I thought about writing something different because I knew a lot of people were going to talk about the election. I am saddened every time I open my Facebook and see sad feeds following Trump's election. I figured we all deserve a break from our reality. However, it is not something I can simply ignore, because I believe it is important to voice my opinion in the hope of helping anybody that has a hard time accepting this news.
As a black woman, I am terrified at the outcome of the election. Not because I believe Donald Trump will necessarily destroy this country, but because some of his supporters seem to think that they have the freedom to act viciously towards minorities. I have read many comments of minorities sharing a traumatic encounter with what I am assuming are some of Trump's supporters.
This week, I was almost run over by a car while walking to class. I go to a predominantly white college and my friends and I have this joke that some cars do not stop for us simply because we are black. But the joke turned into reality last Thursday while I was crossing the street and had to stop in the middle of the cross walk because a car came out of nowhere and started speeding up. I was listening to music and did not hear the car approach. As a religious person, I do believe that God told me to look up and see that this woman was approaching without the intent to stop her car. The most traumatizing part of this experience was that she was actually smiling and seemed happy of her action.
I do not think Trump is to blame for everything that has been happening. If anything we should be thankful to him. His election has proven that we were all living in an utopian America where we believed that we were somewhat equal. For the first time, some people are starting to open their eyes and see that the world is not as good as they thought it was. For the first time, some people are starting to accept that racism is not, nor will it ever be, dead. And that white privilege is a real thing. For the first time, people are starting to understand that being a minority in this country is sometimes painful and that we do not play the race card to annoy you or to prove a point, but rather we were all trying to help you understand our struggle and suffering.
So no, I do not believe we should blame Trump. Racism, hatred, sexism, homophobia and discrimination were all present before, but just hidden. Trump did not brain wash America, he just helped show the true colors of some people. Now is the time we should all come together and be united. We have no indication of what kind of president he will be because the Trump that we saw during the campaign was a fraud. I want to believe that he will not destroy our country. I am praying that, although he is not as competent as Hillary Clinton, he will not be as worthless as we all believe he will be.
There is virtually nothing we can do about his election. However, we can come together and support each other. Black, white, purple, blue, I do not care about your color. From now on the way we treat each other is even more important for the good of the country. Let's not divide America!
