Lesser of Two Evils

Look.

There’s a lot of talk about the Trump/Clinton equivalency.

“Trump may be bad, but Clinton is a liar, a crook, and maybe even a murderer.”

If I push back against these claims I get drowned in a torrent of half-truths, misinformation, and links to right-wing blogs with shady stories of unknown provenance.

Some of this is “true” in the sense that Clinton has made some very stupid mistakes (E.g. emails).

Some of this is deeply misleading in that the facts are sad and harrowing but Clinton bears no actual guilt (E.g. Benghazi.)

Some of this is nonsense. (E.g. Defending rapists in court.)

And some of it is unnuanced and hateful (E.g supporting her husband in a deeply personal and difficult situation.)

You say to me, “You have to dig deep, search for it to find the dirty truth, ignore the MSM and their lies.”

I myself have called Clinton “unlikable” or “unpresidential” in the past.

I’ve come to terms with the fact that this is at least 99% misogyny and I’m sorry for it.

And I myself have called her untrustworthy, opportunistic, etc…

I honestly have a very hard time judging my own feelings here. I’m concerned that this too is at least 50% misogyny. I grew up in an era where Clinton was attacked constantly in the media as the butch/ugly/undignified/overbearing/etc. wife of the president and I’m afraid it poisoned the well of my own mind.

So I’m honestly not sure how “bad” she is. My rational sense is that she’s not particularly bad at all.

She’s an opportunistic politician which I would shrug off in a man and it comes across as amplified because she’s a woman and because of her history of unrelenting partisan assault.

But maybe she’s particularly dishonest.

Maybe she’s particularly opportunistic.

Aside: She’s certainly deeply qualified. Let’s not forget that.

But here’s the thing.

You don’t have to dig deep, consult shady sources, lean on cultural bias, and trust dysphemistic partisan summaries of thousand page reports to spot Trump’s evil.

You only have to listen to him speak.

And watch him move.

You don’t need to decipher hidden clues to know he…

…Mocks a physically disabled reporter like the worst of the worst eighth grade bully.

…Denigrates a distinguished American war hero who was tortured repeatedly and spent five years as a prisoner of war.

…Proposes an outright ban on immigrants based on their faith and/or ethnicity.

…Disparages millions of Mexican immigrants based only on their nation of origin.

…Argues for the deliberate murder of innocent family members of our military enemies.

…Verbally attacks numerous American citizens openly and publicly because they disagree with his politics.

…Insists an American Judge is unfit to serve because of his parents’ ethnic heritage.

…Brags about the size of his penis during a televised debate.

…Disparages the physical appearance of his political opponent’s wife.

…Boasts about his ability to sexually assault women at will.

…Promotes a view of America rooted in fear, hatred, and anger.

…Lies openly and brazenly about easily verifiable facts.

…Resorts to base xenophobia to explain away crime, climate change, and every other difficult problem.

You don’t have to like Clinton. But to suggest that she “just as bad” as Trump is frankly ridiculous.

Donald Trump is not fit to share my dinner table, let alone be our president.

And I say this as a person who spoke strongly against Bill Clinton’s impropriety when he was president. And who was not a Bush supporter but spoke out routinely against the over the top anti-Bush rhetoric coming from the left.

Trump is different.

He is awful.

All I’m trying to say is…

If you think Clinton and Trump are equivalent—both evil—you’re wrong.

Clinton is somewhere between typical-politician and more-than-average-opportunist depending on how willing you are to trust highly partisan interpretations of her political enemies.

(Or she’s evil if you believe utter bull.)

Trump is clearly, by his own words, right in front of your face, indisputably horrible.

These are not the same thing.

Vote for Clinton.

Vote for Johnson.

Vote for McMullin.

Vote for Stein.

Or write in someone else.

But for the love of all things we hold dear as a nation and a species…

Please don’t vote for Trump.