The Exit Polls Tell Us Exactly What Kind Of America We Are Living In—Let's Discuss

Like many of you, this election has got me shook. Do I jump for joy because Kamala Harris, a Black and South Asian woman, may become the first female Vice President? Do I sulk because President Donald Trump no longer believes in the electoral votes, and wants to sue everyone and their mama? We’ve heard it through the course of the campaign trail, the “Black vote” and the “Latinx vote” and what we are seeing — at least from the early exit polls — is that we are living in two different Americas. Our kids are growing up witnessing a divided country, one that has replaced Black and White with Red and Blue to signify an “us” and “them.”

What we have, thanks to this week’s exit polls, is a clearer picture of the America we are living in. In early exit polls and interviews with more than 110,000 voters, the vote for Donald Trump was 55% white. What’s more, 52% of white women voted for Trump.

Dare I ask the question why? Does it come down to self-worth? Does it come down to wealth? Religion? What is it that would drive someone to vote for Donald Trump? Even my five-year-old daughter knows he is unkind.

In this eye-opening video, part of Grayson Perry’s series “Make America Grayson Again,” one female biker and Trump supporter said “He’s here to save us…I think God brought him to us.” She goes on to say, “I’ve never been so proud of my country until he became president and I am serious. He’s done so much for us. He’s our voice,” she says. Her statement “he’s our voice,” is what makes me uncomfortable, saddens me, worries me. What does that say about her, about this country? To me, it says she needs to open her eyes (as do the 44% of overall female voters who voted for Trump) and do some damn soul searching.

This is the other America we are living in, the America whose citizens have been living as undercover racists, those who proclaim to have Black friends and yet vote for Trump, which is a vote against Black people. Look no further than his most recent actions for proof: Trump filed lawsuits against three states to stop their votes from being counted — Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Georgia. Two of those three states, Michigan and Georgia, have some of the largest Black populations in the nation, and the final votes are coming from places like Detroit and Atlanta, which are heavily Black cities. This move by Trump to discount these votes is both blatant racism and voter suppression.

President Donald Trump has proclaimed to do more for Black people than any other president in history. That was a lie! President Barack Obama, even if a percentage of Black people didn’t vote for him, did more for Black people by having the courage to run for president, in how he addressed the nation, and how he treated women — all women — men, children, and babies. Some Black people might not know it or agree, but it was President Barack Obama who did more for us even when he didn’t even speak and stood at the podium in the White House. In 2008, of the 131 million voters, 12.1% were black voters according to the Pew Research Center. Of those, 95% of the Black vote went to President Barack Obama. And that says more about what Barack Obama did for Black people.

In short, let’s send Candace Owens to Kentucky or Alabama as a single Black woman and have her live there for a year. In those 12 months, she will get an idea of what the Black experience is like in a place like Alabama without her white husband by her side.

White people have a deep-seated fear of becoming the minority in an America they stole. In the words of Randy Rainbow, “Everything in life is riding on this damn election…Pick one (a president) your kids can look up to…”

Ask the same questions as Randy, of the president you vote for. Does he lock children in cages? Does he give a flying fuck whether you live or die? The power is in our hands.