In light of the recent presidential election, as a liberal, Bernie-supporting woman, I am upset. Something I have been most upset about is the request for people like me to “calm down” and to “just accept it” because there’s “nothing we can do.” I’m writing this piece to explain why we are not being dramatic, “millennial cry-babies" and why our feelings are not irrelevant.
On Tuesday, Nov. 8 also known as Election Day, a black baby doll was hung on a curtain rod by a rope around its neck in a dorm room window at my college. A photo later surfaced with the meme “Trump supporters, hanging babies since 2016.”
The Ku Klux Klan has announced a plan to hold a “Trump victory parade” in North Carolina.
Eight reported cases of suicide among trans youth have been documented since the results of the election have emerged.
Racist and anti-LGBT graffiti have popped up across the nation, including inside middle school bathroom stalls.
Countless members of the LGBT community, African Americans, Asian Americans, Muslim Americans, Hispanic Americans, Latino Americans, and other racial and ethnic groups have been subject to heightened amounts of verbal abuse.
Women of all sorts have been reported being “grabbed by the pussy,” having sexist comments screamed in their faces, and being taken advantage of in countless ways.
If you’d like to access the collection of some of these reported stories, click this link.
While Donald Trump may denounce much of this hate, there has been an increase in these types of horrifying stories in conjunction with the verdict of the recent presidential election. This is a fact, not an opinion. The fear instilled in minority groups across the nation is becoming increasingly justified. Those who have always felt vulnerable due to their sex, sexual orientation, gender, race, ethnicity or religion, are now feeling increasingly silenced. This is not about the loss of an election. This is about the odious acts being spread across the country.
Let me get another thing straight; I am not categorizing groups of people. I am well aware that there are Trump supporters who find these acts deplorable. I am simply pointing out the fact that these things are happening, and they are happening with Trump campaign slogans often attached to them.
So, who am I to be upset about this? I am a heterosexual, white, cisgendered, American citizen who is rarely faced with inequalities in comparison to many of my minority counterparts. But in the words of Michelle Obama, “An attack on any one of us is an attack on all of us,” and I refuse to sit idly by and let hatred win. I may not understand what it's like to face discriminations that minority groups are subject to, but I refuse to simply accept that it's happening. And I refuse to believe that I should be labeled as dramatic for this.
To the members of the LGBT community, I stand in solidarity with you.
To the members of the Muslim community, I stand in solidarity with you.
To all immigrants, I stand in solidarity with you.
To the members of the African-American community, I stand in solidarity with you.
To all ethnic and racial groups, I stand in solidarity with you.
To all of those faced with a physical or mental disability, I stand in solidarity with you.
To the women who fear losing the rights to their own bodies, I stand in solidarity with you.
To all people that are currently living in fear – whether liberal, conservative, Hillary Clinton-supporting, Donald Trump-supporting, white, black, brown, gay, straight, questioning, trans, Muslim, Christian, Atheist, Pastafarian, WHOEVER YOU ARE, I stand in solidarity with you.
The most important thing to remember here is– we must unite. We may live in a divided nation, but we must stand with each other during these hard times and we must preach love. We must preach unity. We must condemn hate. Again in the words of Michelle Obama, “Our motto is when they go low we go high.”
You do not have to give up. You can be hopeful. And you can do something about this. If you see or hear anyone committing an act of hatred, do not be a bystander – speak out against it. Do not resort to violence, instead, choose peace–protest in a peaceful way. Do not consider your beliefs silenced, continue along the path of activism–educate those who don't understand. If you are not directly affected by any of these issues, stand with those who are. Every movement starts with one person–you can be that one.
