Throughout this election, we have heard an abundance of derogatory comments from Donald Trump about minorities,immigrants, women, Muslims, the family of a Muslim soldier who died in Iraq, veterans, prisoners of war, and the disabled, to name a just few. As a Mexican immigrant and a woman, I have been among his targets. I have voiced my disdain for the Republican nominee before, but never actually took the time to focus on any of the specific attacks that I have found myself a target of.

I have always publicly disliked Trump, but never actually condemned his words even though the two go hand in hand. What actually made me dedicate a whole article to these attacks was the fact that I recently experienced them first hand. An unsatisfied customer verbally attacked my coworkers and I, all of which are minorities. She started by yelling at me about one of the restaurant policies that she did not agree with. When my black co-worker came to try and help, the customer turned her anger towards her and said she did not “talk to n---ers”. We were both shocked at her ridiculous and unwarranted outburst. She continued her tirade by telling us that Trump would send me and my Asian coworkers back where we came from until we finally warned her that we would call the police if she didn’t leave. I’ve seen Trump supporters lash out on social media, but I never thought it would happen to me, especially not at my workplace.I am not the only one who has seen first hand how Trump’s xenophobic and hateful spirit has found its way into everyday interactions. Students around the country are now being bullied by their peers because of who they are.

When Trump announced his campaign for the President of the United States, he did so with some less than desirable quotes. One of those that were directed towards my people you might have heard before: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best… They’re sending people that have lots of problems...They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They are rapists.” When I heard him say those words I thought that surely that must not be happening, how could a US presidential candidate actually think and say those things? But in fact, it was happening and it proved to be that not only him, but many in this country believed it to be true. Well, I have a couple of words for Mr. Trump and people who think like him. Everyone has faults, some more than others, and to generalize a group of people for the mistakes of a few is just plain ignorant. That would be like me saying that all white males are racist bigots with fake tans. Obviously not true and unfair because I would be generalizing a large group of people because of my dislike of one person.

It hurts to have so many people believe and have this perception of Mexicans because of an influential person’s skewed views. Mexico isn’t sending the lazy and the criminals, in fact, the opposite is true. The people who immigrate to the U.S. are mostly individuals who want a shot at a better life. We are dreamers, hard workers, fighters. We are human beings, and as such we deserve respect and human dignity.

His running mate, Mike Pence, claims that their campaign is not based on hate and attacks, but facts prove otherwise. When pressed on the issues, Pence simply dismissed it as “that Mexican thing”, an obviously unimportant issue to him. But what ‘Mexican thing’ was he talking about? Maybe he means that Mexican thing where my father saw his children only a couple of times a year because most of his time was spent in the U.S. working for an employer that at times humiliated him in order earn enough money so that our family could be together again.That Mexican thing where I have worked hard in order to become a citizen of the United States.That Mexican thing where my sisters and I are the first ones to attend college in our family.That Mexican thing where I go to school and work full-time in order to pay for college and become the person I always wanted to be. Oh, wait. It’s that Mexican thing where Mexicans were vilified by his running mate, but he and many of his fellow Republicans seem not to care.

Thankfully they have not stayed quiet about everything. Recently many individuals from the Republican party came forward and expressed their disgust over a leaked video of Trump’s preferred method of sexual assault. Many said that as a father/son/husband they felt disgusted about the way he talked about women. I just have a quick question. Do you not believe that minorities deserve respect? Do you really only care about people you're related to? Because according to your actions, the only ones who deserve respect are those you know personally.

Mexican’s are not the only minorities that have been attacked by Trump. We have to accept that his words are not just words that can be easily dismissed- they are breeding hate and dividing this country. It brings tears to my eyes, both from anger and sadness, that the country that I love and call my own no longer feels as accepting and is instead beginning to turn its back on me. Thankfully Michelle Obama reminded us that “when they go low, we go high”. Those words are what I will continue to live by. I will continue to strive for that better life I have worked for and deserve, and break the stereotype that Trump has put a spotlight on.