A letter to my teachers.
I guess I should more appropriately call this "A letter to the Barlow teachers who are Trump Supporters." This could really, be a letter to anyone who works in any school in any school district in any state. My plea is nevertheless, interchangeable with many heard before me. None of that matters, though, because there isn't a way of phrasing any of this soft enough to where it doesn’t sound aggressive.
Often, any mention out of a liberal’s mouth, or a liberal’s pen, that has to do with Trump, will immediately be written off as a wild attack.
We just want to be heard. As human beings. So, don't think of me politically, don't think of me as the annoyingly outspoken girl in your class, or the weirdly honest student, just look at me as I am laying myself before you.
I can be vulnerable, I can tell you that I am hurt by all this hate in the world, in our high school, in our teachers and staff members. It hurts me to see people with so much power do nothing good in its name. It hurts me to be ignored, no matter how I present it, no matter how I dress it up, no matter who says it.
Listen to me, please, I am scared. I am scared of what my future will look like and how it will be impacted by this 2017 election, an election that I am sadly just shy of being legal to vote in.
Your job as a voter is to not only think of yourself, but for the voices that cannot yet be represented. That's where the importance of generational support and communication and democracy comes in. You are the Lorax. We are the trees. Please, speak for us in a way that will make the world better, make it easier to make decisions when it's our turn at bat.
I am begging you, as a young woman, as a young, passionate, intelligent, female leader, vote for the person who will accept and encourage those traits in me, and would encourage them no matter the size, religion, race, wealth, gender, and physical ability that they existed in. Someone who doesn't throw equality around like a dirty word.
If you're tossing your vote away because you want to see the government fall apart or you have some other selfish ideal, think about the fallout and impact your ballot can have.
If you elect Trump it won't ever be the same again. If you can come up to me as a faculty member and look at me, and tell me that you are voting for Trump, then I respect your confidence. You have so much privilege that you can throw it away, because if you are voting for Trump that means you won't be affected by his policies, you are part of the small ratio of people who will come out on top.
You will be a survivor in a life raft, but can you really stomach watching everyone else drown?
