Kenton’s Corner: America, you played yaself

Kenton Gibbs | Staff Writer

Well America I don’t have much to say but I would like to talk about who we can and can’t blame for Donald Trump’s election. I want to blame the members of the black community who didn’t vote but I can’t. I want to blame the 23% of Latinx voters who voted for Trump but I can’t. The biggest part of me wants to blame liberal talking heads like Bill Maher for creating an atmosphere where everyone on the other side of the aisle is the devil but we can’t punitively measure the effects of the devastatingly partisan culture we live in. So I’ll say we all have to take varying bits of the blame.

The first group I want to speak to is white women, who were one of the driving forces behind Trump gaining 270 electoral votes. I’m not surprised but endlessly disappointed in the way you voted. According to exit polls, more white women — 53% — voted for Trump than for Clinton. I just have to ask what happened? What made you decide to vote for a man with multiple cases of rape, sexual assault and domestic violence in his past? What made you think that this man would make it easier for you and your daughters? Did his promises to bring jobs to your husbands lure you in despite the fact that he was one of the business owners who outsourced jobs for profit?

Well I hope he does fulfill his promises to you. But may I ask, was it worth the persecution, harassment and nationwide disavowal of others? Was it worth it to vote for a man who clearly has little respect for your right to not be groped and catcalled? I always wondered why feminists of color said that white feminism is not for them. Now I understand the very sad reality of that sentiment. Women of color stood behind Hillary Clinton in solidarity as white women broke gender lines for party lines.

Now for the men of impoverished southern states. What on God’s green earth made you believe that this candidate was for you? I get it, many liberals have ignored you and said America is moving on without you. I understand the anger and desperation of being dependent upon the government for your next meal. However, problems that have been created and worsened over decades will not be solved by one radical, unknowledgeable president.

Furthermore, many of the states who receive the most in social welfare were the first to line up and give their votes away to the candidate who so badly wants to rid America of social welfare outside of social security. Of the top ten receivers of federal assistance, eight of those states gave their electoral votes to Trump. I hope you know that your programs will be cut along with taxes much more easily than this president can bring back jobs. So when it becomes even harder to feed your family, please do not blame anyone but yourselves.

Lastly, to every person in America who made our political sphere hostile to productive, intelligent discourse. Whether someone is on the right or left doesn’t matter. When we decided that working in a partisan manner for the betterment of this country was as shameful as treason, I knew we were headed to a horrible space. Instead of people realizing that moderation and nuances make differences, people just see party lines. You are just as responsible as anyone for this atrocity.

America has conducted what Van Jones called a whitelash, but I argue that he was wrong. This was a dumblash. In the face of insurmountable odds and facts all stating that one candidate is a lying, abusive, xenophobe we said, “Nope we’re too dumb to elect someone who’s qualified for the job.” As DJ Khaled Mohamed Khaled would say, “Congratulations, you played yourself.”