Last words on US Election 2016

Like most of the planet, I’ve been watching in dismay, the rise of Donald Trump.

The sideshow that is this man has somehow claimed centre stage and now he is the President of the United States. I am able to write the words since saying it out loud causes me to throw up a little in my mouth. I’m not alone. At work, we were watching the polls with horror and helplessness because the catastrophe was going to sweep us up in its wake too. World stock markets plunged at the news. The KKK and Alt-Right celebrated. Trade Agreements are now on shaky ground, while Vladimir Putin does a happy dance in the Kremlin. I imagine he’s feeling the same way George Bush felt when the USSR collapsed.

I can hear the pro-Trump supporters squealing that I’m an idiot Australian who doesn’t know what I’m talking about, that I’ve been brainwashed by the media and am a ‘libtard’ or some similarly derogatory term. That being said, it’s unfair to consider all Trump supporters misogynists, racists or 'deplorables' as Hillary foolishly called them. I have friends who support Trump who are none of these but it doesn’t make their support of him any less stomach turning. They want to change the system that is corrupt and unfair which Trump promises to dismantle. I respect that.

What I don’t respect is their willingness to ignore the ‘OPEN SEASON’ sign the Trump victory has just put on minorities.

Oh lest I forget, minorities voting for Trump, better have your green card or passport on you when the jackboots start marching. If you can’t prove you’re American, it’s over the wall you go unless you have a tattoos proving you’re not an illegal. You have one right? If not, I have a suggestion where it could go. As for African Americans, if you get stopped by a policeman or happen to walk near an insecure white person with a gun - PRAY.

I fear for the control the Republicans now have. I fear for American sisters who almost certainly see their reproductive right curtailed, since the Vice President elect(?) advocates jailing women for abortion. I fear for the LGBT community, who must feel as terrified as German Jews in 1933 and I fear for the American Muslims, you know the ones who aren’t terrorists? The ones who consider themselves Americans and are sure to bear the brunt of every act of terror simply because of their religion.

If there is any consolation to be had, it has come NOT from Pro-Trump supporters who have done nothing to assure their brothers and sisters that their liberties are not in danger.

‘@#$ off and go home!’ ‘Shut your effing mouth you libtard slut!’ are glorious examples of their crowing cries of victory. Trump himself was the one to extend an olive branch to the shocked masses by this statement.

“Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division,” he said. “It is time for us to come together as one united people. It’s time.”

I hope he really means it.

Back in Australia, our politicians are scrambling to figure out how to deal with a Trump administration. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull whether by foresight or simple civility, opted not to make too many barbs at Trump's expense prior to the election while Bill Shorten has called him ‘barking mad’.

Aussies, for all our sakes, it’s Pauline Hanson we need to pay attention to.

The resurgence of One Nation proves that there is a significant portion of our population we are not listening to, who have genuine concerns about immigration, welfare and multiculturalism. We may label them as rednecks or racists but we do so at our peril. It’s time for the major parties to represent these voices, to not simply dismiss them as the Democrats and even the Republicans have done in America, and forge a balance for peaceful coexistence.

We can’t force people to accept multiculturalism, we need to do it by engaging them and breaking down walls. We cannot be afraid to risk discrimination if we are to end it. We should be allowed to feel outraged if we feel that Australian values are being eroded and it should be addressed, not slapped down as racist rhetoric.

We better pay attention to what has happened in America or else we’ll be weeping in a few years when Pauline Hanson becomes Prime Minister.