As I'm writing this, it's the day after the 2016 Presidential Election. Yesterday, I was brainstorming and preparing myself to write an article about the first female President of the United States. This morning, I woke up to a very different reality. As I saw "President Elect Donald J. Trump" scroll across the television screen, my heart sank. A little for myself, some for the future, but more for the groups and minorities that have been targeted throughout this grueling election.
The people I'm worried about are the sexual assault survivors, the LGBTQ+ community, and people of different ethnicities. After only imagining a Trump presidency, these people were scared. But now, they are terrified. Everything the LGBTQ+ community has fought for will no longer be represented. We now have a Vice President that has promoted conversion therapy, and signed a bill to jail same-sex couples applying for marriage licenses. We took 50 steps forward only to take 100 steps back.
Sexual assault survivors now have a President that was heard across the world saying, "when you're famous they'll let ya do anything", and "grab em by the p*ssy". As a victim myself, I am sad--even hurt. Walking outside is already a challenge, men scare me. The man staring at me in the grocery store scares me, and the man standing behind me in line at the gas station scares me. Now, my President scares me.
In my opinion, diversity is what makes this country whole. The past 511 days since Trump announced his election, I've seen my friends scared because of their skin color. I've seen my friends scared to wear their Hijab's in public. I've seen people heartbroken and hurt because their people have been made out to be nothing but rapists and drug dealers. This is not my America.
The months leading up this election, I got to know the America that I live in. Or should I say the separate Americas that I live in? One is filled with loving, free-spirited people. People who accept diversity and promote individuality. People who are passionate about healthcare and a woman's right to choose. People who see war and hatred as the last option. The other is full of people who seem to think that just because others are different, they are lesser than. People who don't believe women deserve equal pay in the workforce, and people who have even suggested removing the 19th Amendment. These are the people that elected the man who proposed to ban all Muslims from the U.S.
There were people that disliked George Bush or Bill Clinton and plenty of people that didn't like Barack Obama. But what we have now is not a matter of dislike or annoyance. This is fear. This is real, justified fear.
Today, I am ashamed to be an American.
All we can do now is be involved and pay attention. Register to vote. Peacefully protest. Vote. Watch the news. Form your own opinion. Learn about your state's government. Do research on the candidates for all offices and don't rely on word of mouth. Hell, even stick a candidate's yard sign right in front of your house.
All in all, this is what is beautiful about America. It is beautiful that we are all allowed difference of opinion. It is beautiful that I can write this article today while facing no backlash from anyone other than Facebook commenters. The democracy we live in is beautiful, the country we live in is beautiful. Let's not allow that to change.
