I've been trying to refrain from adding to the political arguments this week, but I'm still cringing every time I get on Facebook or twitter as I see the hateful conversations posted everywhere. So I just want to make a point before all of this is over.
I voted. I did my part, and exercised my right for the first time on November 8th. But it doesn't matter who I voted for- Not now, because the election is over - and not then, because I didn't judge you for your choice. I saw so many posts this year saying "if you're voting for *insert candidate* you can delete me from your friend list", and it made no sense to me.
I don't care who you voted for, and I'm not going to stop associating with you just because we might have slightly different opinions. There are Trump supporters and there are Clinton supporters. One thing that people need to realize is the fact that there is a HUGE spectrum of people in between. There are people who only agree with one or two more of Trump's opinions than they did with Hillary's. At the same time, there are people who agreed with Hillary's ideas only slightly more than trumps. No one has to be a full-on supporter of a candidate as a whole. And there are people who HATED both candidates, and voted third party.
Everyone has their OWN reasons for the decision they made. Please realize that you may never be able to understand another person's reasoning for the choice they made. And do not discriminate against them for it.
No matter where you stand on the results of the election right now, just know that I am not judging you. I will not stop speaking to you if you have a different opinion than me. And I will not unfriend you on Facebook because of it.
Even though Donald Trump is our president, I will not treat anyone of a different background than my own with racism. I will not ridicule anyone in the LGBTQ communities in any way. I will not treat anyone of a different religion with any less respect than I would treat my own.
And I am sorry that there are people who WILL let Trump influence the way they treat people.
My main point is that we need to at least accept the fact that the US has made a decision - the worst thing we can do is to continue to let it divide us as a country. The last thing that we need right now is MORE hate. There are still good people left in the country. Ones that are accepting of those around them. Instead of being harsh to the person who chose a different candidate than you, take a step back before you comment on their Facebook status. Try to understand that they have had different experiences in their life than you have. Think about the fact that you might have chosen different candidates for only SLIGHTLY different reasons. Do not discriminate against them for it.
