Letters We Wish We'd Written - No Rewarding, No Kumbaya

From this morning's Washington Post Letters to the Editor:

While I appreciate the editorial kumbaya moment, I will not be one of those people who now reward abuse and disrespect [“Keep America big-hearted,” Nov. 10]. Republican Donald Trump was chosen by an electorate that through its votes supported xenophobia, racism, religious intolerance and even disdain for the disabled. It is not politics as usual for a candidate to demean women.

You cannot separate the candidate from the voter. Any voter who felt comfortable voting for someone who boasted about grabbing women’s crotches is not anyone I care to even acknowledge. Nope.

It’s time to stay strong for my friends who have been victims of Mr. Trump’s hate. I don’t see those who voted for Mr. Trump as American casualties. They have been duped by a man who lacks a sense of boundaries and morals. Perhaps they should be pitied, but they don’t deserve to be embraced. Respecting another’s opinion is one thing; rewarding bad behavior is something else.

Pamela Kincheloe, Manassas


During this presidential campaign, the Republican nominee aligned himself with the leader of Russia while openly calling the president of the United States incompetent and stupid. The Republican nominee, with whom white supremacy groups aligned, maligned women, Hispanics, African Americans and Muslims. The battle cries “We want our country back,” “Make America great again” and “Build the wall” are laced with the flames of bigotry and hatred.

In the aftermath of the election, the political pollsters and reporters ponder how their estimates could have been so inaccurate. As during the campaign, there is the failure to acknowledge the obvious: A racism-based campaign was waged, and racism trumped qualification in the end.

Now I am being asked to “unite.” Did the Republican Party “unite” and allow President Obama to lead when he was elected in 2008? No. It questioned the legitimacy of Mr. Obama as a U.S. citizen. It became the “party of no” and opposed everything the president proposed. Republicans now seek to overturn initiatives supported by Mr. Obama. And I am expected to join hands with them now.

J.C. West, Silver Spring

Stay strong and do what we can to help those who feel threatened; remember who was "elected" and who "elected" him and why; and please don't let the normalizers in the amoral corporate media and punditocracy tell you it's time to "unite." They have lost nothing in the aftermath of November 8. And by the way, where were they 8 years ago (or even a month ago)?