The day after Election Day has been one of the hardest days I’ve had to go through. 11/9/2016 will forever be remembered.
My heart hurts as I write this. My heart hurts for the LGBT community, immigrants, minorities, and for women like me who had hoped that we could tell our children that we voted for the first female president. This is a sad day for us. Our candidate lost, yes, and you may tell us to accept it and move on. We will have to accept it, and we will move on. For now though, we’re going to take the time to hurt, because it’s a long road of healing for us.
Our candidate didn’t just lose. This is more than that. People around the world have had to wake up and explain to their kids what happened. They’ll have to explain to them that a white man with no experience, someone who has admitted to sexual assault, a man who has insulted the minorities of this country, a bully, beat a woman with all the experience in the world. We’ll have to explain that to our daughters. Just let that sink in. All these little girls who have been told they can be president some day, that they can do anything a man can do, we’ll have to explain to them what happened on 11/9/2016. That makes me sick to my stomach.
A bully won. Don’t try to argue against me on this. Donald Trump has bullied everyone who has crossed his path, and who he has deemed less than. Anyone who has looked at his Twitter will know this is true. Don’t try to defend him. Don’t try to tell me he isn’t a bigot. Don’t try to defend all of the horrible things he has said about the people in this world who aren’t straight white men. Don’t do it, because you can’t. His words are on camera, and in writing. There’s no way to defend his actions.
I’m not mad at the people who voted for Trump. It’s opened my eyes, but I’m not mad nor am I surprised. I’m sad, and I’m scared. I’m scared of who these people are. These are the people who screamed, “Lock her up!” after Trump succeeded and took the stage. These are the people who, reportedly, at a rally were shouting, “We hate Muslims, we hate blacks, we want our great country back.” I will not throw all Trump supporters in the same category, but it says a lot that you and these people saying all of these hateful things are in the same group – you voted for the same person, thus you are in the same group. You’ll have to explain that to your children some day. You may hide your true feelings behind closed doors, but I know that some of you do agree with Trump’s opinions of these people, and that makes me tearful and fearful.
I’d hoped we were moving forward in this country. We were spoiled with Obama for eight years – him fighting for LGBT members, women, and minorities. I had hoped this meant our country had shifted forward, but sadly, we just moved ten steps back. We have elected a man that wants to take away everything Obama fought for, and I cry because of this. Everything we worked for may be taken away.
I’m a woman. Trump doesn’t respect women. Don’t fight me on this. We have him on tape talking about women as if they’re property. He wants to take away my rights to my own body. I’m afraid of my future. I’m afraid for the future of our country.
Hate won on 11/9/16. We’ll have to live with that for the rest of our lives. We’ll have to tell our children and grandchildren that hate trumped love on that day. To quote Van Jones: “This was a ‘white-lash’ against a changing country.”
To turn it around, here’s what I’m going to do now: I’m going to keep fighting. I’m going to fight for all the people who Trump has oppressed in this election. I’m going to fight for my brothers and sisters who are LGBT members, minorities, and women. I’m going to fight for my future daughter, so one day I can tell her that this day didn’t stop me from reaching for the sky, from following my dreams, from believing that I can do anything a man can do. I’m going to fight, because my mother told me I can do anything I set my mind to, and I will continue to believe that is true.
I’m a millennial. If only our generation voted, we would be seeing a mostly blue map. I’m so sick and tired of being criticized. Don’t call us lazy when most of us go to school, work multiple jobs, and participate in extracurricular clubs and organizations. Don’t call us uneducated when we’re the most educated generation group. Don’t call us sensitive when we’re finally calling light to what’s wrong and what’s right. We know what’s wrong with this country, and we’re going to fix it. Just give us time. My generation is going to change this country. Our ideas and views are going to change the world.
Love will prevail. I have to believe this. It’s going to be hard, but we have to hold each other’s hands, and take on the storm that’s about to happen. We have to be there for each other, and we have to continue to love one another. We have to continue to fight for what’s about to be taken away from us. We can’t let this day stop us. We can’t let this day destroy us. We can’t let hate ruin our country. We have to fight harder now, but we won’t give up.
What’s done is done. Don’t follow Trump’s lead towards hate. Let’s be better than that. Let’s come together, join hands, and try to move forward peacefully.
We’re going to heal. It’s going to take some time, but I still believe in us.