As the dust of this eventful election has finally begun to settle, the intense anger and outrage towards Trump have not subsided nearly as much as some were hoping. The crowd of anti-Obama fanatics calmed down once he was elected, right? Wrong. While ignoring their hypocrisy, the same people that continued to protest Obama are angrily blaming Trump protesters for ruining the peaceful democracy that we have.
Many people are confused about why others are still “wasting” their time protesting. Yes, Trump is our President. Yes, there are very few things that can really be done to remove him. The thing that protesting and protesters do, however, is they force Trump to listen. Protesters understand that making signs and wearing shirts is not going to make him suddenly disappear as the president. They are not dumb. Making signs and wearing shirts will catch his attention, though, and that is the only hope that America has in trying to actually have an impact in the White House.
Millions of Americans voted for Trump, but more Americans did not. It is the time he paid attention to those that so passionately voted against him; he represents all of us now, remember. The goal of protests is to make him look at us, make him think about us, and hopefully make him listen to us.
A taboo has been placed on protesting in America, and many people do not–or refuse to–realize how important the act actually is. Without the ability to protest, we really would not be a democracy. If our ancestors did not protest, women would not have gained their right to vote, segregation would never have been done away with, and even the United States as a country would have never been created. It is so important to protest, and especially today we have no excuse to not do so. We have the privilege of protesting on the streets, online, with our purchases, and with our vote.
The only hope that we have at this point is to be heard, and the thousands of people that have courageously protested are out there advocating to protect rights that are trying to be taken away from us. So if you think protestors are wasting their time, whether you agree with their views or not, understand this: when people stop protesting, chances are we no longer live in a country that is a true democracy. And that is when you should really get worried.