A Post-Election Reflection

I live blogged the 2016 election for Autostraddle. My colleagues and I took turns writing news updates and commentary in one long post while readers commented their thoughts and feelings. I had the evening shift as the election results trickled in. I remember feeling my anxiety ramp up as more and more states turned red throughout the night. Once Trump was announced the winner, I was in shock. I had reluctantly voted for Hillary and thought it would be ridiculous if Trump won. I think a lot of people during that time thought so too. That night, my neighbors had bought a Trump piñata thinking they were going to celebrate a win in the courtyard. Instead, they beat the shit out of that piñata in rage.  

Fast forward to Election Day 2024 and here we are again. Another win for Trump. This time around I wasn’t shocked. I went to sleep not knowing the results and when I woke up my wife said, “Trump won.” My response was an unfazed, “ok.” My heart didn’t sink, I didn’t feel angry, I didn’t even cuss. At this point, crisis is the norm and the U.S. becomes more fascist each year. Trump will be president again and we must face the challenges ahead of us. 

The thing is that we’ve already lived through one Trump presidency. We’ve endured many unprecedented times since 2016 that they’re now precedent. Although it will be absolute hell, we have a blueprint for what will come next. Like I mentioned in my last newsletter, the violence and injustices we’ve witnessed over the last decade has compounded on top of another. Shit has not been ok and probably won’t be ok. We may feel grief in this moment but I hope it spurs us to take action for ourselves, our communities, and our futures.