As a liberal Democrat millennial who really “felt the Bern,” being best friends with a conservative Republican Trump supporter seems like an unlikely match.
But aren't those the best kinds of matches?
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a Trump supporter?
A racist, white male? The KKK?
Me too, actually.
But that isn't always the case.
The Trump supporters I know are nothing like that.
My best friend Brooke is the best best friend anyone could ever ask for. She supports me in everything I do, picks me up when I’m down, and stays up all night with me to watch “The Notebook” two times in a row. She makes me sandwiches at 1 a.m. and listens to me talk about the same things for hours on end - even when she’s at Queens University…in Canada. I am a Latina-Persian girl, and my best friend loves me.
Having lived in California my entire life, I am in a liberal bubble. I am surrounded by open-minded individuals who think like me - who share the same political views as me. My hometown, Los Angeles, in comparison to other parts of our country, is an especially safe space where people have the freedom to express their beliefs and individuality without fear of being judged. However, I have recently found out that this is not the case if you’re a Trump supporter. In an overwhelmingly Democratic state, you’re already cast aside for being Republican. Even at UCLA, the location of peaceful protests for equality and acceptance, students do not feel safe enough to voice their support for Trump, even if they just voted Republican because that’s their party. Many students in my classes felt safe enough to speak against Trump and in favor of Hillary, who is not herself without faults, but not a single student voiced their reasons for voting Republican. Some did leave the room though.
It is wrong for us to group and categorize all Trump supporters as racist, bigoted white supremacists. The Trump supporters that I know are wonderful, loving, compassionate, and righteous individuals. As a Latina, I don’t support people making the general assumption that all Latinos are lazy. As a Persian, I don’t support the idea that all Middle Easterns are terrorists. As a human being, I don’t support the blanket statement that all Trump supporters are awful people. There is no way that nearly half of Americans are hate-filled people. There is too much good in our country for that to be true.
While there are a plethora of awful things that Trump represents and condones, the reality is that the majority of Trump supporters simply want change, and they believe that Trump is the guy who can make that happen for them. And I hope he does. I hope he does so in a way that unites our country and propels us forward, protecting the rights and voices of minorities, making us stronger and better as a whole.
I get it. Hillary represents the establishment. She is a career politician. That’s why my best friend voted for Trump. For months I could not believe that someone I loved so much could support the candidate who was to me, the embodiment of hatred. She voted for other things too. She voted for smaller government, for less taxes, stricter borders - for something different than the system we have now. None of that is bad. None of that makes her an awful person worthy of persecution or bullying.
My best friend is too scared to wear a Trump shirt or hat. Even though I voted for Hillary, I still don’t think that anyone should feel that they will be attacked and ridiculed for who they voted for. She has to deflect questions about which candidate she supported, and that kind of fear is not okay. Racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia are all awful ideologies that should never be supported. Freedom of speech, however, and the freedom to exercise your vote for a legitimate candidate, should not be encroached on either. Demonizing an entire group of people is not what being a liberal means to me. No one deserves to be bullied for their political views.
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
Before you dehumanize another Trump supporter, get to know them. They might be as wonderful as my best friend. It is up to us, the future, to act on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s beliefs and bring more light and love into the world in the face of such fear and unrest.
