When I returned to my hometown of St. Louis for Spring Break last week, it was in hopes of a restful week of relaxation. And it was, until Friday morning. Despite my prior hesitations, my curiosity and my rather insistent younger sister convinced me to go somewhere I never expected: a Donald Trump rally. It was a beautiful Friday morning, albeit a little early since we had to arrive three hours early in hopes to be admitted to the event. The first thing I noticed was the people. A line a Trump fanatics stretched for blocks and blocks, wrapping around the St. Louis City Hall and back again. A line with people of all ages, but particularly older people and young teenage boys. All of this I expected, this was a rally, after all, I knew it'd be crowded. What I didn't expect is the madness I observed as I walked along the line.

Now, I’m by no means a supporter of Donald Trump, you can ask anyone who knows me. So it wasn’t his policies that disturbed me at this rally, and it certainly wasn’t the idea of a rally itself. I believe in, more than anything, the right to publicly express beliefs, especially in the most important of election years. What disturbed me was the utter chaos that supplemented the democratic expression that morning. Trump has an uncanny ability to bring out the madness in people, and I saw this first hand in several encounters.

My first encounter was with a street vendor selling Trump paraphernalia. There were, or course, tee shirts, pins and hats of all shapes and sizes praising the name of “The Donald," which was expected. What I didn’t expect to see was the numerous pieces brandishing anti-Clinton sentiments. Many referred to her email scandal, which is understandable. However, I was disgusted to see pins attacking Secretary Clinton’s body (pictured below). Not only does this subject have no place in the discussion concerning potential candidates, it especially shouldn’t be on display and featured at another candidate's rally.

The second aspect of this rally that concerned me was the very obvious police presence there. This rally took place before a man tried to storm the stage toward Trump and before the riots broke out in Chicago, and yet there were lines of police surrounding the event venue (pictured below). Why? Because it seems the police had the same thought I stated above, the Trump campaign seems to bring the madness out of people, whether they are for him or against him. And, as it seems, they weren’t just there for precautionary measures, supporters and protesters clashed throughout the morning and put the police to work.

To clarify, not all of the protesters and supporters caused a stir. Many, I’m happy to report, were just there to exercise their rights to express themselves as voters, whether they were for Trump or against him. In fact, most supporters were high in spirits and many protesters carried signs bearing positive and encouraging messages (pictured below).

However, there were several individuals who expressed their opinions through anger and hatred (pictured below). One young man even stood on an American flag, greatly offending many people in line and, admittedly, myself (pictured below). As expected, this extreme action drew many screams and jeers from the people in the line and even, in extreme cases, supporters leaving the line to confront him, only to be separated by police. It was a scene that’s reminiscent of riots one would see on television, not before my own eyes on a sunny Friday morning.

And that right there is what I found so unfortunate about this event. Rallies and events like this are only productive and positive when they respect and recognize conflicting views. This, however, was completely lacking in tolerance and acceptance, making for an ominous premonition for the rest of the election year to come. Overall, this really did teach me one thing: this election of 2016 is one that boasts more participation than I have seen in any political elections I’ve ever experienced. Which could mean one of two things: American are becoming more civically engaged overall, or, they are so dissatisfied with the state of our great nation they decided enough is enough.