Election ruptures civility here in America's bastion of inclusivity

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Vice president-elect Mike Pence and Republican president-elect Donald Trump shake hands during his election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown in the early morning hours of November 9, 2016 in New York City. Donald Trump defeated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to become the 45th president of the United States. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) less NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: Vice president-elect Mike Pence and Republican president-elect Donald Trump shake hands during his election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown in the early morning hours of ... more Photo: Mark Wilson, Getty Images Photo: Mark Wilson, Getty Images Image 1 of / 43 Caption Close Election ruptures civility here in America's bastion of inclusivity 1 / 43 Back to Gallery

The toxic cocktail of emboldened Trumpism and jilted liberalism appears to have intoxicated the Bay Area.

Reports of behavior one could not have imagined a week ago almost feel commonplace after the election. Think that's overly dramatic? Here's a small sampling of the reports sent to SFGATE:

• A self-identifying American citizen speaking on the phone in Assyrian while traveling on BART Thursday was confronted by another woman on the train. While being recorded, the woman calls her "an ugly, mean, evil little pig who might get deported."

• A politically-charged argument late this week that took place onboard a flight from SFO to Puerto Vallarta became heated enough that the passengers needed to be separated, and the pilot needed to calm the cabin by speaking over the PA.



• On Wednesday, a woman at a gas station in Napa says she witnessed a man walk up to an Asian-American woman and say, over and over again, "We won. Now get the f--- out of my country." As the man continued to yell, the witness ran over and "threw [her] arms around her" as she cried.

• In a parking garage on the San Jose State campus Wednesday afternoon, a 19-year-old woman named Esra Altun reported that a man approached her from behind and yanked her by her hijab, causing it to tighten around her neck and choke her. When she broke free, he was gone. Altun says the skin on her attacker's hand was white, but that she can't say for sure that it was racially-motivated violence.

• A female student attending Woodside High School on the Peninsula who supported Donald Trump in the election was physically attacked on Wednesday. Her father believes the attack was politically motivated, as the student posted on her Instagram account the night before that she hoped Trump would win.

• Milpitas High School principal Phil Morales was put on leave following an on campus student protest. During the demonstration, he stood before the protesting student body and said "F--- Donald Trump" over a megaphone.

• A 14-year-old Latina high school student in Vallejo told Univison (via CBS SF) that her physical education teacher approached her Wednesday and asked, "Did you get your plane tickets? Because you are going to leave." The student's mother is working to have him removed from working at the school.

• A San Francisco woman named Divya Dhar wrote on Facebook that a white man shoved her and then drew a knife on her. She says he called her the n-word "very aggressively for several minutes." She reports that she and a few other people then called the police to report the incident.

Sure, a few reports across the country are turning out to be fake (although those tend to be the remarkably disturbing acts). But the local stories may seem relatively tame compared to the 5th grate assassination plots at a school in Sacramento and threats of lynchings seen elsewhere.

This is the Bay Area. Sure, some companies still struggle to pay women an equal wage and people have been known to spew anger over traffic resulting from a Black Lives Matter protest.

Reactions to the incidents listed above on SFGATE and on SFGATE's Facebook page indicate many Bay Area residents thought the region was long past shouting "get out of our country" to fellow Americans.

Some of the rage is expected. As a candidate, President-elect Donald Trump said that he would accept the results of the election if he won. Opponents waving "not my president" signs are now returning that favor.

A post-election admonition from Bernie Sanders seemed especially directed to cities like San Francisco, where he won 45.8% of the vote in June.

"To the degree that Mr. Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him. To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him," Sanders said.

The members of the California Legislature Thursday echoed the request to show the rest of the country that strength and civility can overcome bullying, releasing a statement saying, "California has long set an example for other states to follow."

The joint statement continues, "California was not a part of this nation when its history began, but we are clearly now the keeper of its future."

On Saturday, President-elect Trump tweeted, "This will prove to be a great time in the lives of ALL Americans. We will unite and we will win, win, win!"

To win and unite, Trump will have to mollify the countless #NotMyPresident respondents to that Tweet, many asking for a swift rebuke of violence in the name of Trump. A response from @BestofRaps to @realDonaldTrump said, "I find it concerning how fast you were to denounce protests, but not the hate crimes spreading like wildfire."

In his victory speech, the president-elect said, "I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be President for all of Americans, and this is so important to me. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country."

How he will reach out beyond the tweets will become apparent in the weeks to come.