The earliest election that I can remember was in 2008, when John McCain was running against Obama. Seeing as I was only 11-years-old or so, I didn’t pay very much attention to either of the candidate’s values. In 2012, I’m honestly not sure anyone expected Obama not to be elected for a second term, and I was probably too angry with pubescent angst to care about politics. That makes this year the first election where I can say I’ve honestly paid attention to just about all of the information that I can get my hands on. Since it’s my first year voting, I started reading up on all potential candidates when I was 16-years-old out of some kind of over-inflated sense of importance. When I was 16-years-old I thought my personal vote would change the entire world.

Of course, now I know that’s not true, but from following the debates and such, I have learned one very important thing that will definitely affect how I vote: I may not survive a Trump presidency.

As many of my readers know, I’m an LGBTQ+ woman who has been affected by sexual assault. Donald Trump has made comments that treat sexual assault like a joke, which I foresee leading to laws that would make life even more hellish for those living with PTSD.

He has also made racist comments, about how all Mexicans living in the United States are illegal. All of the biggest problems in the country, such as lack of jobs and violent crimes are being blamed on the so-called “illegal” Hispanic population. Now, are there undocumented immigrants living here? Sure, but letting your Visa expire doesn’t mean you’re any less of a person than someone who was born here, and it sure as hell doesn’t make you a violent criminal.

Anyone who remembers seventh-grade history class should know that Adolf Hitler rose to power by blaming all of Germany’s problems on Jewish citizens. It was said that he would take the country back and “make it great again.” Doesn’t that sound familiar?

Some people say that Trump represents the working American and will do great things for those who value hard work, but how can you expect someone who considers a million dollars a “small loan?” How can you trust a selfish billionaire to do what’s best for the community instead of lining his own pockets and leaving hard-working Americans still busting their asses to get half a day off?

So, please, from someone who is exactly the kind of person Trump is against, vote for someone else.