pre-show

So, before we start the show, like we do whenever something big happens, we need to talk about recent events.

Last week, we recorded an episode of Friday Night Party Line that never made it to the editing table where we talked about the election. I mean, How could we not? the last FNPL before the Election day. And every poll out there gave Secretary of State Hillary Clinton almost laughably high odds of winning. This was in the bag. Over the course of a single day, all of that changed. All of a sudden, Donald J. Trump was President Elect of these United States.

And it just, it all felt so unreal. Watching the coverage on the news felt so far away from the realm of reality that it was like I was watching it on Netflix. Except it WAS real. All across the country, where 53.1% of eligible voters cast their ballots, a hairs breath over a quarter of the population of the US voted Donald J Trump to be our president.

And like we do after a big, tragic event, Churba, Nelson, and I quickly talked about how we were going to handle this on the show. The decision was made: It obviously HAD to be discussed. But then, how do we even talk about this? So many of our friends are afraid and sad and just... angry. Some of our friends are putting off having kids. Some are seriously looking at moving... And then some are just afraid of even walking down the street for fear of being attacked for who they are or what they believe, as so many have already been. And then there are some who have lost friends and even family over this.

And, even as it's been days since the tally came in, part of me is still just reeling from this. How in the hell could this have happened? It frustrates me and pisses me off that a person who has displayed such a contempt for facts, such a willingness to disregard entire swaths of the population, and so little apprehension in using the seeds of hate and fear to garner support is now the leader of this country and our president.

But, at the same time, depending on where you get your information, Fifty nine million, seven hundred and five thousand, and one hundred and two people cast their vote for Trump. And, no, it's not a majority, but that's not how our system works. Barring evidence to the contrary, Trump's victory was not a miscarriage of the electoral process. He was duly and democratically elected and to say otherwise because he wasn't your candidate is hypocritical because if the situation was reversed - if Hillary Clinton had won by the same margins with trump getting the popular vote and his supporters protesting and destroying public property demanding her resignation - it's you who would be saying "How dare they, this is a democracy and that's not how you act in a democracy".

Without a doubt this is a dark time, and while it's so easy to discuss this election in reductionist terms and to label every trump supporter a racist or a bigot or whathaveyou, as we did in the past, can we really say that this is the case now? Maybe we could have if the election had really been the landslide that the polls predicted but do you really think that the nearly sixty million people who voted for him are all those horrible things?

I can't. Not with an honest heart and a clear mind, I can't. And, if that was really the case, think of what that would mean. Forget politics, think of what the country would look like if one out of four people living in it were horrible racist bigots. It would be bedlam. Make no mistake: Horrible people like that certainly exist and in far too great a number to be ignored and they absolutely supported President Elect Donald J. Trump. But I also think the vast majority of Trump supporters were probably well-meaning folks who are just frustrated about a country that seems to have left them behind. A country that cares less and less about blue collar workers and industrial jobs and more and more about disruption and IT startups. And we know this because they've been telling us this.

Interview after interview for months and months now, as journalists and the media have been trying to unpack how Trump's campaign was surviving, we've been hearing them tell us this.

Since the election, there's been this quote from one of my personal heroes that's been knocking around in my head. His name is Reverend Fred Rogers, better known as Mr. Rogers from the children's television show "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" that, frankly, I think more adults should watch, and he said this: "In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers". It's a message of caring, understanding, and compassion. But, more than that, and of particular relevance in this case, it's a message citing the importance of valuing people not just when they contribute, but when they need.

President-elect Donald J Trump won the election not by appealing solely to the racists and bigots in this country. I cannot believe that could be possible. No. He won because he spoke to those people, outside the cities, who felt that their needs and their voices were not being heard. That their country, their home, does not care about them.

With all that said, I have just three more things to say.

For those of us who did not support Trump, I have a request for you. And it is so goddamn schmaltzy that I could hardly believe myself for saying it if I didn't feel it from the deepest part of me: I want you to love. If you have friends or family who voted for Trump, do not cut ties with them. You knew them before this election, you loved them before this election. People can make bad choices because of how they feel. It's very easy to make bad choices when you are feeling bad feelings. But it's very hard for bad feelings to stay with a person when they know they're loved because love breeds love and love is the best feeling there is. When people feel loved, they open up to other points of view. Love people, let them know how you feel, and listen to how they feel too. You might change their minds.

To our LGBT friends, our female friends, our friends who are people of color, our Muslim friends, and any one else who might be feeling less than safe after this election. I am sorry because your country has failed you too. Please, do what you need to do to stay safe and know that there are sixty million, seventy one thousand, seven hundred and eighty people who did NOT vote for Trump. I hope that is, at least, a small comfort for you in the troubling times to come.

And finally, for everyone listening: however small in number, the election of Donald Trump has and will continue to embolden those with racist and bigoted points of view. We saw this after Brexit and we are already seeing it here now. Of you, I ask that you keep an eye out for those being harassed by those sorts of toxic people. Don't be a bystander. Get involved and stand by the victims right then and there. Silence is as bad as approval.

Film and report the harassment. We've already seen the effect the watchful eye of concerned citizens had on the police. We can do the same for bigots and racists.

Stick around for the victims. Ask them if they need help, if they want company. Let them know you're there for them, even if you're a perfect stranger.

And finally, get involved in politics. It's our jobs as citizens to make sure the government truly is obeying the will of the people and no politician would risk pissing off half of the electorate. Let them know that this election cycle has turned our gaze on them to a degree never before known. Let them know we are watching and that we'll be taking note.