In the end, ignorance and racism won

I’ve been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray! I abandoned my own mantra: “Never underestimate the power of racism and ignorance.” 

I let myself become optimistic about the presidential election. I fell for the hype, the hoopla and accepted the notion that Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign might beat political, racist foolishness and somehow equate to real progressive, universal “change” in this country.

Silly me.

All the signs that betrayed this false narrative were there. An old, befuddled white man was not universally shamed for referring to a distinguished, accomplished Black woman as “stupid” and a “low IQ” candidate. 

Speaking of gender; I was also certain his running mate, Sen. JD Vance’s age-old sexist trope, describing women as “childless cat ladies” would repel most women who had already lost their rights to bodily autonomy because of Trump’s hand-picked supreme court justices. 

Nope, 53% of white women voted for him.

I let myself believe that people of color would reject Donald Trump’s racist assertions that Haitian immigrants were eating dogs, cats and the pets of Springfield, Ohio residents.

Surely, voters of diverse backgrounds would not accept the fearmongering of a presidential candidate who baselessly claimed that millions of “illegals” from Mexico, Venezuela, the Congo were pouring into our country raping, stealing, murdering and pillaging at unprecedented rates. 

There’s no way legalized voting immigrants would back someone who promised reckless mass deportation of people who look like them.

I was incorrect; 45% of self-identified Hispanic voters picked Trump, up from 32% in 2020. 

Despite asking his defense secretary if he could shoot Black protestors then later promising to pardon convicted white insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol at his urging, Trump won an estimated 20% of the Black vote, doubling his take in 2020.

Because Trump won, some Democrats and the media are assuming he did something right.

I’m exhausted with all the “sane-splaining” of Harris’ so-called “failed” campaign. It was not her record as a prosecutor, senator, or vice president. It wasn’t her inability to connect with the middle class, nor was it her running mate, Minn. Gov. Tim Walz. Those making those claims are loathe to dissect the very real reasons she lost to Trump: 

Ignorance and racism.

How did more than 74 million people go to the polls and vote for a convicted felon, a tax cheat, a verified conman, a serial liar, alleged sexual predator and leader of a violent insurrection? Sorry to be so blunt, but those of you who knew those things to be true and voted for him anyway…well, that’s a serious indictment on your intellect.

I know of no polls that accurately details the number of racists in America. But let’s be honest; something in the psyches of millions of voters resonates with Trump.

Race and stupidity.

I know that is politically uncool to say, but I’m no politician and the future consequences are too dire to be silent about what has happened and will continue happening in my country.

We have reverted to a time when antiquated racist feelings and uninformed sentiments influence who gets to lead America. This, while media pundits are loathe to discuss it openly. 

As a proud African American and a 67-year-old graduate of this country’s ‘Negro experiment,’ I should have known better. I should have instinctively recalled the calamitous, backwards history and the deadly ramifications of whites who felt marginalized, threatened and powerless. 

But alas, I allowed myself to be influenced by “hope” and the woefully naïve notion that, deep, deep down “real Americans”-despite their politics-believed in the Constitution and our supposed “tried and true” principles of democracy, fair play and justice for all.

But, in the end, ignorance and racism won out. 

Shame on me for believing otherwise.