@stevep59 That's pretty much the situation over here with Trump. So many people, both at home and abroad, seem to be treating the election results as "every white person in America remembered how racist they actually are and voted accordingly." Which couldn't be further from the truth. Similar to how you said it was in the UK, a lot of what compelled so many people to vote for Trump was deep-seated anger at the establishment, a feeling that, for the past eight years, the government had ignored what they wanted and treated their concerns as invalid.
It's a sign of the times that I'm afraid to leave the above paragraph as-is without any qualifiers or disclaimers. Tensions are high, and emotions are strong on both sides. And, sadly, BOTH Republicans AND Democrats are equally likely to dismiss each other's concerns, no matter how valid those concerns might be. A Democrat friend of mine brought up the Affordable Care Act, and I said that Republicans were leery of it because of the whole "We have to pass it so you can find out what's in it" thing. Their response? A sarcastic "Aw, poor babies." NO. The thought of my government passing a bill without letting the public know what's in it is TERRIFYING. That shouldn't be dismissed.
I say this not to get people to side with Republicans wholeheartedly; I certainly don't. I say it because the story being told is that all Republicans are racist jerks who don't think poor people should have healthcare or that women should have human rights, and because that story is exactly that--a story. The reality is that people here are scared. Democrats were scared of seeing social programs implemented under Obama reversed, and they voted accordingly. Republicans were scared of seeing their government gain too much power, and they voted accordingly. This isn't a case of good-vs.-evil, but of frightened people doing what seemed like a good idea at the time. And until that truth is understood, there will be no fixing the situation.
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@stevep59 That's pretty much the situation over here with Trump. So many people, both at home and abroad, seem to be treating the election results as "every white person in America remembered how racist they actually are and voted accordingly." Which couldn't be further from the truth. Similar to how you said it was in the UK, a lot of what compelled so many people to vote for Trump was deep-seated anger at the establishment, a feeling that, for the past eight years, the government had ignored what they wanted and treated their concerns as invalid.
It's a sign of the times that I'm afraid to leave the above paragraph as-is without any qualifiers or disclaimers. Tensions are high, and emotions are strong on both sides. And, sadly, BOTH Republicans AND Democrats are equally likely to dismiss each other's concerns, no matter how valid those concerns might be. A Democrat friend of mine brought up the Affordable Care Act, and I said that Republicans were leery of it because of the whole "We have to pass it so you can find out what's in it" thing. Their response? A sarcastic "Aw, poor babies." NO. The thought of my government passing a bill without letting the public know what's in it is TERRIFYING. That shouldn't be dismissed.
I say this not to get people to side with Republicans wholeheartedly; I certainly don't. I say it because the story being told is that all Republicans are racist jerks who don't think poor people should have healthcare or that women should have human rights, and because that story is exactly that--a story. The reality is that people here are scared. Democrats were scared of seeing social programs implemented under Obama reversed, and they voted accordingly. Republicans were scared of seeing their government gain too much power, and they voted accordingly. This isn't a case of good-vs.-evil, but of frightened people doing what seemed like a good idea at the time. And until that truth is understood, there will be no fixing the situation.