Dear Trump Voters,
Yes, I am angry that Trump is president-elect. Yes, I am scared half to death that he will take away the rights of people I love. And yes, sometimes I feel a burning rage against you, his supporters, because you believed his lies and accepted his hateful message.
But many of you thought you were doing the right thing. Many of you were scared and angry, which I suppose is how I feel now. Now that I feel that way, I sometimes want to lash out. Yell. Fight. Get loud and angry. And all of a sudden I realize—that’s what this is about. That’s how you felt. And I don’t like it, but I understand.
Many of you also genuinely believe that Hillary Clinton is a horrible person, or at the very least you don’t trust her. Deep seated misogyny is a prominent reason for this—T-shirts reading “Trump that Bitch” can’t pretend to be respectful to women—but I will try to look deeper than that. I could tell you from how many different sources I know Hillary Clinton can be trusted, but it doesn’t really matter, because a whole life hating her can’t easily be reversed. I don’t like it, but I understand.
Mostly, I want to say I’m sorry.
I’m sorry I laughed when people said you had no brain. I’m sorry I spat out “I don’t care” when my dad explained many of you are concerned about your jobs. I’m sorry I said I never wanted to see or talk to any Trump supporter, no matter their relationship to me before the election. Because that’s not fair. It’s precisely the kind of blanket statement I stand against.
I’m sorry you felt like Trump was your only option. I’m sorry that you were fed lies to make you afraid of your own neighbors.
I’m sorry if you lost your job, or if people have been cruel to you. I am sorry if you have lost loved ones in war, or if you didn’t get the care you needed when you came back home from fighting a war.
I am not, however, sorry I voted for Hillary Clinton, just as you are not sorry about your vote.
From now on, I promise I will listen to your real concerns, although I will not accept comments that belittle others. I will treat you with respect, because a fellow human being deserves no less.
All I ask is that you do the same for me.
You may not like what I have to say. But please try to understand.
Sincerely,
Someone more like you than it seems