Why I’m voting for Trump

I?m?as?old as you. I?m as educated as you. I?m as upset as you.?Put yourself in my shoes.

I run a small business. I?ve been?breaking?even since 2008.?I?ve paid my share?and?other?people?got?bailed?out.?I?ve built my business but you want me to?pay?more for insurance??No one?in DC knows how to run a machine?shop?or a gardening service or an insurance office.?They?don?t know what I do all day and why I do it.?I used?to want to retire?early.?Now I just want to retire on time.?I?ve done right by my employees and they go work for competitors.?Nobody?will?help me so why should I help?anybody?else?

I?need?work but?I don?t want a job that?insults?my intelligence.?I didn?t get much of an?education?but I?know?waking up at 7am to go put up drywall is for chumps.?Where?s my GI Bill? Where?s my?scholarship??Besides, who has time for college??Give me a job?that I can?be proud of, not one that plenty of people can do and do a lot worse?than?me.

I?grew up in a?town where things were pretty good for a?long time.?Now I can?t talk to anyone?on the street.?There?are people here from different countries and?they don?t bother?to learn English.?I?m alone out here and nobody cares.

I?m?busy putting out fires and stopping gunmen and serving my country. I?m?proud of my job.?I?m?tired?of?being ignored or, worse, called out.?I?do good work. I protect you.?I want someone who?appreciates?that.

My kids left home a few years ago and since the house went quiet?I?ve decided to listen to?guys?who?speak to me the way the guys at work used to.I also like to piss the kids off a?little?when they come home.

I don?t know you. You don?t know me.?You come into my bar looking for fancy wine or some kind of craft brew when?we all know this?place serves three things???cheap beer, sandwiches, and conversation.?Why are you bringing your shit here??What?s the point??Let me have what I love the way I let you have what?you?love.

What did the government ever do for me??I paid my?alimony?even when I scraped the bottom when I was laid off three times in a row.?I work contract jobs now at the big banks and?I could be out of work again?if the rich CEO sneezes wrong.?Where?s my ?new economy?? What am I going to do?next?

My friends and I are voting in a block.?We know the score.?We have all the information we need to make a decision?about that Crooked Hillary.?You have your?opinions?we have ours.?Facebook is a big place and our worlds don?t overlap.?I like it that way because you really piss me off.

I?like?to think freely. I like to speak freely.?I don?t bother you when you make fun of the church or big cars or guns.?All the TV shows out there are about you, not me.?I?get like three shows?with?folks I recognize and sports.?Those Duck?Dynasty guys reminded me of my crazy uncles.?Diners, Drive-Ins, and?Drives?was my kind of travel?show.?All of?America?isn?t New York or Hollywood.?I?want?someone who understands?that.

I?don?t trust the world.?I have a house and a family and?I want security.?I?ll get it any way I know how.?The world is dangerous.

My world isn?t your world.?It can be but not right now.?You say I?m fucking up the environment with the coal I dig. You say I?m fucking up society with my religious beliefs. You say I?m killing people with the guns I?ve been taking special care of,?the guns that maybe my grandpa carried in France?seventy years ago.?I?m?not killing people.?I know who is and it isn?t me or my friends.

Listen:?We can?t figure this out like this?but until we figure out a better way to?communicate?I?m voting my gut.?My gut?tells me this is the best thing for us all.?You can?t?convince?me otherwise this time?but?maybe next time you can respect my place and I?ll respect yours and we can start talking.?Maybe that?s?where we?re headed.?Until then,?what can this guy do that?s any worse than what the rest of those?DC?clowns have done?

I?m from Columbus, Ohio. I live in Brooklyn now.?I?m voting Hillary.?I?m angry all?the?time?about this election.?I?wrote?this so?you can understand?what you?re up against,?what the people who are voting Trump are thinking.?They?re not monsters.?They want what we want: safety, security, health, and wealth.?It?s not even us vs. them.?It?s just us.

At this point in the game I think Hillary won.?But?this?is just the beginning of what my friend?Rich Svinkin calls??insurgent democracy.??We need?to?work together to get these grievances aired and solved,?on both sides,?or things will really get worse.?Read?Hillbilly Elegy?and?What?s the Matter with Kansas?and let?s start talking.