BY ANTONIO ACOSTA
November 11, 2016
The day after the election, many of my facebook contacts and friends made statements illustrating how disgusted, embarrassed and ashamed they were of being Americans. They didn’t spare any demeaning adjective in the book in describing President-elect Trump’s supporters. These are the same people, who minutes before the outcome of the election, were extremely proud of being part of our great country and preached tolerance for other people’s points of view.
In their minds, the election was already won. They were ready for the biggest celebration in American political history. The champagne was chilled, fireworks were set, insulting anti-Trump statements were typed and ready to be posted. This wasn’t just the celebration of Hillary’s historic accomplishment of becoming the first American woman president, it was supposed to have been the celebration of Trump’s humiliating defeat.
As the minutes ticked by and it became evident that President elect-Trump was going to carry the night, optimism turned to pessimism. Love for America turned to disgust. Appreciation for family and friends turned to insults and slander. Forget that we’re all Americans or even family. If you supported Trump, you automatically became a sexist, bigot, racist, ignorant, homophobe, islamophobe, amongst other vitriolic names.
I understand disappointment, heck I even understand the frustration. But the demeaning insults, come on people! Let’s say that President-elect Trump is a sexist, let’s just say that. By saying President-elect Trump’s supporters are sexist, is like saying that Hillary supporters are liars, corrupt or any of the other things she’s been accused of saying or doing. Any reasonable thinking American knows how to differentiate the two.
While a percentage of supporters of both candidates fit some of these characteristics, it’s unfair to say that all of them fall in the same group, there will always be a 10% who do, however, most are not. We all need to understand that if we are to move forward as a nation.
The hypocrisy of some people is outstanding. When President Obama won two decisive elections and carried vast majorities in states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida and North Carolina, no one said they were ashamed of being Americans, no one called President Obama’s supporters disgusting, bigots or other nasty names. There were no mass demonstrations, looting, and rioting. No chants of “not my president.” There weren’t thousands of kids walking out of schools. There weren’t teachers crying in classrooms, colleges suspending classes and tests. It was just another day in America.
No one called the voters in these states racists. Remember, they voted for a mixed person twice. However, on November 8, they voted for the candidate of the opposite party, and now they’re all racists. We can’t have it both ways.
In 2008 and 2012, there were people disappointed with the results. I was one of them. But I accepted the results for what they were, an expression from a large majority in enough states, to award Barack Obama the Presidency of the United States. We gave President Obama the opportunity to deliver on the promise, that we as a nation would be better off. For many, he delivered, for others he disappointed.
On November 8, 2016, America voted on President Obama’s legacy, and enough voted against it. Let’s give President-elect Trump the same opportunity we’ve given every other President, (with the exception of Lincoln) a chance. He deserves it, his supporters deserve it and our great nation deserves it.
OneAmericana.com