Now We Know...

So it's Saturday and the AP called Pennsylvania for Biden which closed it all up. Finally. We will have a new president in January.

But we aren't done with this election just yet. 

The Trump team is still arguing that the whole thing was rigged. That it was fraud. That there is NO WAY that he lost.

He did. It wasn't fraud. It wasn't rigged. He just lost. The razor thin margins he won those battle ground states by last time didn't hold. 

But it wasn't a huge loss. It was a much closer election than it should have been. 

Watching my conservative friends' feeds this morning, yes I still have a few, and it's amazing to me how different the world view is. Large group of people that are terrified of the radical Joe Biden. 

Joe Biden. 

Joe.    Biden.

The only man in America that still believes there is some sort of bipartisan aisle crossing deal making that can happen.  

The candidate that made the far left (still makes them) apoplectic that he was the nominee. 

What?

They are also lamenting the gloating and the name calling from the left right now. 

Because they have been and would have been so gracious. 

And they believe it. 

It's not like they are saying "we would have been so kind while we drank their liberal tears and called them snowflakes and asked if they were triggered, lol." They really, honestly, all got collective amnesia about their own behavior for the past four years. 

And the far left is already chastising the middle left about how it's their fault the election was so close because they didn't have the balls to go all in on healthcare and green policies while the middle left screams are you fucking kidding me to the far left  because they are feeling like the election was only this close because of them. 

And Trump's legal team is at a landscaping company (what?) announcing all of the lawsuits they are going to file.

And we had 120,000 new cases of Coronavirus reported.

And Trump golfs.

If you thought there was going to be some sort of blanket of healing and reconciliation after this I think you were delusional. I mean, I'd like to see it, but I'd like to see it be healing where we understand that our country has some serious issues that need dealt with and we need to fix them so we can move on together. 

And a large percentage of white voters do not agree with me. 

So we are still going to see the awfulness and the bitterness and the pushback.

And yes, I called out white voters. One because I'm a white voter. I'm a white woman voter to be specific and we are seeing preliminary numbers coming out that they, we (but not me) went for Trump in even higher numbers than last time. What. the. actual. fuck?

So yeah, I am going to call them out because we progressives need to stop leaning on others to pull us out of these messes. Black women have been carrying our asses over the finish line over and over again. And I am super fucking grateful for that, trust me, but we need to do better. We need to carry ourselves. Find our own bootstraps as it were...

I know the system is designed for white men. That's the whole systemic racism and patriarchy thing. And I know that white women are better off than women of color. That's also part of the racism and the patriarchy. But just because it's better for you than it is for someone else doesn't mean you fight to keep the system. 

Honestly. 

You need to be fighting for those that are doing the worst, not those that are doing just fine.

I said it before, Trump's victory four years ago wasn't really going to touch me personally. Like my house, my husband, my son. It was going to effect my next circle out. But not me. If Trump had been reelected and the country went down in flames I would still most likely have been fine. We aren't rich by any means, but we are comfortable. We have enough. And we are white. It wasn't going to hurt me. 

But it was going to be devastating to others who are not middle aged comfortable white folks. And that's why we needed to vote differently. Ethical voting means you vote for the greatest possible good and least possible damage.

I don't mind paying taxes if they help people who need help.

I want social services that provide a safety net for those that need it. 
I want healthcare covered for everyone.
I want educational opportunities for all who want them. In a variety of ways. College, training programs, apprenticeships. 
I want drug rehab available for those that need it.
I want housing to be addressed for those that are living on the street or in cars or in temporary shelters. 
I want equality of opportunity for everyone. 

But we have to actually look at why we don't have that and be honest about the fact that we haven't addressed it. We haven't looked at it with clear eyes. We are so worried about being called racist that we won't deal with the racism. We want to talk about the good cops instead of looking at a system that does everything it can to protect the bad ones. We want to paint our past in watercolor and blur out the bad stuff and act like it didn't happen when it would make a much better story to show how bad it was and THEN overcome it and make it better. 

We want to demonize the poor and pretend that it's because they are bad people, or made bad choices instead of realizing it could have been us. 

We don't want to listen to our friends who aren't white, or straight, or well off, and hear what they are saying. What challenges they are facing. What day to day life is like walking in their shoes. Because if we actually listened we'd be forced to act. 

I've said before that I don't have white guilt. I don't feel responsible for what my ancestors might or might not have done. I don't carry shame for what other white people do now. Guilt and shame are actionable emotions. So I don't have them. I do have a sense of responsibility for using what I have to make the world better for those around me. With my vote. With my voice. With my pocketbook. 

We are in for a lot of struggle and fight the next four years. Especially if the runoff election in Georgia doesn't give control of the Senate to the Democrats. And even if it does. 

We need to stay focused. 

We need to turn out at the midterm elections just like we have the past two elections and keep the ball rolling for progress.

We need to tune out the voices on the Right that are going to be calling us unsympathetic, or unwilling to compromise. I am absolutely willing to compromise if it means making things better. But I am unsympathetic to you crying that you don't get to keep it all and not share. Not even sorry about that. 

So congratulations President Elect Biden and Vice President Elect Harris (and yes, it's a big fucking deal that the VPE is a woman and a woman of color, and things like that will continue to be a big deal until there are so many that it's not). And thank you to all of the people who made that happen. 

Take a victory lap.
Gloat if you fucking want to.
But then get to work.

We have a lot to do. 

"In Order to form a more perfect Union..."

We have a chance.