For all looking to cast out the ignorant with the venal

[Uponthegears]

A huge swath of voters know ONLY what they are told by their usual media source and by what they are told by us (their politically active friends and those actively involved in political campaigns).

When Trump says Spanish-speaking undocumented aliens bring disease and crime, the only way they know otherwise is IF SOMEONE TELLS THEM. We know what the MSM is worth, so did WE as Democrats get out there and talk about AVERAGE Spanish-speaking undocumented aliens (you know, the millions that are living hand to mouth in sub-human conditions and getting paid sub-human wages so their kids will not starve) that voters see in the media every f'n day, OR did we talk about the exceptions, the ones that fit the white suburbanite definition of successful, the class presidents, the ones shared the suburbanite dream of going to college? Is it the voters' fault for failing to see the value in the lives of the immigrants who struggle and do not meet OUR DEFINITION of success?

When Trump says that Muslims don't share our beliefs and pose a danger to our way of life, the only way they know otherwise is IF SOMEONE TELLS THEM. Did we as Democrats get out there and talk about Islam as one of the worlds great religions, or show the devotion of Muslims going to pray multiple times a day, or about how Islam has been victimized by the West since the end of the first world war, or how every day Muslims are struggling against hate and prejudice every single day OR did we talk about the exception, the Gold Star family, the ones living out the suburbanite values of patriotism? Is it the voters' fault they can't see the same value in the poor, and yes, sometime angry, young Muslim in Minneapolis as he follows a religion which we consistently attack for its failure to live up to Western values and come to the conclusion that Trump might have a point?

How about those black kids who weren't class president, or innocent bystanders? When Trump talked to voters about the murder rate in Chicago, or "supporting the police," and how we need MORE law enforcement and HARSHER penalties, did we get out and talk about WHY so many of those people who look like me find ourselves at the wrong end of a gun? Did we talk about the Michael Browns who are constantly getting shook down by cops just looking for an excuse to haul them off to jail or shoot them dead in the street? How about the ones who live without hope, the ones whose lives were ruined with felony convictions by the time they were teenagers? Did we as Democrats get out and talk about them OR did we limit our discussion to how our heroes, the ones that even suburbanites will applaud and identify with, still suffer discrimination? Is it the voters' fault they latch onto "tough on crime" and "broken society" rhetoric when every day the MSM is talking about the Chicago murder rate?

Even when the conversation turned to misogyny (which seemed to be the focus of most of the post-election campaign), did we talk about what every woman faces every day, or did we talk about Trump's disgusting behavior all the time unable to explain why we don't find every person with a history of sexual aggression unqualified to be president? Is it the voters' fault they can't distinguish Trump from the multitude of men who have run for president and won despite histories of sexual aggression, discrimination, and disrespect?

There are a ton of Trump voters who are just flat out morally decrepit. I join in saying that I want nothing to do with them. However, to shun voters for voting out of ignorance when we failed to educate them, is simply hiding our own failures. It's like the parent who shuns the child they raised.

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars . . .