Ich bin immer noch fassungslos. Ich verbrachte den gestrigen Tag damit, konstant dieses Geräusch von mir zu geben; ich habe zeitweilig den Rechner zugeklappt, um dem Internet zu entgehen, der konstanten Erinnerung daran, was in der Wahlnacht passiert ist und wie sehr es mich belastet. Das Ausmaß hat mich allerdings selbst überrascht: Ich habe angefangen zu weinen, als ich Hillary Clintons Rede gehört habe, in der sie sich besonders an Frauen wandte, deren champion sie war, ich weinte, als sie sich besonders an die little girls wandte, die nicht daran zweifeln sollten, dass es möglich sei, die eigenen Träume zu verfolgen und zu erreichen. Genau diesen Glauben aufrecht zu erhalten, kostet mich seit fast 50 Jahren irrwitzig viel Kraft – bei jedem Scheißspruch auf Twitter, bei jeder ungewollten Berührung, bei jeder sexistischen Werbekampagne und den danach üblichen Ausreden, dass das doch alles nur lustig gemeint war. Mir ist zum tausendsten Mal klargeworden, dass einer hervorragend ausgebildeten, fähigen, erfahrenen Frau immer noch weniger zugetraut wird als einem rassistischen, sexistischen Schmierenkomödianten – selbst von Frauen. Dass noch irgendeine Frau Trump wählen konnte, nachdem er sich mit sexuellen Übergriffen gebrüstet hatte, ist für mich schlicht unverständlich. Wie sehr muss man sich selbst und sein Geschlecht hassen, um zu glauben, dass diese Art Benehmen auch nur in Ansätzen okay ist. Wie sehr Frauenfeindlichkeit, auch internalisierte, in unserer Gesellschaft verankert ist, zeigt dieses Wahlergebnis und es macht mich wütend, traurig und sprachlos.

—

Lindy West, Her Loss:

„I cried because I want my daughters to feel that blazing pride, that affirmation of their boundless capability — not from their husbands, but from their world, from the atmosphere, from inviolable wells of certainty inside themselves. I cried because it’s not fair, and I’m so tired, and every woman I know is so tired. I cried because I don’t even know what it feels like to be taken seriously—not fully, not in that whole, unequivocal, confident way that’s native to handshakes between men. I cried because it does things to you to always come second.

Whatever your personal opinion of the Clintons, as politicians or as human beings, that dynamic is real. We, as a culture, do not take women seriously on a profound level. We do not believe women. We do not trust women. We do not like women. I understand that many men cannot see it, and plenty more do not care. I know that many men will read this and laugh, or become defensive, or call me hysterical, or worse, and that’s fine. I am used to it. It doesn’t make me wrong.“

—

David Remnick, An American Tragedy:

„The election of Donald Trump to the Presidency is nothing less than a tragedy for the American republic, a tragedy for the Constitution, and a triumph for the forces, at home and abroad, of nativism, authoritarianism, misogyny, and racism. Trump’s shocking victory, his ascension to the Presidency, is a sickening event in the history of the United States and liberal democracy. On January 20, 2017, we will bid farewell to the first African-American President—a man of integrity, dignity, and generous spirit—and witness the inauguration of a con who did little to spurn endorsement by forces of xenophobia and white supremacy. It is impossible to react to this moment with anything less than revulsion and profound anxiety. […]

In the coming days, commentators will attempt to normalize this event. They will try to soothe their readers and viewers with thoughts about the “innate wisdom” and “essential decency” of the American people. […] The commentators, in their attempt to normalize this tragedy, will also find ways to discount the bumbling and destructive behavior of the F.B.I., the malign interference of Russian intelligence, the free pass—the hours of uninterrupted, unmediated coverage of his rallies—provided to Trump by cable television, particularly in the early months of his campaign. We will be asked to count on the stability of American institutions, the tendency of even the most radical politicians to rein themselves in when admitted to office. Liberals will be admonished as smug, disconnected from suffering, as if so many Democratic voters were unacquainted with poverty, struggle, and misfortune. There is no reason to believe this palaver. There is no reason to believe that Trump and his band of associates—Chris Christie, Rudolph Giuliani, Mike Pence, and, yes, Paul Ryan—are in any mood to govern as Republicans within the traditional boundaries of decency. Trump was not elected on a platform of decency, fairness, moderation, compromise, and the rule of law; he was elected, in the main, on a platform of resentment. Fascism is not our future—it cannot be; we cannot allow it to be so—but this is surely the way fascism can begin.“

—

Andrew Sullivan, The Republic Repeals Itself:

„This is now Trump’s America. He controls everything from here on forward. He has won this campaign in such a decisive fashion that he owes no one anything. He has destroyed the GOP and remade it in his image. He has humiliated the elites and the elite media. He has embarrassed every pollster and naysayer. He has avenged Obama. And in the coming weeks, Trump will not likely be content to bask in vindication. He will seek unforgiving revenge on those who dared to oppose him. The party apparatus will be remade in his image. The House and Senate will fail to resist anything he proposes — and those who speak up will be primaried into oblivion. The Supreme Court may well be shifted to the far right for more than a generation to come — with this massive victory, he can pick a new Supreme Court justice who will make Antonin Scalia seem like a milquetoast. He will have a docile, fawning Congress for at least four years. We will not have an administration so much as a court.“