I'd like to start this by stating that I would probably never participate in the anti-Trump protests that have continued to occur almost two weeks after Election Day. Though I didn't vote for Trump, I do believe that it is in our best interest to accept the results of the election. I also advocate for the continued use of the electoral college, it may not be the best system but I find that it does bring a certain fairness that is missing in popular vote elections. However the rhetoric that Trump supporters have used to describe these protests is just plain wrong. Everyday my conservative Facebook friends condemn these demonstrations and call them "tantrums". They of course base this on the idea that millennials, specifically liberal millennials, don't understand how our government works and have generally grown up privileged and now think that they can cry and get what they want. In fact the truth is quite the opposite.

The popular vote showed Hillary Clinton as the clear winner of the 2016 presidential election. She won this by more than a million votes yet lost the electoral vote by fifty-eight points out of 538. This gap has lead people to believe that the system wasn't really fair to begin with. Though as I stated before, I personally believe in the use of the Electoral College, I also think it's important that people, especially those who can vote, believe that their vote has weight. The citizens of this country that went out and voted and now feel that the election results do not accurately reflect what the country actually wanted, are using these protests to make their voices heard. Though many of them are calling for a complete recall of the Electoral College, most of them do recognize its merit. They simply want a reformation of the system that could perhaps prevent such large discrepancies between the electoral and popular count.

Many people voted for Trump simply because of his economic policies or because they tend to lean more conservatively. But it is undeniable that throughout his entire campaign, his "politically incorrect" language struck fear into the hearts of many Americans. Immigrants in this country feel more threatened than ever, women are scrambling to get IUDs for fear that the Trump administration will make them practically impossible to obtain, Muslim-Americans are less and less accepted, and those who identify as LGBTQ+ are waiting to see what will happen to their newly acquired marriage rights. Since winning, Trump's plans have definitely not reflected all of the wild ideas he campaigned on, but no one really knows what will happen. There has never been a presidency like this and our future is no longer predictable. To the people who protest, Trump's win was an unacceptable step back for the human rights in this country. Everyday they are making that known. Though the violence that has erupted within these protests is equally unacceptable, it's important to give their voices merit. The First Amendment of our Constitution calls for free speech. A group of people who now have to worry about what rights they will have in a year absolutely deserve to tell their country everyday that they are not afraid to stand up for themselves. These protests stand as a powerful reminder of the American people's strength. To dismiss them as nothing more than sore losers is nothing less than a mistake.