On Tuesday, November 8, Canadians were almost an anxious as Americans to know the outcome of this long, endless campaign.
In the evening, Mark didn’t get to watch cartoons as we switched to the live election night special. It felt unfair, so I tried to explain to him what was going on.
“Who is the boss at home?”
“Uh… mommy. And daddy. And Mark?”
“Yes, mommy and daddy. Definitely not Mark. And who is the boss at school?”
“The teacher.”
“That’s right. So, every place has a boss. And right now, America is choosing a new boss. See those two? They are fighting and Americans are choosing who will be the boss of the country.”
“They’re not fighting!” Mark laughed. “They can’t fight! You can’t do that!”
Kids can be so childish, sometimes. Of course, you can fight, be an awful person and be rewarded for that! Gee. Like, learn life, kiddo, grow up.
We practiced voting. Should Mark eat broccoli? Two “yes” and one “no”. Should Mark go to bed? Two “yes” and one “no”. Is mommy gonna get mad if Mark doesn’t go to bed? Three “yes”. Then, I went upstairs to work on an assignment and told Feng to let me know when the first results would come in.
I worked for a couple of hours, checking Twitter for the latest news. “Doesn’t look good for Hilary,” Feng reported.
Indeed, it didn’t.
I could have joined Feng downstairs but for some reason, I stayed on Twitter. I didn’t feel like listening to analysis, explanations or excuses. I didn’t want to hear Trump again. I wanted to see the night unfold in 140 characters or less because really, “WTF” is only three letters and this was all we needed at this stage.
During the night, the website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada crashed. I actually saw a giant spike of traffic on my blog—sorry, Americans, immigrating to Canada is doable but it takes a bit more work than just driving to the border.
My mum and my aunt, both waking up to the news, emailed me.
The stock market crashed.
Eventually, I went to sleep.
I woke up with a headache and a feeling of helplessness.
I remember the night Obama was elected, 8 years ago. The morning after, I had woken up happy and hopeful. Of course, his election didn’t directly impact me as a Canadian but I liked the guy. It wasn’t because he was the first Black president in the White House and it wasn’t so much about specific electoral promise. No, it was mostly because he seemed to be such a smart and positive person it was impossible not to trust him. He was the American dream.
Now we have the American nightmare. Trump. For a start, his name sounds suspiciously like the French verb “tromper”, which means “to mislead”.
I think that’s exactly what he will do.
At one point during the campaign, I stopped being outraged by his idiotic statements. I felt he was doing a one-man show and he would have said anything to be mentioned in the news, to make people talk about him. He just wanted to be offensive and outrageous as he could and I doubt he believes half of what he spat. He was (is?) on a selfish power trip just want to win, to crush his adversary.
I doubt he cares about the American people and I fear that he has no idea what he will do next—wait, the latter is probably a good thing, actually.
I’m angry about the fact he is dividing America. I can’t believe that once again, it will be necessary to assert that minorities are not a threat, that Black people have the same rights as white people, that women aren’t just boobs/ass/vagina, that homosexuals are not freaks of nature, that people who live in poverty aren’t just folks who are too lazy to find a job, that non-consensual sex is never an option, that the America vs. the world rhetoric is useless…
Trump spent months pouring oil on fire and attacking various groups and individuals like a bully. He didn’t offer anything positive or constructive. He just spat his hate.
This is a guy who spent his life having people building him giant towers—hello, Freud?
America deserved so much better…
I followed the election in the hot tub with Jamie. We listened to music and mutely saw the red numbers go up and up. I went to bed when it was clear he was winning but had a really hard time going to sleep.
What worries and really upsets me is that Americans chose to vote for the guy who promoted nationalism, racism, white supremacy, homophobia and misogyny.
Regardless of what he will do or of his motivation to say all these things, and regardless of how many people are talking about leaving the country / being disappointed, it sends an amazingly hurtful message to anyone who is a woman, a person of color or LGBT (or even all of the above).
It feels like the UK and then the US have both just given a giant finger to everything I am, I believe in and I do.
Great job on explaining elections to Mark though! Love the vote for broccoli 😉
(Shallow me: You have a hot tub??? I’m so jealous!!!)
I’m worried too. I just hope something good will come out of this clusterfuck–I mean, from the opposition, obviously.
It was inevitable! We were not sure if Trump would win, but it is not a surprise. Have Democrats not rigged Bernie out things could have been very much different. I opinion-ate not coz I know a lot about Bernie however for some reason when we heard these guys online and a quick snapshot of their resumes gave a positive vibe to the guy. Once they toppled him, they toppled a lot of things; coz the choice was between Trump & Clinton; for various reasons (not based on thorough investigation) Trump seemed like the one who would win. I feel Hillary is all those things that Trump is; it’s not just displayed in her demeanor, but just a quick run through her videos on Youtube gives the real picture.
This isn’t an ideal situation; it is dire, of course! Would it have been better with Clinton; I highly doubt it, for some reason I feel it would have been worse.
But you know, like I said, my opinion is purely based on very limited information and very deeply settled instinct that Clinton is worse. And I guess that is what it was all about, who is worse?
I like your analysis and I agree with you 🙂 I liked Bernie… I don’t think Clinton was a good choice. I would have voted for her by default but I have issues with her position on many topics.
Did you follow politics in India? You seem knowledgeable 🙂
lol 🙂 merci pour votre compliment
I was mildly aware of political situation in India; at one point I started reading a lot about the issues and situations, but very soon I developed my notions based on the patterns of “news” and just opted out of following up on Indian politics; it is very depressing and you start experiencing the futility on an individual’s (at least a lazy guy like me) involvement in being aware.
Trump is a misogynist, sexist, racist, authoritarian, xénophobe bully, he is worst for U.S. inhabitant in every way. For foreign policies, he is probably worse than Clinton, but not by a large margin.
The fault is only on the shoulder of the democratic party which croned Queen Hilary without any sense of reality.
Clinton IS a corporate dog, and the rebranding attempt after Sanders’success was unconvincing. The fact that she is hated by a large portion of the population (even if it doesn’t make sense) should have been considered. Elizabeth Warren would have been such a better choice if the DNC wanted to present a woman. But like you say, Clinton was a bad choice from the beginning, the risk she loose against Trump was real even before the DNC primaries started.
I really hope French can learn a lesson for the 2017 elections. I really didn’t like Hilary… and I still don’t like her now. Of course, I dislike Trump even more but it was really a matter of “nope” and “noper”.
In fact, less than 50% of the population voted for Trump. Barely 60 millions people. And more people voted for Clinton than Trump. But their voting system is so archaic that it is not enough to win the élection.
Absurde and not democratic at all, but you know, ‘Murikkka, ‘Murikkka! Number One, number One!
Okay, you’re right, not 50%. It was a hyperbole and also a mistake from me because I still don’t fully understand the fucked up voting process. Still, apparently 60 millions people voted for Trump. That’s… a lot.
Naturally, but more than that voted for Clinton. And now, these assholes start to harass minorities, because they won…
It is disgusting.
I was actually shocked to read so much ugly stuff happening in such little time. I mean, it’s been like… three days? Gee. Sucks.
🙁 Well put.
How are you feeling from over there?
I think I could talk about the matter for hours and hours (with a good cup of coffee) but it wouldn’t change anything. My american friends have being in tears for days now, and I get that. I love this country too. And god oh I hate it too. It’s going to be tough 4 years.
I’m just scared about the 2017 elections in France now 🙁
When Trump declared his candidacy and his reasons for running, I kept thinking of Agent Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman)’s story about his dad in Mississippi Burning. (Sorry for the graphic language.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlzaBi_QxPw
All I can say is at least, Clinton won in Colorado.
I can see why! I should watch the movie, I’m taking note… I heard about it but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.
I feel like I have shot my mouth off so much about this lately – I can’t do it anymore! It is awful. That is all.
I know, not much else to add… 🙁
my Indonesian friend said wanting DT to fail just like wanting the pilot to crash the plane when you’re in that plane.
Yep, I think that’s the feeling many people got…
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