Dear Other Half,

We fought you because we knew we were right. We used graphs, statistical data, educated words that were difficult to spell, and anything else that we thought would persuade you. We underestimated your fear and loyalty to him or to the GOP. Now you’ve done it. He’s in the office and we’re waiting on the sidelines to receive our fate. Now that there is nothing I can do about the election, I am left with the issue of what to do about you.

I’ve been thinking for hours about how to fix this. 1.) I could teach you all about my culture (which might even be your culture as well…..), about other cultures, and about how this is affecting us. I could educate you on the experience of my fellow Tar Heels who are petrified to walk around campus in their hijabs. I could educate you on the experience of my LGBTQAI friends who are terrified that they’ll find themselves faced with even more hostility. I could educate you on the experience of my ancestors and family members who fought for me to be as educated as I am and why their hard work is being threatened. However, in order to reach a point where you are ready to listen, you have to reach a point where you can look at me and care that myself and my people are hurting. You don’t care yet. If you cared, we would never have reached this point. Factual information doesn’t seem to phase you.

2.) I could take back our country by force. We could be as violent and nasty as the more extreme members of your group are to us right now. In case you haven’t been paying attention; there has been violence at our rallies incited by your members, there has been threats in different communities across the country incited by his presidency, and there has been KKK rallies celebrating your president. READ: http://www.41nbc.com/2016/11/12/anti-trump-protests-hit-nyc-after-violence-in-portland/ http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/kkk-announces-north-carolina-%e2%80%98victory%e2%80%99-parade/ar-AAk9irS http://www.wral.com/uniforms-stolen-from-durham-police-officer-s-home/16214968/

I refuse to wait until there is a body count because of this man’s presidency. The concept of you allowing me to own my freedom is absurd beyond measure and an unacceptable way of thinking. With the 13th Amendment and the Civil Rights Acts, you allowed yourself to begin regaining your humanity by seeing myself and my community as people. You are currently defaulting on your position and the repercussions of being seen as anything other than human could very well cost us our lives. I am angry enough to fight back, by any means necessary.

3.) I could bribe you. Donald Trump’s presidency is clearly a product of our nation’s fear. You are right to be scared about the conditions some Americans are living in. The income inequality gap in the U.S. is the worst of all of the Western superpowers and it is only continuing to worsen. We could tie in your concerns with our concerns and ignore the amount of anger that we feel towards you now. We could swallow our pride and do what we have to with our fingers crossed behind our backs.

4.) I could forget to care. The country is clearly tired. Trump’s economic policies, alone, have been proven to be some of the worst ever projected by several economists from different institutions. This is what America deserves. Enslaving an entire population, wiping out another entire population, and then claiming oppression when the descendants of those populations refuse to accept your “founding fathers” is a testament to the true nature of the U. S. The moral ground that you claim to stand upon is damp with the blood of my ancestors. You deserve what you asked for.

You like feeling powerful and oppressed at the same time. Playing the victim and wielding enough power to use that to your advantage is the perfect position to be in. I am unsure whether you are ignoring us or whether you have just decided not to care, but we are screaming too loud for you to not hear us. I don’t know how to forgive you for this. It would be one thing if we could agree that this issue is real, and then disagree about how to fix it. At the very least, you would be acknowledging my existence and space in this country. However, I don’t know that I can stomach the thought of even being touched by someone who cannot see the wrong in the state of fear that descended upon my community and my allies’ communities. You cannot love me without loving all of my existence so I am not really losing any friends in this circumstance. This is not about politics anymore. This is about me wanting to be accepted by half of my country and feeling like you all let me down. Everyday for the next four years, I will be watching and praying as my Lord and Savior said to. Every moment since his election will go down in the history books. We see you and we will remember you for this. May God have mercy on your soul and may He open your heart to receptivity of the truth so that I can embrace when you reach the other side.

Written sincerely, whole-heartedly, and unapologetically,

-BLACK, WOMYNIST, and ANGRY