To the surprise of very few on the left, the election of Donald Trump two weeks ago upset a sizable percentage of the country, prompting hundreds of thousands to take to the streets in dozens of U.S. cities. Many people on the right, accompanied by a substantial amount of moderates, dismissed the protesters' concerns, labeled them sore losers and urged those unhappy with the election results to offer Trump a clean slate. After a year and a half of him unapologetically spouting out bigoted, xenophobic, racist and misogynistic rhetoric however, many find it delusional to think that the 70 year old will change his ways once he takes office.
Like many of his predecessors - both Republican and Democrat - Trump will almost certainly enact policies that continue to not only oppress those who are typically disenfranchised, but also expand the number of people who fall into that description. Those of us who care about the environment, education, and strive for an equal society will surely be unsatisfied as well.
This is where the protests come in.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once made the statement that, "A riot is the language of the unheard." This is what we are seeing play out before our very own eyes.
With a political system that is clearly broken, tens of millions of people in this country feel as if their cries for justice continue to fall on deaf ears. Armed with that knowledge, those in the streets understand that their oppressors have little regard for who has the moral high ground and recognize that the only way for their demands to be met is by making them impossible to ignore.
We have already seen these demands take shape over the last half decade. The Occupy Movement, Fight For 15, Black Lives Matter, the Bernie campaign and the current Standing Rock occupation are all the result of marginalized groups recognizing that their voices will be neglected unless they organize and make themselves heard.
With the election of a president that will almost certainly be on the side of the oppressor, do not be surprised over the next four years when you see occupations, protests and riots. There are very few other outlets at this point. For those of us who are struggling, this all we have left.
