‘Liberal trash bag’ is an understatement
The Editorial Board
Enough has been written about last week’s election results. Like many of you reading this, we were all surprised when it became clear Donald Trump had won the presidency. And between now and then, liberals and conservatives all over America were triggered, feeling the need to chime in for all of their Facebook friends to see.
Some people stood out as leaders, presenting thoughtful dialogue. Others were outraged, marking Trump supporters as racist, insensitive and idiotic. What we need now is for all sides to calm down a bit and not think about all the issues Trump brings to the table.
As dozens of students said last week in Library Mall, Trump is only one person. Each of us must focus on making our corners of the world more livable.
We believe liberals everywhere should get off their high horses and hear their neighbors out. We are certainly guilty of liberal elitism, as the majority of our editorials and columns have thrown heavy jabs at right-wingers.
The so-called racists, insensitives and idiots aren’t the only ones responsible for Trump’s election. Liberals are equally guilty in very different ways, especially their blind support of the Democratic Party.
They isolated the majority of white, working-class Americans who voted Trump into office.
Prior to election night, the media pounced on Trump’s antics and barely gave coverage to Clinton’s email controversies. Whenever Trump threatened to throw Clinton in jail, many sites made it the headline of their second presidential debate coverage, rather than making the candidates’ policies their focus.
It was also a fault of the Democratic National Committee to “pull a Hillary” themselves, having 19,252 of their emails published on WikiLeaks on July 22. An analysis from The Washington Post said, “the committee was actively trying to undermine Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign.”
On May 5 in particular, DNC officials apparently attempted to make Sanders’ faith an issue during the primaries so religious voters in Kentucky and West Virginia would side with Clinton. Although he’s Jewish, Sanders has said that he is not religious.
Two days after the leak, DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned from the governing Democratic body. While it wasn’t surprising when she stepped away from her position – being the face of political disgrace and whatnot – it was still alarming to wake up this past Wednesday morning to watch Trump parade his victory.
But it shouldn’t be so shocking upon revisiting the facts leading into the election. By ejecting Sanders, the millennial favorite, out of the primaries for Clinton’s favor, the Democrats gave their voters a “textbook politician” who was antithetical to Trump’s anti-establishment rhetoric in every way.
The main reason President Obama won in 2008 was because his campaign centered on “hope and change,” two qualities that young Americans needed to hear at the end of the Bush era. For his time, Obama was the anti-establishment liberal, turning out to be the most personable, peaceful and “blackest” head of state we could’ve asked for.
The difference between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was how well he could connect to the demographic of white voters without college degrees. By continually declaring to “make America great again” and rid the nation of illegal immigrants, Trump resonated with an untapped silent majority that had one of the biggest influences on the Electoral College last week.
Hardcore liberals and Democrats were too elitist and pompous to recognize such a possibility. American news and entertainment media focused on demonizing Trump and did not spend enough time investigating why people supported him. The white, working-class, undereducated silent majority felt left behind by the Yeezy-wearing, bleeding-heart liberals living in U.S. metropolitan areas.
It’s interesting to see that the newspapers endorsing Clinton, which provided hard-hitting news for over a century, were completely ignored by Trump voters. And CNN and MSNBC were no less guilty, as they probably influenced liberals much more than the dying news industry. Liberals, and their media, lived under a bubble that was finally burst by a populist uprising of sick-and-tired, rural Americans.
All we can do now is continue to converse with others, even if they voted red, and make social causes apparent to influence better legislation. Some would advise you to not protest, but please, keep your marches persistent. Raise hell, enforce the issues that matter to you and change will happen.
Pulitzer Prize winner Laurel Thatcher Ulrich famously said “well-behaved women seldom make history.” Bearing in mind how criticized Trump was by women’s rights groups for his sexually aggressive comments, the only way liberals can rebound from their own hubris is to continue supporting the causes of others.
Featured Illustration: Samuel Wiggins
This opinion blog is completely offensive. How can you in one sentence say that we all need to “calm down a bit” and in the ensuing paragraphs talk about “bleeding heart” liberals on their “high horse,” all the while painting Trump supporters as some kind of misunderstood victims in this election? Trump made his policies very clear during the election–that he intends to create a deportation task force, that he will build a wall between Mexico and the US, that he will take away a woman’s right to abortion. He chose a Vice Presidential candidate who is staunchly in favor of conversion therapy for LGBT youth. These are what your so-called “bleeding-heart” liberals voted against. America is a country of immigrants, we are a nation who has fought endless battles for the rights, freedom, liberty, and justice for ALL. Perhaps there are some who think all Trump supports are “racist, insensitive, and idiotic” but this election was not about THEM, it was about protecting human rights. In the wake of the election, we have seen blatant racism rear its ugly head. There have been incidents ON THIS CAMPUS alone of students confronted by other students because of their ethnicity or religion. If you want people to come together and “calm down a bit” then don’t resort to name calling or belittling people on either side. Focus on the issues our country now faces because they are real.
^^ This. There is no significant detriment to those in power when members of marginalized communities benefit from protective legislation. These people are not victims. They’re victors in the election and (hopefully unwitting) menaces to society.
Also, my comment was never posted previously, but what does the term “liberal trash bag” have to do with this article? Seems rather click baity to me. Seems indicative of a sensationalist trend occurring in media outlets.
Good afternoon, I am sorry your comment was never posted. We have to manually approve comments to filter out unwarranted profanity and spam. It may have gotten lost in the mix. Each semester the leadership at the North Texas Daily changes, and this semester we have added the responsibility of filtering and approving comments to certain job descriptions. As always, the North Texas Daily’s opinion section is meant to be a discussion board of ideas and varying viewpoints. You don’t have to agree with every columnist’s viewpoint, and are always welcome to counter their arguments in the comment section or send in your own reply with an opposing viewpoint for publication.