On Revolution

Welcome to the revolution.

On November 8th, 2016, we elected Donald J. Trump, president of the United States of America, the 45th president. He defeated Hillary Clinton in the electoral math, though he did not win the popular vote.

I am honestly saddened to say that I'm not that surprised. I supported Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary, particularly because I didn't believe that Clinton was capable of winning against Trump if he were to win the Republican primary, which he ended up doing. And I did assume from the beginning that he probably would do that as well, so that was strategically something that I did have in mind for a good time. Beyond that, I also didn't think her policies were as strong as Sanders', which is naturally then why I supported him.

Now, at the same time, I am quite sad as well that Trump did win. I would have probably been just as upset if Clinton had won, but it's definitely more disappointing that he did. I voted for Jill Stein in the general election. It was a very long shot that she would win - the electoral math was completely against her. I didn't vote because I knew she would win or wanted her particularly to win. Even the five percent goal that she honestly was running on was still a long shot. She didn't accomplish it. It wasn't a successful campaign. Clinton's wasn't a successful campaign either, though. So no matter what side you're on there, it doesn't matter.

We can go back and look at this election and analyze it to detail and nitpick and there are so many reasons why it ended up being the case it was. Anyone could do that. The GOP could be doing the same thing if a couple days ago, Clinton had won instead. It doesn't change the situation that Donald Trump is now the president. And we have to come to terms with that as a nation.

Look, I sympathize with Trump supporters and Clinton supporters and independent supporters. There's a whole block out there this season that was disenfranchised. 45 plus percent would have qualified as independents, according to some polls. So, the fact that there was low voter turnouts. I mean, history is going to paint this election for us in its own light and probably through the light of WikiLeaks. But Clinton was a weak candidate. She didn't draw the base to come out and support her. Trump did with the GOP. And unfortunately, that base is also a bit frightening.

And now we have to come to grips with that. But look, like I said, I sympathize with people who went and voted for Trump. A lot of them made that decision because they wanted to stick it to the system. They wanted to make a statement that said, "Fuck the government. We want to be represented again." It's how a lot of the country feels right now, no matter who you support. Neither candidate was popular. But of course, our whole system happens to be fucked anyway because we got this outdated thing called the Electoral College, where even if you win the popular vote, it doesn't necessarily guarantee that you'll win the electoral vote. So, there's that to reckon with.

I mean, the protests that are happening right now are historic. But again, this just goes to show you that there's a huge block of disenfranchised folk out there who don't feel like this election and that democracy, the way it's working right now, the way our government is functioning, they don't feel like that's working for them. So they're using the only means that they have: voting, if it's to elect Trump; or protesting him. They're using these means to make that statement. It's their cry for help.

Right now as a nation, we need to take a big picture look at what just happened. We need to educate ourselves, learn about it, and we need to move on. We can't be basking in glory or shame, or finger pointing or I-told-you-so's. We have to move on from this and figure out what's going to happen next. Because in two months from now, we have to expect that Trump's going to be inaugurated as our next president.

Now is the time to organize. Now is the time to make plans.

I know a lot of people out there are afraid of Trump. But when he does do some things right, we do need to call him out on that. Encourage him. I mean this is a guy who we know can be baited. We've seen that in the debates. We've seen that throughout the campaign. It is possible in a way to manipulate him into doing certain things. So protesting, I think, is a great method to do that.

If you're a Democrat and you want to win again in two years against Trump, then you're going to have to reform your party in order to make yourself appealing. Because you just lost. I'm out here on the West Coast and in the primaries, we voted significantly for Bernie Sanders. Then the West Coast as a block went strongly for Clinton and the general. We're our own region of disenfranchisement out here. We always have been. And it's growing more and more significantly so. So if you want to work with the Democratic Party to win against Trump in 2018 or 2020, then you need to organize within that party, fight for change, and get that going now.

But we also can't count on the Democratic Party to do that for us. They failed us this time around. And we need to hold them accountable. So third parties, organizations that aren't even affiliated with a party particularly, they need to be grown as well. There needs to be a huge grassroots movement. We can't depend on the mainstream media anymore either. I mean, look, they brought us this huge mess. For one, the trust, the bond that they have with us is entirely based on their own profits. They're already cozying up to Trump. They're already trying to normalize his actions so that as a culture, as a nation, we are accepting it. Most of that stuff costs money to watch anyway, so why are we paying money for that kind of crap? Go invest your money on things that will actually help you. It's not educating you to watch it. It felt like this election WikiLeaks gave us more professional journalism than all of the mainstream media combined.

There are great journalists out there. Find your own sources of independent media. If you're trying to figure out what's going on with the protests right now, you want a good picture of that, then go to a protest. See it for yourself. Find someone who's there. Talk to them. Get involved. This is what this time needs.

We need to organize. We need to network. We need to grow.

There's got to be significant action if we want any of what we have fought for to last. And look, there may be some good things that Trump's going to do for us. I think his foreign policy has hope. We gotta take that good when we can get it. But we also need to protest the shit out of everything else that we can hope to get some change on.

Look, I understand this has got to be stressful for a lot of you guys. It's been a fucking chaotic and emotional week for me, and a lot of people I know. And everyone's got their own personal shit on top of what else is going on. And I mean, did you even hear what else happened in the rest of the world this week? No, probably not because you're so focused on the campaign. The world is watching us. They're paying attention. They're looking and seeing major cities with protests. It's eerily similar to the Arab Spring a few years back that toppled a lot of governments throughout the Middle East and Africa.

We have a revolution that isn't just beginning. It's begun. It's starting now. Now is the time to organize. Now is the time to prepare. Now is the time to gather, in peaceful solidarity, to say out loud what it is you do not support. There are many people out there right now who are worried about what the future has in store for them under a Trump administration. People are legitimately afraid, and the best way to counter against any of that is to organize, to network, to join hands, and to say that we are stronger when we're together. When we actually show up, when we actually support these things and make a statement of action, things get done. That is where the real hope is. It's in you. It's in me. It's in real people doing real work, uniting together, overcoming their fears, and working towards a better future for their children and their nation. That's what this revolution is all about.

Stay strong out there. And stay united. Stand in solidarity with each other, because there is nothing we cannot do.