Next year when Donald Trump, our president-elect, takes office it will be 30 years since this ad was drawn to publicize interest in the comic Fall of the Mutants, a companion piece to Marvels’ X-Men God Loves, Man Kills and Days of Future Past. The story was a metaphor for the discrimination and spread of xenophobia that had pockets around the United States. So have we learned and grown since then? No, we very obviously have not.
As I heard the election results last night, I thought of the beginning of GLMK, when two young African American children are chased and killed by extremists who then string the dead youth up on a playground with a sign that declares them Muties. The shocking picture is reminiscent of how the KKK would make examples of their victims so others would live in fear. And now today, we have citizens that think it is alright to brand people with derogatory labels, and think that some people are less worthy than others.
We now have an elected leader who is a fear monger. Trump spreads hate and division everywhere, and I am terrified as to what his presidency will entail. Half of America brushed aside his hateful rhetoric, the allegations of sexual assault, his admitted tax evading, his bankruptcies, his swindling of students at his now defunct Trump University, and his mocking of people with disabilities. The KKK have endorsed Trump for they see characteristics they admire, and know they have a protector in him.
Dystopian futures are very popular in stories and movies but I worry we are facing this as a reality in the years ahead. This blog post is short and angry, but I shall end it on a hopeful note and quote Maya Angelou. Let her words of hope lead us as we head into an uncertain future.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Let us rise, America, let us rise.
-Nancy
Graphic Novelty² 
November 9, 2016 at 11:50 pm
I’m ashamed to be American today… what he stands for is not what we as a nation stand for. I was terrified to go to work today. I am terrified for my black neighbors. I am terrified that my rights as a woman, including access to medication I need, will be ripped away from me. I hope we can rise above this too, but today, I don’t… really believe it.
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November 10, 2016 at 12:53 am
Read this article by Garrison Keillor: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-voters-will-not-like-what-happens-next/2016/11/09/e346ffc2-a67f-11e6-8fc0-7be8f848c492_story.html He pegs us in the article- liberal librarians who are tearing their hair out in dismay!
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November 10, 2016 at 4:11 am
To say we made zero progress is very fragile to say. You know how many little KKK members there are today compared to a decade ago? They are nothing today and many members of KKK have endorsed Democratic candidates before. There will always be bad people supporting a candidate. What racist things came out, out of Trump’s mouth? Other than never having a political position I don’t see why everyone is believing the misinformation fabricated by mainstream media. Even then a lot of people would call it a positive because recently all presidents were politics and that has failed the people.
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November 10, 2016 at 10:51 pm
Trump is dismissive towards women, minorities, immigrants and disabled people. While he is not a member of any extremist groups, that he accepts and encourages them, is frightening and wrong. He claims to represent the disenfranchised, but he will only further initiatives that benefit himself and those currently in his favor. Believe me, I hope I am wrong, and that there are enough checks and balances built into the government to prevent him from making disastrous decisions.
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November 10, 2016 at 11:56 pm
So far I have seen him as dissmisive to women as to men. Pretty equals on that front. I would say he was going easy on Clinton when compared to other candidates. He has a tough personality as for immigrants he only doesn’t want illegals when it comes to Southern border. A lot of people have been misled by the media to call him an immigrate hater which again never proven. I haven’t heard him say a single thing negative about blacks or homosexuals. I can’t think of any policy that would benefit only him as we’ve seen people vote for the man. And when did he say he represents the ‘disenfranchised’? I have been following his campaign closely and this is a word I haven’t heard out of his mouth. He recently just said he will also support LGBTQ communities.
Hilary herself has been funded by countries that abuse women and their rights and prohibit slavery. Saudi Arabia gave 25 million to her campaign which is much worse than KKK members who in a society are constantly looked down upon and year and year drop in numbers.
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November 10, 2016 at 4:17 am
Ugh, I know. I’ve been sick too. But I’ve really tried to focus today, not on the (less than) half of the country that voted for him, but rather the (just over) half who voted against him. That’s half of the country that rejected a campaign run on hatred, intolerance, bigotry, and fear. As to those who voted for him, I believe it’s the minority that fully embraced his campaign rhetoric. I believe many voted for him a) because they are Republican and always must vote Republican, b) as a joke, c) because they didn’t think it would matter, or d) to stick it to the “establishment” or to Hillary. But all of those people can be worked with. And after Hillary conceded, his speech wasn’t one of “Lock her up! Build a wall!” Rather it was thanking her for her service and saying we must try and come together. As I try to be hopeful, I think we must build bridges there. We must model listening and compromise to show that representative government can work. We must embrace love to triumph over fear.
And then we must be ready to speak out and stand up when needed. I feel last night taught me a lesson, that we’ve become a bit complacent in our progress. We have a long road ahead, to fight and make our country what it’s supposed to be. So we must speak up and out every time we hear prejudice, misogyny, hate, and intolerance. We will say it’s not okay. We must educate with justice and mercy motivating all we do. We must call our representatives over EVERYTHING and hold them to the fire. And, should that dystopian future start to materialize, we organize and protest. Jesus, Gandhi, Dr. King, Dorothy Day…all examples of the power of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience. Gandhi liberated India from colonial rule without firing a shot. LBJ admitted to the peace protests in the country becoming so intense they swayed him from increasing bombings in Vietnam because he knew the country would tear apart if he did so. Now we must do the same.
My mentor and former history teacher said today we have “have proven to be careless caretakers of the idea of liberty, and justice for all” but “we have survived as a nation before…war, recession, division, and other leaders who proved inept. So, now we pause, regroup, and affirm the good that is out there…prepare to bandage the wounds that are sure to come…and become the loyal opposition…loyal to the Constitution…to the best that America, was, and can become again.” Okay…wow. That became waaaay longer than I was planning!! Sorry :). But that’s what I’ve been wrestling with all day. And your post brought it all out of me again. We can’t give up. We won’t. Now’s the time where we rise and defend what this country should be,
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November 10, 2016 at 10:56 pm
I hope this propels people to break out of their complacent lives. His presidency is certainly a setback, and I hope not a disastrous one, but it should be a wake up call to people who are unhappy with this development. For example, people fighting for Civil Rights endured bigotry, hatred and setbacks; but they endured and made a difference. So can we.
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November 10, 2016 at 11:16 pm
Amen!
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November 10, 2016 at 2:00 pm
Excellent post. Yesterday I could barely read anything other than articles and experience posts. I don’t know if I’m prepared today to read anything fiction, I’m thirsty for historical context in the books I seek comfort in and I’m having to compartmentalize the anger that threatens to overwhelm me so I can function as an adult today. As a latina I feel that not only has our new President insulted my culture and the character of the people who are within that culture but he has openly shown us his misogyny. Never mind that 70% of the men in our family are military, half of this voting public still sees them as immigrants that must be removed regardless of their public service and sacrifice. Yes, it is a sad day because we’ve learned little from our past and we have let hateful racist fear-driven rhetoric take hold.
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November 10, 2016 at 11:16 pm
I hate how so many people feel scared for our nation’s future because of the hateful rhetoric that Trump has been spreading. Based off what he has said on the campaign trail, many segments of our society worry about what he will do as President. Hopefully this will galvanize people to stop accepting the status quo, and fight for ALL people.
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