Although I graduated from j-school and have done journalism work, I've never been one to be get involved in discussions of politics. But when the time comes that the president-elect is one who is against race, women, minorities, muslims, and the LGBTQ, I have no choice but to. As a woman, Muslim, and minority (Afghan-Canadian), I was hurt and disappointed by hearing the results of the election last night. Yes, I'm not American, but who the president of the U.S. is affects ALL of us. Especially Canada. Some of those reasons can be seen on Toronto Star's recent article. Just this summer I was in LA and I absolutely loved it there. I felt so comfortable and didn't even think twice about being a minority, but if I go there or anywhere in the States again in the next four years, I have a feeling my experience will be a little different, if people actually get influenced by Trump.
Yes, Hillary Clinton wasn't a great choice for President either. And because of this many people took the route of not voting at all instead of voting for the lesser evil or voting for Harambe (the dead gorilla - 11,000 people voted for this). Yes, Hillary is a liar, but aren't all politicians? Well, I certainly hope Trump is and has been lying about most of the ridiculous things he will do as president. I would rather have a liar (amongst other things) as a president than a racist, hot-headed, misogynist, rich white man who has no prior political experience.
The next four years is going to be rough, but unfortunately there's not much we can do to change who the president is. What we can do, is stand together and fight his policies as hard as we can and treat people with kindness. Racists are on a high right now and think it's a little more okay to be public about being racist now that their president is one, but if we see those around us being bullied by these kinds of people, we need to stand up for them. The only way we can get through this is by helping those around us and fighting against the hate. The protests that are happening now and public figures that are speaking out are one of the steps towards doing that.
The good news is, his presidency will only last 4 years. The following is how the future voted. This is what people 18-25 years of age said in casting their votes. At least we know that the youth are smarter than people think. We have to keep the flame alive and look towards a better future.
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| 18-25 years of age - voters choices |
This election revealed a fundamental problem with not just the U.S., but the world. People are surprised and wondering how Trump was elected, but what they fail to recognize is that there were millions of people there who actually voted for him. Those are the people you should be scared of. The problem begins with them. The only thing we can do is spread love and hope that it spreads to them and changes their hearts. Trump has promised and said a lot of things during his campaign. Once he takes office in January, I guess we will see what he really does. All we can do is hope and pray for the best.
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