By the time you are reading this, Trump will have been elected the 45th president of the United States. You might feel scared and like giving up, but please don’t -- our fight has just begun. We will not fight with violence, but with love. Trump tries to manipulate the American people with fear, but we will show him we are not afraid. We won’t give in to hate.
Today I participated in a protest at my school against Trump’s presidency. It was remarkable to see how even when it seems all hope is lost, people can come together and fight for what’s right. While at the protest, about five Trump supporters showed up -- all white, all male. They waved Trump/Pence flags in the air, but they were only there to get a reaction, to spread hate. At first, people rallied around them, but then people disbursed and you could see those Trump supports lose motivation. People began to focus on what they were fighting for: Equal rights for women, the LGBTQIA community, immigrants, Muslims, and people of color. Once people replaced their anger with determination, they forgot about the Trump supporters. You cannot fight ignorance with anger; the only thing that overcomes ignorance is knowledge.
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Right now, silence is the enemy, but it is important how we are filling the silence. We should be using knowledge and love to educate people instead of using ignorance and hate to manipulate people. Jane Goodall once said, “Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don't believe is right.” What we need to start doing is having respectful conversations with people who are doing something we don't believe is right, but it is important that while communicating with these people, we use love and knowledge. We can’t get angry or hateful, or we will just be as bad as them. Hate cannot beat hate -- only love can do that.
These next four years are going to be tough, but we will not give up, or give in to hate. I believe these four years will create such bad-ass, strong, and courageous people. Trump's presidency is a wake up call: We have a long way to go, but we will not stop until every gender, sexuality, religion, race, and ethnicity feels safe and has equal political, social, and cultural rights in The United States of America.
I believe change begins with communication, when people stand up for what's right. So let's start the dialogue, speak up, protest, write. Just don’t stay silent.
