Crybaby or Patriot?

One thing I think we can all agree on, is that this was not a normal election. Some people were elated with the result, some were decimated. Almost nobody took it casually.

But it hit some people harder than others. Some were stunned, some cried, some just couldn’t seem to make it into work or class the next day. And since the election, I’ve seen approximately 1 bazillion articles and posts saying things such as:

• Stop your whining.
• Pull up your big girl panties and get to work.
• Spoiled brats who didn’t get their own way act like 2 year-olds.
• When (something bad) happened to me, I functioned just fine. Weakling!
• We won, you lost - deal with it.
• …

And to a point, I understand the sentiment, if not the tone, of those responses.  Yes, we should all be strong enough to go on. I mean, it's just an election. Nobody died! But let’s look at it another way.

On Wednesday after the election, one Hillary supporter I know started driving into work. But she couldn’t stop crying. Not knowing how to function in her job, she turned around, went to a friend’s house and they pretty much consoled each other all day.

Crybaby, right?

Let me share with you just some of what this person said on Thursday, one day later.

This election has hit me pretty hard, and it's taken me some time to process it. I've found it helpful to think of things I can do, rather than what's out of my control, and I thought maybe sharing my thoughts might help some of you too. 

1. I can pray for our leaders, our country, and everyone who calls this country home. 
2. I can recognize my privilege as a white, straight, middle class, educated, Christian and be an ally to all the people who don't benefit from the privileges I take for granted. 
3. I can spread positivity, kindness, and acceptance to everyone who crosses my path. 
4. I can donate my time and money to organizations that support the causes I'm worried about such as the ACLU, the Sierra Club, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Trevor Project, and Planned Parenthood. 
5. I can stay engaged and informed and reject feelings of defeat or apathy. 

Nowhere did she talk about how SHE was being hurt by this election. In fact, when you read it, she was worried about others in this country and how she could help them. The popular narrative right now is that these crybabies just were upset because they didn’t get what they wanted. That’s not the case here.

And she’s not alone. I talked to one man who was distraught, and his thoughts were similar, and he even added “I might be OK, but what about all the people who could really suffer in the next four years? What about them?”

I could give more examples, but you get the idea.

You can say these people are over-reacting. I don't agree, but we can have different opinions. Still, they weren’t so much worried about themselves, as they were worried about others in this country. Isn’t that what we want people to do? And how is that not patriotism? Patriotism comes in many forms. Flag waving is one. But caring about and helping people in our country is another. And probably a more productive one.

Sure, Facebook and much of the media are fixated on a few of the actual crybabies who were only upset because of what THEY wanted. But Facebook stories do not represent reality, and every single person who I talked to who was upset by this election expressed themselves as remorseful for others in the USA.

They’re not crybabies, they’re patriots. And they should be treated as such.