Dear President Trump,

You don’t know me, but I am one of the millions of people whose life you have affected and will affect over the next four years. You have never heard my voice nor seen my face, but your voice has been ringing in my ears since you announced your run for presidency, and your face has been plastered on many of the news articles and television programs that I see on a daily basis. You don’t know my opinions or concerns as a citizen, but I definitely know yours. Now that you are president, I think it’s time you hear my concerns.

I’m not going to tell you about my political beliefs- I know that will not matter. But I will share my concerns as a citizen and a human being. I grew up believing that human beings should be treated with respect and dignity. Yet, the world I am living in right now is not breeding this type of philosophy. I am surrounded by human beings who are afraid because they are not being treated as they should be. They are being physically and verbally assaulted in your name, President Trump. Our own President, the figure that should be a symbol of unity and peace within our country, is being used to tear people apart.

I am writing this as a student, who has heard the horrors experienced by my fellow classmates, while the perpetrators chant your name. I am writing this as an ally to the LGBTQ community, who fears for her friends in the community and the possible effects your rhetoric will have on their lives and their safety. I am writing as a woman, who feels physically uncomfortable with the fact that her president thinks it is okay to grab a woman “by her pussy”. Mainly, I am writing this as a human being who wants to live in a world where people can live without fear and without hate.

I want to make this clear- I am not attacking you or those who voted for you. That is not my current purpose. I just want you to understand what you have done. Maybe it was your intention to breed this kind of America- an America in which those who are not white males feel unsafe, or maybe it was not. I would like to believe that no human could ever intentionally create hatred, but I am not that naïve. What matters is that it happened- your rhetoric created a reality in which people use your words to justify racism and prejudice. Your words and your victory in the election, in their minds, give them permission to act out their hateful fantasies. Your actions and language have consequences, and now the minorities of America are experiencing the effects of these consequences.

I want to make myself perfectly clear- this is not okay. The people you hurt with your words- they are not abstract concepts, they are human beings with flesh and bones that can be physically broken by their abusers, with emotions and souls that can be decimated by this hate. So, Mr. Trump, what are you going to do about it? You are President now, and this is your problem. I refuse to live in a country that endorses or takes a blind eye to hate, and I cannot make kindness a reality on my own- so it's time you step up and look out for all your people.

Sincerely, a concerned citizen.