Dear Americans

Dear Americans,

I don’t care if you voted for Trump. I don’t care if you voted for Hillary. The violence and hysteria that has filled the post-election is horrifying. It is terrifying. It has been coming from both sides.

And it is only growing. But what good does all this hatred do? Violence only incites more violence and leads nowhere. No one has any right to silence those who have exercised their right to vote in a free nation.

Furthermore presentations of violence, also get us no where. Burning flags is not making a statement, it is showing disrespect. And it’s not only showing disrespect for America, it is showing disrespect for all who have fought for it. For everyone who has ever stood up and tried to make this country a better place. It is showing disrespect to hundreds of years of improvement and progression. So sure, burn your flag but understand that it will accomplish nothing. It proves nothing, other than a lack of respect for those who have died fighting for your right to burn that flag. This is not the change those people who fought for this country in any way, are trying to promote.

It’s also not right to overgeneralize and begin to refer to all Trump supporters as “racist”, “misogynist”, “sexist”, “homophobic”, or “Islamophobic” because this is not true. There are many Trump supporters who are none of these. Just in the same way as there are Hillary supporters who do fall into these categories. There were women who did support and vote for Trump while there were also blacks who did the same, although it was a considerably small amount. What was even particularly interesting was the Black Panther’s leaders position on Trump.

There were even LGBTQ identifying people and allies alike who voted for Trump, once again this was a small percentage though. Trump himself has been seen holding the LGBTQ flag at a rally, and while he has been critiqued for being against LGBTQ communities, he has not actually said much against them.

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It is an unfair assumption that anyone who voted Trump is any of these things simply because they did vote for Trump and such accusations do not solve anything. No one has the right to ostracize or subject anyone to hateful behavior, simply for a difference in political beliefs.

I’m also tired of hearing how Trump didn’t run on an actual platform. He did. It can be found at his campaign site. For those of you that won't take the time to go to the site or would like a brief explanation, here are some basic points that were in his campaign:

1. He supports privatization of healthcare. This includes repealing the Affordable Care Act, which has been questionable in both its effectiveness and affordability, something Clinton didn’t deny. He has a series of reform programs that he is ready to implement after its appealed as well.
2. He supports stricter immigration laws. This does not mean because you’re not a natural citizen he will deport you. This doesn’t even mean that if you’re only a permanent resident and not a citizen, he will to deport you. This only means that he wants those who do come into America to do so legally.
3. He is against raising taxes and supports a stable taxation. This means that everyone is taxed the same amount. This is actually equal and fair.
4. He supports the second amendment and has recently released a detailed description regarding his exact position on this. Among those things included was stricter enforcement of current gun laws and the promise to address the broken mental health system. I think that either side can agree these are actually two very positive things.
5. Trumps view on education isn’t often discussed and I find that interesting. He supports school choice, which is the ability of federal funds to follow students to the schools that they feel best fits their needs. This includes public, private, charter or home schools. He argues this will help educate everyone, particularly minorities.

If you disagree with his platform, that’s okay. If you agree with it, then that’s also okay. What’s not okay is mob mentality violence. What’s not okay is rioting. Instead of promoting this anger with no substantial arguments to back anything up, we need to promote the emergence of a civilized dialogue. It's okay to be upset with the election results in the same way it is to be happy with them, but you should discuss it politely and respectfully, listening to the other side and treating them as you would want to be treated. Don't overgeneralize a group of people and categorize them into one thing. Always avoid harmful and disrespectful labels.

Remember that together we stand and divided we fall.

~A Fellow American