Have a Plan

 It’s about a week out before an important presidential election, possibly the most important one of my lifetime. Advertisements are abound to include nearly every social media outlet prompting you to vote. Text messages from call banks asking have you voted and sometimes even who you are voting for. Even President Obama has an ad out asking people to have a plan to vote (then execute said plan). That is an excellent idea and one I’m not here to debate. 

The question I have is: what is my plan for dealing with people who voted for or plan to vote for Donald Trump?

I’ve been thinking about this, really, since the man was put into office. At that time I was the person who would be on social media, primarily Facebook, trying to tactfully tell people that nothing good could come from voting for this guy. How morally deficient he is. How his words and even more important, actions, have encouraged white supremacists to be more forward and demonstrative with their actions. How he absolutely thrives on keeping people upset as opposed to actually fixing any of their problems.

I was told that Trump didn’t mean the things he was saying. I was told even if he did mean them other Republicans would stand in his way. I was told that a vote for him didn’t endorse 100% of what he does nor does it say anything about the person who voted for him.

Throughout the past 4 years, more or less, the narrative has remained the same. I’m supposed to ignore the horrible things Trump’s administration has done and then take the effort to parse that the people who voted and support him are good people. More to the point, Donald Trump continues to support white supremacy. As a black man I oppose that in absolutely every way. I WOULD WANT ANYONE WHO CALLS ME FRIEND TO DO THE SAME. And therein lies my dilemma: what is my plan for dealing with people who voted for or plan tovote for Donald Trump?

I can’t help but notice people who are my “friends” and the comments they make. I can’t help but to see who they follow and who they like and share comments from. I can’t help to see who DOESN’T like the comments that I make, which have become all too far in between. Let’s talk about that:

Like I said, 4 years ago I chatted quite frequently about exactly what I thought and why I thought it. I generally do not discuss who I vote/voted for but I have been adamantly vocal about Donald Trump. Singularly. I don’t honestly care if someone is a Republican. I draw the line at white supremacy and Trump has readily propagated that at every turn. Let’s talk about THAT:

I have started to say less because at nearly every turn, when I tell my Facebook and Twitter friends and “friends” the perspective of a black man in his 40s I was often told I was mistaken; that I didn’t have an accurate comparison of the whole picture. The same people often rely on any number of dubious sources to tell them what black people do think, which they do listen to. The more I thought about it the more I realized that I was putting my honesty, my life, and my existence out there for people who are supposed to be my friends to dismiss at their convenience. More and more, that doesn’t sit right with me at all. Ultimately it comes down to a certain set of people wanting to vote for an amoral man and ignoring anything they need to do so, which apparently includes my own personal existence.

Not ideal.

My plan for dealing with people who voted for Trump the first time is everyone is allowed a mulligan of sorts. It’s easy to fall for a con man; I certainly have and I would want my friends to help see me out of a bad situation if that were to happen. Those who vote for him twice? If you’re someone who considers me a friend or more in life my opinion in you has diminished and my trust in you has done the same. I do this to protect myself and the people I love. 

Does that mean I can’t talk with you, can’t break bread with you, and can’t train with you? No, of course not. I know goodand well that I have to exist with people who have all sorts of different views, even that of a hate mongering racist (which Donald Trump absolutely is and nope, that’s not a debatable point). I plan on being the same person I’ve always been. (Any house with a Trump flag or sign is not a house I’m walking into, however. If I walk into a house with a MAGA hat or anything, I’d politely stay for that visit and never walk back into that house.)

But I don’t think I can truly be friends with someone who supports Donald Trump for any number of reasons. Friendly, but not friends. That’s where I stand. The irony of that is if any of these people actually listened to the minorities they consider friends and brothers, if any of my friends actually listened to the words I said and shared, this should come as no surprise. 

There are way too many people out there who think this Donald Trump thing is just politics as normal. For them, it may be. For me it has permeated into my heart and soul, the things he’s dredged up. I don’t even have a clever ending for this, so I’ll stop writing.