Since everyone else made a journal about this, why the heck wouldn't I do the same? It should first of all be clarified that I'm European, so of course I didn't vote and even if I could have I most likely wouldn't have (except for some third party candidate). That said I'm taking this as personally as most Americans are... both because I have close friends who live in America, and because I consider Europe and America closely tied, whereas the US does usually determine where the world is going. This will a bit long since I wanted to encompass my full story and view on the matter, so let's get started:

I knew long before yesterday that whoever won, I was going to be disappointed and it would be a disaster. It remains beyond me to this day why it had to be Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump facing off! Why couldn't at least one side pick a sane candidate for crying out loud? It's definitely a great thing that the election process is free, and anyone is allowed to run for president... yet it feels like a way to have prevented this disastrous choice should have been there from the start. In my opinion, this is a lesson that something should be learned from in the future.

Now: In between the two, I had initially hoped that Hillary would be the one to win over Trump. Why? Simply because she was presented as the most rational and professional solution; Even if evil radiates off her face, she can at least keep it buried under the carpet... making it easiest to conclude that "if she wins there will at least be no shock and nothing will change toward the worse". This might seem silly, considering she's suspected of having armed ISIS terrorists and expressed willingness in starting a third world war... I guess I took these claims as exaggerations mostly.

I was legitimately depressed for most of yesterday, after hearing that frigging Donald Trump won. The world's buffoon, laughed at for his irrational childish and extremist behaviors, now president of the most powerful nation in the world! My sadness was primarily over two reasons: First is my hardwired belief that "if this guy wins we will see mass deportations and support for racist groups and a disaster for the LGBT community and a massive diplomatic failure and this and that". The second is because Trump has been associated with the worst things one can imagine... such as racial supremacy, homophobia, racism, accusations of sexual harassment, arrogant and offensive behavior... so ultimately I associated a vote for him as a vote for those values, leading to the verdict that "this means most Americans are pro racism / sexism / etc". All in all, the sun set with me telling myself "this is as far as human civilization goes, there is no more hope for progress... a fanatical conservative is soon dragging us back into the medieval era".

However there is more to what went on before and after all that: Over the course of the day, I argued with a few people about what went on... including my mother, who was happy that Trump won over Hillary whereas I was preaching my doomsday scenario. Although my opinion hasn't changed entirely, I ultimately became more willing to accept that maybe I was wrong on a few aspects. What played a role here was seeing Trump's victory speech later in the night: I was legitimately expecting the guy to rip open his shirt and start rolling around, screaming about how America is now his empire and he'll crush the evil Mexican forces and other presumed threats. Instead he seemed different from the person I learned about during the campaign... to the point where one could go as far as suspecting him of being somewhat honest.

How could one have such suspicions you ask? There is one main reason: I'm well aware that the media is owed almost entirely by those who supported Hillary, and it no doubt did its best to paint Trump as a complete monster... of course on top of his own behavior making him look like a lunatic at times. Obviously I maintain my doubts, but I must still ask myself a question: How much of Trump's madness is actually real, and how much was made up by the media in the first place? A lot of people have strongly stated that many of his words were twisted, such as him making racist comments or opposing LGBT rights... of course I can't check each of them individually but it's a point I can't ignore. For now I've accepted that only time will answer those questions, and we will see his true behavior and decisions once he's actually in power.

There's something else that needs to be kept in mind here: The guy is, among other things, an actor. One has to ponder how much of the circus he put on during the campaign was a tactic for attracting voters, and doesn't necessarily represent who he is. It might sound naive to think this, but there's a sad reality behind the theory: Many people out there are stupid, and don't care what a candidate does for the world they live in... instead they want to see a good show being put on, and will vote for whoever makes them laugh more or gives them an adrenaline rush. It's true that many Trump voters were in fact white supremacists, sexists, Hitler supporters, and rumor has it he was even sponsored by the KKK... still who's to say Trump didn't try to appease them for their votes, only to leave them in the dust afterwards? Again I have no idea whether this is the case or not, but it's a scenario one can hope for! Keep in mind he does rely on liberals more than he does on hardened ancient conservatives... progress is the true direction of the world, and nothing Trump does will change that nor is it in most people's interest to go against the flow now.

But all this aside, I'm willing to admit that there are certain good sides to Trump winning. The first of course is that Hillary didn't... even if part of me wished that she did; With rumors about her giving guns to ISIS, the email scandal, her being part of a Satanic cult, and the very fact that she's part of a powerful dynasty that wants complete control over the world... well you can be sure I'm enjoying her and her whole clan's defeat, and await seeing her upcoming investigation. The second reason is that from what I understand, Trump might pose a threat to powerful corporations; I myself have been how watching corporations pay politicians to support their private interests, threatening my and everyone else's rights... not to mention the whole "rich getting richer and poor getting poorer" aspect. As a Republican, one can hope that he will put corporations at their place, and stall their dangerous rise to power that we've seen over the years.

Whatever Trump's plans are however, I would advise people to not panic because all is not lost! Three things are worth remembering for those who are scared of his victory: First, who he will be as a president may differ from who he has been during the campaign. Second, he is still a president, not an absolute monarch or dictator: He can't just go ahead and do whatever he wants, as any law or change has to be approved by the house and senate... not to mention there are syndicates and people's rights movements, who will no doubt strengthen themselves in preparation for war against a crazy Trump. And third, he can be impeached if he does something really bad... especially with so many people acting like a ticking time bomb ready to go off at the smallest misbehavior on his end, meaning he'll not want to risk doing anything stupid unless there is a powerful interest behind that thing.

This pretty much sums up my view on the subject at this day and hour. We'll no doubt have to wait and see what truly happens, and although I don't expect something good I'm willing to accept that it might not be quite as bad as some have made it seem. Thanks if you bothered reading all this, and feel free to post your opinions and say what you think.