I'm having real trouble tapping into hope at the moment. Not just about Tuesday, but America in general.
Even if Clinton manages to barely squeeze out a win, I don't know how to feel anymore b/c I thought we were making progress. Before 2016, I was well aware that racism was still a problem in our nation and that we were, at least, TRYING to make things better. I thought we all collectively understood that racism was BAD even if we disagreed about what was an example OF racism... but not anymore.
I keep talking to people who don't even think racism is a bad thing. Trump is going to get so many votes that he might get the majority... and that means America isn't what I perceived it to be. I know many conservatives just think certain types of institutional racism aren't "real racism," but that's not a defense in this election anymore because the racism is shown in full HD without any of the dog whistles or subtleties that allowed them to ignore it before.
White Supremacy and Anti-Semitism aren't just the undercurrent of Trump's campaign, they are the driving force of it. The Alt-Right isn't just a liberal buzzword, it is the CORE of Trump's campaign and the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) makes it VERY clear that "Alt-Right" is just the new label for White Supremacy and Anti-Semitism. The ADL was SPECIFICALLY founded to fight against anti-semitism and they see it for what it plainly is.
Again and again, I speak with conservatives (and even liberals) about Trump and they DON'T CARE that he's a white supremacist and anti-semite. It's UNIMPORTANT to them. Half of the country DOESN'T MIND having a White Supremacist and Anti-Semite in the White House. When they see they are voting in agreement with the American Nazi Party, they don't see a problem with that.
So, I don't know what to think about America anymore. When I dealt with racists in 2008 during Obama's campaign, I was hoping it was just the dying screams of the overt racism of America's dark past. I knew we still had far to go in order to combat systemic racism and institutionalized bias, but I thought we were past the time in which the KKK held any kind of prominence.
Clinton MUST win in order to keep us safe from the danger posed by Trump and his ilk, but even if she wins... what has become of America?
