I have never been one to follow politics extremely close, but as the possibility of Donald Trump becoming the next president became more likely, I began to read the news like it was my job. As November 8, 2016 approached, I was confident that America would make the right choice and vote for Hillary Clinton, but as the votes came in, my morale fell. It didn’t really even sink in until the next morning when my heart became too heavy to even leave my bed. I remember calling my mom to vent, and before I could even get out a full sentence I just started bawling. I grew up in a very small town in Virginia with a liberal mother from New York, so my thoughts on the world had always varied from the people that I had grown up around, but I didn’t realize by how much until the day after the election. I was so hurt by all of the things that my family and friends were posting. I had so much to say, but I didn’t want to hurt anyone, so I posted a simple infographic that I had found with the caption:
”I guess it makes sense that the uneducated voted for the least experienced candidate to ever run. I expected more from America. I had more hope than this for America. I have no idea how anyone who has any remote respect for minorities and women could ever vote for a candidate as inhumane as Trump. The glass ceiling is now 50 years farther from ever being shattered. The only thing it's going to do now is fall and suffocate us.”
I received some nice comments of support from my college friends, but the reactions from the people at home were far different. They were not only belittling Clinton and putting Trump on a pedestal, but they were belittling me in the process. At the time, my response to them was this:
“What is it exactly that makes Clinton a criminal? The emails? The FBI dropped any charges against Clinton. But please, tell me when emails became more criminal than sexually assaulting someone? And as far as self-interested, Trump is the embodiment of that. His political experience extends to being the defendant in copious amounts of lawsuits, but aside from that, he is ranked as the presidential nominee with the least amount of political experience. Whereas Clinton would have been the most educated and experienced President America would have had thus far. As for being a corrupt liar, he still has that one in the bag since he can't even remember something he said in a previous debate and since I'm not sure he even knows what a tax return is. Murderous, if that is in reference to fetuses, let's talk about the millions of Muslims, blacks, LGBTQ+, etc. people that will undoubtedly be victimized and most likely killed either by others or by their own hands now that Trump is in office. Let us hope that no women die from trying to self-abort the fetuses that their rapist impregnated them with since America now sees no problem with sexual assault. Let us hope that every fetus that is brought to term is born a white, cis-gender, Christian male that's family never ever needs government's assistance through a hardship, that has no physical, mental, educational, or emotional disabilities, because if not, they will be ridiculed, tormented, and looked down on by our far from compassionate President.”
I still stand by what I said, but since writing that in November, my fears have only multiplied. I am now fearful for every child in the public school system, for every American that received the help that they so rightfully deserved because of the Affordable Care Act, for the women and families that benefitted from the other 97% of the services that Planned Parenthood spent their funding on, and for America as a whole.
