Tag: donald trump

Protests are springing up across the globe since the inauguration of the tweet-happy King of Petty and his weeklong reign of #AlternativeFacts. From the millions that showed for the Women’s March to the people flooding the airports to protest the Muslim Ban - can any of us remember the last time the public mobilised in such staggering numbers? Halfway across the world in Singapore, watching the news roll in, you might be feeling a little helpless. Or maybe even a little removed from the situation. After all, it’s not like we can stage our own protest because of post-CNY food comas... and other more law-entrenched reasons. But even in the face of Trump’s executive order horrors, you can’t help but see the slight silver lining in all of this. Lawyers holding signs at the airport offering their services pro bono, Google putting together a crisis fund, Airbnb offering free housing to those affected by Trump’s executive orders… humanity is coming through. There are ways to show solidarity from a distance. If you feel so inclined, you can donate to the <a href=" Anti-Racist Collaboration or the ACLU. If not, that’s okay too. There are causes closer to home that could use our help. Migrant Workers Home They are crucial to the day-to-day running of Singapore, but so often marginalised and forgotten. This country relies on low-skilled foreign workers to take on tasks most wouldn’t deign to do, and the least we can do is lend a hand in making their voices heard. Home (Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics) is a registered charity that helps raise awareness around migrant worker rights and advocates for foreign workers who’ve been unfairly treated by employers. They funnel donations into providing shelter, legal assistance, upskilling workers and holding educational seminars for both migrants and Singaporeans. Visit www.home.org.sg to see how you can get involved. Itsrainingraincoats​ Itsrainingraincoats​ is a local initiative that supports migrant workers by (you guessed it!) providing them with raincoats. Founder and lawyer Dipa Swaminathan was moved after witnessing a group of workers on a construction site in a thunderstorm, chipping away with only garbage bags as shelter. A strong advocator of their well being, she now organises donation drives and gives out items like raincoats and sim cards to migrant workers in Singapore. Small acts of kindness make a big difference - visit https://www.facebook.com/pg/itsrainingraincoats/ to see what you can do! Gender Equality Casa Raudha Casa Raudha is a women’s home - a haven for those who’ve been abandoned, abused or simply have nowhere to go. They provide computer rooms and an art therapy room, as well as a playground for children. Casa Rauda also runs various workshops and entrepreneurship programs for these women, returning a sense of agency to their lives. Financial aid, medical assistance and counselling are among the services provided. Head over to www.casaraudha.org to find out how you can get involved - volunteers are always welcome! We Can! Singapore This organisation takes a stand against discriminatory attitudes and violence toward women. It’s part of a larger, global campaign that is spread across countries like Tanzania, Kenya, India and Afghanistan. Its goal is to promote healthy relationships and gender equality via interactive theatre and workshops with various local collaborators. How can you get involved? Throw your support behind the White Ribbon Campaign - you can volunteer, take the pledge or donate to the cause - <a href=" Aware The last time you may have heard Aware (Association of Women for Action and Research) surfacing might've been in the high profile Teenage Magazine scuffle of last year. This group is a strong advocate of equal opportunities for both men and women - in education, employment and also in terms of sex and reproductive rights. They run corporate and school programs, support groups and counselling for victims of sexual violence, a free legal clinic as well as extensive research projects. There are numerous ways to get involved - Aware offers internships on top of the usual donation and volunteering avenues -  We may not be facing anything as drastic as a ban on an entire religion or an assault on women’s reproductive health. Regardless, there are enough issues at hand where we can put our money where our mouth is. January has seen 2017 with a rocky start, but hopefully with a bit of compassion, it’s only up from here!
Yesterday, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. As he took to the podium to deliver his victory speech, we grimaced, waiting for him to once again blunder and say something stupid. We wanted him to prove to us and to those who voted, once again, at this important moment, that this man before us wasn't the right guy for the job. Alas, he didn't--not that it would've changed anything. When the applause died down, the parody became real. This political freak show came to an end, and with it, the worst of endings. This racist, sexist, homophobic, narcissistic, volatile orange human being, this man who was against everything that is modern America, this man with no political experience whatsoever and who's also been dubbed--not inaccurately--the Hitler incarnate, was now the most powerful person in America. We had gone from Obama to Trump (and Michelle to Melania). ...what the f--k is happening? America was doomed. In that moment, the world suddenly became a very different place--a much, much scarier one.

How Singapore Reacted

Everyone lost their shit on Facebook. Every news and lifestyle outlet showed how clearly devastated they were by the outcome. Celebrities tweeted and Instagrammed their disappointment. Memes spread like wildfire--even the tone had shifted in some of them. Singaporeans too reacted to this horrifying outcome, and anti-Trump posts and thoughts were being born a post a second. One of the first things we started shooting at was American intelligence; a Trump vote was a dumb vote. "Americans are damn stupid", "this world is full of stupid people" we told each other or broadcast to our social media. We thought we had the <a href=" voter pegged. We assumed, and with great confidence, that he was some uneducated bum (probably white) who responded well to, well, crazy. People too dumb to even realize how dumb they were. That's exactly what I thought. Because this was not the decision of thinking, rational-minded people. This was clearly the act of stupid. I thought democracy was broken and that if stupid people were given the power to make important decisions for everybody, we're all doomed; the world is crawling with stupid. In my state of total confusion, I took to the Internet, trying to find an explanation for this lunacy and after reading <a href=" Moore pin it on a disenchanted working class, threatened white men, and on Hillary and how she didn't inspire enough enthusiasm for Americans to inconvenience themselves and vote (or bring a friend to do it with), I came upon <a href=" article. In it, the author writes about an urban versus rural conflict, how the city people treat the rural "freaks", ignoring them and their welfare. Basically, about how the Trump vote was a Molotov thrown at the elite. At first, I wasn't sure how legit this article was because what was described in it was so far removed from the America I imagined. And then it occurred to me: What the hell do I really know about America? Until this year, I've never followed the American elections. As I was watching the live election broadcast, I asked "Who is Johnson?!". I have no idea what the difference is between a Democrat and a Republican and what, there's also a group called 'Libertarian'? The thing I'm most well-versed in about this election is Donald Trump. I'm willing to bet that I'm not the only one, and yet so many of us chimed in.

What the U.S. is and is not

I've never lived in America. I've never worked in America. I've never felt the impact of its policies. I'm informed by TV and movies, and all I know is all I read. As a non-American, everything I know is incomplete. I can't say I know what the U.S. is and is not. I, a Singaporean, am least qualified to comment on who or what the U.S. chooses. The U.S. election isn't an entertainment story, even though at many times and in many ways, it does feel like it. This is real life. This is a decision made by people who have real stakes in the matter. Whatever happens to us is just a side effect of it. From where I'm standing, this election wasn't about Trump or Clinton. It was about America --an America many of us have no idea about. An America that's broken in a way that we from the outside cannot see. An America that's broken in a way that even Americans cannot see. Even now, nearly all the stories in circulation condemn Trump. The people who chose Trump remain invisible, and their issues, silent. All we see is Trump. All we hear are Trump's offenses on repeat. All we know is America is angry. No... Half of America is angry. Another half of America wanted this. And who are we, Singaporeans, to question it?

America chose, so let's respect it

At the third presidential debate, Trump was asked if he would accept the election results once the votes were in. To that, he infamously refused to answer, saying “I will look at it at the time" and "I will keep you in suspense." And yet, as we browse the news today, from protests to #Calexit, it's the reverse that's happening. Trump has accepted it, and its everyone else that hasn't. We Singaporeans have our fears--What will happen to us? What will change? What will remain the same? That's it already, die already. But at the end of the day, it is not about us. This was about America. If America is broken, America needs a government who will fix it. America voted who they saw best fit for the job, and they chose Donald Trump. And we would do well not to undermine that choice, unsavoury as it may be.

Read Next: The 2016 Election Result - A Wake Up Call For Everyone

When Trump received Hillary’s call to concede defeat, it wasn’t just a call to graciously step down from the ring; it was a wake-up call for all of America. Within minutes of the news release, international news agencies immediately poured out opinions on the shocking news; even acclaimed economists like Paul Krugman took to the pen, contemplating the choice made by his fellow people. Let’s admit it; America didn't make the wisest decision in history. Yet, crying over spilt milk isn’t going to help. We have to move on and not wallow in dramatic despair, or mock the Americans for their decision. It’s time for America to wake up, to think deeper about the roots that led to this election result. Upon receiving the news, my first reaction was: OMG – Is this for real? Like many others around the world, this was not the result I expected. Yet, a calm-headed senior colleague of mine reminded me that the more pertinent issue lay with the fundamental beliefs of Americans. Even educated, young white Americans who clearly understood the brevity of their choice still went for a representative speaking out clearly against free trade, immigration and diversity.

Why is this so?

After years of promoting racial equality, why do election results still reflect a choice opposing that ideal? Why is a great nation who was built by immigrant ancestors now opposing immigrants? Unfortunately, as “free” as America may seem to be, ironically, there is very little freedom for America to explore beyond its own boundaries. Many Americans lack the opportunity to get out of their country, to meet people from diverse backgrounds, missing out on the chance to experience a variety of thought and ideas. This is particularly so for those from more rural, far-flung areas, where the majority of such states chose to swing red. On my first visit to the States recently, I still get people responding with “ni hao” when I tell them I'm from Singapore. When I tell them I speak English as a first language, they react almost incredulously. Despite being the beacon of hope for many across history, Americans show very little hope in their own nation. Upon speaking to a young American teenager on my visit to Vegas, he told me he was not going to vote, because it “didn’t matter anyway”, and both candidates weren’t his ideal picks. We laughed when I urged him to do so, because at least he could opt for the “the lesser evil”. It made my heart break a little when my Uber drivers spoke passionately about their dreams of going abroad, but were limited by visa and passport difficulties; it takes months to get a passport processed, and many Americans don’t have one. The lack of opportunity has resulted in constraints, unfortunately limiting Americans’ view of the world. As such, the eventual results are not surprising.

So where do we go from here?

Instead of criticizing the new President, or outwardly showing our disapproval, it’s time to set aside all differences and to move on to make America whole again. As idealistic as it seems, perhaps the new U.S. President is right. It is time for America to rebuild its inner fences--not to keep out people, but to keep out drugs, pornography and vices. It is time for America to rebuild infrastructure, to connect people to each other and to new ideas. It is time for America to become great again; this sharp jolt will shake and stir people to re-think their nation, paving the way forward. For the rest of us, let us not make disparaging and condescending comments about the elections. Let us not put pictures of our passports on social media, welcoming Americans to migrate over. Rather, as America has been gracious with us in the past, it is our turn to be gracious to them. Encourage them to move forward from here, make efforts to work with the new government, and learn from this episode, to ensure stability on our own political grounds. There is so much more to this world when we help each other up from our falls. This is a wake-up call not just for the US, but for everyone. Let’s answer the call together.