279 to 228, Donald Trump won the United States elect for Presidency. With this news out, and a startling new president, what's next?
We are all going to go through massive changes, some more than others, because of the election results. It is sad and unfortunate, but it is happening.
Already the USA is experiencing the aftermath of Trump. Hate crimes are occurring all around us and it is a direct cause of the policies and morals that Trump has imposed in the minds of a lot of American people.
However, you may not know what exactly a hate crime is, or if it has happened to you, or someone you know. According to www.dictionary.com, a hate crime is "a crime, usually violent, motivated by prejudice or intolerance toward an individual’s national origin, ethnicity, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability".
Let's break this down:
"A crime, usually violent, motivated by prejudice..."
So, what does prejudice mean?
"an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason".
Now we know that people who commit these hate crimes are purposefully acting on no prior knowledge of the victim. They only see their physical appearance and choose to hate them for it.
"...motivated by prejudice or intolerance toward an individual’s national origin, ethnicity, color..."
If you or someone you know has been physically or mentally attacked because of their national origin, or where they are from, ethnicity, or the cultural group they identify with, or the color of their skin, a hate crime has been committed.
"...religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability."
If you or someone you know has been attacked because of their religion, or fundamental set of beliefs, gender identity, or whether they are male, female, neither, both, transgender, or whatever that person does or does not decide, sexual orientation, or gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual, transsexual, pansexual, or whatever that person does or does not decide, disability, or if they have a mental or physical incapability, a hate crime has been committed.
This knowledge will give you a head start if you see something that looks like it might be a hate crime. DO NOT HESITATE. If something like this is happening, report it, or encourage another to report the incident. The world we are going to live in, and we are starting to see it now, is a scary one. You can be the difference.
