I woke up to read how many of you are still in disbelief that Trump is the President Elect. I knew months ago and reminded a few of you days ago that he would win.

I believe most of you in the states have become unaware of the people that surround you, of the sentiment that has been building because eight years ago, the U.S. chose the first Black President.

At that particular moment, It makes me wonder if people who live in the U.S. understand the place they live in.

As a consultant living on the Island, I tend to go back and forth very often. I have most of my clients in the U.S.

For the past two years, I have had experiences that pointed me towards why Trump had a good chance of winning. The past few weeks, people here on the Island would ask me who I thought would win and I clearly knew Trump would win.

How did I know Trump would win?

Here are 7 reasons that made me believe that Trump would win.

1. An Outsider Reading the behavior of those in the U.S.

Well, let me explain a bit of how my brain operates. I lived the first 12 years of my life in the Inner City in Bridgeport, CT. Bridgeport had one of highest Crime rates in the US. I remember early on being taught by my parents that being alert was critical for me being able to survive.

Those first years of my life I saw a lot of violence around me. I developed a sense of always being aware of what surrounds me. I read into people a bit more than most people do. Even if someone is walking around me I want to get an idea of what they are up too.

Experiencing More Racism than Usual

On my last few visits to the U.S., I have had some weird experiences . Experiences of how I am treated because of what many call here my, “Mancha de Platano.” In other words, it’s the fact that someone can tell that I am Puerto Rican or at least Hispanic. I won’t go into too many details. One experience was a State Trooper scaring the shit out of me because he seemed to be looking for a person of color. Minutes later, I saw that same cop had someone who seemed Hispanic on the floor with his partner. At that moment I was Driving in a predominantly white area of Connecticut. An area that I have seen Confederate flags hung up in their yards.

The other experience was someone chasing me around at a Store thinking I would shoplift. I am still not sure if I should be insulted at the racism or the fact that most stuff in the store was of no interest to me. I was in the store accompanying my sister in law.

2. Subliminal Propaganda at the most magical place on earth.

As I spent some time at Disney World a few months ago, I saw many conservatives wearing political and religious propaganda. Yes, propaganda in the Most Magical Place on Earth to defend their candidate and their rights. I saw t-shirts  mentioning how their candidate was going to defend the Bible and their guns. Funny, I could never imagine Trump using either in a scenario that benefits his Nation. He never served in the Military and I am no Theology expert but the only thing he seems to believe in is cold hard cash.

3. One of My Mentors and a Trusted Friend Said he would win.

In 2010, just before I became a Dad, I went to support my friend Chris Brogan’s event in Boston. One of the highlights of that trip was meeting Robbie Vorhaus. Over the years, I have counted on Robbie on many times for advice. He has a very unique and optimistic way of seeing the future.

Months ago, Robbie Vorhaus was on TV as the Communications Strategist and Advisor he is. He mentioned that Trump would win the Presidency. Robbie had no other reason to push the Trump presidency than being objective based on what he was seeing.

Here is a video of my friend Robbie on Fox making that call. Robbie is a true visionary when understanding human behavior and how they will react. He has worked with many famous people and he is one of the kindest humans being I know.

Robbie makes it clear that there was no Clarity into what Hillary stood for.

 

 

4. Bernie’s Numbers looked better Against Trump than Hillary’s

The only candidate that would have beaten Trump would have been Bernie Sanders. But many decided they wanted to go with a well known Brand (The Clintons).

As a Puerto Rican, I believed Bernie’s interests with the Island were in Line with our needs. Even after losing the primaries, he still pushed for the release from Prison of Oscar Lopez Rivera. Oscar has been held by the US Longer than Mandela. Bernie also was in line with many grassroots movements which was how Obama got elected in 2008.

5. Clinton is a Symbol of Old School Politics

Clinton is a symbol of the politics many are tired of supporting. Her ties with Wall Street do not resonant with many voters. Those voters have no ties to Wall Street; they are being screwed by Wall Street every day.  A good example is the current Financial crisis created on the Island by Bankers.

6. It’s still not clear what Hillary Stands for

Going back to what Robbie mentioned in the video. Even the day after the election, I still can’t see what she stood for.

A few examples are areas where Hillary missed opportunities to show people what she stood for:

• Lack of supporting the Black Lives matter movement.
• Her Support for the Promesa Bill. She supported the removal of Democratic rights from Puerto Ricans. She also celebrated Promesa.
• Being Transparent about her emails.
• Being more in touch with Main Street and not Wall Street.

In Summary, she did not build the necessary strong bonds with voters from either side.

7. Non-Republicans were force-fed, Hillary

Trump had a strong following and blind people loyal to his cause. Clinton was seen by many Democrats as the choice that is better than the other. But I believe many non-Republicans would agree they were not fans of Hillary. But still, the Democratic party tried to sell that she is the worst of both options on the table. Being the worst option is not strong enough to go against someone with a loyal following.

Accepting Reality

The reality is that Trump won. I am not a fan of him. I have no political affiliations which gave me a more objective view of what would happen. I knew he would win months ago thanks to the help of people I admire and that know a lot more about politics than I do.

Those who had the chance to vote have to accept him as the President Elect. In my case, here on the Island, as a U.S. Veteran, I did not get a chance to vote because we are a Colony of the U.S.

I felt both candidates for President did not care enough or at all about the Island so, in this case, I can’t pick a side.

A Wake Up Call for Everyone in a US Territory

But instead of getting all sad about what happened, I have to say that elections happen every 4 years.

This is a wake-up call for those on my Island and in the U.S. Many of you are joking that you want to move. The reality is that in a few days and weeks most people will go on with their lives. Thinking they can do very little to influence the well-being of others. I want to let you know that the only thing keeping many from making change is their belief in themselves.

If we all take a stance 24/7 to making our communities better, we can lessen the damage any politician can create.

Puerto Rico is in Danger

In our case, my Island is being split into pieces and being handed to Wall Street. I call on every Puerto Rican on the Island to support activists. Or at least, create awareness of why we need the Island to be independent of its choices.

The same goes for people stateside. You need to unite and make sure to stop the atrocities happening in your land like the North Dakota Pipeline.  Politicians are put up there to represent us. But that does not give them the free will to do as they wish.

Organize, Organize, and Organize

My friend and Activist in Connecticut Ricardo Murillo published this post this morning.

 

I have seen how Ricardo has moved and taken his time to help communities in need. At the beginning of this year, he made multiple trips from Connecticut to Flint, Michigan to bring drinkable water. He did this as a small business owner wanting to help. He united many communities in Connecticut to help People in Flint. He did this without any government help and sacrificing his own time.

We need to identify and help the Ricardo’s in our communities. Help them fill in the Gaps the Governments have and will create. These gaps created to benefit the interests of the wealthy. Politicians protect the interest of those who control the economy and support their campaigns.

Do you have a Ricardo Murillo in your community? If you don’t, then you should sign up to be the Ricardo!

Puerto Rico lost Months ago

As a Puerto Rican, we lost the day Promesa and a Board was imposed . We live on the Island, where we can’t vote for those who rule over us; the U.S. President and Congress!

Yesterday, the Island elected the son of a corrupt Politician. The are many absurd reasons why he won. We can go through all of them but the main reason was the lack of Unity to create a front to protect our Island.

I have to say that the PNP sold the idea of Statehood instead of the values the candidate had. The PNP was very strategic in selling the status issue to people and created fear.

Many were entertained with the fact that they got to choose their elected officials.

These elected officials had already made agreements with the Control Board imposed by the Promesa Bill. So in essence, they were a bit more like puppets to push their own agenda that aligned with the request of the Junta.

Those agreements were mainly to benefit their banker friends and the wealthy. The Control Board is creating the ideal situation for the Island to be sold off to the highest bidder.  These wealthy foreigners will be taking advantage even more of the Island’s situation.

We have no choice but to resist with civil disobedience.

The Positives  in Puerto Rico’s Election

I am also fairly optimistic that this shake-up in politics in the U.S. and Puerto Rico will bring needed change. It will help many to see the realities they have ignored for too long. That we need to support solid candidates that are there for the people. Not just vote because they belong to a certain family or have celebrity friends.

But more importantly, that supporting a candidate and not taking a stance on injustice creates a bigger problem. If we don’t unite now, this will get Trump and Ricardo Rosello Re-elected.

I will resist any injustice and I will do my best to support those who are being stepped on.

I also believe we can blame those that voted for Trump and voted for Hillary in the Primaries. I did it myself this morning blaming voters of Hillary during the Primaries.

 

I think my energy is better invested in looking for long-term change, so that in 2020, the elections have a candidate that is worthy of being elected.

A Triumph for Independent Candidates

My island gave independent Candidates almost a 20% of the vote for Governor. This is a reflection that many are tired of the old two-party system. We want people to lead us and not politicians to benefit from us.

We have 4 years to prepare and organize to make this right. Don’t get stuck for too long thinking of what could have happened if Hillary or Bernie won.

Think of what you can do know to make it right again!

Support each other and Organize.

PS: President Obama, you can still liberate Oscar and bring some joy to many on the Island.