 |
| Angelika/Mike Schilli |
|
Angelika After Trump's victory, many people in San Francisco and California, where over 60% of voters cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton are in a kind of shock. On Wednesday morning after the election on November 10th, the election result was the topic of conversation everywhere. During parent-teacher conferences at my social groups, I had to let each person get rid of a comment about the election before we could talk about the children and their progress. Of course you've seen the German news and read the newspapers about the demonstrations all over the US, so I won't go into that and instead focus on some lesser-known events.
For example, when the USA map kept turning red on Tuesday evening and Trump's victory became more evident, the website of the Canadian immigration authority crashed, as many US citizens simultaneously inquired about immigration possibilities to Canada. As they say, 'Onward to the northern neighbor and away from Trumpistan.'
A few blocks from our apartment a neighbor had suddenly hoisted a swastika flag on the roof of his house. The owner, 48-year-old Frederick Roeber, is a retired software engineer who worked at companies like Netscape and Google in the 90s, earning himself a furtune to retire early. He wanted to protest "ironically" against Trump with the action, but it all went downhill because no one understood his intentions, and the motivation to express this through a swastika flag. The flag then disappeared quickly, after he was approached by a neighbor, whose relatives had survived the Holocaust. The question that bothers me now is: why did the man have a swastika flag in his house?
On Wednesday after the election, Apple CEO Tim Cook and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner addressed their employees and appealed to them to respect each other regardless of their skin color, origin, religion, sexual orientation, and also regardless of who they voted for. It's interesting that company leaders are taking such measures to comment on an election and ask their employees to stay calm.
In California, there were immediate efforts to prepare for Calexit, similar to the "Brexit", which was a plan to declare California's independence from the rest of the United States. Of course, this is not realistic and legally not viable, as it would require amending the California Constitution, as well as a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate to approve a secession. The California Constitution states that the state of California cannot be divided. This applies to all other states as well. There was also the Yes California Independence Campaign before Trump's election, but it has gained renewed momentum since then. Separatist movements at the state level are nothing new. Texas attempted one when Barack Obama was elected president and was fortunately unsuccessful.
Regardless of whether one is for or against independence, the Americans we know and interact with in San Francisco cannot even explain why Trump won. In San Francisco, Trump only received around 10% of the votes. In American media, it is often stated that the liberal strongholds on the East and West Coasts live in a bubble and do not understand how things are going for people in the middle. One could certainly also argue, however, that people in the Republican strongholds are living in their own bubble. As our former mayor and current Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom rightly pointed out, California represents the America of the future: innovative with a diverse and multicultural population.
In California, the clocks usually tick a little differently, as shown by the results of the also-proposed referendums. In many states, including California, voters on November 9th not only voted for president but also elected senators and judges and could vote for or against a plethora of so-called "propositions." These are either citizen initiatives that make it onto the ballot through signature drives in California or the California legislature needs the approval of its citizens for certain decisions by holding an official vote. There are initiatives that apply statewide or locally, on a city or county level. Initiating a referendum is a popular pastime in California.
In San Francisco, voters had to go to the polls on November 9th not only for the presidential election but also to decide on over 17 statewide and 25 local ballot measures. Important issues were at stake as turnout is typically higher during presidential elections. California voters legalized marijuana, not just for medical reasons but also for recreational use. Michael will write more about the details in his part of the newsletter. Additionally, plastic bag ban was reaffirmed by California voters. Furthermore, voters spoke in favor of stricter gun laws: the possession of large-capacity magazines will be banned, and anyone wishing to purchase ammunition must undergo a background check beforehand. However, the death penalty was not abolished, but rather, voters chose to speed up its implementation, which is likely to be challenging in practice as there are multiple levels of appeal.
|
|
|
|
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
All Editions:
2023 148 149 150 151 152
2022 143 144 145 146 147
2021 138 139 140 141 142
2020 133 134 135 136 137
2019 129 130 131 132
2018 125 126 127 128
2017 120 121 122 123 124
2016 115 116 117 118 119
2015 111 112 113 114
2014 106 107 108 109 110
2013 101 102 103 104 105
2012 96 97 98 99 100
2011 91 92 93 94 95
2010 85 86 87 88 89 90
2009 79 80 81 82 83 84
2008 73 74 75 76 77 78
2007 66 67 68 69 70 71 72
2006 59 60 61 62 63 64 65
2005 54 55 56 57 58
2004 49 50 51 52 53
2003 43 44 45 46 47 48
2002 36 37 38 39 40 41 42
2001 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
2000 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
1999 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
1998 7 8 9 10 11 12
1997 1 2 3 4 5 6
1996 0