"Oh, you must have voted for Donald Trump. Thanks for screwing America" is the exact quote from a girl directed towards me in one of my classes on November 9, the day after the election.
For the first time since 2009, a Republican will be the president of the United States. This man, Donald Trump, needs no explanation or biography from me. Everyone has their own beliefs about this man winning the election, much like people have their opinions about Hillary Clinton losing the election. The candidate who won is not relevant to this piece; what is important is the attitude of the girl who targeted me with political assumptions, as well as many people's attitudes across the country. Yes, I voted for Donald Trump, but I am not who you make me out to be.
On many of my social media platforms, I have been seeing political debates spreading into widespread hatred like a wildfire. I have seen people accusing pro-Trump voters of being racist, bigoted, xenophobic, etc. Personally, it makes me absolutely sick to think that an entire country can classify an entire political party as having these horrible personality traits.
However, it gets worse, as not only an entire political party has received these stereotypes, but the entire male population, particularly white males. On top of this stereotype that Republican and/or male voters face, there have been instances like in Chicago, where openly pro-Trump supporters have been attacked by groups of Clinton supporters. However, this violent retaliation is a two-way street, as I have also seen Clinton supporters being attacked by Trump supporters.
Personally, I was raised to believe that there were "bad apples in every group," so to speak. There will always be extremist supporters for any cause as long as there is freedom for people to act as such. But this election has been a completely different experience for me. It seems to me as if every white male has been classified as a Trump supporter, and a new era of chauvinism has taken over America. The political face-off has been more like a political boxing match between each candidate's respective supporters. The media has sensationalized the highlights of extremity between these candidates, and all of the generalization I have experienced is unnerving considering that I know many men who are white and voted for Hillary Clinton, and I know many black supporters of Donald Trump. For the first time in my life, I feel entirely marginalized by society, largely in part to the presence of social media and the hatred that it permits. I am not a person who gets upset easily by hearing other people's opinions, but there is a fine line between free speech and stupidity.
To the people who have tweeted on Twitter things like "F*** Trump, I hope somebody kills him" — First, why would you put something this absurd on Twitter, which can be traced very easily? Second, wishing murder on someone is something any rational American political party can agree is wrong. Finally, promoting this kind of hatred is the exact thing that has been dividing our country since the election cycle began: Trump may not be the choice you wanted, but it is the choice that we have, and we can either choose to unite and be strong as one, or run divided and crumble. The #NotMyPresident movement could single-handedly be the worst thing to happen to this country, as I have seen nothing but riots, violence, and disunity run amok at these protests. Now more than ever, we need people using their voices in peace and cooperation.
To the people who have been burning American flags in protest and talking about expatriating: how can you burn the American flag in protest just because you are pissed off that Trump will be the next president, when living in the country where that flag flies allows you to have the right to protest in the first place? Personally, I have always viewed flag burning in protest as idiotic, and that is the opinion I will stand by before anything else: it is disrespectful, and a slap in the face to each man and woman (White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, etc.) who has served under that flag to preserve your right to peacefully protest. For the expatriates claiming they will move to another country, I want to ask you one question — Do you honestly believe that one man has the ability to ruin a country? If you want to leave the country that allows you to voice your opinion, as popular or unpopular as it may be, do not let the door hit you on the way out. This is a country where checks and balances exist, and there is still faith in the system regardless of how broken some may think it is.
Donald Trump is a president that half of the country did not want. As much heartbreak as it may bring to some people, however, there are two options for us as a country — we can stand divided, or stand united. Even Hillary Clinton said "[Trump] deserves a chance." Discrediting the future executive representative of our country ruins the entire idea of the power in a democracy. As I said before, this country is a country of the people, and to anyone who feels powerless: stress this to your state representatives. Write letters, post on social media (intelligently of course), and let your voice be heard by these representatives, your representatives. Targeting and attacking Trump voters will not make the situation in the country any better; unity is the answer, not protest.
