100-word rant: Trump voters are complicit

A week ago, a classmate of mine — an 18-year-old who had already voted early for Trump — said he was “in no way responsible for anything Trump does” because the Republican candidate wasn’t going to win.

I was gobsmacked: In what kind of democracy do people vote for a sexist, xenophobic pig and then repudiate their association to and responsibility for their candidate?

When you cast your ballot for Trump, you’re vying for and creating the possibility of his election, whether or not you believe in his chances. When you vote for a man who embodies rape culture, screams “foul play” when he loses and vilifies immigrants and refugees, you can’t acquit yourself of your complicity. As New York Times op-ed columnist Charles M. Blow writes, “If you support Trump, you are on some level supporting his bigotry and racism. You don’t get to have a puppy and not pick up the poop.”