more trouble in paradise

As part of my ongoing series on “how weird it's getting out there,” this past weekend I was selling my books at yet another art show. At a refreshment tent a volunteer, once again a normal looking white guy in his thirties or forties, with whom I exchange greetings once a year looks at me and says, “there's something I have to ask you.”

Alarmed, I say, “Well, what?”

He looks askance at other customers and says softly, “wait 'til there's nobody around. Just hang on a minute.”

This leaves me lingering long after I had assumed refreshment would be mine. He looks at me apologetically as new people arrived. Finally I give up hope for my original purpose and say, “Come on. Let's just go over there.” He agrees.

“We've spoken before and you strike me as an intelligent guy,” he says with angst on his face. 'I want your opinion on something.”

Then I knew what it was. Here we go again. “I think I know what this is about,” I say. “The election.”

“Yes,” he said, relieved I had been the one to say it. “What do you make of it?”

The guy is loathe to speak of the election in front of other Americans. And judging by his tone, he fears the dissolution of his country. I gave him my now honed stump speech, including how candidate choice is no greater indicator of peoples' character than their favorite football team and actually holds equal significance. “If a player on your favorite team rapes somebody,” I elaborated, “you don't change teams, do you?” This was by way of helping him leap the fissure growing between the losers and the winners, to reassure him that half of America is not validating the asinine behavior of Donald Trump. They just had a different take on the event; that there is no need of a new bigotry where Clinton voters and abstainers look down on Trump voters. But how easily we appear to slide into bigotry in whatever form it may take.  And how we enjoy it.

The people who aren't upset? The Trumpets. They're feeling alright for now, content to leave detractors twisting in the wind on the moral high ground.