the comments, give me hope. Thank you Katy.
Hear, hear! I’m Canadian but I feel for the majority of Americans who didn’t vote for him.
I’ve followed your great blog since 2012 but have only commented a few times (due to laziness/shyness, I guess). I so agree with your observations about the US 2016 president election result and I think you are doing the right thing by posting them. Thank you for all your great work!
I’m with you on this. Standing up against bigotry is essential in Making America Great. I see that a lot of Trump supporters would prefer us to lick our wounds and be quiet now that he has been elected, but I’ll never stop speaking out against his proliferation of hatred.
I think others have said so much of what I am thinking so I will simply say thank you.
Yes – unbelievable. Can’t describe how sad, scared angry this makes me.
I’m still here and I don’t plan to go anywhere.
Fantastic sentiments and I concur.
Love is love is love is love. <3
Thank you, Katy. The best we can do today is continue to be the change we wish to be in the world, and exemplify kindness toward our fellow humans.
Katy, I’m so sorry you are feeing this so deeply. Many are. This is your blog and your platform and I’m happy to see you are not afraid to use it. I am more inspired than ever to live a life that helps others after this election season, always looking for a positive.
I will tell you what made me feel a little better, I set up monthly contributions to Planned Parenthood, ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, and 350.org. The 2018 elections will place 33 senate seats and ALL 435 house seats on the ballot. We are not voiceless, we can mobilize, we can organize and we can take ACTION. Today we lick our wounds, tomorrow we Go.Fight.WIN!
All our family hear in Lincoln feel physically ill today. Karen has suggested a New Yorker cover: WTF . Seems apropos. Very articulate and powerful posting. Thanks, Katy.
(((hugs)))
MAD as hell, disgusted, embarrassed for our country and so deeply saddened. ME too!!!!If you voted for this fool, what do you tell your daughter/mother/sister, gay neighbors, immigrant family, or anyone you know that has been and will be marginalized by this buffoon? Shame on us. Thanks for telling it like it is Katy.
I fear for my relatives who are LGBT, my teenage son who has some special needs, my nieces whose reproductive rights are now imperiled, for my friends and neighbors of different colors and faiths, and for myself and my family—all of us with pre-existing health issues that would put us in danger if the ACA is repealed and we are unable to get insurance in the future. I fear for ALL of us, with Trump’s finger on the nuclear button. I am shocked and furious and I refuse to be quiet. As a Jew, I am required to speak up and begin the repair of the world. Thank you for this post, Katy.
We Jews do not have the luxury to sit back and ignore what just happened.
I rarely comment on blogs, but i just have to say I totally agree with you! You have so clearly stated how I feel! This is a sad day in our history. How can we possibly explain this to our children?
You said that you never met a Trump supporter that could state why they support him and their silence speaks volumes. Let me attempt to explain why I ended up casting my vote for him even though I wasn’t sure that I would.
I am a middle school math teacher of 28 years. I have worked more than half of my life trying to give selflessly to help others. I am what would be considered a highly educated female with a master’s degree plus about 50 additional credits. I grew up with 2 severely disabled siblings. I have friends and family of multiple races, that are LGBT, that are unable to afford “Affordable Healthcare” and are unable to find decent paying jobs even with degrees beyond high school. I voted for Obama because I thought it was high time for someone of a different demographic to have the highest job in the land. I also do not believe we should build a wall. I definitely would be considered an unlikely Trump voter. I wrestled with the political climate surrounding this election since June of 2015. I watched multiple news channels for lengthy periods of time trying to become an informed voter. I constantly channel flip between news networks trying to determine fact from fiction. I am smart enough to know that FOX news is biased toward the Republicans, MSNCB and CNN are biased toward the Democrats and that many other stations serve up a slanted version of the news too. The same thing with printed and online news matter, almost everything contains bias.
The fact is, there are many things that the average voter is not likely to know. If you are lucky enough to healthcare through your employer, you might not be able to understand the strife that a family feels when they don’t have good healthcare. Many people are paying $2,000 a month or more for Obama Care plans that have deductibles that are in the thousands of dollars. Combine this with a low paying job and many must skip the coverage altogether for the small family fine of $2,085. What a steal of a deal! Many people have been cut from full time to under 35 hours per week so their employer is not required to give them insurance. That is what happened to all of the teacher’s aides in my school district.
The overwhelming majority of my students live in poverty. Factory jobs are completely gone in my small town. The last factory in town closed over 10 years ago and moved their operation to Mexico. The school lunches have been cut drastically by Michele Obama. I know this was to help curb childhood obesity, but it was never taken into consideration that this is the only food some kids get all day long. Don’t get me wrong, I think the Obamas are inherently good people. I simply think that they need to admit that that some of their programs need tweaked. Tweaking something that is flawed is not admitting defeat, it just means being self-aware enough to admit that there is always room for improvement.
So why did I vote for Trump over Clinton? I have already stated several reasons. Let’s see – the overwhelming cost of health insurance for the poorest citizens, the fact that Hillary was not planning on deviating from any of Obama’s initiatives that needed improvement, erosion of the middle class through stagnant wages, underemployment through a decrease in the number of work hours so insurance does not have to be provided by employers and the loss of manufacturing jobs to other countries. I did not see any of these situations improving with Hillary Clinton.
Do people know that the educational system is being completed undermined by a few billionaires that spend an inordinate amount of money lobbying our elected officials? Why you might ask? They are pushing for privatization of public education through charter, magnet and cyber schools that will be run privately for profit and all paid for through your tax dollars via both income tax and property tax. Now some might say that this is a conspiracy theory of the teacher’s unions that just wants to protect lousy teachers. Anyone is free to hold that opinion, but I can assure you I am correct. This subjects was not addressed specifically by either candidate, but it fits into Trump’s platform of political corruption. That was more reassuring to me than knowing that people like Hillary personally profit through ventures like this so she would have no incentive to ever change it. As far as the union goes, they tell us to always vote democrat because it is our best chance, but I did what I personally felt was correct.
Let’s go on to political corruption. The fix was in for Hillary from the very beginning. Had the DNC run an honest primary and put forth a candidate everyone actually wanted this could have all been avoided. I believe that anyone else could have easily beat Trump and it would have been a non-issue. What did Hillary do when the DNC let Debbie Wasserman Schultz go for dishonesty? She rewarded her with a position in her campaign. Debbie was then replaced with Donna Brazile. Why is that an issue? Because it was later discovered that Brazile had leaked debate questions to Hillary from CNN. This appears to be true because CNN recently fired her.
The icing on the cake for me was just last Friday when Hillary campaigned with Beyonce and Jay Z. He used the “N” word at her rally and a multitude of other inappropriate lyrics. Now many said that she was running for president and not him. That is very true, but she put him on stage at her rally knowing what he stands for and what he stands against. Let’s move on to Beyonce. She carried a hate driven message on stage at the super bowl trying to deepen the divide in this country. They both carry a message of hate for law enforcement that is constantly reinforced by the Obamas and Clintons.
Then there is the issue of free college. She had no intention of carrying through on that plan. It was a weak attempt to bring over Bernie supporters. I value education highly, but how would we pay for that? We can’t currently finance k-12 education. Oh wait, I have an idea… She could set up a foundation to pay for it and charge foreign governments millions of dollars to meet with her while Secretary of State to fund the foundation. She could then setup a private server in her basement for all of her correspondence and call it the Clinton Foundation. When people catch on she could delete 33,000 emails instead of turning them over to the FBI. Anything missed could get zapped with a product called bleach bit. When asked if she wiped her server, she could innocently respond, “What do you mean, with a cloth?” and giggle. That ought to cover the cost of free college for everyone. If there was any money left she could use it to pay for Chelsea’s wedding!
I wanted to vote for Hillary because I would love to see a woman president, but voting for her simply based on her gender felt wrong. I felt like I was being bullied into voting against Trump. She called Trump supporters deplorable, uneducated and basement dwellers among other things. Her viewpoint seemed to be that she was the clear choice and anyone with education should be able to clearly see that. In other words, only white, male, uneducated (dare I say rednecks?) would be low enough to go any direction other than her. What kind of campaign strategy is it to insult people into voting for you?
I also know that Trump did and said many horrible things. The choices were not good, plain and simple. I know of all of the faults that my candidate possesses. The problem is, no one seems willing to talk about the inordinate number of Hillary’s flaws. I didn’t even talk about MANY of them but I am done now.
I love your blog and will continue to follow. I am also not mad. I completely understand your disgust with Trump. What is lost on me is how people can’t seem to fathom my disgust in regard to Clinton. It’s not like one of them was running against Mother Teresa. It was a painful choice, because both choices were horrific. I contemplated 3rd party, but ended up trying to have a say between the 2 that actually had a chance of winning. I know my comment won’t be popular and you can delete it if you want. I completely respect your right to do so. Again, I understand your point of view. Hopefully this helps to shed some light on what people were thinking when voting for the other candidate.
Julie, I really appreciate your comment and your courage to stand out here and explain your perspective among commenters overwhelmingly opposed to Mr. Trump. I also voted for Secretary Clinton because I deeply fear that the damage Mr. Trump can do to our nation and to this planet is even worse than mere run of the mill typical Washington politics as usual such as practiced by the Democrats and their funders. I wholeheartedly agree with your words here: “Had the DNC run an honest primary and put forth a candidate everyone actually wanted this could have all been avoided. I believe that anyone else could have easily beat Trump and it would have been a non-issue.” Now we as a nation must find a way to start talking to each other again and get past this wretched two-party polarization that has us fighting each other while the economic and political elites sit back and play power games. I understand your point of view. Thank you for taking the time to explain it. Maybe if more people can understand and respect each other’s challenges and pain we will be able to find a way forward as a nation. I think we can all agree that would be preferable to the current zero sum game that keeps us all victimized.
It would have been sad no matter how it turned out. I am worried about our debt and a lot of other things. Thank you.
Wrong Katie. Don’t blame the blogger. I’m just a poor social working living and working with the homeless population in rural Alabama. I still don’t understand your reasoning. Your excuses for supporting Trump do not add up. But you live with your choice and I will continue to fight for the marginalized that he so wants to be rid of.
I understand you feelings completely. Political corruption subverts the democratic process.
Trump has vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and with a Republican-dominated Congress his odds are pretty good. How is NO health insurance better for the working poor? I truly don’t understand.
His 100-Day Plan also includes “school choice,” which is the privatization that you say you dislike.
And Hillary is definitely flawed, but her flaws do not outweigh Trump’s appalling bigotry and lack of qualifications. I mean, I understand that lots of people don’t like her, and certainly plenty of those people are educated and intelligent. It’s just — I don’t know, to me it’s like comparing a house that’s got missing stairs and whatnot with a house that is literally on fire. It’s incomprehensible. I understand that it’s so and that we have to work together, I just feel like I must come from a different planet. And that’s saw.
Ugh. It’s SAD. Good grief.
Julie, this was my question while reading your thought out response as well.
If you know how much it hurts not to have health care, how is NO healthcare a fix to that problem? I was a self employed person for years who didn’t have healthcare because I couldn’t afford it on my own. Do you think that’s going to change with the ACA is repealed? Do you think insurance rates are going to drop to record lows?
I respect you for responding with a thought out and thorough reasoning for why you voted for him. I agree with almost none of it, but the healthcare issue is one that’s particularly personal to me and you using it as a reason NOT to vote Hillary is mystifying to me.
Thank you Julie for taking the time to write this. I too have studied this election from every news source available and I agree 100% with everything you have said.
Because of the 2 candidates available this election was set up for doom from the beginning.
The only place I differed with you was I did vote for a third party candidate and it felt so good to be voting for someone instead of against someone.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I have been a faithful reader forever, and I completely agree with you and appreciate that you took a stand.
I’m with HER ^^^
Well said, Katy and Kim both.
Nothing to add except I stand with you Katy.
I’m with you Katy!!! As a mother of 4 daughters, who is married to a Mexican American who has worked his butt off to start susccesful businesses so our family can live a good life and contribute greatly to our community I am in shock!!! This country is better than that!!! We need to stand together.
Well said Katy! I agree completely! Thanks for writing this post!
amen katy.
Lots of anger, sadness and devastation here too. Went on a walk and vented with a friend…got a massage from a wonderful woman who felt similarly devastated…took myself out to lunch…then came home and made two donations to organizations that may just need a little extra help after this election.
Frugal I am, but the donations helped get me back on track with “There is something I can do about this, even if it is a small step…”
Hang in there- hugs and more hugs!
Yes, I agree. I felt sick to my stomach when it was confirmed. I pray for us as a nation. So many people are hurting and suffering already, and it will only get worse. We who knew better than to make this extremely poor choice must stick together and be even more helpful and kind to those in need as the meager safety nets they rely on will be gone. Such a sad day in history.
When a racist, misogynist tyrant is elected in my country I feel it is perfectly acceptable to have an opinion about him and the people who voted for him. And to voice your opposition to having a man devoid of character and human decency moving into our White House. This isn’t about one ideological difference versus another– it is about HUMAN DECENCY. Thank you Katy.
I am sick at heart today along with millions of others. Been reading your blog intermittently, just now I subscribed to it. Thank you.
I am still in shock and cannot believe the outcome of the election. I’m really praying that the next 4 years will not be as destructive as I’m afraid it will be.
Even though i can’t stand Trump, i’m not a fan of the Clintons, either. I voted for neither. But we are all privileged to vote for whomever we want; i try to respect that right. I’m hopeful that reason will set in and Trump will be better than we expect. If not, we vote him out in four years.
Thank you Katy. Have never commented before but could not let this pass without a thank you. Hoping for the best but not very hopeful.
I feel the same way. Trying to figure out how to handle the holidays with friends and family that I know elected this vile man. I will do it but it will not be easy.
Thank you. 100% with you. Actually 1000% because as a blue dot in a red state (GA) online communities are about the only ones I have to turn to right now. And I guess Southern belles with their heads in the sand should be sure to bury another body part too because it’s literally up for grabs with this dbag. My only tiny consolation is we Berners called this a long time ago and might get some traction with the bloated, smug Democratic establishment now.
I love your comment. I’m less than a blue dot, over in Alabama. This post has saved me today.
OMG now I can say I know a progressive in AL and you can say you know one in GA! Although we should both move to FL where our votes could actually matter 🙂
((Hugs))) I’m very close to the Georgia line!!! I’ve been so alone during this whole thing!
I am in AL, too. Heartsick here!
I’m a blue dot drowning in red Louisiana. How can we channel this energy to improve our communities, states, and country?
Wow! I don’t know where to start. This was certainly an emotional election, I am really glad that it is over. This country is deeply divided. Many- 50 percent- do not feel the direction that this nation has taken over the last 8 years has been beneficial to the country as a whole. They clearly told us so last night.
If one really looks at the data that has come from this election, something is clear. The people who voted for Trump aren’t necessarily bigots or racist. They aren’t homophobic. They are not stupid. They are not attempting to overturn Roe vs Wade. They are not all crazy, evangelicals. In many cases, these people aren’t even Republicans. They are people who simply believe that the way we are doing things isn’t working.
So today, we have to make a choice. We can continue to hurl angry political rhetoric at one another, or we can come together to solve the problems that are facing this nation. Donald Trump might not be your first choice. He wasn’t mine, but he is the President Elect of our great country. So instead of labeling one another, let us try and understand another’s point of view.
Since you have so generously shared your point of view, I will tell you mine.. As the disparity between the rich and the poor continues to widen, I am becoming more and more concerned about the world my children will inherit. It all comes down to the economy and how our country’s financial resources are used. Over the last eight years, things have gone from bad to worse. Consider these simple facts:
* In 2015, annual household income was $55,775 — approximately $1500 less than it was in 2008.
* Healthcare costs have tripled. Obamacare is simply unaffordable to a large number of people and has done nothing to increase access to medication and treatment in many parts of the country.
* The national debt has grown from $8 trillion when Obama took office to $20 trillion in 2016.
* Banks continue to borrow money at close to 0 percent. Yet students–who borrow money to further their educations are charged an APR of 6 to 8 percent. People who rely on credit to make the ends meet are paying 18 percent or more.
* Many companies continue to take manufacturing jobs overseas. These jobs are not being replaced with similar or better ones. Frankly, there are few incentives to keep them here. Most economists feel that the real unemployment rate is still hovering around 10 percent.
Things may not seem as bleak as they were in 2008, but we cannot keep kicking the can down the road. It is time to stop the insanity and get our financial house in order. No one should understand that better than NCA readers who believe in cutting expense and maximizing income.
So Katy, I could not vote for Clinton. I have no desire to continue down the same road that we were on. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over an expectly a different result.
I love NCA and its community. I don’t want to lose that. I hope after the anger subsides, things might return to normal.
Thank you Bee! I’m an Independent that usually votes Democrat but not this time. I’m sorry but it’s time we put our big boy pants on and move on, we have become a nation of whiners. Yah, Trump said some pretty horrible things but I have yet to see him charged and convicted in a court of law. At this time 3 of his accusers have withdrawn their stories.
Hillary is a hypocrite, IMO. She wants us to believe that she’s pro-woman, really.?She has taken millions of dollars from countries who rape and torture women on a daily basis and that is the norm. If she was true to her word she would have never accepted the blood money. She also put this nation in great danger when she allowed her house-keeper to handle “official documents”, honest to God what was she thinking.
There’s plenty of blame to go around, neither of them are perfect!
My final straw came when I read the TPP. Not one of you, your husband, brother, sister, father or mother would have survived if this was passed. It took me 3 days to read the entire bill. It was Nafta on steroids and then some.
“Yah, Trump said some pretty horrible things but I have yet to see him charged and convicted in a court of law”
His first trial starts on the 28th of this month. He has been charged with some things….
No, he hasn’t. It’s a civil trial, not a criminal one. You should understand the difference.
I completely agree with Bee.
Beautifully written thank you
Please recheck the debt statement for one. President Obama moved around $3trillion dollars into the debt column from the costs of the war in Iraq – it had been hidden in the Bush administration. Also, my understanding is that these $$ you state also represent personal debt which is different than that of the government. I don’t like it, but these figures are not “simple” as you state and need to be looked at greater depth.
To be clear, the source of the figures that follow is the US Department of Treasury website. Janine, you are correct on January 20,2008, our national debt stood at $10.6 trillion not $8 trillion as quoted. This figure has been adjusted since I last looked.
Today, it stands at $19.8 trillion.. This is the US government’s total debt obligation. This figure does NOT included the personal debt of US citizens which is estimated to be around $11 trillion. ($1.5 trillion or so is student loans)
Perhaps, the confusion lies in the fact that $14.3 trillion of this amount is considered to be Debt Held by the Public. This refers government securities (bonds) which are held by individuals, corporations, investment funds, and foreign governments such as China. They are a financial vehicle for funding our government just as a mortgage is a way for many to purchase a home.
My concern is not determining which party is at fault. I think the policies of both have contributed to this enormous debt. There is enough blame to go around. My concern was the continuation of new and existing policies offered by the Democrats in 2016 would grow the debt even further. (Free college)
Just like an individual or a business, a country cannot continue to thrive when faced with debt.
Katy -Thank you X 1, 000. I have been following your Blog for a long time now and will always do so.
You are downright honest and keep things real. I live in Canada- not far from Montreal and am also fearful of what is sure to trickle down in my “neck of the woods”.
It is your Blog and you can write whatever you want /or feel the need too. Again I most appreciate that you always keep it real, and let us not forget downright funny at times with the frugal tip and various finds :))))
I get far more than you will ever know from your posts and tips and adventures with college funds. I also work in a hospital as an orderly with a Bachelors in Fine Arts completed (Theatre in Development) and am living very frugul mindful putting in pre-req’s for a Masters in Social work………
I thank you again for being you Katy and always look forward to hearing about your opinions frugal or otherwise and of course the many thrift store adventures……
BRAVO Katy!!!!!!
Deanna xoxo’s (from Canada- a Blog reader for life)
I will keep reading your blog that i love so well. And since i have to pay for obamacare for my family, i need your tips more than ever. Next year i have to pay over $1,800 per month to have a health care plan with a $7,000 deductible per family member. That is $21,600 for the year and it pays for nothing until we meet the huge deductible. Before obama care we only had to lay $1,200 per month for a plan with a $500 deductible per person. Pricey but doable. We are hard workers that own a very small business that employs others. We live very modestly and this cost is more than all of my other expenses together except for my childs college.
I am extremely dissapointed that trump was the republican nominee. I did not vote for him. However i can understand how others that have been put in the same financial situation due to obamacare have chosen to vote for any choice that offers an alternative. When you work hard, live extremely modestly, provide employment for others and are faced with deciding to sell your modest home or withdraw your child from college to pay for health insurance and medical costs that are not covered by the health insurance plan, you realize that you have empathy for ALL Americans. And that empathy is extended to those Americans that may have voted for the only candidate that would help them recover from obamacare. So instead of all of this hating and judging of americans who voted for trump, lets try some empathy for those put in that position. For goodness sake, be better than the man you are bashing and just be kind to one another.
Deb H
Amen!!! Being kind to one another is the way to go. As we never know what kind of day they are experiencing.
A kind word, a listening ear or small genuine gesture can make a person’s day. We need one another- now more than ever!
Deanna
Deb, I am sympathetic to your situation. Costs are through the roof! If we are to fix this mess — and it is a mess — we must begin listening to eachother. It is so sad that we have become such a polarized and angry nation. The anger on both sides of the aisle.
My father is a farmer with my two younger brothers, as well as having a small business. The Affordable Care Act cost for my family is $2,200 per month. $26,400 per month. That becomes $34,400 per year when you add in the $8000 deductible. It is cheaper for my family to not have healthcare and pay the fine. But they cannot go without insurance in the case that a farming accident were to occur, or to simply take care of their weathered bodies from doing heavy labor 18 hours per day (yes, 4 am to 8pm, 7 day per week). Half of my family’s income goes towards healthcare, 25% towards taxes. What’s left? 25% to survive and re-invest back into the farm. The government is driving small farms and small business into the ground, but we refuse to be one of them.
And, as a compassionate human being, I understand why my family voted for Trump, although I deplore him.
$26400 per year, oops!
What most people don’t understand is that the majority of people who now have health insurance because of the ACA have it due to the expansion of Medicaid programs in states that chose to do so. That could have been accomplished entirely without the rest of the ACA and its devastating effects. Those who are obtaining insurance on the private market who manage to pay for it are only doing it through the help of government subsidies. Those who don’t qualify for subsidies have been totally screwed as many of you have attested to here. If they ended those subsidies, nobody could afford insurance. People are paying more and getting less. Since it started, I have been unable to fathom how anyone thinks the ACA has been a success.
Deb, you complain about Obamacare, but what did you do before it? And what will you do when it’s repealed? And what will happen to the Americans who were denied insurance because of preexisting conditions?
First paragraph, fifth sentence. And when it is repealed, I will hope that the system is not still so messed up from it, that the rates will return to a somewhat more reasonable level. I have never claimed to be able to predict the future. I can only hope that there can be another solution that does not place such a grossly unjust burden on my family. I am not in a position to pay for everyone elses pre existing conditions, although I am very sympathetic for their situation. I will continue to pray and work for a solution for all. Please be kind out there.
Thank you for posting this. I am aghast and disgusted at the elevation of this racist, mysogynist sexual predator to the highest office in the land.
I completely agree Katy. Thank you so much for posting this.
As a non-white woman, I am struggling with the idea that so many fellow Americans are racist and sexist. And as someone who helps settle newly arrived refugees, I am terrified for them.
Not everyone believes Trump is racist. I believe he is sexist. Did you see that a decent portion of Latinos voted for him? A quarter of woman? People are sick of illegals jumping the line. That is what got Trump noticed. I don’t believe Trump is racist. I think he struck a nerve that our taxes are burdened by illegals. And if you think behind closed dooors a lot of powerful men don’t talk like that about women, well, I wouldn’t be surprised. Bill Clinton was just as bad about women but of course people loved him. He has charisma. People are stupid. They aren’t logical. Don’t know why I even bother trying to have a discussion anymore.
Fair point about Bill Clinton in terms of some of the allegations against him. And no, I don’t think that worrying about excessive illegal immigration automatically makes you racist by any means. I’ve met activists here in the U.K. who work with the resettlement of refugees who have concerns about illegal immigration as it places huge strain on social security, education and healthcare (all paid for, generally, out of taxation, so it’s free at point of delivery). But I do believe that Trump and some of his supporters are racists – or at best, in Trump’s case, pandering to racists.
But Bill wasn’t running, Hillary Clinton was.
Agree completely Hillary was running – but he husband is a representation of her. She doesn’t care about woman either. As for refugees and illegal aliens, I live in Amarillo. We have the biggest population of refugee resettlement in Texas per capita. The strain I see a understatement. A few years ago I heard a quote that we spent 2 BILLION on illegals alone. That is not sustainable. Hillary wouldn’t care if we sunk as a ship. All she cared about is herself. I don’t believe for a second she supports anyone’s rights. As she proved after her loss; once she didn’t need the people any longer, she simply left them to cope on their own.
Hi “Just Me in TX”
While I do not agree with you, I think I understand where you’re coming from. Thank you for explaining your views.
But, I do have one point regarding your expressed concern for illegal immigration. You stated that Hillary was the one running, “but her (sic) husband is a representation of her.” How (if at all) do you reconcile the fact that Melania–a representation of Trump–violated the terms of her student visa when she came to the US….thus making her an undocumented worker living in the US for a while?
Not looking to bait you or paint you into a corner….I’m honestly wondering if and how you reconcile this contradiction with Trump’s stance on illegal immigrant and his own wife’s foray into this county.
Thanks!
A quarter of women did not vote for him. Only 56% voter turnout, lets say roughly half for each candidate – that’s 28%. Say half were women. That’s 14% of eligible voters. 90 million did not vote. Almost half.
I completely agree with you. I just don’t understand why this has happened.
Bee, I guess I need to ask you what is the normal you hope we will
return to? Nothing has been normal about this campaign and certainly
not this election. Is this man representative of our new normal? Scary.
I have always been proud to be an American. Today I have been sickened
and saddened. I fear for the future of our great nation and our people,
and especially for our children.
Katy, thank you for your outspokenness.
To answer, your question:I hope that those members of the electorate who are angry and disappointed will regain their faith in the system.
Like all of you, I made a choice- a very difficult one. I am concerned about our nation too. However, we are a democracy; not a monarchy. The President cannot act unilaterally in most cases. (The use of the executive order should be challenged) Our forefathers, in their great wisdom, created a three-part system; so no one person would have too much power. That means Mr Trump can only act within the constraints of the law and with the approval of the legislative branch. If he does not meet the expectations of the people, he won’t be re-elected.
I have no choice, but to believe in this system. It has not yet failed us.
I think you underestimate the masses. I honestly can’t understand why people got behind Trump considering his rhetoric but seeing how people got behind Hillary even with her killing 4 Americans, giving secrets away, email issues, well, I know our nation is a bunch of fools. Never underestimate the power of a people who are backed into a corner. I’m hopeful that Trump will do well. But I’m preparing for the worst.
Hillary Clinton did not kill anyone.
I call bullshit. Her lack of action certainly did.
I have cried on and off all day. For the first time even I am afraid after an election. People I didn’t vote for have been elected before. I didn’t like their policies but I didn’t have to fear them.
This is not the America I love.
I cried after Obama was elected. 8 years later we are worse for wear but still here. We got through Obama, you guys will survive Trump.
Why did you cry about Obama?
My mother, my sister, and several of my family members had their 4o hour full time jobs cut to below full time so that they company would not have to pay for their health insurance.
This is a response to Savannah about her family’s experiences with the ACA. Like Sarah G, the “reply” function is malfunctioning, so I’m not sure if this will pop up in the right place.
I am English and we haven’t had that issue around the ACA highlighted in our media so I had no idea. I am so sorry for your family’s troubles. We are, despite the problems, blessed to have the National Health Service in the UK, so our healthcare is free at point of delivery – which we pay for out of upfront taxes. I wonder whether the US might ever go that route: just nationalise the hospitals and pay for it all out of taxes? It would remove that crushing uncertainty around your health.
Savannah, why are you angry at the program that is trying to offer a healthcare safety net for all people rather than at the company that made changes to skirt the rules? It patently was not the government that made the decision to cut your family members’ hours, right?
I hear this a lot, and I really don’t understand it. When my company lays off a department (which happened last week), I know to blame the company. Even though I know and like the people who made the decision, I understand they made a decision I don’t agree with – not the government. How is your experience different?
Apparently it’s different when it happens to them.
And that reply is totally in the wrong place.
Another long time reader who has never commented. It was jarringto open up my blog feed and see blogs that went on, business as usual. It’s so important that ordinary people is ordinary ways are standing up and speaking out against the hate that Trump has fanned. I’m scared for my family and my country. I felt a little less alone when I read your post today.
You go girl! My sentiments exactly. Thanks for standing on your principals.
Thank you……
I have rarely felt as hollow, disappointed and embarrassed in my life as I do today, and so disgusted with my fellow Americans.
It’s hard to say more than that at this point….
I read your post out loud to my husband tonight and thought, “Didn’t she just express this perfectly?” You spoke for me. Thank you.
Amen! Thanks for speaking up!
Irregardless of your feelings about the outcome of yesterday’s election, we still live in the greatest country on the face of this planet. Free to rant and rave or applaud last night’s outcome. Feel free to leave if you’re so disgusted. For every one of you do who do, there are dozens who would be overjoyed to take your place.
Peg, I’m sad to read your comment that people should leave if we’re disgusted. That’s not how democracy works. That’s not the way to effect change in a country. We have to stay and fight for the things we believe to be right. Telling someone, “If you don’t like it, then leave,” is telling them, “Your opinions, preferences, and needs are meaningless because you were in the minority in the last election.” That’s not a civil society, that’s a repressive one.
Ironically this is what the Left hoped us on the Right would do. Hopefully the next 4 years we can undo the failure that Obamacare is as well set the path straight for getting our country back on track. I didn’t want Trump as a candidate but as the Liberals said back in ’08 & ”12; give him a chance.
I will keep coming back to read this blog.
I feel a decline in my spirit. My soul keens in grief for our country.
My prayer is that the lies, ignorance, misogyny, racism, slander and wretchedness of the man be transformed by grace into some semblance of personal character and respect for the office. (Although I haven’t seen either of these things in the last 18 months.) Otherwise, we are doomed to four years of shame, angst , and anxiety.
There’s a meme circulating that shows Donald Trump sitting at a laptop googling “what does the president do”. So sad and yet so appropriate. His lack of intelligence, respect and dignity is appalling and scary.
Thank you, Katy for saying everything I’ve felt today.
I don’t think I have come across your blog before, but this really resonated with me. Thank-you for putting into words what so many are feeling. You can add me as a new follower.
I so agree! Thank you for sharing that David Duke tweet. That is really scary!
Just to let you know..I am from Louisiana and in this election David Duke ran for now vacant senate seat. He did not even make it in the run-off. And yet Donald Trump swept the state. Hmmm so that whole we gotta be redneck racists assumption goes out out the window. We are not racist, nor uneducated, yes we talk slower and love our tea sweet and iced down, but we are Americans. Americans sick of business as usual. Just to give you a perspective we recently had our governor’s election, where we elected a Democrat. So don’t lump us all with a David Duke.
Thank you, Katy.
Flash in the pan The Donald…Let’s rally round 2018 Senate elections to begin taking back congress as we focus toward ousting the garbage from the white house in 2020
Amen! I agree completely, and I applaud your courage and convictions. I will not stop reading.
Thank you!
I’m an Oklahoman but have lived in Dallas for 14 years. I am ashamed of both states. I don’t know when I’ll be ready for hedgehog videos. This is unbelievable.
Commiserations from NewZealand… Trump as President will literally affect the western world as we know it and we are all stunned at this result. To me it feels surreal and disconcerting that a person like him could even be a choice let alone win. BTW I have no problem with you putting this post up – the nature of this blog is quite intimate as you/we share parts of daily life and thoughts, so by all means share this! I find it hard to believe people feel affected by your opinion on this (that I applaud TBH) that they’ll stop following – touche and close minded!
Katy, I am with you. I have a sad feeling that non-consumerism is going to become an utter necessity for a lot of people, some of whom who haven’t yet realized what this election means for the citizenry. Thank you for being here and refusing to be silenced.
Loved this blog. Clearly you have hit a nerve with some, but that is what good writing does. This whole election process has my family dumbfounded. This afternoon my son said that he felt like he was walking around in some alternate dimension… like a parallel universe. My husband replied that he keeps thinking that any minute now he’ll wake up from this bad dream, which led into a discussion of the movie “Idiocracy”. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend it.
That whole issue of how a candidate can win the popular vote and not carry the win has got to change. Much of that is accomplished through gerrymandering and other processes that must be more clearly looked at. The electoral college needs to be reconfigured to match where the population actually lives.
Can’t say enough … loved this blog.
I know that movie well, and have thought of it over the past day. My mother named her dog after the character “Frito.”
The electoral college does reflect the population distribution of the US. That is why Florida has 29 votes and Montana has 3.
The electoral college was set up so that no one state would have excessive influence over the governing of all others. If we were to do away with the electoral college, the votes in the Northeast and on the West Coast would cancel out those in less populated areas. This would disenfranchise a large portion of our country. Just take a look at the electoral maps. Not just those maps that break the electorate down state-by-state but county-by- county.
We have a huge and diverse country. The concerns of the New York banker are not the same as the Midwestern factory worker. The Texas rancher faces different challenges everyday than the tech executive. Those in the inner cities have different needs than those in rural communities. We all deserved to be heard.
You are absolutely right, Bee, that everyone deserves to be heard. The way the system works now, however, Wyoming has exactly as many senators as New York and California. Individual districts in heavily populated areas have as many voters as entire states. The system was designed to give voice to everyone, but disproportionate representation of sparsely populated states – incidentally, the states that LGBTQ kids flee to come to slightly larger cities like mine so they won’t be beaten or killed, for example – has allowed the voices of people who are statistically less likely to interact with people who are different from them to count more. And we see the result.
The more sparsely populated states do not have disproportionatly higher levels of representation in the federal government. All states do have two senators, but your number in the House of Representatives is determined by population.
This is also true of the Electoral College. The number of votes a state has is based on population. So the more highly populated states have a greater voice — California, Texas, Florida and New York.
If you look at the 2016 electoral map, The majority of the population of 20 states and the District of Columbia voted for Clinton and 30 states voted for Donald Trump. In other words, 40% of the states felt Hiliary would better address the needs of its people and 60% felt that Donald would. Since more states chose Donald Trump, he is our President-elect.
We are the United States. The rights of individual states do matter.
We are pretty worries over here in Australia too. No one I know thought he would actually have a shot of winning.
We hear you and support you whole-heartedly down here in Australia. Most Australians cannot fathom how a nation of educated people in a developed country could have made such a gross error of judgement in electing a leader. How did this happen!?!? Here’s hoping that he will f)$&ck up big time soon and quickly be replaced by a sane, compassionate human being.
Maybe people here are tired of catering to the illegals that break the law when they come over ILLEGALLY. Our veterans who have served the people of the U.S. are treated no better than pound puppies. These brave men and women are second class citizens who take a back seat while illegals get free health care, housing, food stamps…….. I’m a nurse and see this on a daily basis and yes it happens every single day. Would your country allow illegal immigration and how would you feel paying for “breaking the law “.
To your last sentence, the U. S. goverment does not work like that. If it did
99% of our elected officals (from either party) would be out of office.
Thank you Katy, I need to hear lots of people say this at the moment.
I don’t live in the US but I think the biggest problem facing all people is climate change. I think we’re doing maybe just enough in just enough time to do something about (but maybe not).
But we won’t be doing anything about it now because the most powerful person on the planet is a climate denier (unless it benefits him like protection for his Irish Golf Club). Normal people with children have a stake in the future but this guy is a narcissist, his children are only reflections of himself, he doesn’t care what world he leaves them.
I’m also a worried about a thin skinned malignant narcissist having the codes to the nuclear weapons but climate change and doing nothing, even reversing the little we have done, worries me more.
Agree. Jersey Proud, we did our part and carried Clinton.
Well.
Kudos to the Aussies:
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/sydneys-daily-telegraph-has-a-brilliant-front-page-capturing-what-even-conservatives-think-about-trump-2016-11
And, frankly, to the Brits:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/10/the-worlds-newspapers-react-to-trumps-election-victory
In the words of the President Elect – “The system is rigged.”
#notmypresident
I am behind you all the way Katy!!
Well said, Katy. You won’t lose me. Thanks for being brave enough to share your reactions and don’t let the haters get you down. I’m too much in shock to write more, but I wanted you to know you have my support.
I couldn’t agree more, Katy, and I applaud for speaking out. I made the same decision to be silent no longer on my blog yesterday.
I am just as horrified as you are Katy. Thank you for speaking the truth. America, what have you done?
Longtime reader, first time commenter: Thank you for posting this. It’s made me feel less alone in these post-election days. I’ve been thinking of this quote a lot lately, and now I’m not as fearful of the future after reading your post and all the comments: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”–Edmund Burke. Speaking up is definitely not nothing. Thank you again.
Hear, hear! Thanks for speaking up, Katy! Love will always trump hate.
I do not understand your comment, Katy. Of course you’re intolerant of the KKK, as am I and nearly all Americans. Are you seriously trying to associate trump voters with a group as horrid as the KKK? Please get a hold of yourself.
Most liberals I know are like hippies: they purport themselves to be the most open-minded, accepting, nonjudgmental people you can imagine, but actually they are champions of hypocrisy, pointing hateful fingers at anyone who doesn’t believe/speak exactly like them.
Instead of assuming that anyone who chose trump did so because they really like him, I think you need to realize that most people who voted for him did so with a VERY heavy heart. We went to the polls hardly able to believe that these were the two people we had to choose between. Intense soul-searching was involved. We had to choose the lesser of two very evil people.
Some of us came to the decision that as much as we may dislike him, we feel trump will do less sustaining damage in his term than Hillary would, in spite of all her smooth words. Trump is no admirable man, but I believe that beneath it all, Hillary is even more ruthless and power-hungry than he is. Her charisma and honey-sweet words are just that: words.
Furthermore, all the “hate” (another buzzword liberals adore) that I have encountered since the election hasn’t come from conservatives; it has come straight from the mouths of the liberals who I thought were all about love love love. Again, just words. People who are really about love wouldn’t display the behavior I’ve seen. Hypocrisy is everywhere.
Seriously. Don’t act like you know the minds of every person who didn’t vote for Hillary. I’m a conservative and I also am a very caring person. In actions, not just words.
Thank you, I agree.
Thank you.
Thank you for saying what needs to be said and not being afraid of losing any readers. As Americans, we have a right to voice our opinions and I totally agree. For those of you who question what Katy wrote, she did not call the voters of Donald Trump hateful but called Trump’s values hateful. There is a difference.
I have never commented before, but thank you for using your platform.
I didn’t even get online or check email yesterday because I was so disheartened. The only thing Tuesday taught me was that I need to be vocal about who I support and why. I truly felt calmer heads (and hearts) would prevail. I really hope this wakes up more people like us to say, we need to have a louder voice regardless of who we offend or unfollows us.
Thanks Katy for speaking up.
With you sister!
I am just terribly sad. I heard it about 10 p.m. before going to bed! Such a shock, and didn’t sleep hardly tuesday night.
I am worried about us as a country, as hate begets hate.
Already heard about the protesters downtown Portland, how they harmed the Historic elk statue, and that is hate.
We must be better than this people.
We must take it on the chin, and learn to get along, and not let his ego, and hate define us as americans.
Thanks, Katy. I spent the day “watching hedgehog videos” because I couldn’t face the fact that half the people in this country voted for Trump. I am upset that people find him acceptable and were willing to give him their votes. I appreciate that you were able to find words for your pain, because I need that too. I just wish I knew what to do about it now.
Thank you for this post! I’ve been disappointed to see how many blogs I follow are completely ignoring the election and posting like nothing has changed at all :/
I would like to know how the election results impact everyone’s frugality. Please.
Thank you for standing up for the vulnerable and those put at risk by the president elect and his future administration. We’ll be using frugality as a political act in the coming year.
Sorry you lost me. Whether we agree or disagree politically, that’s not why I followed your blog. There are other venues for political discourse, which both you and I can turn to if we choose. To use your blog platform to vent politically is essentially a bait and switch move and doing a disservice to those who read this for your insights on frugality. You would be disappointed if a store offered you one thing and then switched it for another. Peace.
I have published 2,421 blog posts, so yes I get to write ONE about the state of my country. Then again, I get whatever I want, any day that I want, on my blog!
Me too, Katy – I was completely shocked and especially so when I realized how many women actually voted for such a horrid person.
Then to add even more to my heavy heart, my husband informed me he voted for him. I was beyond disbelief. Betrayal is the only word that fit how I felt. Needless to say, after letting him know I thought he’d just voted for Lucifer himself, I couldn’t bring myself to speak to him once I got home last night. I delayed going home by going to work out first.
So now, I have to figure out how to live in a home with a man I’ve been married to for 33 years and continue that relationship, when I don’t feel respected as a woman or a human anymore.
Like so many, my world feels like it’s been turned upside down. 🙁
If you don’t feel respected by your husband of 33 years simply because of how he voted in this election, and are going to let that affect your marriage, you probably have way bigger problems to deal with than Trump winning.
ditto.
I find it interesting that liberals are the ones who preach tolerance and respect but can’t tolerate or respect anyone who has an opinion that differs from theirs.
It could also be argued that opinions that are racist, misogynistic, and bullying *shouldn’t* be tolerated or respected, they should be challenged because of the harm they cause to individuals and society.
Donald Trump himself said many things that were disrespectful and intolerant of others during his campaign, as did a number of his followers. As a woman, I was horrified at the threatening vitriol directed at Hillary Clinton by some of the people at Trump’s rallies – is that now acceptable as a form of political disagreement? Is that really the kind of opinion that ought to be respected?
The way the system works, those who voted for Trump, in reality voted for the whole package.
I think, for the most part, the discussion on this thread has been an example of how to disagree with someone else’s opinion or support your own position in a respectful manner.
“opinions that are racist, misogynistic, and bullying *shouldn’t* be tolerated…”
So a group of people should take the authority upon themselves to decide which opinions are appropriate to tolerate in society? You do realize that the eventual result of that thinking is to forcefully remove all those who do not fit with what is “tolerable”, in order to keep them from bringing “harm” to the acceptable ones? Sound familiar? Your thinking is far more dangerous than you realize.
Let me add that I feel that racism, misogyny, and bullying are all deplorable, and should be discouraged always. However, if we ever live in a society where people are punished/oppressed/removed for their *thoughts* rather than their actions, it will be a dark time. The ones who feel they are tolerant, should not tell the “intolerant” how to feel. Everyone is free to think as he/she will, and have whatever worldview they feel is correct.
Sarah G, the first statement in your second reply is exactly what I meant. Everyone, of course, is entitled to their own thoughts and opinions, but if the expression of those opinions is harmful to others, then it’s also harmful to society as a whole. Isn’t that why, in a democratic society, there are laws against hate speech, and legal protection against harassment?
Also, I said nothing about punishment, oppression, or removal – I just said those views should be challenged (discouraged, in your wording)- which I hope would make people THINK about them.
Vickie – I hope you don’t mind words from an internet stranger, but your comment struck me. I am so sorry you are going through that with your spouse. It makes perfect sense why you would feel betrayed; please ignore the snarky previous commentor who replied. Trump has shown his disregard for women again and again, and it hurts when those nearest and dearest use their vote to share that disregard. I wish you the best moving forward from this.
Vickie
I completely understand your reaction, but many people on here who did vote Trump have explained that it was DESPITE those aspects, not because of them, and as they have said (and I’m only just getting calm enough to reflect upon), it doesn’t define them as supporting those views.
Thank you for understanding that.
THANK YOU for your courage to say ehat you feel. Thank you for being a voice for those of us who right now, perhaps like myself, cant utter a word without breaking into tears.
Love trumps hate. He is not my president.
If you’re an American, he is your president, whether you voted for him or not. You don’t have to like him, but he is the president, your dislike notwithstanding. Be rational.
You act as if Tuesday night’s outcome was a primal scream against fairness, equality, and progress.
Maybe, just maybe, Tuesday night’s outcome was a logic-driven rejection of a deeply flawed candidate named Clinton.
Could it also have been a vote against the establishment, corruption, influence peddling, media bias, and current US policy?
I respect Katy and I respect this blog, but you all have lost your dang minds. Clumping Trump supporters into categories like “racists” and “bigots” makes you no better than those you claim to be against. Why is it that you are outraged that everyone doesn’t hold the same opinions as you, but that you are not tolerant of other’s opinions who differ from yours? It’s extremely hypocritical to claim you believe one way and then act another. I have felt more hatred from those who supported Clinton in this election than I have ever felt before in my life. Is it really worth losing friends and neighbors who have different opinions than you over something like this? I’m truly shocked by what I have seen the last few days – not only here but on my social media networks as well. It’s a sad time right now for America indeed, but not because of who won the election.
Amen.
Katy, what I don’t understand is your disappointment is in this country. Everyone has the right to vote for their candidate and rather than accept that there will be a winner and a loser we have people rioting because they did not get what they wanted. 8 years ago there was a huge rift when Obama was elected and yet the “group ” everyone is “blaming “for electing trump never started the trouble that we are experiencing at this time. Hillary lost and if you will check she didn’t even come in second in UTAH. She was last. So before the new administration even has a chance to make an effort they are being disrespected. Communities are being burnt and vandalized. What does that say about the type of people who voted for Hillary. If your candidate lost show respect for the office. No matter what happens, this is and will always be the greatest country on earth.
Well of course Hillary lost Utah. This is the reddest of red states. It was only a question of whether Evan McMullin could draw enough support to beat out Trump. In the end, the majority of Utahns voted for Trump–and likely voted straight-party ticket, because that’s what they ALWAYS do in Utah. The only way Hillary could have won Utah is if Trump & McMullin split the vote just enough for her to eke out a win, and no one ever expected that to happen.
I’m mad as hell, too, and I will need to be more frugal/NCA than ever – so I can save more money to donate to organizations supporting and defending women, the earth, refugees, the marginalized, even to help family members affected by the potential scrapping of affordable healthcare, job loss, rising inflation once the economy is in a tailspin.
Very well said, Katy, and thank you for speaking out. I still cannot believe this happened. What is WRONG with people???
With you all the way. So are millions in the US and around the world. It’s outrageous.
Head over to Everday Feminism and read the post today titled, “20+ Resources to Help You Process After the Election of Donald Trump” posted Nov 9, 2016 written by Sandra Kim. It’s the best list I’ve seen.
Don’t miss Michael Moore’s Morning After To-Do List 5 point plan , link is on the list on Everday Feminism article. Michael Moore’s list is being shared at a rate of 30,000 times an hour. It’s that good.
Grieve, mourns. Wake up. get angry and get busy. We have to. It’s our only hope now.
Thank you for this post. I’m with you!
YES! Mad. And Sad. And very worried for those I love who aren’t rich, white(ish lol), old, straight males. Because it seems that’s the only group he cares about. I would very much like to be proven wrong by him. I am also disgusted that almost half of my fellow Americans seem to think that he’s a perfectly acceptable leader for our country and a good representative for us on the world stage. No doubt that he does not represent me. 🙁
Thank you for taking a stand, Katie. It is easy to profess to be apolitical but it is lives and rights at stake.
Thank you, Katy, for using this forum to express your outrage over the outcome of the election. Having a president who frightens me on behalf of myself and everyone who will “lose” during his administration is one thing (a monstrously large thing), but I am perhaps more disturbed that many “good” people voted for him as an expression of their wishes to improve our country. We are so divided. Trump represents the exact opposite of what I value–civility and decency, respect for all people (including those who are different from me), protecting civil rights and the environment, providing a safety net for those who need it along with social security and medicare benefits. Cutting the tax rate for the wealthy will result in decreased services and increased taxes for everyone
else. In this uncertain time, we have to count on our elected representatives to well and truly “represent” us. We must turn our outrage and fear into political action by “lobbying” our senators and congressional representatives. Complacency can not be our response. Vigilance must be.
I’m curious how parents will handle it when their children are caught lying, cheating, stealing, or being cruel:
“Sam, you shouldn’t call Tim names just because he’s different.”
“Why not? President Trump would.”
You should keep blogging about scarves you pick out of the garbage, because that is the level of your writing talent. The fact is, anyone with internet access can be a blogger and post their opinions just like you are. There is nothing special about what you do.
Clearly a lot of people disagree with you, “LovingIt.”
And if you’re so underwhelmed by Katy’s writing and content, why exactly are you on her site and taking the time to comment?
LovingIt, anyone with internet access can also be an anonymous bully, as you have proven so well!
Why are you here then?? Move along, nothing is compelling you to read a blog you don’t like.
Katy’s writing is fantastic-always has been. I don’t necessarily agree with the tone of her post, but even I can see the fallacy in your statement. Really, you’re just being petty, and there really is no need. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Spot on! Thank you standing up and speaking out!
I totally agree with you, Katy! Thanks for publically saying what is on my mind!
It’s a hard time. Thanks for your heartfelt words.
Bravo — well said. I have been just so sad since the results came in. This country is being consumed by hatred, be it of immigrants, LGBT or just those who are different. And as despicable as Trump is, it’s the American people who put him into office that pain my heart. They actually admire this man’s ethics. It’s just shameful. Thank you, Katy, for reminding me that respect and compassion are still valued in this country, even if it’s just by a minority.
Bless you for writing this. A lot of us may need our non-consumer skills to survive the next phase of American history.
Katy, I’m right there with ya! My biggest fear is that, while we wait four years to correct this horrendous error, there won’t be enough scraps of this country left to piece back together.
I completely agree. Thank you for saying it.
Thank you, Katy for speaking up. For using your voice and not staying silent on what is going to have a huge impact of peoples lives not only in the U.S. but around the world. I am a teacher and my students, some of whom are LGBT, African-American, and/or Muslim, are now scared for their safety. This is a direct result of this election and I am angry that those who voted for Trump do not see that they are promoting hate, even if they claim they voted for him for other reasons. #blacklivesmatter
Preach it. Couldn’t have said it better.
I read your blog for frugal reasons. I have been mad for the last 8 years but I’ve never called supporters of President Obama the hateful names I’ve seen since this election. This is your blog and you can write and say what you want. That is the beauty of it. It would be nice to allow others to disagree with politics or religion or whatever.
Lee Ann
There is a difference though between Obama and Trump. There’s a difference between Trump and George W. Bush. I absolutely disagree with pretty much everything Bush stood for, but I always believed that he was in earnest and sincere in his beliefs. I think the same about Obama.
But Trump has demonstrated repeatedly, out of his own mouth and not as a series of allegations by third parties, that he is willing to say hateful things about people based on colour, sexual orientation and gender itself.
I take the point that those who voted for him needn’t be people who agree with those views. But Trump -v- Obama??
Katy-I hope you have a better weekend. Our choices in this election were not good on either side and I daresay that voters on each side had to get past injustices and evil done by both candidates before marking their vote. Many American chose not to vote for either candidate. Hating people who voted differently and posting disgust for basically 1/2 of Americans…not good. You can’t know what is in the hearts of the 1/2 of Americans who disagree with you and its unfair to make sweeping generalizations.
Not 1/2 of Americans. Nor 1/2 of eligible voters. Not even 1/2 of those who did vote.
It’s not really what’s in their hearts that matters at this point, *it is the consequences of their actions*. Voting for someone with Trump’s known and stated objectives of enacting laws based on racism, bigotry, etc. was irresponsible at best. At best.
Katy, I have been out of town at a training program all last week and I am just now catching up with NCA. I completely agree with you on this and I am very concerned for our future. I am still trying to process this and when I do, I plan to become more politically active to stand up for the values which I believe in. Thank you for posting this. You certainly will not lose me as a reader.
All my family and people I grew up with supported trump, some of them quite zealously. The only insight I have is these are a people afraid of change and losing their “top dog ” position in life. Life is hard for even white males, and someone telling them they dont have to give up that edge is a comfort. The women and children just fall in line with what benefits the white males in their lives, benefits them. And if you’ve ever been in areas of this country that have been hit by oil and coal reduction because of enviromental laws you can see the economic hit they have taken. Heck, even in Oklahoma where they are having bigger and bigger earthquakes because of waste water injection wells from oil drilling, they still don’t want the wells shut down.
The changing face of America scares many people, but the pressure to be PC in public has kept that hidden. If nothing else, this election has revealed what is honestly in the hearts and minds of many. It’s a wake up call and a warning. Much of the prejudices will naturally pass with the aging of America. The younger generations tend to be much more embracing of differences and less zenophobic. Other than that we’ll just have to work harder at being all inclusive and understanding everyones perspective, or hate will win.
Personally, I just always found Trump an annoying presence. But that was easily handled by changing the channel or turning off the device. It’s not going to be so easy now. But it will save me money, bye bye cable, internet, sirius, magazines, and all forms of media. Win for my pockets. $$$
Good for you!
Thank you. I’ve been avoiding “normal” reading since Tuesday – normalcy is a long way off for me. But today I needed to check in with some of my trusty blogs and it was refreshing to read your honest comments here! Thanks for speaking up. I wish all like-minded folks with a following would be brave enough to do the same.
As someone who has followed your blog for a while from across the oceans in northern Ireland, and followed the American election with interest, it did sadden me that your election’s have become very much like ours, in that it became tribal – more about keeping out who you didn’t want to get in rather than about who you really want to get in. But it has happened now and as with Britext we will have to wait and see now how it will effect our every day life. Good luck to us all, keep the faith that it will all work out okay for all us hard working honest people.
It’s tiring to read all the intolerance of those who are on the losing side of this election. I enjoy your blog, Katy, but I hope you’ll take a moment to read the comments of those you associate with racism and hatred. I’ve heard a few journalists ready to try to hear the voices of Trump voters without the automatic knee-jerk conclusion that we’re backward, uneducated, bigots, but have yet to see one post on social media or blogs willing to open their minds and find out what’s really going on.
I am an educated (doctoral level) woman, with a six figure income. I have strong beliefs that don’t fall in line with the “popular” liberal orthodoxy, but don’t hate Muslims or immigrants or myself (women). I don’t like Trump and considered not voting for him, but finally concluded it was my best choice among nothing but terrible options. I was shocked that Trump won, especially considering the media coverage, telling every voter that only fearful, uneducated, old white men could ever consider such a choice. But I believe his win is better for our country than the alternative.
I appreciate your well thought out comment, but I’m not able to take this sitting down. The majority of Americans cast their votes for Hillary Clinton, and my heart breaks for all the people in this great country who are now living in fear.
I have not written that Trump voters are are either uneducated or backwards, so please don’t put those words in my mouth.
Katy, I am a Christian, and from what I am reading, apparently your only reader who is. This was truly the hardest election for me ever. The choices were so disappointing. So many things about both candidates I did not like or agree with. But because I am obedient to my God and voting for what I think is in the long run is best for the American Christians, I voted for Trump AND other republican candidates. Yes, Trump is volatile, does not think before speaking, and is a womanizer. But if the democrats continue to have control, I truly believe that Christians will begin to lose their rights to worship and live as they believe. Because the democratic agenda stands for what is contrary to the word of God. We are not instructed by Jesus to love all people and turn the other way when we see their sin. We are to pray that they come to salvation through Jesus. So many people will answer in a poll that they are Christian, but for so many that is the feel good God, not the holy God who grieves over the wrong choices of his children. Trying not to preach a sermon here, just explain the way that Christians in this country believe. I see so many who will stand for the rights of the Muslim believer, but ridicule the Christians. Folks you cannot have it both ways. As an American, yes, I stand for the rights of my Christian neighbors and my Muslim neighbors. The Hispanic, Blacks, and Asians. We are a melting pot. But we have to come together in the melting process, not separating, and look out for the best interests of all Americans. I know what you will say, how can I say that when Trump wants to deport illegals. Because they are illegals. There is a process to enter this country legally, and it should be upheld because it is the law. We follow the prosecution of murderers to the letter of the law, so why do we think we can pick and choose what laws we want to obey? The Bible instructs us to obey the laws of the land. I am in prayer for this land, but I am Christian, and I vote.
How is Trump’s threats to deport people who follow certain religions, calling entire nationalities ‘rapists’, mocking people with disabilities, asking for women who have agency over their own health and bodies to be punished going to make Americans come together? His whole platform is utterly divisive. That’s the whole point! To make rich(er) white people think that it is others (who have less money and opportunities) that are taking away opportunities from them.
I’m not a Christian, but I believe your Jesus was about loving one another. I rarely meet Christians that act in the spirit of Christ. They’re usually spouting hate like you about ‘illegals’ (is that in the Bible?).
I tell ya what, if there is a second coming all you fake ‘Christians’ are going straight to hell.
Coming late to this discussion, but I really need to interject here, even if it is off topic. To be clear, I am a Christian. And a devout one. However, I am neither evangelical nor born again, and do not believe that homosexuality is a sin, as well as believing in a womans right to choose.
So while I try not to pick on any one folks, when you say “Christian” and imply that we all believe that, you need to be more specific. As someone of the Raised from the Catholic/Episcopal/Lutheran traiditon we are just as “christian” as those of you who are not.
Sorry, just something that bugs me that I always correct. May have to blog about it.
We each come from a unique set of circumstances that have played a role in creating who we are and what we believe.
Maybe you are concerned about the erosion of the middle class for people of all races.
Maybe you grew up with 2 severely disabled siblings. A situation such as this would fundamentally change who you are and what you become.
Maybe you believe that healthcare is a basic human right but think the healthcare system is completely broken.
Maybe you have an uncle who worked at the pentagon and knows the ins and outs of government behind closed doors. He can’t tell you anything specific, but you know what his political opinions are…
Maybe you know and love someone of LGBT community that has attended Pulse night club on more than one occasion. This person could have easily been in attendance on that awful night last June. Don’t waste your breath telling me it was different because it was domestic grown terrorism, that is irrelevant to the friends and families of the victims.
Maybe you believe building a wall is not necessary.
Maybe you believe in helping Syrian refugees.
Maybe you have a job where you have to practice with children what needs to be done in an active shooter situation.
Maybe you are overwhelmed with relief because you have a brother that was recently able to retire from the police force instead of being killed in the line of duty.
Maybe your grandmother’s brother was killed on duty when someone walked into a police station and gunned him down at his desk.
Maybe you were so disgusted by the super bowl that you sent a letter to Roger Goodell.
Maybe you are fully aware of the fact that racism truly exists, it is getting worse and it is a huge problem.
Maybe you thought long and hard about voting 3rd party because both candidates did and said disgusting things.
Maybe you finally decided it was better to try and have a say between the 2 candidates that could actually win. That issue alone could be debated forever.
Maybe you watched 2-3 hours of news broadcasts per day over the past year on multiple stations to educate yourself while trying to decipher fact from fiction.
Maybe you are extremely concerned about the national debt.
Maybe your whole existence is based on the fact that your biological mother chose not to terminate your life but instead gave you up for adoption. Maybe that doesn’t mean that you are totally against abortion, but simply trying to understand what people mean when they say they are advocating for women’s rights.
Maybe you know for a fact that you were denied a job because they were specifically looking to fill the position with a man.
Maybe you have willingly listened to people with opposing views in an empathetic manner.
Maybe you don’t even try to articulate your views to some of those same people because they simply aren’t interested. (Seek to understand vs. being understood).
All of these statements describe my situation.
Everyone has a unique set of circumstances that form who they are and what they become. Maybe we need to understand that this was an incredibly difficult decision for millions of people that truly struggled with the choices they were given.
My personal belief is that Hillary Clinton is a criminal that put our national security at risk for her personal advancement on both a political and economic level. No one has to agree with me. That is the beauty of democracy.
On a side note – Portland has been showing a lack of class all week with rioting. Can you imagine if the election went the other way and supporters on the other side were doing these things?
Portland has been protesting all week, with just a small amount of vandalism that was not condoned by the leaders of the protesters. In fact, the leaders raised money to repair any damage, as well as organized volunteers to do clean up and repair.
My husband and I watched a full hour of live coverage of the protest last night where people were chanting “Peaceful protest!” to the hard working police officers who exercised restraint. I’d say that’s pretty classy.
Of course we do not have to agree. But my stance that Donald Trump’s presidency is a step in the wrong direction for America will not change. And I will continue to exercise my freedom of speech.
I love this site, although I have never commented before now. First of all, I also feel the way Katy does about the results of this election. I fear for the future, and sincerely hope that we’re looking at a one-term presidency.
I also feel compelled to add my two cents to the discussion about the ACA. I have friends in SC who chose to pay the fine because it was cheaper than the least expensive options available to them. Here in MT, however, my husband lost his job and we went to the ACA website to see what our options were. We found a plan that gave us the coverage we needed, and for less per month than we were paying at his old job. The deductible was $1800, which was lower than the deductible we have on the policy we got through his new job. The enrollment process was completely painless and we had zero trouble getting care when we needed it. Perhaps the situation is varies from state to state?
The success of ACA does vary greatly from state-to-state, but still millions are falling through the cracks. Consider the following:
1) Insurance is regulated at the state level. The demographics of the population differ from state to state; thus, the risk pool differs. Since you can no longer charge someone a premium based upon his or her overall health and well being, you look at the health of the state’s population as a whole. I would bet that the overall health of people in MT is better than those in SC. Also you have a much smaller population. These factors influence premiums.
2) The ability to find work that pays well enough to buy insurance can depend on your local or state economy.
3) Medicaid spending is also regulated at the state level. Some states cannot or will not expand Medicaid spending. To expand this program would require additional taxation. In states with declining economies, this could be hard on its citizenry. In my state, if you are a childless, healthy male or female and earn under $10k a year, you do not qualify for subsidies or Medicaid.
So what has happened in places since 2012? While household income has not yet pre-Great Recession levels, the cost of a coverage for the unsubsidized has doubled. These are the poorest among us. The cost of medications have gone through the roof. Companies in industries that were taxed (medical device companies to name one of many) in order to pay for the ACA have taken their manufacturing facilities out of the country –and jobs with them. Worst of all, doctors will not see you if you are self-pay.
How do I know this? Some of it I have experienced firsthand. I have also watched it happen in the city in which I live and to the people that I love. Obamacare does need revisions. I don’t think that because I am heartless. I think because I actually care.
THANK YOU for this. I couldn’t keep reading if you didn’t make a public stance like this. So instead of losing a reader, you kept one. I’m not going to patronize sites or businesses that support the hate, so I need to know where someone stands–so I think you did the right thing. Keep fighting.
Thank you from the other side of the world. I’m Australian and to say that everyone I knew was horrified at a racist sexual predator being elected to the world’s most powerful position is an understatement.
I don’t even live in your country, but he has the power to affect my life, and the lives of people all over the world. WTF were Americans thinking?!
I thank you especially for speaking up and not doing the ‘oh, this is not a political blog’ that so many others are doing.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing” – Edmund Burke
Thank you, it’s been a really hard time for those of us who feel the need to take a stand.
I’m a long time reader, and I can’t recall if I ever commented or not. I just want to thank you for sharing this (not that I’m surprised). I’m mad as hell too! I would love to see a post about the importance of being non-consumer, now more than ever!
The sun continues to rise, the wind to blow. We still have the greatest country on the face of this awesome planet. Life goes on…
I missed reading this post back in Nov.
We in Canada are concerned also. How will this affect our country?
How will this administration affect the world?
Anxious and scarey times ahead.
Preach it Katie. Thanks for this.
I must have missed this when it was first posted….I was in such shock that I am sure I missed a lot in those first weeks. Thank you for speaking out. I agree completely….we are in very troubling times and what the next years bring is anyone’s guess, but it can’t be good. Again, thank you!
I think I may have commented on this already in November but it still hurts the same in January 🙁
You won’t lose me, Katy. I agree with you 100%.
I am with you Katy. My heart hurts for those of my American friends who will lose health insurance over this, or who must now worry about the status of their marriage, or have faced aggression by those haters emboldened by the President Elect and his cronies. Or those who will find it difficult to access affordable reproductive/gynecological care. I hope (without much hope, sadly) that the incoming administration will be swayed a bit by the concerns of those the rallies. And I cheer on those brave enough to lend their hands and voices for what they believe in – peaceably.
Thank you. I cannot believe this is going to happen. I agree wholeheartedly am am terrified for this country Every aspect of the entire election process is beyond belief.
Speak it! I’m with you all the way.
You just said that half of the U.S. population should justifiably be placed into a single category. Willful ignorance. Also hypocrisy. The most intolerant, unkind people I know are liberals.
Exactly. And I didn’t vote for him. I wouldn’t vote for someone who has a platform of hate. But you’re being intolerant of the people who disagree with you. Lumping them all into a category of being hateful because they voted for someone you didn’t. Maybe they aren’t hateful. Maybe they are disenfranchised. You didn’t seek to understand where they are coming from. Maybe you should ask them why they voted for him instead of assuming they “support Trump’s hateful values” Assuming that those who voted for him are just as hateful as he is irresponsible. And unkind. Stereotyping the other side is how we got to this point of divisiveness in the first place.
Gosh. I’m stunned.
We read in papers like The Times (reputable and pretty balanced, especially given it’s owned by Murdoch – he of the Fox network) that hundreds of Trump voters at multiple rallies in different states were given sight of written statements and pretty much all of them were agreeing with them, saying that Trump was right to name and challenge those issues, people, ways of life.
The only problem was that the statements were made by a weaselling, evil little Austrian called Adolph Hitler. 11 million people killed in the death camps, 6 million Jews, 5 million others – Christians of all denominations, the physically and intellectually disabled, the mentally ill, plenty of black people too.
And yep, Trump has courted Nazis (which is how I categorise all of the hateful racists). Measure the man partly on the company he keeps.
And your “liberal” fellow citizens are the narrow minded and intolerant. Even as they mourn the birth of what looks like a new witch-hunt mentality which will affect the whole world.
I’m truly stunned by your comment. Truly.
You got that right!
They placed themselves in that category by voting for a political platform based on hatred and exclusion. THEY DID IT THEMSELVES. We don’t owe it to anyone to listen to their racist crap anymore.
Intolerant of the KKK? You betcha!
Cynthia,
I didn’t read Katy’s post as saying that the people who voted for Trump are, themselves, hateful (well, except for those who are members of the KKK). But I think a lot of us do not understand how people were able to excuse his hateful rhetoric, and excuse his bigoted, prejudiced, racist and misogynist statements and his loathing for Muslims, Mexicans, LGBT, the disabled. We don’t get how people could see and hear all this and still vote for him.
Yes. Exactly this. I didn’t vote for Trump either (I voted for Evan McMullin). In fact, I dislike Trump. But the name calling and general hatefulness of many on the losing side in this election is astonishing. Your disappointment in the loss is understandable. My candidate lost, too! But maybe instead of demonizing the other side and calling them names, some of you should take time out from congratulating yourself on your “tolerance,” and try to find a little empathy for others. You certainly don’t have to agree with them, but try to get an idea of why they think like they do. Spend some time figuring out why they voted the way they did. Many, especially in the working class and middle class, feel they have been left behind. They feel their children have no hope of an improved standard of living. And more importantly, they feel that no one cares. Trump, for all his many faults, made them feel that he heard their concerns and he cared. I have no idea if he’ll be a good president or not. Obviously, my inclinations are that he won’t. But let’s hope for the sake of the country that we’re all wrong and he will be. And stop calling people names because they disagree with you.
Hillary has Black Panthers and BLM that support her. Black Panthers want you dead because you are white but you are focused on KKK. Did Donald say he is a Klansman? I must have missed that speech.
I do not understand your comment, Katy. Of course you’re intolerant of the KKK, as am I and nearly all Americans. Are you seriously trying to associate trump voters with a group as horrid as the KKK? Please get a hold of yourself.
Most liberals I know are like hippies: they purport themselves to be the most open-minded, accepting, nonjudgmental people you can imagine, but actually they are champions of hypocrisy, pointing hateful fingers at anyone who doesn’t believe/speak exactly like them.
Instead of assuming that anyone who chose trump did so because they really like him, I think you need to realize that most people who voted for him did so with a VERY heavy heart. We went to the polls hardly able to believe that these were the two people we had to choose between. Intense soul-searching was involved. We had to choose the lesser of two very evil people.
Some of us came to the decision that as much as we may dislike him, we feel trump will do less sustaining damage in his term than Hillary would, in spite of all her smooth words. Trump is no admirable man, but I believe that beneath it all, Hillary is even more ruthless and power-hungry than he is. Her charisma and honey-sweet words are just that: words.
Furthermore, all the “hate” (another buzzword liberals adore) that I have encountered since the election hasn’t come from conservatives; it has come straight from the mouths of the liberals who I thought were all about love love love. Again, just words. People who are really about love wouldn’t display the behavior I’ve seen. Hypocrisy is everywhere.
Seriously. Don’t act like you know the minds of every person who didn’t vote for Hillary. I’m a conservative and I also am a very caring person. In actions, not just words.
Black lives *do* matter, and I support that movement.
Katy, with all respect please read the BLMmission statement. yes black lives matter as do all others, but the movement itself is mired in racism.
“ALL” lives *do* matter, and I support that movement.
Fixed that for you.
Sarah G. You say you are offended and then you write an even more offensive comment. Liberals are “hippies”, pointing ” hateful fingers” , etc.
Sarah G. you have written my thoughts so well. I really do not understand why so many people are mad as hell their candidate did not win. It’s so odd to me. I’m trying to find empathy it but I am really struggling. I’m trying not to label it as juvenile but honestly, my 11 year old son reacts with more restraint when he loses a board game.
*Like* hippies is what I actually said. And the bit about pointing hateful fingers is simply an observable fact.
I’m mad because the president elect of this great melting pot campaigned on a platform of requiring Muslims to register, and the KKK is hosting celebration marches. We should ALL be mad.
But Katy, all immigrants have to register and submit paperwork to live in America (and most other countries). It’s not specific to Muslims. And what the KKK does is not chosen or endorsed by Trump.
No, Trump campaigned on requiring Muslims being required to register. This is a deal breaker for me. 100% Also, Muslims are not just immigrants.
And Trump just named someone to his cabinet who is a known white supremacist and anti-Semite.
So am I to understand that you feel /heard Trump was engaged in hateful speech targeting Muslims that are US citizens? Are those the Muslims are not just immigrants you wrote about above? I do agree that this election had more than enough hateful speech from both major candidates and Trump generated soundbites of pure stupidity. As you’ve quoted and explained it, requiring people to register on the basis of religion only is illegal. Even if he did want to do it, it would require others to act illegally. I heard other people say they heard (so you never know if it is really true) that he would require the U.S. Military to do illegal things. Stupid thing to say, if that is what was said and intended. We’ve been in the military for 20 years and all soldiers we know will respect the Commander in Chief (even if they do not like him/her and did not vote for him/her) but will not act illegally. I think that this is why the public gets so angry. There are only sound bites, there is not rational discussion.
Hi Lisa-
First off, I’m not really sure how Katy can “feel” someone say something. We live in the information age and have ample opportunity to hear or view almost everything that all of the candidates say and do in nearly real-time. There is no excuse to judge our opinions based on hearing things second- or third- hand.
Second, Trump stated on numerous occasions that he intends to create Muslim registries in the US. Beyond being the catalyst for further discrimination in the US, this type of rhetoric is eerily similar to what so many forceful leaders have employed in the past. In fact, many major genocides or ethnic cleanses started with some type of registration system (ie. Jews having to register their property early in Hitler’s reign; Non-whites being required to carry passports in Apartheid South Africa; National IDs containing ethnic information used to target Tutsi in the Rwandans genocide). You can understand why most people with ties to one of those aforementioned genocides are literally terrified by Trump and the future he promises.
Third, many people on this forum have argued that “both candidates said mean things.” I have two comments on this: 1. Think of all the “mean things” Hillary Clinton said. What did she say about religious and racial minorities, immigrants, women, people with disabilities? Now think of all the “mean things” Donald Trump said about those same groups. Are your lists of “mean things” said by each candidate about equal? Nope. They’re not. Not even close. Clinton was no saint….and in her infamous “deplorable” comment, she eventually half-a$$ed an apology. But Trump, when literally bragging about sexually assaulting a woman, half-a$$ed his own apology by normalizing the behavior as “locker room talk.” Did he apologize to Muslims (after claiming that “thousands and thousands” of US Muslims cheering on 9/11)? Immigrants and Hispanics (“bad hombres”), the other women he objectified (ex. Carly Fiorina), people with disabilities (Serge Kovaleski)? 2. There is a difference between “mean” talk and “threatening” talk. Saying that half of Americans are deplorable is flat out mean. Saying that Muslims will be forced to join a registry is a threat. Trump telling the former Secretary of State he is going hire a special prosecutor and will throw her in jail if he is elected is a direct threat (not to mention a threat to democracy!). This is why so many people are terrified by Trump.
Forth, if you were running for office and a violent hate group like the KKK endorsed you, would you question the platforms you spoke about and the rhetoric of your speech? What would Jesus do? What did Mr. Trump do? This is why so many people are terrified by Trump.
Finally, while I am not a republican, I did not have the same horrified reaction when Bush defeated Gore in ’00 or Kerry in ’04. My values did not align with Romney or McCain, but I would have respected either choice as president. At this point, I would absolutely REJOICE in having Romney or McCain as president over Trump. REJOICE! So, that’s why half of America is upset. It’s not about losing, it’s about being absolutely terrified by Trump.
My political beliefs are no secret, but I urge you to fact-check my previous paragraphs using direct sources (aka what the candidates said or did, not what other people or the media told you). Youtube is a great source to find unedited speeches.
Have a great night!
ClaireL
Yes. I watched his 60 minutes interview and my how the leopard had changed his spots, such a pussy cat. I really believe he is able to say anything he wants to get the results he wants, he feels immune to a lie, it’s just the trumpster getting business done. He used the story about the snake to describe someone else during his campaign, but I believe it it more accurately fits himself. “You knew I was a snake when you let me in.”
Writing that “I support the rights of our immigrant neighbors, beloved minorities, the LGBT community, the differently abled and I present zero apology for this stance.” is not calling names.
“hundreds of Trump voters at multiple rallies in different states were given sight of written statements….”
You are reaching a conclusion about millions upon millions of people based upon the actions of “hundreds”…..
And you’re the one who is stunned? You’re going to judge me based on what “hundreds” of people may have done? People I have never even met? Please don’t pretend that you know my mind because of something you read. You don’t. (Assuming you’re citing correct information)
Just a point of clarification:
The NY Times is not owned by Murdoch.
Murdoch does own the NY Post and the Wall Street Journal.
“hundreds of Trump voters at multiple rallies in different states were given sight of written statements….”
You are reaching a conclusion about millions upon millions of people based upon the actions of “hundreds”…..
And you’re the one who is stunned? You’re going to judge me based on what “hundreds” of people may have done? People I have never even met? Please don’t pretend that you know my mind because of something you read. You don’t.
I attended a Trump rally in Erie PA and have no idea what you are talking about with “statements.”
Just a point of clarification:
The Times is indeed owned by Murdoch. You know, the Times. Published in London since the 1780s.
He does own The Times, in the U.K. IF I’d meant the NY Times, I’d have typed it.
Yes, that is true. But the words stated were, “He’s not my president.” Which is incorrect. That’s what I was addressing. Of course one can disagree with him.
This was meant to be a reply to Val in MN. The reply feature seems a little off, at least with my own.