The election results early Wednesday morning produced a massive variety of responses. Some were overjoyed for their candidate winning; others burst into uncontrollable tears due to fear and anxiety of the future. And then there were all the reactions in between. Regardless of your feelings toward our 45th president, there are 5 thoughts that passed through the mind of nearly every Hillary supporter.
1. What does this mean in terms of the progress we made under the Obama administration in terms of equal rights for the LGBTQA+ community?
It is no secret that both Trump and his vice president Pence are anti-gay in every sense of the word. In fact, Pence has openly discussed his positive opinions towards conversion therapy, which has caused severe, sometimes irreversible emotional damage to the kids subjected to it. Does this mean that all of the work that President Obama did toward getting equal rights for our brothers and sisters who identify as LGBTQA+?
2. Will this recent surge of violence continue as Trump is sworn in, and for the next four years?
In the 24 hours after Donald Trump was announced as our next president, violence all over the country has erupted like wildfire. This is in addition to all of the violence that we witnessed during his campaign against anyone who is not caucasian, Christian, cisgender, and heterosexual. Some of these recent acts of violence are too graphic to even mention, and I shudder to think that this sudden onslaught may continue, or even worse, gain momentum.
3. What does this mean for women's reproductive rights?
Trump has openly talked about how he wishes to repeal the Affordable Care Act which has made nearly every type of birth control accessible and free (or very cheap) for all women. Repealing this act would result in a lot of women no longer having access to these beneficial services, resulting in an increase in unwanted pregnancies. Then, in addition to repealing the ACA, Trump and Pence have made it clear on their stances on abortion laws. Without any of these options available, does this mean that we, as women, will no longer have control over our own bodies?
4. This man cannot be a role model to our children.
You've seen it in interviews and even the debates prior to Donald Trump's presidential election. When it comes to anyone that he finds "less than" himself, Trump has a complete disregard and disrespect for them. We all remember hearing Trump talk about "grabbing her in the p***y" and seen the rally when he mocked the disabled interviewer. We elected this man to lead our country and be the epitome of an American role model?
5. We can't let this negatively affect how we treat one another.
In times of trouble, Americans have been able to band together and overcome any challenge together; our nation has never met a challenge that we haven't conquered by coming together as an entire nation instead of groups of individuals. Now is the time for us to stand together and fight. We fight for love, for tolerance, for acceptance, for equality for all. If we stand together and fight as brothers and sisters, we can overcome this political challenge.
We just have to remember that in spite of having a president that may preach hate and intolerance, we have to keep our heads up and our hearts open.
