Election

When people show you who they are, you should believe them. Maybe you'll want to give them a chance because you feel in your heart that everyone is a good person.

Commendable, respectable even.

However, consider the winning candiate:

2 impeachments

34 felony convictions

literal threat to democracy (Jan 6th)

his former VP advised folks not to vote for him

his current VP called him "America's Hitler"

litany of other disgusting actions, do your research for more

There's plenty to blame for the outcome. From what I've seen online: Latinx, (due to culture, perceived approximation to whiteness, and not wanting to be led by a Black woman), white people (overwhelming number of white women, apparently), and self‑hating gays and Black people. Even I blamed 3rd party voters but apparently, they wouldn't have tipped the scale in Harris' favor anyway (but still, writing in video game characters is dumb af).

The main culprit, for me, is the Democrats. If Bernie Sanders wasn't snubbed in 2016, I truly believe we wouldn't be in this mess. Sanders' message was, "keep Big Business money out of politics." Guess who truly won the election? Wall Street is ecstatic. The stock market was hella positive this morning. Money money money. That's all these fucks care about.

I live in California and I work for a Silicon Valley corporation worth trillions. There's a good chance I'll make millions over the next four years and thanks to Trump's economic policy (help the rich), there's a damn good chance I'll benefit more from his policy than the majority of people who voted for him. That's nuts.

The rest of his voters will have their families ripped apart under the guise of "keeping America safe" (abortion, womens' rights, immigration, &c). Talk about voting against your interests. WTF!!

My frustration is self‑inflicted; it comes from me thinking my ideals match those of others. When I vote, I don't think of just me; I think of my community. On my ballot this year was a proposal to END legalized slavery in prisons…and most Californians voted against it. Mindblowing. Maybe marginalized groups have more empathy overall? Idk. I'm a Black man and have spent my life keeping my head on a swivel. Every day I am not dead or imprisioned is a blessing. I spent my morning arguing with folks online, I'm not going to frustrate myself further pondering the thought‑process of single‑issue voters.

It's been interesting to see folks like DHH1 and the CEO of Vercel2 feel emboldened to congratulate their president though. DHH railed against DEI and "free speech" with Rauch echoing the latter sentiment. Tapping the sign once again: Freedom of speech is NOT freedom of reach. Who cares though, just keep pumping your bags.3

America is a hard‑headed child.4 At some point you just gotta let them learn on their own. Just because your freedoms were never threatened doesn't mean they never will. Good luck.

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P.S. Now is as good a time as any to delete your X account(s). I've resisted calling Twitter "X" for so long but it's quite clear at this point that Twitter is but a memory.

P.P.S: Tech CEOs congratulating Trump. Yuck.5