America Is Shook

It has finally happened. Donald Trump has officially become the 45th President of the United States. As arguably the most polarizing figure in modern politics, reactions from his supporters and opponents were heard loud and clear.

Arrests made

Following the inauguration of President Trump (that felt weird to type), anti-Trump protests broke out in major cities around the country. While they started out as peaceful protests that involved crowds yelling anti-Trump slogans, 200 people were arrested by the end of inauguration day. Were these protesters who carry signs that say “love trumps hate” arrested for simply peacefully protesting?

Not so peaceful protests...

Throughout the day multiple reports as well as videos surfaced of anti-Trump protesters violently destroying property throughout Washington D.C. One such video showed protesters, or rioters, smashing the windows of a Bank of America building in the nation’s capital. A McDonald’s in D.C. also had its windows shattered during the protest. Not only were buildings attacked, but one video showed protesters throwing water on attendees of the Inaugural Ball. The violence resulted in multiple clashes with police who reportedly flashed fire grenades at protesters.

Liberals, you’re digging yourself a deeper hole.

As someone who considers themselves a moderate and did not vote for Donald Trump in this election, I want these violent opponents and those who refuse to acknowledge them to understand something. If you continue to heckle political opponents, destroy property, start fires in the streets, and basically act like animals, you’ll be hurting your cause more than you’re helping it. If you want to vote Trump out in the next election, I would suggest that you stop doing things that are making moderates want to run the hell away from you. Liberals who are actually interested in fighting for their causes through the democratic process should be aggressively condemning this kind of stuff. By allowing it to continue, they are further isolating themselves from the moderate American whose vote they need to win an election. Rather than using your social media platform to point out the size of the crowd at Trump's inauguration, you could make it clear to everyone watching that you do not condone violence as a means to change. Instead of cheering on Madonna saying that she’s thought about blowing up the White House while speaking on a national platform at the Women’s March on Washington, you could stop letting out-of-touch Hollywood liberals represent your platforms. (I’m not sure how she wasn’t arrested for that? Isn’t that a threat? Hate speech? Shouldn’t she be at least put on a no-fly list?) Following her thoughts about blowing up the home of President Trump, Madonna led the crowd in chanting, “We choose love! We choose love!” (Does anyone else see the irony there?) Quite personally, I’d rather hear less from Madge and more from the people that liberals are claiming to fight for i.e. LGBTQ communities, immigrants, and minorities.

Continue to make your voice heard.

This article isn’t about whether anyone should or shouldn’t be protesting the election. Your right to do so is protected in our Constitution. However, if you’re going to protest Trump, don’t just make your voice loud. Make it clear. Don’t claim to be fighting in the name of love and peace while destroying property and making bomb threats. Educate people on changes in policy that need to be made. Be louder than those who use violence as a means of communication. If you truly believe that love trumps hate, then act like it.