Yes, my wife is a person of color. She also is a very proud American. She believes in this being a great country full of people with open hearts and minds. So, the racism and bigotry of Trump and MAGA are truly horrifying for her. Also it frightens her students, many of whom in the math and science school where she teaches are people or color. These are incredibly bright kids that are advanced in math and science, that do represent the future problem solvers of our country and the world. In 2016, students came to her full of fear because they were stunned by a guy like Trump getting elected and what that might mean for them. 

So, I can not put the news on the TV here, she does not want to see it. I can cancel newspaper delivery to our house, but I can't hide it all from her. Our nephews, also people of color, Muslims (their mom is a Muslim), cried openly when Trump was elected in 2016. They asked why this country would elect a man that hated them, that wanted to ban them and they asked full of fear if they were on the list to be deported. 

There is a young woman that basically considers herself my daughter. Julia did the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program many years ago, and that is how we met. She is Hispanic and a lesbian. We have been having her and her girlfriend over a lot this summer to hang out, swim, and have dinner. Wonderful, intelligent young women. I warned them not to talk to Julia about the election, but they discuss it with me and again, I think they find it very hard to believe that a person like Trump could even be in a position to be running for president. How did we as a country not reject that? How can a thinking person, with a heart and a conscience stand behind a person that horrible and vote for him, support him. I have no answers for that but I tell them the same thing I've said to others...the people that support Trump and his vile way of thinking are a small group in the grand scheme of things.

I don't want to paint everybody that will vote for Trump with this brush, some when I explain things to them say "I don't stand for that!" but I tell them Trump does, because he is using racism, bigotry, and hatred as a path to victory. His team is loaded with these people. So, a Trump supporter, even if they don't feel they are a part of that...has joined with those people because Trump himself embraces them. That does give some of the Trump supporters I've spoken to pause. I do want to give them the benefit of the doubt, they have not thought things through and have been sold an encyclopedia of lies and bullshit. It's not easy for everyone to see through it, but when it does sink it...they tend to be really upset with Trump.

Yeah, my emotions about this stuff can run high because it deeply impacts people I love and care about. It's why I give so much thought to what the right thing to do is. I just want to be able to have confidence in a path that leads us out of this. 

Essentially what this election should be about, is the rejection of Trump and the MAGA movement. Sure we may have to stand up to racism and bigotry and hatred again and again but what determines what kind of country we are, is that we show we reject it, that we over and over tell the people that believe it, that is not what we stand for and no, you can't do that here. 

It will be Harris that replaces Biden. I don't think that should drive any people of color away from voting for her or voting Democrat. 

I don't think it should have taken this long to get to the switch, I am with you on that. It was Biden's original plan. He'd do one term and hand off. So, yeah, they should have stayed with that. However, things, as they often do, got complicated. The Biden presidency was wildly successful, he did all the things (except rapidly turn around inflation) that generally mean you are going to get reelected. So, I think the choice was made to stick with him due to the success. I understand that choice, but the first plan was the best plan.