"The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything." - George Carlin
People in America are taking to the streets to protest Donald Trump being elected president. But instead of it being a working example of how civil disobedience can spotlight a heinous injustice, the protesters are instead shining a light on something more dangerous, even more hideous than a bombastic scumbag occupying the White House; they are unwitting participants of widespread political ignorance, a naïve civilian populace too offended to understand that they are the problem.
In essence, people are protesting their own stupidity under the guise of hating president-elect Trump. They think that having a repugnant president is all one needs to grab a sign and shout slogans, when what they really need is a legit excuse to hit the streets.
Demonstrators chant as they march during a rally against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in New York. Photo: Getty Images
There are no accusations of voter fraud, of voter suppression, of hacking electronic voting machines. There is just an election result they disagree with vehemently, and so march they must, to show everyone they are on the right side of history, the left side of decency.
The thing is, they are on the wrong side of clever, and they planted their flag there a long time ago.
It was not just an attempt to repudiate the republican candidate; it was a message soaked in a superiority complex dressed up as political savvy...
You can't bully people to vote against a bully. Probably the most surreal facet of this election was listening to people expose themselves as the guardians of good behaviour as they shamed men and women into voting for a person whose ethics were eroded with every leaked document, every false statement she made.
The snickering of Hillary Clinton voters in the run-up to the election was just as gross as a close-up of Donald Trump's pasty liver lips, while their words were just as ridiculous, just as slanderous. "A vote for Trump is a vote for misogyny" is not an honest or effective way to sway somebody to your camp.
It was not just an attempt to repudiate the republican candidate; it was a message soaked in a superiority complex dressed up as political savvy and delivered by messengers who seemed to all stop taking their anxiety meds after the primary was over. They are a posse of frantic doomsday preachers whose empty rhetoric helped cement the Trump presidency, and now that he has won they are doubling down by protesting democracy itself.
Meanwhile, the one group of voters who actually have legit reasons to hit the streets against injustice are the ones being blamed for snatching victory from the democrats. Entitlement doesn't even begin to describe Clinton and her stable of hyper-charged supporters, the loyalty so visceral and potent that actual evidence of subverting the primary process was brushed aside as a normal part of crowning a nominee.
This was a display of pathological indifference and rabid entitlement where the offenders were acting like the offended, the bullies acting like victims, as they pranced around campaign offices like giddy little know-it-alls assigned to protect America from the Orange Godzilla and his apocalyptic vision.
So try being a Bernie Sanders supporter in that climate, where your candidate was demeaned and abused by these rabid Clintonian soldiers. Then, after the WikiLeaks revelations, after the resignations at the DNC, after the curtain was lifted revealing cheaters and manipulators working against the Sanders candidacy, Sanders supporters are lectured about the future being at stake.
This goes well beyond cognitive dissonance; this was a display of pathological indifference and rabid entitlement where the offenders were acting like the offended, the bullies acting like victims, as they pranced around campaign offices like giddy little know-it-alls assigned to protect America from the Orange Godzilla and his apocalyptic vision.
No. This was madness. Clinton cheated the democratic process and her supporters turned around and acted like they were now the spokespeople for righteousness. Meanwhile, regular voters who saw this hypocrisy were left to untangle the false choice in front of them. And if you want to get down to the data and find out how Trump really won, you can start at the DNC. Their poisonous strategy of subverting the legitimacy of the primary translated into a low voter turnout, costing them the election as well as their reputation of being the party of progressive ideals.
Supporters hold signs during a Democratic campaign rally. (Photo: Getty Images)
They did this. Every Democratic voter with a penchant for labeling political opposites as racists or sexists can also be credited with the Trump victory. Every journalist colluding with John Podesta can rest easy knowing their lack of ethics thwarted the very campaign they were tasked with assisting.
Every Democratic voter with a penchant for labeling political opposites as racists or sexists can also be credited with the Trump victory.
Every finger that was pointed at an undecided voter, citizens who were shamed and goaded into believing that being undecided meant they must harbour unconscious hatred towards women or Mexicans or Muslims, contributed to Clinton's loss. This is on every democratic operative who thought the ends justified the means as they engaged in dirty tricks and then acted indignant towards the process itself.
Perhaps the only bright spot in this sordid election year is the distant possibility of it being the last or next-to-last election featuring two parties, as the electorate seems to be weary of their most important choice not really being a choice at all. Worse still, actual bigots or the professionally triggered often champions this two-party system, which should be enough for most rational thinkers to want another option when deciding the leader of the free world.
I know I would.
For now we will have to wait out the people protesting outside the Trump buildings in various cities across the country, and pretend they are marching for something other than their own self-pity. Because if they wanted to ensure a Trump-less White House, they should have been on the streets protesting the torching of democracy when they found out their side was the source of the blaze.
ALSO ON HUFFPOST:
Donald Trump's Victory Speech
Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook