It's horrible and disgusting that there has been a spike in hate crimes since Trump won the election. Reported hate crimes have increased 6 % but the actual number is higher because many incidents go unreported. This is on both sides, Trump supporters are both perpetrators and victims.

What particularly startled me was how this isn't just in the news. People I knew were victims of hate crimes. My friend's mother was on her way to work in central Massachusetts where she was egged and screamed at to go back to China. Hate crimes are real and close to us; we aren't safe just because the only hate crimes we hear of are on the news. The news tends to do that, make it seem like those crimes are further away from us. We obsess over how horrible it is for a while but then forget about it until the news reports on the next tragedy and the cycle starts over again.

Theoretically, even if Trump is somehow a great president it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter unless he is somehow able to reverse the hatred he has spewed along the campaign trail. This isn't about Trump anymore, it's about the hidden, closeted racism and sexism he has brought out into the open. His belief about getting rid of political correctness has somehow been translated as "it is okay to voice my racist and sexist beliefs now."

That's dangerous. Because of our recent progress, many people were unwilling to voice their rude, hateful, and discriminatory beliefs. Generally, everyone knew not to say their racist beliefs out loud. But recently our country's new leader, the highest position one can ascend to in our nation, has brought everyone's suppressed hatred out into the open. Our nation's leader, who represents our country, has openly stated his racist, homophobic, sexist, and plain ignorant beliefs about immigrants and minorities. If the nation's role model and leader can say these things, why not regular and normal citizens?

Trump saying all those horrible and unbelievable things shouldn't just be categorized as just Trump being Trump. That's dangerous. Just making excuses for him allows him to continue his racist track. As citizens, we need to stop making casual jokes about Trump's horrible statements about women and minorities because that normalizes it. These jokes normalize and make it seem like whatever he's saying is okay. But it's not and it's our duty to never get desensitized to his horrendous comments.

The news outlet's free promotion and name recognition for Trump is the biggest donation his campaign received. Our news outlets also need to stop reporting every little thing that Trump does. It quickens the process towards mass desensitization.