MY SYMPATHY FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE US

On 8 November, the United States made their choice as to who would be the 45th president of the United States.

Unfortunately their choice was Donald J. Trump. A man who knows a lot about business, but knows absolutely nothing about diplomacy, defence, politics, or anything else he needs to make him a successful President of the United States. It's a completely different animal and he has no idea how to tame it. His brash talking may have got him into the White House, but it will need a lot more than a big mouth to keep him there. 

Many Americans are baffled as to why everyone else voted for this man and so am I. Putting aside that (as here in the UK) the voting system is completely flawed, he has shown himself in a very bad light and has alienated practically everyone he comes in contact with. He has insulted woman, ethnic minorities, the disabled, other leaders, and even us poor journalists have been victims of his wrath. He is a misogynistic, racist bigot. And, as a pacifist with more compassion than is sometimes good for me, he and his behaviour are an anathema to myself and everything I stand for. Just to recap, here are some of the stupid things he has allegedly done:

Misogynism:

Commented on what the future size of his one year-old daughter's breasts would be. How utterly disgusting! 

Called a lawyer disgusting because she wanted a break to breast-pump milk for her kid. I am guessing he is one of those men who thinks breast-feeding on public transport should be a no-no, too.

Said women should be punished for having abortions.

Racism:

Saying we should stop all Muslims going into the United States. Saying the families of terrorists should be executed, said mosques should be shut down.

Says the murder at the pulse night club proved him right about Islamic terrorism.

Said he would build a wall along the US-Mexican border, and make the Mexican government pay for it. He also threatened to leave NAFTA (North American Free Trade Association) if they refused to do so.

Said President Obama may be Muslim - as if it even mattered. As long as he is a US Citizen - which he is - his religious believes are irrelevant to him being POTUS.

Discrimination:

Made spiteful gestures in regard to a disabled reporter

Said veterans who suffer from PTSD aren’t “strong and can’t handle it"

Had supporters wearing T-shirts saying, "Journalist. Rope. Tree - some assembly required".

And on and on the list goes!

This guy is one of the most hateful people there is and by voting for him, America has basically said that all these disgusting traits are acceptable despite it being the 21st century. Also, the guy has a very short fuse. Any world leader could say just one annoying thing and he could give the order to press the nuclear button. Is this really the man America needs as their Commander-In-Chief?

He is dangerous. He is unpredictable. He is frightening. He has a huge arsenal at his disposal and I believe he is manic enough to use it for the wrong reasons just because a world leader (or possibly one of their keys) said something that irritated him.     

I do not trust this man and I do not trust his supporters. Since he was elected there has been a rise in racist abuse against many minorities. A lot of people are comparing this to the Brexit when the same thing happened. People feel they now have carte blanche to harass others with whom they disagree because there leader feels the same way. Wrong, they do not and should not be doing this.

A lot of white supremacist groups are cheering the election of Trump, which only cements the view that he should not be holding the most powerful office in America and one of the most powerful positions in the world. He is no more fit to be President of the United States than the Kim's are to be in charge of North Korea.

The majority of Americans voted for Hilary. Unfortunately, the college votes screwed it up and made a mockery of the way people feel in the US and around the world.

Ethnic minorities in America (especially the Mexicans) are now absolutely terrified. And no-one should have to live in fear like that.

By spreading and condoning hate and bigotry he is not making America great again. Far from it. He is making the United States a joke.

I will never accept him as the President. In all good conscience I cannot. And I will not. My husband said to me, "Respect the position if not the man". I do respect the position, but not while Donald J. Trump is in it.

To everyone in the United States, you have my sincerest condolences for the next four years. I wish you the best of luck. You'll need it.

THE (NOT SO) OLD MAN AND THE SEAGULL

There is an old adage in television. NEVER work with children or animals. However,  an incident this week proved that sometimes you can work with them. It also proved something I've always believed: Compassion in journalism is not a crime.

It all started on Friday night, when a herring gull appeared on the steps of 200 Grays Inn Road. Like the gull, I've sat there many times. A lot of people would have probably just walked right past, letting the bird do it's own thing, Or more selfish people may have said that seagulls, pigeons etc are vermin and not even cared.

But one person did care.  Alastair Stewart. As most Twitter users will know, he is no stranger to animals, he grew up with horses and encouraged his family to love them too. He has horses, donkeys, a dog, cats, chickens. he near enough owns a zoo! So even though what happened is not surprising, it still deserves praise.

This particular night, he left ITN, assuming he was just going to have a quick cigarette break and then get back to work. Something he has probably done a thousand times, without a second thought other than possibly "I really should give up smoking".

However, this time was completely different. There on the steps was the gull, sat completely still, very quiet and not exactly looking happy.  Some of Alastair's colleagues were also worried.

They took the trouble to be concerned for the bird, call the RSPCA, and finally get the bird to a place where it could be properly looked after.

As an animal lover myself, I have nothing but praise for Alastair and his colleagues. Alastair's attitude towards another living creature was exemplary and it says a lot about the kind of person he is. Any animal that in future ends up living with the Stewarts' couldn't have better owners. I don't know what happened to the gull, but I do know that - thanks to Alastair - it is a little happier at least.

And that's the amazing thing. In journalism you can be confronted by the most dangerous situations or the most beautiful things, and you never know what is around the corner. Journalism isn't always about bad news, sometimes events can have a good ending as this one did.

Martyn Lewis - a veritable advocate of good news - would be very pleased!