Hey, so how is everybody doing? Feeling optimistic about the future? If the target audience for this column was KKK members and fans, the answer would be, “Heil yes!” Because they got their man in the White House! Faced with the choice between a woman with experience and intelligence and a completely unqualified man who doesn’t like brown people, ladies or thinking very much, America essentially told Hillary Clinton to go make Donald Trump a sandwich.
I admit I was shocked that Trump won. I didn’t see this coming. I was so sure that Clinton would prevail. Any other outcome seemed positively insane.
But never underestimate the power of racism and sexism in America. After all, that’s literally what this country was built on.
And so now what was once a nightmare scenario is now a nightmare reality. Trump is going to be our next president. It’s going to be a long and ugly four years.
LGBTQ Americans have a very uncertain future ahead of us because Trump is filling his administration with LGBTQ foes. Not to mention the fact that Vice President-elect Mike Pence is one of the most antigay elected officials ever. And he’s the guy in charge of picking who’s going to work for Trump. So far it also looks like Pence is going to actually be the guy running the country.
Which is why it really doesn’t matter that Trump said that he’s “fine” with marriage equality and considers it “settled.”
When Lesley Stahl told Trump during a “60 Minutes” interview that LGBTQ people were concerned about marriage equality being overturned, Trump said the fear was “irrelevant.”
“These cases have gone to the Supreme Court, it’s settled and I’m fine with it,” Trump said.
Keep in mind that Trump has said he’s against same-sex marriage and during his campaign said that he’d appoint Supreme Court justices that would overturn the ruling.
But now he’s fine with it, so no worries, right?
Wrong. If anything, Trump’s answer is further proof that he has no idea how government works and that he has being president confused with being king. President Trump doesn’t get to pick and choose which cases are heard before the Supreme Court or how they will be settled. Trump’s list of potential Supreme Court nominees is a who’s-who list of right-wingers.
Since the election, Trump has reiterated his goal to see Roe v. Wade overturned and abortion criminalized and expressed his commitment to appoint justices who would do just that. Never mind that the right to choose is also “settled.” Not surprisingly, right-wing judges who are against abortion rights are almost certain to be against LGBTQ rights, too. So the idea that Trump being “fine” with marriage equality now somehow protects that law is ludicrous.
I think the best advice I’ve heard since Trump was elected is to keep vigilant and don’t become complacent. Trump is not a normal president and Americans who believe in justice and equality and think that diversity is a thing to be celebrated — not a problem to be solved — have an obligation to resist and to speak out. And I don’t mean just retweeting the crazy shit Trump says with a “WTF?” attached to it. Get out of your houses and volunteer your time to organizations that work for what you believe in. Send them your money. We can’t afford to retreat.
Do not shut up. Do not give up. Do not lose hope. But do fight like hell.