My greatest fear is not for myself. After all, I am a white male, and I enjoy a lot of privileges. I don't need to be taught in school how to respond in a traffic stop, because the color of my skin does gives me the benefit of the doubt. And while my name is weird, it certainly doesn't sound black, so I am still looked at positively for job applications. Granted, there is a significant number of Americans claiming that these lived realities of the African American communities are at best fiction or at worst isolated incidents, and if it hadn't been for the volume of stories coming out, I may have agreed with that. And being male, I haven't had many experiences with unwanted groping and aggressive sexual behavior. I had one, when I decided to give a stranger a ride. He turned out to want to touch significantly private parts. I dropped him off way out in the boonies. This was in the time before cell phones - and it was in Norway. But I don't have the experiences the people talk about in the #notokay tweets. I remember a friend of mine telling me about going to a Prince concert and suddenly feeling wet and sticky on her rear from a guy standing behind her. I haven't had to worry about that.
The problem is that other people have to worry. And that is what really concerns me. Under the current presidency, we have had a president with a response to police officers shooting unarmed men, predominantly black men, that has been nuanced, with an appreciation for both what the African American community has to deal with and what the police have to weigh in the high stress moments. However, the president-elect along with a rather big part of the nation has taken the view that any discussion that tries to see both sides is simply anti-police. Are there anti-police forces out there? Sure there are. Just like there are very racist cops. But the law and order approach of the president-elect will simply increase the fear in the groups that already fear police. And what we just saw in this election is simply that fear brewing and stewing in a pot will reach a boiling point. When people live in constant fear, they also end up feeling like they have nothing to lose, and that makes a situation truly volatile.
What I truly fear is that the presidency no longer is an office that seeks to alleviate fear, but rather stoke the flames of fear so that people are emboldened to showcase their most primal instincts. Reports are already coming in, just over a week after the country showed it's true colors - although I do find solace in knowing that he didn't get the majority of people's votes. Hate crimes are on the rise, and Trump's name is frequently mentioned along with racist and bigoted comments. I am afraid that people who have long mistaken political correctness for censorship rather than a means for a respectful discussion are emboldened to not just have their opinions, but to force them on others, like middle school students chanting "build that wall" directed at Latino students or telling muslim women that they will hang them from their hijabs if they stop wearing them. I am afraid that this is no longer going to be isolated incidents, but an acceptable form of behavior.
A president can't stop people from doing what they are doing. A president will not stop school shootings, the killing of police, discrimination, or even terrorism. If you think that is the case you are seriously delusional. But a president can set a standard saying that it's not ok. I am certain Trump won't have any issues saying that school shooting, the killing of police, or terrorism is not ok. But I don't see any part of him saying that discrimination is not ok. As a matter of fact, his main tool towards terrorism and shootings seems to be discrimination. He built his brand around saying that Mexicans coming to the US are rapists and violent criminals, and that muslims should not be admitted to the republic. His vice president clearly has an issue with people with a different sexual orientation that our normative heterosexuality, so I have a hard time seeing discrimination based on sexual orientation being addressed in any constructive manner - unless you think that this discrimination is ok. That's what I am afraid of. I am afraid that the xenophobic misogyny and bigotry will continue to be elevated the way it has been since he started his campaign. I haven't had to worry about that before. Not under Clinton, which is when I moved here, not under W, who I vehemently disliked and opposed, but didn't fear, and certainly not under Obama, whom I think has carried the presidency with an amazing grace and dignity.
And that brings me to the final point for today. I keep seeing people telling me and others that so clearly despise our current president-elect that we just need to get over it and respect the president-elect and his office. That's a bit rich for me. If that indeed was the case, where the hell were all of you during the last 8+ years while the now president-elect kept claiming that our current president was not a legitimate president? That's right, hiding, secretly cheering him on. For those of you standing up to that, good for you. Both of you. But for the rest of you, don't tell me how I should feel or react towards this coming president. He does not represent an iota of what I stand for. However, if he should start making moves that I accept or even like, I will try to see past my intense antipathy towards him and give him credit where credit's due. I can't guarantee that I will be able to - but I will do my best. That being said, I am not holding my breath. I see no signs right now pointing in that direction.
There is only one song fitting my mood right now. From the fantastic Earthling album from 1997, here is David Bowie (with a cameo from Trent Reznor) with I'm Afraid Of Americans.
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