If you’re not a white, cis-gendered, straight, American-born, Christian male, you’re probably very unhappy about the election results. Trump wants to put a justice on the Supreme Court who will overturn the marriage equality ruling and Roe vs. Wade. He doesn’t understand why we haven’t used our nuclear weapons yet. We may be looking at a wall on the US-Mexican border over the next few years.
And now, Democrats are going to have to launch a filibuster to keep Obamacare. Samuel William Hulbert, a neurobiology doctoral student at Duke University, says, “Donald Trump has promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which allows me to be covered by my parents’ insurance and not go bankrupt from my treatments for cancer. Donald Trump has promised to nominate a Supreme Court justice who will overturn marriage equality and other LGBT non-discrimination. Donald Trump has indicated that he wants to defund the NIH, which is responsible for funding much of my research and my salary.”
I honestly never expected this guy would actually win. I thought Americans were better than that. We have just elected a person who has not just admitted, but has bragged about sexually assaulting women. What kind of message does this send to young men? “You can do whatever you want with women as long as you’re rich and powerful.” Supposedly, Brock Turner’s biggest mistake was not having enough money.
I applaud the women who have come forth to share their stories about Trump’s inappropriate and criminal behavior. I hope justice will be served, but I’m not optimistic. I’d like to see Trump prosecuted to the full extent of the law for sexual assault in addition to his fraudulent business practices.
And then he’d be sentenced to six months in jail and only serve three.
I’m angry at Republicans for letting this happen. I’m angry at the people who voted for this piece of human waste. I’m angry at the people in swing states who didn’t vote at all. Most of all, I’m angry at Trump and all the bigotry, greed, and narcissism he embodies. I’m angry at the Electoral College and think it should be done away with. We ought to have a straight, simple vote to elect a president. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote this time, but through an outdated and unfair system that weighs some states’ votes more than others, Trump won the presidency.
As of November 28, Clinton has won 48.03% of the popular vote, and Trump has won 47.01%. The Electoral College tells us that our votes count. Sometimes. It all depends on where you live.
I live and vote in a thoroughly red state: South Carolina. I knew that my vote would have absolutely no effect on who would be in the white house for the next four years. So I voted for Jill Stein, the major candidate who best represents my stances on energy, the economy, social issues, and foreign policy. She had no chance of winning, but I knew that every percentage point in her favor was a sign of support for the Green Party and a message to establishment politicians that more and more people share Green Party views.
Had the president been selected through popular vote, I would have voted strategically and chosen Hillary Clinton. I wonder how many people would have done the same. It certainly would have made a difference in 2000.
The past sixteen years could have been very, very different. In the past five presidential elections, only three of the winners received a majority of the votes. That’s a 60% success rate. That’s good odds at a casino, but not for a system of government.
I’ve never been very active on social media, but I’m going to be writing anti-Trump posts for the next four years. Or until he’s impeached.
There is an old Irish curse that says, “May you always live in interesting times.” We are living in “interesting” times, that’s for sure. Hang on, folks.
*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect Her Campus Clemson.