Totally Frenched Out

From the blogger formerly known as Samdebretagne

Thursday, November 10, 2016

*Sad Face*

So it's over and done with.  Yesterday was a sad, dark day for me. For as much as I did a media blackout in the days coming up to the election, I was glued to the TV yesterday.  Starting at 6am when a girlfriend called me from Maison de la Radio and until C came home from class at 9:30pm.  I woke up horrified with Trump's number of votes, and that horror continued to grow as the day went on. To my disbelief, even my own state didn't call the election until yesterday evening.

I know so many people thought it wasn't possible, but I've had this sneaking suspicion for the past six months that it really was.  I come from a blue state, and the number of people I've spoke with there who said "I just can't vote for Hillary" far outnumbered the ones who said they could.  And the fact that these were normal people, educated people, people who had traveled abroad, people I respect - that is what scared me.

Hillary wouldn't necessarily have been my first choice as a Democratic nominee, but I would have been proud to call her our President and there is no denying that she is by far the most qualified candidate we have had in recent history.  And now we are faced with the most unqualified candidate in all of history.  But it's done.  (Half of) our countrymen have spoken. And we are stuck with Trump for the next four years.  So the question now is what do we do?  How do we face a president who has complete control of the government and the upcoming Supreme Court Justice nominations?  How do we protect those that the Republican party stands against? How do we safeguard all of the progress that has been made in the past 8 years? 

These are the questions I woke up with today. I was inspired by both Hillary and Obama's speeches yesterday and they sheer grace they both showed in defeat, but I am struggling with how to respect both the voice of the people and fight for what I believe in.  I am scared for the future of my country, and I worry about how we can find common ground.  I'm concerned about how I can continue to work with people who so obviously supported Trump - I'm just so baffled by how people who travel as much as I do were still able to vote for him.  And what am I going to say to all of our customers abroad?  I'm sure with the exception of China and Russia, they are all like WTF??   Plus, so much of our business is à l'étranger - how will Trump's supposed "tariff renegotiations" affect us?   And how can so many Americans think other countries are just going to sit back and say "Okay US, you can increase your import taxes, but we will just keep ours the same for you"??  But I digress...

I have no answers to these questions.  But I do know we have to take time to grieve and then get back up. I know expats struggle with how to help from afar, but one concrete thing we can do is prepare for the upcoming elections in France. I know many of you can't vote, but the FN is already gearing up to put into place some of Trump's campaign practices, and we can still make a difference in France by having those complicated conversations with our friends and loved ones here.  Immigration, le mariage pour tous and fear of the other are just as hot button topics in France as they are in the US, and we can help change that by putting faces to those issues. By explaining how changes in the laws governing them will affect you or those you know personally. By encouraging civil discussion instead of hateful rhetoric.  I have had some heated discussion with my in-laws over these very same issues, and it is so hard you guys...but I am making the commitment to continuing to have those discussions with them, as well as with my fellow countrymen.

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4 Comments:

Blogger melinda said...

many of us are still stunned...I walked around like a zombie yesterday....still unbelievable...the riots arent going to do anyone any good, we have peaceful transfers of power in this country...i cant quite bring myself to socialize yet with my friends here who voted for him...i need some time to decompress...Obama remains classy to the end...just hope the next guy can represent us with half as much elegance...be careful, Le Pen is lurking in france

November 10, 2016 at 2:32 PM  
Blogger Eileen said...

I surprisingly know no one who voted for Trump. I've been trying to focus on other things since yesterday since nothing really is making me feel better about this. If I were at work I'd probably be crying every time anyone asked me about it.

2017 will be my first election voting in France. We've gotten a few FN prospectus in our mailbox and J is ready to put a "no FN" sign on it.

November 10, 2016 at 5:14 PM  
Blogger A Tank said...

I too had a sneaking suspicion for awhile that it would actually happen as well... and now it has. Now reading plans for policies and changes in the new administration, I'm so concerned about what will be taken away from us - women's health care, environmental regulations, etc.

While I don't at all agree with most of the Republican positions, one thing I'm kind of clinging to right now is that we do have three branches of government, and some of the things Trump is saying he'll do simply won't happen without the cooperation of the other branches. Already, people are saying they will not cooperate. Mitch McConnell has said the legislature will not get rid of NATO, and they will not discuss the wall. The CIA director said they would not undertake any interrogation techniques that are unconstitutional, and that Trump can fight it in court. Once people realize that re-negotiating trade deals will stop them from getting $3 shoes at Walmart, maybe they won't be so supportive of them anymore.

That said, it's going to be a hard, awful four years... but I'm hoping that people will speak up enough to stop some of the damage. As far as normalizing racism and misogyny, well, that's already been done :(

November 10, 2016 at 6:03 PM  
Blogger Jadie said...

Even now, after all these days to get used to the results, I'm hammered by sadness and fear. It beggars belief that people I know and respect could overlook this terrible man's obvious unsuitability. A man who can't be bothered to pay attention to anything but his own interests is going to be our PRESIDENT?! He's shooing away his briefers, even now, as I write. "Sweet mother of God, no! Please not this! Come on!" (As a recent New Yorker cover had it). You're lucky you live in France, Sam..

December 2, 2016 at 5:23 AM  

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