I am Disappointed in my Country

This post has taken me since 11pm on election night to write, and I’ve drafted about a dozen versions of it. It could probably contain more links to research to back up the facts, but I am tired and I don’t want to think about it anymore if I can help it. If you want to discuss it with me, you’ve got the ability to locate me above and at the end of the post. I fully expect a little hate mail for it, and I’m going to mercilessly mock all of it.

This post is massive. It is neutral/angry. Read all the way to the end if you’re going to read any of it.

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Yesterday I woke up to the solid conclusion that a man who should never have made it as far as he did in the election process was unofficially declared President Elect. I am heartbroken that the very thing that most everyone said couldn’t happen did happen.

The only thing is, he isn’t confirmed to be President Elect until the following happens:

November 8, 2016—Election Day

Registered voters cast their votes for President and Vice President. By doing so, they also help choose the electors who will represent their state in the Electoral College.

Mid-November through December 19, 2016

After the presidential election, the governor of your state prepares seven Certificates of Ascertainment. “As soon as practicable,” after the election results in your state are certified, the governor sends one of the Certificates of Ascertainment to the Archivist.

Certificates of Ascertainment should be sent to the Archivist no later than the meeting of the electors in December. However, federal law sets no penalty for missing the deadline.

The remaining six Certificates of Ascertainment are held for use at the meeting of the Electors in December.

December 19, 2016

The Electors meet in their state and vote for President and Vice President on separate ballots. The electors record their votes on six “Certificates of Vote,” which are paired with the six remaining Certificates of Ascertainment.

December 28, 2016

Electoral votes (the Certificates of Vote) must be received by the President of the Senate and the Archivist no later than nine days after the meeting of the electors. States face no legal penalty for failure to comply.

If votes are lost or delayed, the Archivist may take extraordinary measures to retrieve duplicate originals.

On or Before January 3, 2017

The Archivist and/or representatives from the Office of the Federal Register meet with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House in late December or early January. This is, in part, a ceremonial occasion. Informal meetings may take place earlier.

January 6, 2017

The Congress meets in joint session to count the electoral votes. Congress may pass a law to change this date.

The Vice President, as President of the Senate, presides over the count and announces the results of the Electoral College vote. The President of the Senate then declares which persons, if any, have been elected President and Vice President of the United States.

If a State submits conflicting sets of electoral votes to Congress, the two Houses acting concurrently may accept or reject the votes. If they do not concur, the votes of the electors certified by the Governor of the State on the Certificate of Ascertainment would be counted in Congress.

If no Presidential candidate wins 270 or more electoral votes, a majority, the 12th Amendment to the Constitution provides for the House of Representatives to decide the Presidential election. If necessary the House would elect the President by majority vote, choosing from the three candidates who received the greatest number of electoral votes. The vote would be taken by state, with each state having one vote.

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SOURCE: https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/key-dates.html

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Until the Electoral College votes on January 6th:

I am afraid for my friends who are POC.

I am afraid for my friends who have relationships that cross country borders.

I am afraid for my friends who are disabled.

I am afraid for my friends of other non-christian religions.

I am afraid for my friends who are a part of the beautiful rainbow of genders and sexualities.

I am afraid for my openly pagan friends.

I am afraid for my female friends.

I am afraid for myself.

This is not a feeling I should have in this country, and it is not one that I enjoy.

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We are the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, and a place for people to come to escape religious persecution.

But right now, it feels more like we are the Land of the Oppressed and Home of the Repugnant.

It has been less than 72 hours and the list of already active hate crimes or physical assaults or verbal assaults numbers greater than the number hours it has been since the election was unofficially called. And the number keeps rising.

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Now you’re going to say, “but it’s not all..”

It’s not *all* Trump supporters, they say. Just like it’s not all men. No. You’re Right. It’s not.

But it is ENOUGH OF YOU
to cause ALL OF US to be afraid.

IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU DO YOURSELF.

IT MATTERS WHAT *YOUR CROWD* DOES.

And as a part of that crowd, you are responsible.

If you are a Trump supporter, then the actions of a few Trump Supporters reflect badly upon you. If you are male, then the actions of a few men reflect badly upon you. You don’t have to ACTIVELY be participating in something to be a part of why or how it spreads.

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We were doing so good on setting aside hate based upon skin colors and sexual orientations and religions. Then the far right, made up of people who are predominately wishing for us to return to the ‘glory days’ of the USA, was given Trump – who said things that should have condemned him with the rest of the country. He has said things like, “grab them by the pussy” “I don’t even ask, I just start kissing them”. Dozens of young women have come forward indicating that he walked into their Miss USA changing rooms while they were changing. There have been sexual assault charges against him from a preteen. He’s accused of variations of fraud on two separate methods, through the defunct Trump U, and his charity, and many more that just make me uneasy. Read the listing of the history of Donald Trump Scandals >here<.

No matter, so far – he is considered to have won the election. Come better or worse, a man that does not deserve to be in the highest office of this land will take an oath of office (“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”) that he will more than likely break in the first year. (In case you’re wondering which parts of the constitution I’m referring to, I suggest you examine the Bill of Rights, 1st amendment and the 9th, as well as the additional amendments: 14th, 15th, 19th, and 26th.)

How any woman or a male with a wife or daughters could vote for him, just based upon his predatory actions towards the female half of the population, completely blows my mind. But a lot of people I know chose to base their support for the red party or the blue party on something that, to me, shouldn’t even be a subject in public forum – or even something that the government should have any say in. The right of a woman to choose what she does or does not do with her body.

To be quite honest, government should have no say in health care other than the fact that yes, it is a basic human right and all individuals should be able to get health insurance.

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I am a white woman. 2nd most privileged color and gender combination in this country.

And I am terrified for what’s coming and of what has already begun.

At the end of each shift I work, I put my taser on charge for 30 minutes to make sure that if someone attacks my relief or myself – I can go on the defensive. I’ll be putting it on charge while I get ready for work as well, for those nights I go in for the 3rd shift instead of the 2nd. I carry my pocket knife and the taser everywhere. While they were once relegated to a specific pocket in my purse, they are now loose and easy to grab. I like wearing certain kinds of clothing, but I’ll need to adjust what I wear to make it difficult for men, who have been empowered by Trump’s now infamous words, to grab me. As a woman, I am now a target. I am blessed to have never had as much sexual harassment as everyone else I know – but I still expect that it will occur.

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For those of my friends who feel suicidal:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
Crisis Text Line: text START to 741-741
The Trevor Project (LGBT+): 1-866-488-7386
Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
www.iamalive.org
hopenet360.com/help
www.didihirsch.org/chat

I know the Trans Lifeline is going up and down – it’s not due to malicious intent, it’s due to call volume.

If you feel that this is the absolute end and can’t reach any of those, I’m on twitter at @huskerslaura and I’m turning off the silence window for the rest of the month, I’m not an immediate response but I am there if you need someone to talk to. I am however, turning off notifications for retweets and likes, because I’m already going to go crazy from the noise of one of the people I follow. *squints* I do advise that sometimes I have a temper, but I do have open ears, and I don’t want anyone to think that suicide is their only way out. I’m also a lot tamer and a lot less responsive/available over here: @authorAMDevine. (huskerslaura goes to my phone, authoramdevine I have to open the twitter app to see.)

Until the
Electoral College votes on January 6th 2017,
and thus confirms the results from the Nov 8th election, Donald Trump is not the President of the United States in any form.