It's 11 PM, Tuesday, November 8th, 2016, also known as election day for arguably the most important election in American history. As the hours ticket by and the results rolled in, I laid in my bed with laptop open to a live election poll and chatted with my friend about the impending doom that was in the form of Trump currently being in the lead, but there was still some hope to hold on to that Hillary might yet pull through. But my heart sank as my own state, Pennsylvania, turned from blue to red. Next was Wisconsin, and then it was over. Trump had won the presidential race, and with his win had broke the hearts of millions of Americans.
Now by the time you read this article, it will have been a week since the election and I can promise you that I am still just as angry at this point as I was at the hour that the official results had rolled in. I will spare you all of the very large words that have been used to describe Trump over this past week, but do not think that I don't believe every single one of them is accurate. Because I do. I'm here to explain to you why millions of Americans are upset, frightened, and angry.
People are not protesting across the country because they are sore losers about their candidate not being elected. None of us that are upset are simply mad because our candidate did not win. It doesn't matter that Trump himself won the election. What matters is the fact that when he won, it was a blow against anything we have accomplished equality wise. The fact of the matter is, the older generations saw a chance to lash back against a changing country that they didn't agree with, left Trump instill fear within them, and went running to the poll booths with their tails between their legs, hoping that if they could just get this bigoted man into a position of power, he would save what they invision America is and "make it great again."
The problem is, their version of America involves the words patriarchy, white supremacy, heterosexuality, and the list can go on. And if you want to challenge me and say that this election had nothing to do with any of that, well, I will let the data speak for itself.
As a woman, I am afraid. I'm afraid of what men will now think is okay to do to women, what the younger generation below me will think is okay to do to women. As an ally to the LGBTQ community, I am sad and afraid for my many friends who must now live under a vice president who believes in shock therapy to "fix the gays" and who has an agenda completely against the community. As someone who is friends with so many people who do not fall under the category of "white," I am afraid for them to live under a president who does not wish for them to be here anymore. But most importantly, as a millennial, I am angry and ashamed. I'm angry that I am constantly being told that I'm "just a kid" and that I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm constantly being told by the generation before me that the things I stand for and what is important to me are wrong. And by the way, I am far from being the only one.
To those of you of the older generations who are all cozy, sitting at their kitchen tables, enjoying their morning cup of coffee and reading the newspaper: Sure, you won this battle, but you have also started something that you are not prepared to deal with.
To those that are just as angry as I am: Please, please remember that violence is not going to solve any of this. Keep your heads straight and look to each other for comfort.
Buckle up, America, because we are a country divided and ready to fight for what we believe in.
