I'm not obtuse when it comes to Obama nor am I blind to his flaws and imperfections. There are so many choices that he made as president that I wasn't a fan of. I can see choices that he made for our country that weren't the best and I've listened to people in countries that were negatively impacted by Obama's military and foreign choices.
Yet I still cried at his farewell speech. There is so much Obama has done for our country, whether you want to accept that or not. That is why I am so sad to see Obama go. The Obamas were such a beautiful and positive family to have in power and they did so much good for our country. Their influence spread so far. I am so glad to have lived during those two terms and to have experienced life and growth under such an impressive presidency. In fact, we can just look at this beautiful article by CNN to see the goods and bads of the Obama administration. Yet everything I read about Trump just terrifies me further.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I fear Trump. I fear what will happen to our country under him. I fear the people he has put into power. Trump is bad news. I didn't feel this way when Obama was appointed. I was happy to watch the 2008 inauguration in school.
On Inauguration Day, I woke up feeling sick. I donned my PRIDE shirt and walked to the liquor store with my friend to get my day started. I unfollowed both the POTUS and FLOTUS on twitter. I barely have the energy to type this article. The only bit of Trump's inauguration I saw was when I went in Dunkin Donuts. My friends and I treated it like any other Friday: we went to classes, we met for lunch, and hung out in the evening.
It was almost as if by ignoring it, we could make it just... not happen. If we just talked about Obama and not Trump it wouldn't happen. But that's unfortunately not the case.
Obama wasn't perfect, but he listened. I felt like I could speak up against injustices and he cared. I worry that with Trump, it won't be that way.
Obama wasn't perfect but I, as a queer and mentally ill woman, felt like I was safe. I have seen for myself how Trump feels about people like me.
Obama wasn't perfect, but he was way better than what we're getting.
