Sidenote: This story and its characters are entirely fictional, and is made up of my own ideas and opinions.

It was 9:00 pm and two people were at a bus stop in midtown Manhattan, waiting for their respective buses to arrive.

“Yes, no matter how extreme Trump can be, I think still that we need to fix the problem of illegal immigration”, pause. “Yes I understand that they are people who are fleeing for their lives from dangerous countries, however what about all the people that have waited years and years from all around the world to be accepted to this country legally. It’s not fair to them, and this just shows how much we need to fix this problem, it’s honestly a safety issue. I’m not saying that they’re all bad” the man sitting down said. He was about 22 years old and had just finished working his 8-hour shift at Chipotle.

After hearing this, the young man to his left turned his head towards him, looking unpleasantly surprised. He was a freshman in college, an English major with a Spanish minor; one could easily tell he was disturbed by the conversation. “Sir, excuse me sir” he repeated over and over again until the guy on the right finally got a clue that it was him he was talking to.

“I have a name,” the guy on the right said, “it’s Chris”.

“Well Chris, I have to say that your views on immigration are sadly misguided. I mean, yes, illegal immigration is a small problem, however, they are people,” the guy on the left, John, said.

“Well, first of all, it’s nice to meet you too, and it’s nice to hear that you were listening in on my conversation also,” Chris said. “Well sir, what you were saying was completely incorrect. You have to remember that they are people and that we must be morally responsible, and take them in”. “Man, please, I’m tired and I just want to go home, I don’t need a lecture from you right now” Chris responded.

John inched closer to Chris and started to get visibly mad, as his face started to turn a bright red. “Chris, I can’t believe what you’re saying right now. I mean can you not understand that they are people, and that denying them entry is risking their lives!”

“Yo, I totally understand you, but I just think that we need to have a better system that decreases the number of illegal immigrants and increases the number of legal immigrants,” Chris said. “Well, that’s a bigoted thing to say! I mean, imagine being in their shoes! Let’s take our southern border, for example, those people had to travel thousands of miles for a better life! Can’t you understand that! I mean, you’re Mexican, tu debes comprender (you should understand)! And if you can’t, then you’re obviously a bigot!”.

“I’m sorry but hold up. First of all, I’m not Mexican, I’m Guatemalan. Second, just because I don’t completely agree with you does not mean that I’m a bigot. It just means that I have a different perspective than you, and that certainly is not a crime” Chris responded infuriatingly.

“But you have to think morally!” John interjected. “So man, let me get this straight. If I disagree with slightly any idea of what you are saying right now, then I’m immoral, that I’m inherently a bigot, a racist?” Chris stated. “Yes, you are! You refuse to recognize that these illegal immigrants are people too! And no matter what you say, you can’t change the fact that you’re a bigot! I’m leaving!”. John stated this as he then stood up hastily, and walked across the street and down into the subway.

Chris after a couple of minutes calmed down and finally was able to find his inner-peace again. The busy then arrived, and as he got on, he found the bus driver was listening to a FOX news radio station, and the debate was on immigration. Chris stood in the middle of the aisle for a couple of moments, listening to how the far-right announcers argued viciously with their politically moderate guest. Chris couldn’t take it any longer, and sat in the back of the bus, trying to block it all out, and focus listening to his music on his long ride home.