To be honest, I do not know much about politics. A majority of what I know is a result of what I learned sophomore year in high school in AP government class and articles my Facebook friends share. I’m unsure of which political party my family identifies more with because it is not spoken about in my household. If Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump weren’t the two candidates in this election, I probably would not have even watched the results that night. My shitty dorm’s cable (of course) was out that night and I live streamed it on my laptop. On my phone, I witnessed my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram blow up with people’s fury as Trump took the lead and Hillary supporters slowly lost hope.
The day following the announcement that Mr. Trump was indeed President-Elect of the United States, I watched on Snapchat as rallies and protests occurred all over the country on college campuses. I walked by a man parading my own campus with a sign that read, “ask me why YOU deserve to go to hell,” as he screamed insults at women and people of a variety of different racial groups. Maybe this was just a coincidence that this man decided to do this the day Donald Trump was elected, or maybe he was driven by Trump’s win.
As an 18 year old from Maryland, a heavily Democratic state, naturally my friends and I all complained in our group chat as we watched the saddening results. My choice to support Hillary had minimal influence by politics. Hillary is an icon and role-model for young women in any situation they desired to clinch a “win” in. This election was a real shot at women. You can be more qualified, better educated, have more impressive resume and still not get the job.
The candidates' beliefs almost contrasted with one another, as Hillary motivated women to be equal to their opposite and work hard for what they want to achieve as Donald Trump was sexualizing and objectifying women and claiming they can be “grabbed by the pussy.” My father supported Trump based on his economic views and his intentions to help his business, but immediately withdrew his support following the negativity he spread about women.
Now, I live in Indiana. Hillary Clinton won my home state of Maryland by a landslide while Donald Trump won Indiana by a landslide. Our new Vice President, Mike Pence, defunded many of the Planned Parenthood locations in this state. It is comforting to know if I ever need to turn to support from this service, it is easily accessible for me at home. I don’t want this to be taken away from me. Why is it fair that my Facebook feed is flooded with advice from other women to get an IUD inserted because my birth-control pills are not going to be covered by my insurance, come January?
It just seemed like everything Hillary stood for was a lot more positive and progressive than anything that came out of Trump’s mouth. Many different groups of people are concerned for their futures in the upcoming 4 years. People are threatening to leave the country until the next election. Nobody should feel this uncomfortable in their own HOME. Nobody should flee their own country because they’re concerned their protected rights may be stripped away from them by the person ELECTED to run our country.
I am a woman. I am Jewish. I am two things Donald Trump does not give his support to. Sure, my dad’s business can benefit from Trump’s policies. Sure, the taxes my parents pay may be significantly cut down when Trump begins his presidency. But, is that worth feeling vulnerable?
This is not a post to condemn people for voting for Trump. This is not a post to encourage you to sign the petition for the electoral college to change their votes to a vote for Hillary. This is simply to get my voice heard. This is barely political. This is an observation of the hate I’ve witnessed and the fear I’ve noticed. With that being said, let’s all wish at 11:11 that we all can come together as a country and give our newly elected president, Donald Trump, a chance to prove us all wrong.
PS: let’s stop bashing each other on social media for conflicting viewpoints. He’s our President and we should probably accept it now.
