Opinion: Trump’s presidency is a manifestation of America’s diversity

To the editor: Instead of spending time bemoaning the election results, instead of criticizing Hillary Clinton for misreading the electorate, instead of praising (with strong reservations) President-elect Donald Trump’s reading of the electorate, consider that voters were simply expressing their opinion on the state of the nation. (“Surprise, surprise, the disconnected plutocrat lost,” Opinion, Nov. 10)

Yes, the uneducated, unwashed, narrow-minded, single-issue, racist, misogynistic voters supported a revolutionary. But nearly half the electorate voted for Trump, and not all of us are stupid. Similarly, not everyone who supported Clinton could have been intelligent one-worlders with keen and analytical social consciences.

The beauty of this country is that we have descendants of slaves, Native Americans and refugees from potato famines, plagues and political prosecution as well as fortune seekers, explorers and adventurers. We pride ourselves on being both united and disparate at the same time. In this election, the people spoke — not with a united voice, but with an electoral majority that proclaimed our continued uniqueness.

The despair of the unelected is balanced by the jubilation of the elected, and the country will continue be a major player globally. Let us rejoice in that diversity that has made us indispensable to the world.

Bill Schoettler, Studio City

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To the editor: Trump probably won for the same reason the polls were so wrong.

We have become so politically correct that lots of people don’t or won’t say what they feel. If I thought I would be derided, scorned or dismissed for saying something, of course I wouldn’t tell a pollster.

As one example, some people will never vote for a woman — any woman — for president. For them, that’s a gut truth. But can that be said publicly these days? Of course not, so the pollsters never heard those voices.

Then a candidate said all sorts of politically incorrect things and got away with it. Suddenly folks whose voices have been squelched for years found someone who heard them.

No wonder the polls were wrong. We may have politically corrected ourselves out of common sense.

Katherine Crockett, Manhattan Beach

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To the editor: Speaking as someone who boarded the Trump Train the day he announced his presidential candidacy, I have been reading The Times for the past 18 months with great amusement. The post-election letters to the editor are even more amusing.

Some of your readers are stunned by Trump’s victory because they believed what was printed in The Times and other newspapers that constantly bashed Trump. They believed the mainstream media and the pollsters who skewed everything in favor of Clinton. They ignored Clinton’s own scandals and her lack of a positive agenda.

The undisputed fact is that liberals have a hard time accepting that the newspapers got it wrong, the mainstream media got it wrong, the majority of the pollsters got it wrong, the #NeverTrumpers got it wrong, the TV pundits got it wrong (including many on Fox News), and even the entrenched Republicans got it wrong.

For the past 18 months, through the primaries and the general election, the people were speaking, but the media and the establishment were simply not listening.

John R. Fuchs, Pacific Palisades

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To the editor: The election results trigger the five stages of grief. I see it like this:

Denial: As I watched the returns, I kept thinking it must be a mistake. The country could never elect a vulgar, racist, misogynistic demagogue.

Anger: The Republican attack machine made Clinton into a criminal with no evidence to support its charges. I am angry that blue-collar white men and their sidekick women are hanging onto the illusion that white America will prevail in the long run when all the demographics say otherwise. I am angry that some portion of the “Bernie or bust” contingent didn’t support Clinton.

Bargaining: I try to believe that to some extent the office makes the man and maybe Trump will revert to some of the more liberal views he held in the past. Maybe he really wants to bring the country together.

Depression: I try to find things to feel good about but it’s not easy. I love my children and grandchildren and even my dog, but it’s not enough to dispel the black cloud that hangs over me.

Acceptance: I don’t think I will ever get there.

Barbara H. Bergen, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Hollywood Walk of Fame officials have said they will fully restore the Trump star that was vandalized last month.

Why? Is this a privilege bestowed on every honoree when their star is damaged either intentionally or as a matter of natural circumstance?

The plaque’s impairment was an act of protest. Vandalism is a legally punishable act and in this case its perpetrator has been duly charged, but in the all too surreal unusualness of this election, perhaps the desecration could have stood to be a monument to our democracy and a historic symbol of the year 2016 and the divided times we live in.

Jaimie Kourt , West Hollywood

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To the editor: Little is being said about Trump’s businesses, ties to foreign countries that could influence his actions and how he can divorce himself totally from them.

Why aren’t we going full bore on this subject to make sure those entanglements get taken care of satisfactorily? It’s a matter of national security.

Lawrence M. Light, Mission Viejo

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