Now That The Election Is Over, What Do I Want To See Happen To Trump Supporters?

If you were paying any attention to the news (or, god forbid, reading comments sections and trawling through Twitter), you probably saw all kinds of bellowed promises from Trump supporters about what they were going to do to "the libs" once their guy won re-election. They were going to charge doctors who performed abortions with murder, assault anyone who protested, execute reporters live on-air, and the list went on and on. While you could argue that some of it was hyperbole, and a lot of it was just rage-induced fantasy from a vocal minority, the central theme of nearly every, single promise was that anyone who disagreed with them was going to be punished for their dissent. They would be silenced. They were, to use the common phrase, going to make us all cry.

There were no policy goals being enacted. No plans for solving problems. Nothing that would actually improve their living conditions, or make the country a better place. It was all about hurting the opposition, and then collecting their tears in a novelty coffee mug.

Then the election didn't go their way.

While Joe Biden is still the president elect, and at time of writing Trump is still going through the motions of fighting the results, this whole performance looks like the last tantrum before the toddler finally tuckers himself out and goes to sleep so the rest of us can finally have some peace and quiet.

The change in tone from his supporters, though, has been an abrupt about-face. As soon as they realized their guy didn't win, and someone from the Democratic party was going to take over the White House, they immediately started demanding that everyone consider their feelings. They're going through a tough time right now, they tell us, and they expect everyone else to be understanding. We're all Americans, they say, and we shouldn't be attacking each other over politics... especially not with the country being so divided.

Nice to see you back, Dr. Jekyll. But we need to have a little talk about Mr. Hyde, because you and I both know he's just under the skin and ready to come out as soon as we turn our backs.

First, What I Don't Want

There's an old saying that the root of homophobia is that straight men are terrified gay men will treat them the way they've treated women. I find that maps pretty well with what few conservative-leaning people I've gotten straight answers out of, and it seems to be reflected in what Trump supporters have said if you read between the lines.

They are terrified that, now that the power balance has shifted, they're going to be treated the way they were treating other people. That the abuse, the mockery, and the rage they vented on other people is going to be turned onto them now that they no longer have the high ground. That there will be marchers with Biden flags running people over in their Priuses, and violent anarchists in black face masks burning down... I don't know, Applebee's, or something.

But you know what? Turnabout is not what I want.

I want Trump supporters to have their student loans forgiven, and to go to college free of charge. I want them to get taxpayer-funded healthcare, and a more vigorous social safety net. I want their freedom of speech and freedom of religion protected to the full extent of the law. I don't want them to be beaten on the street, I don't want their houses burned down, and I don't want them thrown in a gulag somewhere for political dissent. Because these are the things I want for every American, and you don't get to be selective with who has a right to certain things... that's kind of the point of rights. Either everyone has them, or no one has them.

With that said, however, there is one thing I'd like to add to the list.

What I Want Is For Them To Be Held Accountable

"Can't shake the devil's hand and say you're only kidding."

This one line from They Might Be Giants basically sums up my feelings on Trump's supporters, and what I would like to see happen to them. Because what I want to see is them suffering the natural consequences of the actions they chose to take.

Not for voting for a presidential candidate. Not signing petitions, or praying, or trying to register more people to keep their party in power. Those are all normal, acceptable things. Those are the things you're supposed to do, and that's all fair play. But just as Trump broke the norms of politics, so a great many of his supporters broke not just norms, but the law.

I want to see the Trump supporters who planned violent actions against political figures, or who planned to attempt to disrupt the voting process, punished. I want to see everyone who committed a hate crime against one of those "others" the president railed against receive the maximum sentence for their offenses. If they pulled a gun on someone in public that wasn't posing a threat to them or anyone else, I want them held to account for that action, and to suffer the consequences of that decision. I want it made clear that this behavior is not acceptable, and you will be punished for it.

I want to see those people who went on tirades against customers or their coworkers who were black, Hispanic, LGBTQ+ lose their jobs because they felt it was okay to demean other people in public just because Trump did it. I want these supporters to realize the friends and family members they drove away are gone, and they aren't coming back just because the election is over. I want them to realize that this isn't a football game, or a basketball tournament; the decisions they made had real consequences for real people, and that they signed their names on that devil's contract. They showed their friends and family who they really are, and it's too late to put that mask back on now. I want them to realize that you don't get to abuse other people (or support abusers), and then claim none of this is your responsibility. I especially want them to realize that being inconvenienced is not the same thing as being actually oppressed.

No one owes nice. No one owes polite. No one owes kindness. Especially when you were not willing to give those things to others who needed it when your guy was at the podium demanding violence, putting literal secret police on the streets, and running concentration camps on the southern border.

Trump supporters are still humans, and like humans they can still change. They can listen, and learn the same way any of us can. They can reach out and try to mend fences if we matter to them. But if they aren't willing to do that, they are the ones who willingly made a bed of nails and broken glass. If they want to lie in it to "own the libs" then who am I to stop them?

Would You Like To See More?

This is the first op-ed I've written for politics, but it's far from the first time I've touched on this kind of topic on Vocal. So if you'd like to see articles like The Truth Behind "The Anarchist Cookbook" or perhaps What Was The Satanic Panic? The Forgotten Witch Hunt of The 1980s, then you should take a moment to check out my full Vocal archive to see if anything catches your fancy!

And if you'd like to hear more of my thoughts on the politics of the day, make sure you share this around so the numbers tell me this is what the readers want to see!