My Grandma & Your Grandma

This will be my first post to the Swamp community. It may also be my last. If you're a friend of mine on this platform at the moment, you've probably noticed that I don't usually comment on political threads, either. There's a reason I don't spend time in this arena and this morning is a fine example.

I'm not disinterested in politics. I'm disinterested in hypocrisy, and sadly, it tends to pop up in political posts, regardless of which “side” they're intended to support. Allow me to present a couple of examples that have come up in the early hours of the aftermath of the election.

The first was particularly sad for me. A creator that I followed posted an article that told any readers that voted for Trump or voted “none of the above” to “get the hell off my feed.” I'm not in either of those groups, but I did that creator a favor and unsubscribed. Ironically, that did nothing to “get me off their feed.” If they want me off their feed, they have an Unsubscribe button of their own.

I'm not trying to ridicule that person. Judging from their writing, they're intelligent, and definitely capable of rational thought. What came through in that statement, in my opinion, was the unbridled anger and fear the election results triggered in a creator who's an open member of the LGBTQ community. What troubled me about it was the choice to lash out with the same hatred they accuse the right wingers of displaying.

A second creator whose work I follow closely used their article to throw out strings of stereotypical labels about right-wingers. Here's a little tidbit for them: I'm one of those “old white people” and I'm not racist, sexist, homophobic or an asshole (although I certainly know how to be the last item on that list, if it's called for). I'm also not affiliated with either party. Oh, and I'm heterosexual, and if you read that as anti-LGBTQ, you're very wrong and part of the problem.

I'm a “old white guy” with a quadruple bypass who's drawing SSI retirement, enrolled in Medicare, and still can't afford to quit working or go see a doctor. Why? Because our system is broken, and the results of this election would NOT have fixed it, regardless of who won. It's going to take much more than a change of figurehead to get this ship back on course.

Incidentally, I'm going to add that I also live in the state that voted in our government's first openly LGBTQ member of Congress. Don't forget to put that in your book.

So, enough about me. Consider this, kids: The USA is not run by its President. It's run by We, The People. Unfortunately, We, The People are too busy fighting amongst themselves to change the status quo, and that's exactly what the real “powers that be” want.

I'm not saying we should all hold hands and sing Kumbaya. I'm saying it's time to stop singing Iko Iko (I'm gonna' set your flag on fire - see the video above) because we see things differently. Our Constitutional Republic guarantees each of us the right to do so. You be you. I'll be me.

Let's start focusing on fixing the problem. It isn't going to change with language like “Orange Man”, “Sleepy Joe", “Kamabla” or "Get the hell off my feed." Rise above, people. As creators, we have a powerful skill and an audience on this platform. I've probably lost half of my audience with this piece, and that's okay. If you can't stand reading a different point of view without melting down, feel free to use that button. You don't even have to wait for the results.

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Author's Note: Please note that I have avoided name dropping, name calling, and the use of potentially offensive pronuouns. Thank you for your time.