President-elect woes
“President Trump” … maybe it won’t be so bad after all … ? | Drawing by: Kevin Niederman
Column like I see 'em
So, in case you didn't know, Donald Trump is our new president-elect. I'm sure you knew though. Everybody seems to know, and everybody seems to be freaking out.
And I don't really understand why.
Let me start by saying this: there's a reason I'm not the political opinion writer. Way back when someone tried to get me into that racket, I said, “Woah there, I don't know the first thing about politics. I have no opinion to share.”
I still could care less about politics, but what matters to me more is the reaction I'm seeing from people, and how much it baffles me.
At every other election I've lived through, there's always been some strong support for the candidate who lost, but after the loss, the general vibe from the supporters has been more along the lines of, “Ah shucks I really liked that other guy. Wish he would have pulled through. Bummer,” rather than, “The world is ending! He is gonna start the next world war! We need to leave or we're all as good as dead!”
During a class of mine, the call for prayer request led to one student praying that her Muslim friends wouldn't be attacked in the streets. That sounds crazy to me.
Is Trump racist? Potentially, though it's far more likely that he's just an idiot with no internal filter.
Were there racists in this country capable of attacking Muslims before this past election? Absolutely, but it feels like people think that number has tripled since Trump's victory.
Even if Trump was 100 percent for sure a minority hating racist, that wouldn't just transform the rest of the white population into racists as well.
I fall victim to stereotyping, and I often say ignorant things without thinking, but it would take a lot more than some orange crusty fool taking office to get me to run into the streets and attack minorities.
Also, it’s comforting to remember that Trump has been elected president, and not crowned king.
He can try to do as much terrible racist fascist doomsday world ending shenanigans as he wants, but that all has to get approved by the other branches of our government. They may all be Republican now, but surely they aren't all bigoted genocidal lunatics like some people have decided Trump is.
More importantly, I don't think he’s that at all. Just like every previous president, he's got his supporters, and he's got his opposition.
It's easy to blame the president for everything going wrong in our country, and for everything going right, but that's rarely the fault of him at all. The president is just the face of the country right now, and yes, our current face is a little on the stupid side, but if it works out so bad, we can get a different one in a few years time.
Just try not to freak out until it's fully justifiable. Maybe hold off until Trump actually commits to something horrific.
Kevin Niederman is a junior studying nursing.