It is 2:03 AM as I write this. I stayed up to watch my country choose the next president of the United States. And I must say... I am appalled. I write this with tears in my eyes and a pounding in my chest.
Donald Trump is the next president of the United States of America.
What does this mean? What does this mean for our friends and family who identify as minority, members of LGBTQ, or as women? What does this mean for our immigrant families who will be torn apart? What does this mean for Muslims living within our borders? I'll tell you what this means for these citizens. This means that we will be living in fear for the next four years.
I fear that our country has not made the progression that we have gloated about for the past few decades.
On November 8th, 2016, America showed its true colors. America voted for a man who is anti-LGTBQ. His running mate is the face for anti-gay rhetoric. Trump is a man who has called Mexicans rapists, openly sexually harassed women, and wants to make Kim Davis style discrimination legal.
Four years ago I wanted Obama to win because I did not like Romney. Today, I wanted Hillary Clinton to win because I am genuinely concerned for my rights. Will I be able to legally get an abortion? Will I be able to choose who I marry? Will my friends with hardworking, immigrant parents be torn from their family? I honestly don't know. And that is terrifying.
For those that sit idly by, assuming that everything will be okay: I cannot support you. If you are content with Trump as our president, I can't pretend that our political differences do not set us apart, because they most certainly do.
If there is anything that this election has taught me, it is that America is not yet as progressive as it claims to be. I have learned that I have friends and family who do not understand that America is very much still racist, sexist, and homophobic.
A moment of silence for the America I thought we were.
