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It 's Complicated : An Appalachian, Southern Liberal 's View On Why Trump Won Essay

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It’s Complicated: An Appalachian, Southern Liberal’s View on Why Trump Won I am an early riser. It isn’t surprising, then, that on Election Night, despite Wolf Blitzer’s attention-disordered, apoplectic news coverage of Trump’s impending election, I was calm, even haughty as I tromped off to bed before 10 p.m. “What’s going on with you?” My husband asked. We are political allies, a hive mind really, and he couldn’t fathom my apparent calm. He was simultaneously watching TV, checking his computer, texting friends and mentally calculating electoral college permutations. He may have had an abacus nearby. “There isn’t anything I can do about it. I have practice in the morning. I’m gong to bed.” And I did. What I didn’t articulate was my admittedly smug belief that when the results from the urban centers came in, the election would swing back Clinton’s way and we would all be fine. No reason to sleep through Wednesday morning Masters practice. No reason to get my blood up. This was all just algebra. Sometime around 3 a.m. I rolled over and looked at my iPhone, alight with notifications. “Trump Elected 45th President of the United States.” “The Trumpquake.” “Dear America, No You Can’t.” I did not go back to sleep. I did not go to practice either. Instead, I began a rapid slide into some sickening psychological slurry of fear, anxiety and dread. A migraine gathered behind my right eye where it picked up speed until the waves of nausea began. At first I

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