As anti-Trump rallies nationwide turned hostile overnight with widespread reports of violence, vandalism and death threats against the president-elect and his supporters. Western Washington University took a more peaceful approach to the situation by coming together in the Red Square fountain for a non-violent sit-in. People were welcome to come sit inside the now empty fountain to seek support and community after seemingly shocking election results.
Some of the participators held cardboard signs that read “Not My President,” “Love Trumps Hate,” and “Dump Trump.”
The sit-in gained strong momentum on college campuses during the Civil Rights Movement and is still used today. Organizers believe that if violence is being used by other protesters, people might see more righteousness in their cause if participants sit quietly and wait for change.
There is no denying that this election has driven more people apart than together. This country has been split in half, some siding with Hillary and others with Trump. Now that the election is nearly over, we are left trying to pick up the pieces of a very messy America.
Facebook’s role in providing Americans with political news has never been more controversial or more divided. The Wall Street Journal’s Blue Feed, Red Feed lets you see liberal Facebook and conservative Facebook posts side by side. “We often don’t know how much of a bubble we live in,” said one student at Western. “Here in Washington, no one could have fathomed that Donald Trump would have become our new president-elect.”
This past year of campaigns has had a lot of people learning to accept criticism, alternative viewpoints, and even outright insults from the other side. One female student from Western expressed how “many minorities believe the people who voted for Trump endorse his racism and bigotry — what we are missing is that in their minds, those voters feel taken advantage of and care more about sending a message to the political establishment than they do about the rights and welfare of human beings.”
These Western students were not demonizing those who supported the other side. The sit-in participants voiced confusion as well as anger toward the type of ideals the Trump campaign won on. But there was no doomsday talk -- rather, a sense of reaching out to like-minded people to better understand why the election happened the way it did and to express concern about the future of America. And for some, the future does not look too bright.
