It has been a month since the election and I’m still struggling to wrap my brain around the new reality. When this whole Trump situation started to build momentum, I decided I would wait until the dust settled to see where it all landed. After watching the liberal meltdown play out on social media after the election, it appears that may take a while.
Conservatives are poised to capitalize and I’m supposed to be happy, but this is not the way I wanted to win. Trump capitalized on a divided America where hard lines in the sand have reshaped the political landscape for the worse. Instead of having constructive conversations, we’re being asked to choose sides under the threat of shameful labels. Sadly, those labels are so loosely applied they no longer carry much weight.
When it comes to discussing which lives matter more, very few topics have been more polarizing. Which side do you choose when the choices are only supporting law enforcement or confronting it? Personally, I don’t accept the choices because it’s not that simple. Politically, that’s what it has come down to and we’re being challenged to choose which side of history we want to be on. If you’re going to insist, I think the majority will ultimately choose the right side.
Just when you think things couldn’t get any more disappointing, we read the N-G headline UI professor upset by police visit to classroom. Police tracked a stolen cell phone to his classroom and returned the phone to the victim. To everyday Americans, this situation would generally be seen as a minor inconvenience that resulted in a victim receiving his stolen property back. To this professor, he felt the police presence would result in a high probability the police would conduct acts of violence towards his students. Everyone in Champaign County should take ten minutes and read the last few pages of his police report to understand the interaction of three men: A professor, and student, and a police officer. This dialog as written is strikingly damning to our society.
As a political junkie, I like to analyze political strategy and tactics. What I’ll never understand is how political activists think they are helping themselves by alienating prospective supporters. This professor had no shame in stirring the pot in to draw attention to his cause. Activists like him will even block traffic in a community where they are seeking support for their cause. Instead of pissing off 100 people for every new sympathizer, perhaps there is a better way?
I can easily handle the labels and actually enjoy the snarky put-downs, but it kills me because I feel disadvantaged minorities deserve support in establishing an equal footing. I’m so annoyed by this situation I’m inclined to start a Parkland Foundation scholarship via Go Fund Me in Officer Hoskins name to benefit disadvantaged minorities. Seriously, someone should give Officer Hoskins a fucking cape already for all the bullshit he has to put up. Just because there are bad cops in the world doesn’t mean we shouldn’t cooperate with and thank the good ones.