Unless you’ve been blissfully living under a rock for the past week, you know that Donald Trump will be the next President of the United States. Since news broke that Hillary Clinton lost, many of her supporters haven’t been taking it well, myself included.
I have let my true feelings about Trump be clear right from the beginning; he is a misogynistic, racist, xenophobe who has been hateful and dishonest throughout his campaign. If you think otherwise I honestly don’t think you’re worth the argument. If you’re denying that at this point, with all the evidence that’s been brought forth, you’ve already made up your mind. The fact remains, however, that Trump’s rhetoric has fueled a fire that I’m not sure will be easily extinguished. Throughout his campaign, his words and actions have emboldened the closeted bigots of our country and the result has been volatile. Minorities in America are increasingly becoming the victims of hate crimes and altercations with Trump supporters and to say that that terrifies me is an understatement.
The aftermath of the election has been hard on Clinton supporters. In the days following the election, I’ve seen several of my friends openly weep, and I’ve had even more tell me that they had done the same. The moment it became clear to me that Trump would indeed win the presidency, and many times after, I did too. In the days following the election, many people mourned the loss of Hillary and grieved because they believed, as I do, that their country had chosen hate. Others have taken their outrage to the streets and there have been protests in countless cities and universities around the country. This has brought about a very irksome response from a lot of people, Trump supporters and otherwise.
I have been told many times this past week that I need to stop overreacting. I’ve also heard a lot of criticism about the way that other people are handling the way the election turned out, and yes, some are even going to extremes that are unacceptable. However, the thing that really bugs me is that this all overwhelmingly comes from people who are in no way affected by a Trump presidency, and it’s completely not okay. If you’re not of color, if you aren’t an immigrant (illegal or otherwise), if you aren’t a member of the LGBTQ+ community, or if you aren’t a woman, then it’s likely you won’t have to experience the fallout of Trump’s ascension to power. A report from the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that tracks and responds to social injustice and hate incidents, shows that in the days following the election that these incidents have skyrocketed. Muslim women are having their hijabs ripped off of their heads, queer individuals have been beaten in the streets, POC have had their homes and cars vandalized with hate speech, and so much more. These events have realized some of my deepest fears about this election and many of the members of these communities and I are terrified of the thought of four more years of this.
I sincerely hope that I am wrong, that Trump is not as bad as I think and will fulfill his promise to be a president for all Americans. However, if you truly value his leadership and he truly means to be a president for everyone then I call on you to sign this petition calling for him to publicly disavow all forms of bigotry and keep people associated with hate groups out of his administration. Until it is proven that he will fulfill these promises, however, I ask that you show some compassion for those who his presidency scares. Listen to us, hold us, validate us, and be with us through this scary time. We’re scared not just for our rights, but also our lives.I’m not so sure many people understand that.
