I should probably preface this by saying this is almost more
for me and just getting the thoughts in my mind down, but I hope you reading
can take something, anything from this.
Anyone who knows me well knows I’m not a politics guy. Never
have been, hopefully never will be. I tend to focus more on athletics and who's getting the Crying Jordan treatment next. But it was unavoidable this time around.
And given the results and the reaction, there’s been a few things running
through my mind. Disclaimer: I can't speak for white people. I can't speak for black people. I can't speak for Latinos. I can't speak for Pacific Islanders, Middle Eastern people, Jews, Muslims, I can't even speak for other Asian Americans from the Northeast. I can't speak for any member of the LGBTQ community. I can't speak for women. All I can do is speak for myself and share the thoughts that splashed across my mind throughout this all. I don't know what it feels like to be anyone else, and I'm not trying to with this post.
I’m not pro-Trump. I’m not pro-Hillary. I tried to pay as
little attention as possible to the 2016 election as possible because I knew I
would be disappointed with who was chosen to be the leader of this country
either way. I didn’t think Gary Johnson or Jill Stein were good
either. Am I particularly happy a man who took a Stone Cold Stunner at
WrestleMania 23 (and sold it worse than anyone not named Linda McMahon) is the
President-elect of the United States of America?
No. But it happened. If you
were Team Donny, you have the right to be happy. If you were With Her, you have
the right to be sad, angry and other adjectives to connote similar feelings.
But don’t blame 3rd Party voters. If I can go on
a quick tangent, that’d be cool, but if not, skip this part. I’ve seen so many
people on Twitter and other social media platforms bash Gary Johnson and Jill
Stein voters for “handing the election to Trump”. That’s not what America
should be. We see the ads everywhere that say, “Doesn’t matter who its for,
just vote!” But then we belittle people who did just that? Who followed their
moral compass and voted for who they thought was best? So because it wasn’t for
your candidate, they’re wasting a vote? And this would go for Trump people if
the results were different last night. Hell, it goes for Trump people saying a vote for a 3rd Party candidate was voting for Hillary. Look, you may have an argument in swing
states, but don’t tell me voting for Gary Johnson in Massachusetts, where
Donald Trump didn’t win one single county, cost Hillary the White House.
Hillary Clinton was winning Massachusetts, and New York, and California etc.
regardless, so voting 3rd Party did not hurt her when it came to
winning those types of states. If Donald had lost, voting for Jill Stein in
Georgia wouldn’t be the reason why Hillary would be sitting in the White House. So I implore
you to stop blaming 3rd Party voters entirely for the results,
especially when people (I’ve seen ranges from 11,000 to 20,000) legitimately
voted for Harambe, a gorilla who has been dead for 6 months (still RIP in
peace). I can’t help to think squarely in terms of Massachusetts, you know since
I've lived there my whole life. So again, swing states you may have a
point about 3rd Party votes, but to reiterate a phrase that we have
heard and will hear countless times over, now is not the time for division.
Respect that someone voted for who they believed in, just like you did and help
everyone come together. Those voting 3rd Party were voting for the future, the hope that a third option could become relevant. The hope that enough votes would give a third option the necessary funds to better compete with the two sides that we are finding out people don't exactly fit into wholly.
Moving on. The Huffington Post posted an interesting article in which they said they hope the Donald
Trump we saw on the campaign trail is different than the one that takes up
residence in the White House. And I agree. Right now we can hope for that. It
may seem farfetched for some, but try to hold out a little bit of hope. Hope that the campaign is what brings out the worst in people. And I don’t care who it is. Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton. Gary Johnson. Jill
Stein. Harambe. Kanye West. The Ghost of Stonewall Jackson. The Minotaur.
Whoever holds the title of President of the United States of America, you
should be rooting for them to be the best Commander-in-Chief in the history of
this country. Doesn’t matter what side of the political fence you fall on.
You’re still an American who should want America to be prosperous. You don’t
have to like who’s in office, you can hate them with all your might, but if you aren’t hoping they do a phenomenal job
then you aren’t rooting for America. That’s not unity. And unity is what we need, now
more than ever. I have friends who are Hillary supporters, friends who are
Trump supporters, friends who voted 3rd Party, friends who didn’t
vote at all. From all different backgrounds. And I sincerely hope they can all co-exist and remain friends, and I think they will, otherwise I will do the best I can to rebuild those bridges (I fully realize I sound like a massive hardo here, whatever not all heroes wear capes). And this is maybe the biggest
thought that came across the ole brain. Don’t let this election, or any
election, end friendships. If you’re all about Trump and your friend voted for Hillary,
don’t ostracize them. Go play 2K. Go to a movie. Go get some food. Have
conversations. Educate each other. “'Variety is the spice of life'-William
Cowper”-Alex Wong. As Big Hill would say, “Stronger Together”. Or as Scottish
Unionists would say, “Better together”.
Have hope. Keep positive relationships despite politics.
Unity. Unity, unity, unity. Can’t say that enough.
I’m probably the last person someone would think would write
anything on this topic. A lot of people probably don’t care about my thoughts
and that’s cool, really I mean that. I don’t claim to be super-informed on
anything. I don’t pour over political happenings and documents like others. I'm someone who took far too much joy in beating 10-year-olds in basketball over the summer,
routinely wear a man bun, use satire and bad jokes far too often and have an
unhealthy obsession with sports.
So yeah I'm not what one would call an "expert". I'm not someone who necessarily "should be a leader on these subjects". You could say I'm not "very good at growing facial hair". I don't know if any of that has to matter (especially the last one, I'm just trying not to look like the largest 11 year old Chinese girl alive, ok?).
But if you read this and took anything positive from it or
laughed or whatever, that’s a plus in my book (even though I’m a proud member
of the Blake Bortles Wikipedia Page Reading Club, so not a book guy). Like I
said, this was almost more for me just putting a million thoughts onto a word
processor otherwise it was gonna bother me.
If nothing else, remember that Nate Silver's hairline may have taken the biggest L of anyone or anything last night.
If nothing else, remember that Nate Silver's hairline may have taken the biggest L of anyone or anything last night.
(That tweet getting no RTs or Faves was wildly disrespectful if we're being honest)
Now let's go back to arguing over stuff that matters, like whether or not Black Beatles is better than March Madness*.
Just sayin'.Chris Brown dancing to Future 🔥 pic.twitter.com/TTVByo3Hgt— WSHH FANS (@WSHHFANS) August 5, 2015
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