OPINION
Page 6 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
November 21, 2016
Volume 26 Number 22
November 21, 2016
ISSN: 1094-9453
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MY TURN
n Dmae Roberts
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’m part of the tail end of the Baby Boomer
generation. I’ve fought to eradicate racism,
sexism, bigotry, and discrimination for
decades. I believe in women’s reproductive rights
and the rights of people with disabilities. After this
election season, I wonder if the social reforms of my
generation may be dismantled.
I won’t lie. I’ve gone through the five stages of
post-election grief. I continue to converse with
shocked friends on Facebook. People of color,
immigrants, refugees, Muslims, and members of
the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and
Queer (LGBTQ) community are experiencing fear,
yet they aren’t as stunned as my white friends. I
guess the outcome of the election wasn’t as shocking
to marginalized people who endure a lot of
oppression and intolerance.
The election was one of the most polarizing in
American history. According to post-election
statistics, rural, white voters without a college
education, including about 53 percent of women,
turned out in high numbers to vote for Donald
Trump, the Republican candidate, which seemingly
was unexpected. Apparently journalists somehow
didn’t cover, and pollsters missed, the class
differences the election revealed. In many ways, the
results also showed the dissatisfaction Americans
feel about the two-party system and the Electoral
College. If Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton
had won, I think we would have seen the same
outrage and protests that have taken place in major
cities across the nation, including in Portland.
While I don’t agree with the vandalism and
violence that has occurred in some cases, for the
most part post-election protests have been peaceful.
There were some people who wanted to cause havoc,
and it only takes a few bad eggs to disrupt a
legitimate and peaceful expression of the First
Amendment and its accompanying positive
message.
After we elected a biracial African-American
president, I thought we were making progress. I for
one benefitted from Obamacare and a return to a
time when race and culture issues could be openly
discussed. Funding for the arts and public media,
which had seen cuts during the Bush administra-
tion, seemed to receive greater support. President
Obama didn’t make everyone happy — no president
can — but he reduced unemployment, expanded
hate-crime protections, appointed the most diverse
cabinet in history, created job growth, and improved
conditions for women, people of color, and those in
the LGBTQ community. He accomplished much
more, but it would take too long to include all of
I
them in this column. Whatever party affiliation you
may or may not have, one could agree President
Obama has been a hardworking and caring
president.
Electoral College
Perhaps the biggest issue in this election is the
Electoral College. For the fifth time in the voting
history of the U.S. — and the second time in 16 years
— a presidential candidate has won the White
House despite losing the popular vote.
Electoral-popular vote mismatches in the past took
place in 1824 (when John Quincy Adams became
president over Andrew Jackson), 1876 (when
Rutherford B. Hayes took the presidency over
Samuel Tilden), 1888 (when Benjamin Harrison
won the office over Grover Cleveland), and 2000
(when Al Gore lost the election to George W. Bush).
Perhaps the dissatisfaction and polarization
during the election exposed the need to do more
reform not only on the electoral process, but the
Electoral College itself, a system with a connection
to slavery. James Madison proposed the system in
1787 so states with smaller populations, particu-
larly in the South, had more representation by
counting slaves as “three-fifths of a person,”
according to some constitutional scholars.
Efforts to try to change future election results
determined by the Electoral College, such as the
National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, have
received renewed energy.
Difficult conversations
I take comfort from a recent conversation I had
with Jo Ann Hardesty, president of the Portland
branch of the National Association for the Advance-
ment of Colored People (NAACP). She told me she
often talks with people who are not like-minded and
routinely participates in difficult conversations.
According to her, social change only happens in the
uncomfortable spaces of differing views. In order to
become comfortable and move forward, we have to
listen and learn.
Hardesty does training in interrupting what she
calls “oppressive language.” What I discussed with
her will help me be able to have honest conversa-
tions with people whom I disagree.
“First breathe, then state what it was you didn’t
like,” she said. “State what you need from the
person who said it, and then give them an
opportunity to reflect and come back if they’d like.”
Hardesty said this allows people to know right away
you weren’t comfortable with their statement, the
reason why, and what is asked of them. If it does not
work the first time, try again.
Continued on page 7
Opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of this publication.