The morning after there was silence. This was the type of silence that you feel when you know something has died. I heard no birds, no lawnmowers, no leaf blowers, no talk, just silence. Nothing felt the same, the world just seemed so cold and distant, but I was still numb from the news of the night before: Trump was elected President.
With everything that Trump has said since he declared he was running for office, and with his supporters only further fueling with every word of hate he says, it’s no wonder there’s a legitimate concern in many marginalized communities as to what their place in the country is. Feeling fear after an election should not be normal, but in this case, it’s justifiable. No, we are not overreacting. It is very disappointing to be dealing with so much hate and racism in 2016. It feels as if we took one step forward in the last eight years, but have taken 100 steps back in less than 24 hours.
In my commute to class, I pass by an elementary school. I live in the south side of Chicago in a neighborhood that is primarily made up of immigrants. As I made my way to the bus stop I couldn’t help to eavesdrop on some conversations the parents were having. I overheard these three mothers expressing their fear of getting deported and having their kids taken away from them to be put in foster care. This single statement crushed my heart. I couldn’t imagine the sight of these mothers getting ripped away from their kids as they cry in the background begging to stay with their mothers all because society views them as “criminals”.
However, you don’t have to be an immigrant to feel threatened by the policies that can be upheld in a Trump administration. Anyone who is a part of the LGBTQA+ community, POC, Muslims, disabled people, working and middle class, women, people concerned with the status of their medical insurance , and anyone in between has a right to feel fear.
Since the election, there have been many incidents all over the country where the safety and peace of many has been in question. Here’s a few that were posted and circulated social media the day after the election:
Yes, we are currently living in a very divided country where hate and fear prevails. Trump’s presidential race was rooted in fear of change and diversity. Hence, the slogan ‘Make America Great Again’. With so much fear it was easy to manipulate that fear into hate. Just look at 1933-1945 Germany.
However, we can’t fight fear and hate with more fear and hate. Our reality is that Trump is president-elect. This doesn’t mean that we should simply sit back, accept it, and hope for the best. This means that this should fuel us and unite. This means we need to stand up against corruption. This means that we should act on it and protest. This means that we should make our voices heard because they clearly didn’t hear our vote. This means that we need to protect each other when one is in danger. This means that we should spread love whenever we can because we don’t need more hate. This means that it is up to us to make significant change.
We need to take all of our emotions and frustration to show them that we will not go down easily. We will not be silenced and we will not be intimidated. I love this country and what it truly stands for, but I don’t want to see it deteriorate because the government doesn’t represent its people. I refuse to see this country go back to a time where certain people feared for their lives and feared to embrace their identities.
America is known to welcome the tired, the poor, and the huddle masses yearning to be free, so why change this now?