It's been four days since the election, and the country is finally realizing that Donald Trump has, indeed, won the presidential election and will be the 45th President of the United States.
Wednesday was a somber day, with most people appearing to be in shock. As the day continued, the glazed looks and heavy atmospheres started to fade as the reality of our situation sank in. And the reality is this: Trump is the President-elect. Trump will be our next President.
There are, understandably, discontent over the results of the elections. Minorities, LGBTQ+ people, and women in particular were fearful for the safety of not only themselves but that of their family and friends, recalling the various racist, xenophobic, and sexist (any many other) comments Trump had made in his bid for the presidency.
And their fear is not misplaced. Already there have been an increase in hate crimes following Trump's victory, such as the Nazi-related Trump graffiti on Jewish-owned stores in Philadelphia on the 78th anniversary of Kristallnacht. African American students at the University of Pennsylvania were added to a racist GroupMe chat where they discovered racist slurs and images of lynchings. At an NYU Muslim prayer room, Trump's name was written on the door, and at Oak Royal Middle School in Michigan, students chanted "Build the wall! Build the wall!" which was captured in a video gone viral. The reality is this: hate crimes targeting minority races and religions, as well as the LGBTQ+ community. These people have a good reason to be upset and afraid.
I've noticed several posts on social media telling protesters and others who are angry at the results of the election to "chill." And while the violence that broke out in some protests like the one in Portland does demonstrate a need for calmer, more organized form of discourse, telling people to "chill" and berating them for "overreacting" isn't exactly the best way to douse the flames. Many of the people are genuinely afraid, and their fear is justified as racists, sexists, homophobes, and xenophobes crawl out of the woodwork in the wake of Trump's political success to target minorities. My own parents had a brief, thankfully uneventful, encounter with a KKK rally in LA that nonetheless shook them and made me experience a brief but intense fear that I had never experienced before.
These people's fears are valid. Don't dismiss them.
