This week, we welcomed a new president. A president that wasn't well liked by many, while others love him and what he says he will do for the people. I don't want to start a debate here. Trust me. I'm not happy about having a president who thinks it's okay to speak the way he does of women. Nor do I support his views. I don’t support him, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to burn a city down. It means I’ll fight for what I believe in. I’ll support the causes that mean the most to me. We are the governing power. This is his temp job. To “make America great again,” he has to listen to what the people want. So we need to make our voices heard.

But the hate has to stop. Hate will get us nowhere. It will only set us back even more.

Protesting is a great thing. I love seeing everyone standing up for what they believe in. Seeing people coming together fighting for a powerful cause. But what I don't like are the riots. Seeing people destroying store fronts and hurting other people. This isn't how to get your voice heard. This is bringing yourself to his level when we want to show that we are above him.

I know it's tiring of being told that we need to 'get over it' and that we should 'suck it up. He's the president now. They didn't do either of those things while there was a president in the white house that they didn't agree with. They even went as far as to have a 'protest' with a burned body with Obama's face on it. Yet, these same people say they never did anything like what is happening today. And they are right. They made it racial. And protested and complained and stated “He’s not my president,” just like some of those who don’t support Trump have today. The double standard they set isn’t fair and they shouldn’t expect us to just sit back and do or say nothing to let it be known that we are just as upset as they were four and eight years ago.

But we can’t give in to the hate speech. We can’t allow ourselves to fall to a class-less level of burning cars, smashing windows and causing mayhem. We need to stand up for what we believe in without it leading to the destruction of property. This only reflects badly on us and the causes we are trying so hard to defend. We want him to look like the fool and have to bend to the will of us, the people he so proudly said the ones in charge of the government.

So instead of being a keyboard warrior, instead of just sitting there and doing nothing to change what you’re unhappy with, get involved. Educate yourself on some of the matters that will be coming up with the new power in the white house and decide which side of the issue you are on. But don’t burn random cars on the streets. Take a page from the Women’s March that took place the day after Trump took office. There was not a single arrest in any of them. They didn’t fight with the cops, they didn’t throw trash cans into the windows of banks or set fire to anything. They simply marched with signs letting their voices be heard.

Hate never wins. Love is what will get us through this. Love and peace will always win in the end.