The End of Trump - But Not The End

The President of the United States of America is no longer an openly racist man, and that’s important, even here in sleepy Stroud.

 On Saturday night the world seemed to heave a huge sigh of relief as the election results were confirmed and Biden was declared the president of the United States. The fireworks that went off in Stroud that night seemed incredibly fitting. The bells tolled across Europe, and there was dancing in the streets. 

 During Trump’s reign, racism, sexism and far right ideals had been given more legitimacy and publicity than I had ever seen in my lifetime. The tendrils of Trump’s hate speech wound themselves all around the globe. People who had previously been quietly harboring their racism were emboldened. The “White Lives Matter’ crew were spraying their graffiti around our quaint countryside and towns. It was endlessly sad, and hope was hard to hold on to. 

 Then, on Saturday evening, my phone began to ping and hum with the news. Had I heard? Did I know? Trump was out. The man, who for the last four years sucked all the oxygen out of the room in his insatiable desire for attention, had finally been silenced. News networks that had slavishly shared his every rambling word, turned their backs on him, cutting away from his live speech filled with outrageous and unsubstantiated claims of fraud. 

Even Fox news had had enough. That was quite something to see. 

Biden seems to be making all the right noises, speaking of healing, of inclusion. Harris is, if nothing else, an incredible role model and exactly the representation that women and people from culturally diverse communities have been waiting for. 

 I’ve heard it said that, “When the US gets a cold, the UK gets the sniffles” and there is no doubt that our two countries are inextricably linked. This shift in public consciousness will be felt in our highest offices, and our streets. Neither The president, nor the vice president are happy with our prime minister for the regular racist comments he has made, and that will cost us dearly. 

Johnson’s racism is already being discussed, and denounced. This matters.

This is not the end, but rather a new beginning. The rise of the far right hasn’t gone away, but it has lost its biggest and noisiest advocate. 

We will need to be ready to work harder to fight the injustices of racism, as the devastating effects of Covid lockdowns and deaths will result in socio-economic shifts that will create an environment historically recognised as increasing racist feeling, and racial abuse. 

At least we’re no longer doing it with a narcissistic racist in chief, spilling his hatred through the world. At least we are doing it now, with more of a firm grasp on the hope that was so tenuously held previously.

The fire may not be out yet, but the toddler has had his matches taken away.   

Polly Healey