On September 26, a college student at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota was assaulted while walking on campus wearing Trump apparel. Sounds like breaking news, right? However, no one has heard about it. Happening right before the first presidential debate, this should be a story that is all over the news. Why isn't it? The answer is simple. The media doesn't want you to hear about it.
Mainstream media has done an excellent job of portraying the Trump campaign in the most negative light as possible. Is he perfect? Absolutely not. No candidate is ever perfect. But supporting a certain candidate doesn't make you a good or bad person. If this story had been the other way around, with a Hillary Clinton supporter being attacked, I promise you the news would be reporting it all over. But reporting a story where a millennial, openly supporting Trump, was the victim would force the coverage to be fair and truthful.
Colleges are supposed to be places where freedom of speech is encouraged, respected, and honored. This may be the case if the opinions you're expressing are popular and the same as everyone else's. When your views are different, they're suddenly "offensive." Walk onto a liberal campus wearing a 'Make America Great Again' hat. The reactions aren't going to be pleasant. Since when did it become okay to disrespect someone because of their political views? Since when did it become okay to disrespect someone in general?
We live in a society where violence is way too common. If something happens that someone doesn't like, there are riots and shootings in the streets. Let me make this clear: VIOLENCE AND HATE IS NOT GOING TO SOLVE ANYTHING. Did attacking that college student who was peacefully walking across campus change anything about the presidential election? No. Does posting rude comments on someone's Facebook post change their political beliefs? No. But you know what does actually make a difference in what's going on in our country? Voting, educating yourself on the issues, getting involved in positive activism, and respectfully discussing differing opinions.
You shouldn't have to be scared to wear your favorite candidate's campaign apparel in public. Whether it's Trump, Hillary, Johnson, or anyone else for that matter, support them with pride. Politics are politics because everyone has a different opinion and that's OK. How boring would our world be if we all thought the same way? It's actually a good thing we don't. Just learn how to be decent and respectful when you disagree.
