As a PGN staffer made his way into work Wednesday morning, a man on a bicycle rode by and yelled, “Trump won. Fuck all you Latinos!”
That is the sobering reality of what happened in our country this week: Bigotry won.
Living in a city like Philadelphia and working at an LGBT publication certainly lulled many of us here at PGN into a false sense of security. We celebrated with Hillary Clinton supporters who took over Center City on Election Eve. We were heartened by the lengthy lines at polling places, and the stories of women bringing their daughters with them into the voting booths to cast their vote for the first woman president. We shared photos on Facebook of elderly veterans proudly voting blue and of the thousands who amassed on Election Day at Susan B. Anthony’s grave.
And then the unthinkable happened.
Hate trumped love and our country elected an individual who openly espouses racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia and so much more. It was a stunning loss for decency, civility and hope.
The sting of this election goes beyond the ideology it affirmed. Substantial, significant, real progress was made in the last eight years. Gains were made for equality on every single front. And in one night, all of that was thrown into doubt.
Many are advocating for hope and unity in the face of this disaster. But for some people, the anger, frustration, disappointment and fear are too palpable to find any positivity right now. There’s no wrong way to deal with a wrong as devastating as this.
This election burst the blue bubble that maybe has blanketed us for too long. A significant swath of our country is racist. It is sexist. It is homophobic.
It is tough to face this reality. But reality also includes a history that has illustrated the resilience of marginalized communities. We will overcome this.
But for now, it sucks.