Wednesday 9 November 2016

Don't look down

As with the morning after the Brexit vote, I look out of the window and everything seems pretty much the same as it did the day before.

People are still sitting around in cafes eating croissants and drinking coffee, but I can hear them nervously singing little songs to themselves, and the smiles on their faces look a little forced, as if they are suddenly about to burst out in a primal scream.

Thomas, my German friend, sends me a text which says, 'Europe needs to be strong now'. This only makes me feel more lonely. In the States, the victory has been described as 'Brexit x 1000', as if this is a good thing.

The pundits never expected this outcome as they didn't expect the Brexit outcome, so they have got a lot of catching-up to do before January. The U.S.A.'s foreign policy will be drawn up very easily and smoothly, because Trump will have the vast resources of the Kremlin's highly experienced civil service at his disposal.

The reason why the pollsters have been getting it so stupidly wrong over the last few years was summed-up perfectly by an optimistic senior Republican on British radio yesterday. He said, "Working class Republicans are not the sort of people who talk to pollsters. They quietly leave the house, go and vote, then go home again without talking to anyone."

Trump's victory speech focussed heavily on 'unification'. He is going to create jobs by building highways, bridges, tunnels and - presumably - walls. He is going to pay attention to the very people who put him in power, the ones who have been ignored by successive Democrat administrations - ordinary American people.

He even touched on some sort of peace and reconciliation between parties now that the outcome allows him this generosity. Will Hilary go to prison, though? During his speech, his supporters could be heard chanting, 'Jail Obama! Jail Obama! Jail Obama!'

The seeds of this victory were sown many years ago now, when white, working-class people (formerly called 'trailer-trash') actually became as poor as the black ones had been for over 200 years. This was truly shocking to most Americans, but it was also highly embarrassing, so rarely talked about.

I remember being deeply shocked by the sight of a 20 year-old, homeless beggar sitting on the pavement here in Bath about 20 years ago, but now I almost take it for granted. This is shameful.

I always make sure I look them in the eyes when they ask me for money though, even if I don't give it. You need to look people in the eyes. It is very important.


30 comments:

  1. Today, I hate being an American. How could everybody be so wrong? Something is amiss.

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    1. You have my sympathy. We are all beginning to understand how the post-war German youth felt for so many years. I felt extremely guilty and embarrassed about the Brexit vote, as did many who voted for it. National Socialism is beginning to rise again.

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  2. Proof that for politicians to ignore the wishes of the masses can lead to extremism. We could see it here, before too long, with Marine Le Pen.

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  3. I am so sad and so embarrassed. I am shocked, but despite feeling all these things, I am not exactly surprised... If the Republicans think they are in charge, I think they are in for a surprise...

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    1. They are pretty much in charge, and once those old values about control of power become eroded, the finger will hover over the button.

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  4. It will be very interesting to see what exactly happens whether or not the president elect adheres to his election spouting's or does a u-turn on behalf of big money.

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  5. I think he will feel he has been given a mandate to do whatever he feels like.

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    1. OMG! I'm afraid you are right. Narcissists feeding frenzy...The G.O.P. will stand for "Grab Our P...rivates"

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    2. With a Republican controlled House and Senate Trump can do whatever the hell he wants. We're in trouble.

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  6. With a 'Republican' in the White House and the majority in the Senate and Congress don't be too sure that the Democrates hare going to get it easy. And rightly so. The Americans have spoken and less than half of the country will just have to like it and lump it. Pollsters, Media and ShowBiz got it wrong again.

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    1. Since when have the Democrats had it 'easy'? Are you on the same planet? Media and Showbiz express opinions, not run the country. Pollsters just get in the way and waste everyone's time.

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    2. I started to reply but.. It is easy to be a Democrat/Labour supporter. Not so easy to be Republican/Conservative. Far more explanation of opinion and why means that these views are under reported.

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  7. I'm heartsick and frightened in a way that I've never been after an election. The safety and well-being of women and girls, immigrants, minorities , LGBT people, and non Christians are going to be under dire threat now. I'm so ashamed of this country right now.

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    1. Yes, although I would not have been clapping when the sugar-glass ceiling collapsed at the party which never happened, I still think that the hatred of male Arabs is going to extend to the hatred of their families, who will be killed with impunity along with the fathers, if the promises are kept.

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  8. I could not sleep last night.

    I grew up in a part of the States very different from the city I chose to live in. It's a very divided country. In January, the government will be controlled by Republicans. Not all Republicans are as bad as Trump.

    I'm doing laundry this morning.

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    1. No, I have had - and still have - many Republican friends who I love for their humanity and sense. Trump has divided them too, and it seems they would rather have his National Socialism than some other form of democratic legislation.

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  9. I am deeply depressed. I have no words about half of Americans voting in such a man.

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  10. Luckily beggars have not reached our area yet, but I expect they will. The whold world is going to pot - I just hope this feeling I woke up with this morning passes.

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  11. I am developing my professional-beggar spotting skills. Many beggars in Vienna see begging as a career choice. I asked one of them where he disappeared to in the winter and he said Barcelona was his favourite overwintering nest but admitted that a couple times he's been to London which he liked. I think he's left Vienna now, since the Rumanians, maybe the ones that Sarkozy threw out of Paris, have moved in.

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    1. And do you blame them for these lifestyle choices, despite that it may not be your choice of lifestyle?

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  12. I have been giving money to a beggar outside my supermarket for months. Not long ago I was surprised to see him walking in another area of the neighbourhood, talking on a Smartphone. I still give him money but now I like to think I'm contributing to charge his phone so he can call home.
    Greetings Maria x

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  13. As I betted that Trump will win, I was not quite as shocked when I saw the results. I would have liked neither of them to be President - but I wonder about media here: when someone wins whom they do not like (maybe with good reasons) they always cry out "undemocratic" - and even call more than half of the voters "idiots" - while I think, it is part of democracy that one accepts the results, even if one doesn't like them. When it becomes as in Turkey now - and there I am really frightened - one has to intervene (diplomatic), but here in Germany they see only their own good they get for their borders. By the way: I saw statistics that showed that by far it were not the poor only who voted for Trump.
    As to your remark about young Germans then: yes Tom, that was exactly how we felt.

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    1. I know that it was not just the poor that voted him in, but I think that he rode on a tidal wave of discontent which the Republicans exploited when they took power from the tired Democrats.

      Many immigrants or children of immigrants are the first to demand tight border controls, once they have got safely in.

      A lot of what I say could be misinterpreted as Anarchistic, but - as I keep reminding people who don't beieve me - I am a true Monarchist, and I am just as prepared to accept the hereditary accidents of birth producing monsters as I am with the democtratic system producing them. What I don't like is mob-rule.

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  14. Hey Tom, thanks for popping over to my blog yesterday. I really appreciated it.
    Oh he is not going to change - his last tweet was that it was "very unfair" people were protesting.

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  15. Oh and one more thing - I have seen numbers, now I don't know how true they are - that the majority of DT's supporters are not poor. But make between $50,000 to $150,000/year. BTW in comparison, in my entire life I have never made that much money in a year.

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