This is probably a bad time to write about it because everybody is devastated and needs to grieve. But I grieve through intellectualizing and making lists. So let’s try it out.
Racists and sexists, yes. They obviously exist. There are clearly many of them. Trump’s unshakeable base was 3 0- 3 5%. Where did the rest come from? You can decide the whole 47% are racists and sexists. But there’s nowhere to go from there. Let’s just give up on the spot, then.
Here is what I think really happened. There are things in the Liberal movement that put many people off. Instead of looking for flaws in the individuals who ran for office and lost or in the procedure, let’s talk about flaws in the movement.
1. Democrats are not doing as well as they need with immigrants. Example. Remember that family of immigrants from Mexico that I keep writing about? Hard-working, wonderful people with 4 amazing kids? I’m yet to spot a single non-immigrant Liberal who wants to be friends with them. The only people who come to their parties, who have them over, who babysit their kids, etc are ultra-conservative Republicans. Who do you think they will vote for?
I’m an immigrant, too, and every single instance of being treated like crap I have experienced came from a Liberal. And every single instance of asking me about the place I came from, instead of lecturing me about it, came from a conservative.
To many immigrants, the idea of a wall (real or metaphoric) is appealing because it will underscore their achievement in getting citizenship. It’s important to understand that and acknowledge it as a valid position. It’s important not to lump all immigrants together. It’s important to stop lecturing. It’s important to recognize that people are entitled to their own history and their own concerns.
Example. Lecturing somebody from a 3rd world country on environmentalism and the importance of using less plastic is extremely off – putting. If you are talking to an immigrant , forget the word ‘ recycling ‘ aaltogether. Yes , it’s a trivial little thing but it’s one of a thousand.
Clarissa's Blog 
A glimmer of hope:
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Immigration has nothing to do with his most important wins in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
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30% of Hispanics turned out for Trump. And 100% of my immigrant group which is tiny but still. You lose one ally after another and here’s the result.
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There are not many hispanics in those states. And Hispanics voted more for Bush than for Trump.
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If Democrats think they can win without immigrants, good luck to them. I’m only stating what I think is an important concern.
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The vast majority of immigrants are with them, especially Hispanics. This was not the difference-maker in those 4 states.
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As I said, I wish them the best of luck with this approach. In a world that’s increasingly touched by immigration, it’s an interesting approach to take.
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Of course, they should have tried to solve the immigration issue before this election.
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There will be the next election soon enough.
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The Hispanic vote was important in Florida, though, but not in those 4 states.
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This is more an upper-middle class White vote, especially is those states.
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Many immigrants are upper middle class white. Actually, many Hispanics consider themselves white and do not appreciate being referred to as “people of color.” Just saying.
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Okay, but there are not many of those in these 4 states.
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These states, those states, who cares? There is a growing group of voters that is not captured the way it could be. And it’s not even that hard to do.
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I’m yet to spot a single non-immigrant Liberal who wants to be friends with them.
I can attest that this is true. My family is as white as can be (blonde or light brown hair, pale skin, blue or green eyes). But husband and I have accents and nobody is interested in being actual friends with us. I know that our foreignness is somewhat of a detriment in our kids’s friendships, as more than one playdate never gets reciprocated and I bet it’s because we are “weird foreigners”. I can imagine how much worse it would be if our kids had accents (they don’t, as we only speak English at home) or if we weren’t white. White protestants, liberal or not, in the Midwest are a close-knit, righteous as hell, closed-up bunch.
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At least, you like your job. I, on the other hand, am very ready to move.
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\ I’m an immigrant, too, and every single instance of being treated like crap I have experienced came from a Liberal. And every single instance of asking me about the place I came from, instead of lecturing me about it, came from a conservative.
Why do you think this happens?
My theory is that every person has to direct a certain, biologically necessary amount of aggression at somebody (from Lorenz’s book “Aggression”), with members of the same species, who are defined as “Other,” being the ideal target.
Since Liberals don’t let themselves to express aggression via general rants, they do so in one-on-one interactions, in a veiled fashion.
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They like to be valiant saviors of the pathetic downtrodden. The second the pathetic downtrodden show they are neither, they are repelled.
But you are right, it’s a legitimized form of aggression.
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