The Mourning After

/ Jeff Cann

I woke up this morning, the morning after election day, and thought, “Oh! This is the country I live in!”

I apologize to my overseas friends, we let you down. But we can stop the debate; we now know who we are. We elected a serial and self-proclaimed sexual abuser, a felon, a man who promises to jail his opponents and deport documented immigrants. A man who once mimicked a physically disabled reporter. I act like this is a surprise, this outcome, but it’s not. I saw this clearly a year ago: https://jefftcann.com/2023/11/10/cease-and-desist/

My agitation peaked yesterday. I made a list of topics that poked at me, the election was one of eleven. I gave them equal weight. Today, I see my error—the election was number one on a very short list. At lunch yesterday, I commented on another blogger’s post. She wrote of a distant future with optimism. I replied: Hopeful thoughts while standing at the edge of a chasm, gazing at the end of the world.

On a walk yesterday, I saw a Jill Stein for President yard sign. Election day in Pennsylvania is neither the time nor place for idealism. I told Susan that the sign pissed me off more than a Trump sign. I wanted to kick it out of the ground.

I might have some anger to process.

I saw a cool election map today. I could click on each state and see which districts voted for Harris. We’ve heard a lot about blue states and red states over the past year. That’s a myth. There are blue cities and everyone else. All the states are red.

On my run tonight, I passed a kid in his driveway flipping a rubber ball with a hockey stick. He played next to his parents’ Trump is my President yard sign. Two days ago, I would have waved. Today, I kept my eyes on the road as I ran by. All day today, I saw calls for unity on Facebook. Susan reminded me that our opponents need understanding, not hate. I’m not ready for that. They first need to show me they aren’t bigots. They need to show acceptance. They need to disavow violence.

You might ask, “What are you worried about. You’re a married, white guy in his sixties. You look more like them than they do.” My disability is invisible to most, but not to me. My otherness runs as deep as anyone’s. I’m on the outside. When we choose teams, I’m on the side without government protection.

The CNN headline tonight is a Kamala Harris quote from her concession speech. “It’s going to be OK.”

I don’t believe that for a second.

Image by John Mounsey from Pixabay

37 thoughts on “The Mourning After”

  2. Dear Jeff

    It is painful for people everywhere, but to live in the heart of this terrifying shift must be incredibly stressful. I’m with you on the Pollyanna optimism. Things will be a LOT worse before anything significant changes. In America, in the world.

    I think we are now all outsiders, Jeff. We will watch – and act if we can – while the USA plays out the heartbreaking theatre of democracy in decline.

    And the misery of reasonable people in the US is only the tip of the iceberg. What must be going on for citizens in Ukraine? In Gaza? In Taiwan?

    Far from ‘moving on’ from this disaster, I believe we must continue to talk about it, to express the values that underpin democracy, to maintain links across the world with people can see beyond “What’s in this for me?”.

    Your brother in Australia

    Bruce

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    • Thanks Bruce. Susan and I discussed this morning what this means for Ukraine and the Middle East. I see us a huge step closer to a really messy global conflict. I’m sure the rest of the west is ready to wash their hands of those ridiculous americans.

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        • Unfortunately, I think Trump’s primary motivation in policy is “owning the libs.” If Obama/Biden supported something, he won’t. All of Europe seems to fall into that category. I think people are in for a shock when Trumpanomics comes rolling down the pike. It makes no sense at all.

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  4. It’s been a hard and ugly day on the internet and everywhere else. The hardest thing I heard today was my daughter questioning whether or not the world, our world, is a safe place. Her eyes are open and it scares her. And I feel it too. What do you say to a young adult about their future in a society that’s more comfortable with hate than it is with love?

    It’s been rampant today. Amongst complete strangers and people I called friend at some point in time. We dared to hope for better and believed we could have that. I wish other people believed too.

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    • Is the world a safe place? Probably not. I can’t imagine how some people full of hate will feel emboldened by this election. I’m sorry I wasn’t a believer. We just seem to be marching towards this cliff without the slightest bit of caution.

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  5. Some extremely dark thoughts went through my mind all night last night as I watched the numbers pile up. I’m disabled, I live alone and I’m on some social safety net programs (SSDI, Medicare/Medicaid, HUD housing) that will disappear sometime next year and render me homeless. I’m 60 years old. I’m too old for this stuff. I’m gutted, numb and I’m sure I’m seething with anger somewhere beneath the numbness. This has been a long time coming, and the bad guys are really adept at playing the long game. I feel like I’m in free-fall, waiting for the impact I know is coming soon. So weird to realize the America I thought I knew likely never really existed.

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    • Mike, I’m sorry this is likely to hit you so personally. My desire to double-down and fight is squelched by the realization that there is no one to fight against. A clear majority has signed on to this model. All I can hope for now is that when Trump’s policies play out, the people who voted for him will say “Wait, this isn’t what I wanted.”

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  6. It’s a dark day. Like you, I’m angry, sad, scared, emotional, numb.This devastation has cued past traumas for so many of us. But this one feels like a hateful tsunami. I’m fortunate to have my husband, but he is hurting too. Just less demonstrably. Tonight I had a cast rehearsal with seven chorus mates. Hugging each other helped, but we are all afraid of what is to come. Thank you for your unvarnished view, Jeff. I’ll continue to be there for my husband, sons, and close friends … and will assert my voice as a proud and visible gay man.

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    • While I plan to keep my voice heard, I wonder if I’m just shouting into the wind. I just can’t envision what comes next. Stay safe Mark. I suspect that there are many emboldened people out there wanting to make their own mark by attacking people they perceive to be different.

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    • It is unbelievable. 10 years ago, I wouldn’t have thought it possible. It’s truly amazing the impact that trump has had on the whole world. It’s like he’s a real-life Nicolae Carpathia.

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  10. I was in mourning the day after the election, and I thought of writing a blog post about it. But I changed my mind. I just didn’t feel up to it. But I watched VP Harris give her speech yesterday, and I believed her. Things are going to be okay. It is better to believe her rather than for everyone to give up. I moved back to Wisconsin last March. It is my home state, and as an independent, I have voted both for Republicans and for Democrats. And I have both Republicans and Democrats in my family—like most folks, I suppose. And I had no hesitation to vote blue this year–none. But I was not surprised that my state went to Trump, making it one of those “red” states. However, we also reelected our Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin (who is gay). Both Trump and Tammy won by very, very small margins. So, what does that say to me? That even in the redness of states, there are people who are not so easily led (or fooled) by the likes of people like Trump and endless disinformation. I believe that is true in small towns and big cities alike. So, yes, the next four years will be hard. It may not be easy or quick, but in the end, the truth always comes out…and good wins. At least, that is what I believe.

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    • Writing my post was cathartic and left me feeling much better about things. I hope you (and Kamala) are right, that things are OK, but I can’t see how we get through the next four year in one piece. To quote the disciple John, “there will be wars and rumors of wars…”

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  12. My own personal take on why so many people chose red is economics. People blame Biden and Harris for the price of everything. No amount of facts showing unemployment rates down, or any other cold data is going to make people understand why prices haven’t dropped.

    Way back when Occupy Wall Street was happening and people were talking about the 1%, I was thinking about what happens when it becomes .5% or less. Eventually it will collapse. Maybe then we’ll change things.

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    • I’m sorry for the rest of the world. We’re doing this to ourselves. And while this is concerning to slightly less than half of our voting population, we’ve all somehow been complicit in letting this happen. The last trump term had a major impact on the rest of the world’s desire to swing right, and I think this time will be even worse. Trump will leave the world a different place.

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  14. Why doesn’t anyone on the left ever hear or see all the hate and vile that comes from the left. I am so sick of all the hypocrisy from all of you self righteous Biden/Harris supporters. You accuse us of being bigots, but it is in fact those on the left that are bigoted against anyone that doesn’t agree with everything you say and think. Not everyone wants a world where men are women and women are men, young children are abused by the medical institutions with transition hormones and sterilized for life, men are allowed in womens sports, pedophilia is tolerated and ignored, our borders are wide open, daily death threats against political opponents, assasination attempts against political opponents, weaponization of the judicial system. These are all the ” all inclusive ” society norms you endorse, yet condemn us as the evil ones, hypocrites all of you.

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    • Some of what you write about here focuses on trans issues. I’ll be honest, as someone interested in athletics, I’m not necessarily onboard with trans women in women’s sports. But IMO, this isn’t something to blow up a country over. Pedophilia in the Democratic party is a Fox News talking point, and all americans are held accountable for rape of children.

      You talk of death threats coming from the left. Maybe you could share some. I can’t believe any are as graphic as Trump’s enemy within quotes, or his Liz Cheney firing squad quip, or the hateful things said about Paul Pelosi after he was attacked with a hammer, or MTGs famous facebook post where she threatened the squad with an assault rifle.

      Republicans had a perfect candidate in Nikki Haley, but you completely ignored her and continued to back the most hateful person in American politics ever. Will there be a left-wing uprising when it’s time to transfer power in January? Nope. There won’t be a sore loser encouraging his followers to attack the capital and kill the vice president.

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    • Yes, we’ve (the nation and the world) been here before. My question is does democracy always win? So far yes, at least in the US. There seems to be an appetite for authoritarianism these days. In four years, will the regime agree to elections? I guess we’ll see.

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