Why I’m hurting after the 2016 United States election.
AN OPEN LETTER TO TRUMP SUPPORTERS:
I am a gay, first generation, Salvadorian-American man that is significantly hurting after Donald Trump was elected the 45TH president of the United States. I’m hurting for a lot of reasons. The heart-wrenching feeling of defeat, along with the reminder of disenfranchisement of other people like me, is painting a bleak image of the future. This wasn’t an election where another Republican white man won the presidency. To the republicans out there that think that that’s the main reason for my anger, it’s not. Donald Trump isn’t the ordinary candidate. Donald Trump isn’t the ordinary Republican. President-elect Donald J. Trump is the insidious, subconscious trigger that many American clearly hold on to against other groups of people. Donald Trump didn’t win because of policy. He didn’t even win because he was likable. He built his campaign off of hate against Latino people in this country. He reminded the struggle white, lower middle class that this country is changing, that this country is becoming diverse, and that demographics are switching. THAT is what got him the election. Racism. Racism against Latinos, and xenophobia against Muslim-Americans.
Meaghan Kelly recently stated in an interview, that as Americans “we all share the same core values.” After this election, I don’t know if I agree or disagree with her statement. I truly, deeply want to believe that I don’t share a single opinion with a Trump supporter. But I remind myself one thing. I do share something with a lower class white American in the Midwest. We are both struggling. We are all struggling in a country where opportunities for success are inherited through generations of rich families. We both know what it’s like to work seven days a week, sometimes just to survive off of canned food and ramen noodles. I understand the feeling of defeat completely. However, my feelings don’t need a scape-goat to be validated. I know the difference between right and wrong, And I know that a man that profits off of hate against already powerless minorities, doesn’t have the fitness to be the leader of the free world.
I have friends that voted for Donald Trump. Some couldn’t help but gloat Trump’s victory to me. To them I just have one plea. I want them to ask themselves one thing. “Have my rights ever been put on the line through systematic racism and bigotry.” If you don’t know what that feels like, then you will NEVER understand the pain I am going through. Since Tuesday night, I’ve realized that in a country where we are ALL Americans, exactly half of the that population doesn’t have my back. Doesn’t care that in the next four years, I have family members that will not get the opportunity to have a fair path to citizenship. That my humble parents, who are fortunate citizens, (who ALSO HAVE THAT AMERICAN DREAM) live in a small North Carolina town, where the majority of the population doesn’t care for them. That is why I’m hurting. And if you can’t take the time to understand that, then how can you EVER expect me to understand your vote that put me in this situation.
So I finish this letter with one final statement. Trump is president, but I am still holding on to the pride of being a gay Salvadorian-American man. The next four years will be a tumultuous period of hate rhetoric against many groups of people, but I will only be more determined to make a presence in the Trump America. I am not going away, I am not going in the closet. I’m going to be a permanent reminder to every Trump supporter that in the end, they didn’t stick with their Republican party--- they simply stood by a man who doesn’t care if I live or die.
