A Response to "Left's freak out over Trump's win is absurd"

To Cynthia M. Allen;

Your charge last week in the Star Tribune that liberals are responding inappropriately to Trump’s election is erroneous.

There are three claims that I want to address.

First, that the “normal and appropriate response would be to wait until Trump’s tenure has begun and then to hold him accountable for his decisions as president.” To this, I counter that he has begun his tenure. His statements and actions as a representative of the nation have begun as he assembles his cabinet and states his goals. These are decisions that do and will effect this country. In fact, they have. There has been a documented and verified spike in hate crimes committed by individuals who, regardless of their votes, feel both comfortable and supported in their threats and violence against the visible and marginalized in this country. 

You secondly claim that liberals are “Sniveling and whining” which “is not the way to build empathy for your cause.” You assume that the crying and the need for safe spaces is an argument and plea for your empathy. These visible marginalized groups are people that Trump has not only spoken rude and violent rhetoric against, they are individuals who are attacked emotionally, verbally, physically, and, with Trump and those he is beginning to tap for office, legally. Those who are attacked and abused need a safe space not to appeal to your emotions, but to literally protect and care for themselves in an increasingly open and hostile socio-political climate. 

Which brings me to your third claim that the “basic tenets of our democracy [are]—that even if you didn’t vote for the person who wins, that person is still your president.” First this is not tenet (a principle or belief). The person who is voted into office fills that office and this is a function not a principle. The basic principle that allows democracy to proceed is that those who are in the majority (in power) consent to care for the interests of the minority (not in power).  This is something that Trump and his regime have stated that they are deliberately against. Without the behavior of care towards and for the minority and the marginalized, these individuals have no incentive to submit to the authority of a majority elected representative. This leads to protests and political action in order to protect the rights that the democracy guarantees it’s citizens. This principle is a literal requirement for democracy because the the government cannot continue on democratic rule if it does not care for the minority. It instead is forced to become a different kind of government: one that forces it’s control.

This brings me back to the first point. You ask that liberals “Please stop” their behavior and “wait”. You offer to support this request that you are also worried about Trump’s policies and you are waiting. I then ask, what will you do to stop those policies you are fearful of? If you are concerned, how will you actively participate in your democratic duty to hold Trump and his regime accountable for those behaviors since you did not vote for him? There are citizens and individuals in this country in danger from these policies and ideas. While it might not be true to say that every Trump voter voted because they were in favor of racist, sexist, and bigoted policies, they definitely didn’t find these policies to be an impediment as you seem to have (since you say you did not vote for him). And I ask again, what will you do to ensure that these policies are not enacted?

You wrote an op-ed to justify your “schaudenfreude”—a word you chose that translates literally to express your joy in someones misfortune and suffering—forgive me if your fears for the safety of the vulnerable in this society seem hollow.