Even though it seems that whenever you mention the name of Donald Trump, everyone groans in disgust, there are people out there who are in fact supporters of his. I mean, look at the polls. But for those of us who are staunchly against Trump, have we truly ever thought about what would happen in our country if he were to become president? Well, I have a few ideas. In one of the Republican debates, Jeb Bush referred to Trump as a "chaos candidate," and he couldn't have been more right.
Over these past few months, the rise of Trump has made me laugh, eye roll and scoff. But most importantly, it's terrified me to my core. I didn't originally think people would be interested in anything the guy had to say until now...and honestly? I'm not liking it. Not. One. Bit. You see, Trump feeds to an audience that might be your average run of the mill people. But the twist is that he's not reaching into the part of their brain that's using common sense. No, he's reaching into the deeper part of their core that holds certain prejudices and tells them that it's OK to indulge in behaviors that were used during the days of Jim Crow. He feeds into their fear, their hate, their basic instincts.
At his rallies, minorities have been shouted at, those of different religions have been belittled and obese people have been turned away. More recently, a Muslim woman and man who were standing up in silent protest at Trump's rally were escorted away but they weren't escorted out peacefully. No, instead the two protesters were met with people throwing their signs in their faces, yelling out angry things to them, blocking their path and throwing them judgmental looks. When I watched the video, I felt a chill run down my spine because even though it's 2016, we've seemingly resorted back to the 1960s.
If Trump were to become president, behavior like this would be acceptable. People with prejudices would think that it's OK for them to act out against the people they seemingly fear most. It's not like Trump has made it any better. He's labeled Latinos rapists, called for a ban of all Muslims and I'm pretty sure we can all guess what his stance is on African Americans. His outlandish and hate-filled remarks are giving people more fuel to the fire that he's igniting. Just imagine this: do you really think we'd have any allies from other countries if we had a President who is willing to go on the main stage of a debate and blatantly call the other candidates names? I couldn't live in a country that had his face branded on it.
The country that I call my home would simply be put in chaos—pure and utter chaos. Racism would be even more openly practiced than it already is in some instances, insulting people to their faces like a middle schooler would be encouraged and the divide that we're already facing as a country could have the possibility of deepening and staying there for a longer period of time than we ever could have imagined. I, for one, am terrified about what could happen to me if Trump were to become president. But what about you? How do you feel? How should you feel?
If you ask me, you should be afraid. Be very, very afraid.
