Why I Will Be Voting for Hillary Clinton- Even Though I Planned to Vote Third Party- If This Looks Like it is Going to Be a Close Election

The Democratic Party has done everything possible to alienate me since the last time I voted for a Democrat in a Presidential election in 2008. It has demonized teachers, privatized schools, passed national health care legislation that hurt almost as many people as it helped and gave huge powers to insurance companies; signed off on foreign policy initiatives that have led to hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths in countries the US has intervened in; deported huge numbers of immigrants; the list goes on.. However, if I have to, I WILL vote for Hillary Clinton in the upcoming election, as much as I despise her greed and dishonesty and her support for all the policies i mentioned above, to keep Donald Trump out of the White House.

Why? Because I am disillusioned by many of my Republican and Libertarian friends prepared to vote for Donald Trump despite his demonstrated record of personal instability and continued exploitation of racial resentments against immigants and people of color. If I thought that they were prepared to vote Third party, I would too. It is much more in line with my conscience and beliefs

But since most of them are holding their nose and voting for Donald Trump, I am prepared to hold my nose and vote for Hillary Clinton

I refuse to let my students, members of my family, and my Bronx community partners stand alone and face what they regard -justly in my opinion-as continuous attacks from a candidate for the Presidency willing to exploit and foment resentment against them because of their race, religion and national origin. The thought of someone in the White House willing to that day in day out fills them with fear and anger.

I will not stand aside and let that happen without a fight. And since i have failed to persuade enough people who know how much Trump's racism hurts people of color to vote third party, I am prepared to respond by voting for Hillary Clinton.

I cannot sleep if I didn't do everything in my power to keep someone who appeals to a deep resevoir of racist and nativist sentiments to become President- including voting for someone I will have to declare war on the day she enters the White House.

But I have spent my adult life fighting racism and I am not about to stop now.

So unless there is a huge Third Party swing from Donald Trump to the Libertarian Party candidate, I will be voting for Hillary Clinton.