I saw that you wrote a deeply misguided post about 'whiny' Trump protestors. I am writing this letter in response because I want to make something abundantly clear: this is so not about ‘whining’ that Clinton lost. This is about a real and imminent fear for the American people.
I want to address a few things you wrote. Your argument is that ‘Protesting is un-American’ and ‘Conservatives didn’t protest Obama’s elections,' so as a result, ‘We should all just get over it.’ Unfortunately, I cannot see how any of that is relevant in this situation. First of all, protesting is indeed American: it is, in essence, the definition of an exercise of free speech. Secondly, the reason Conservatives didn’t protest either of Obama’s elections was because there was nothing to protest. Agree or disagree with his policies, he has proven consistently that he is a good man with a unifying vision of hope, peace and inclusivity. He spent 8 years in office without a single scandal, corruption, or conflict of interest, despite constant obstructions and criticism. He, even outside his presidency, is internationally respected for his decency, class and grace under fire. Obama is a one in a million man.
Trump, on the other hand, is the embodiment of tastelessness, corruption, greed and hatred. From day one of his campaign, he spewed hateful language and preyed on fear. He targeted and belittled just about every marginalized group that lives in America. He made false promises to make America ‘great’ again, while only considering his own wealth and self-interest from the start. Since the election, he has proven that his message of hatred will be carried through, by filling his cabinet with the Alt Right’s most prominent and outspoken Anti-Women, Anti-LGBT, Anti- Semitic, White Nationalists out there. [We are already seeing the backlash of this, since in the past few weeks alone there has been a spike in reported hate crimes across the country]. He has more pending law suits, potential conflicts of interest and corrupt, international business deals before being sworn into office than most (any?) other presidents have amassed over a full term. He has the Twitter presence of an angsty, impulsive 16 year old, not that of a Commander in Chief. And did I mention his complete and utter lack of any sort of experience or knowledge about our government system? *See his multiple threats to disregard the Constitution (i.e censor media coverage, ‘shut down’ the internet, etc.). Essentially, we have handed the most powerful position in the world to the most corrupt, narcissistic, hateful, unqualified candidate we’ve ever seen. He has no place in Washington, and he’s made that clear on his own since he’s decided to disavow yet another presidential duty and not live full time in the White House.
And you see, that’s the discrepancy here. You like to frame it around policy disagreement. But this is about so much more than policy. In fact, Trump’s policies are so indecipherable and often contradictory in nature that disputing them would be pointless. And who even cares, right? Because if his campaign has proven anything, it's that facts are irrelevant.
The truth is, these passionate people are not protesting because they are 'whiny' or because they ‘disagree with some of his policies,’ like you do with Obama. In fact, these people are protesting the vision that Trump has for America. They are protesting his platform of hatred. They are protesting his offensive language. They are protesting his threat to build a wall. They are protesting his threat to deport undocumented immigrants. They are protesting his threat to make a Muslim Registry. They are protesting his Nationalist economic ideology. They are protesting his selection of White Nationalist and Climate Denier cabinet members. They are protesting his KKK endorsement. They are protesting his cronyism. They are protesting his massive international conflicts of interest surrounding the Trump brand. They are protesting his $25 million Trump University settlement. They are protesting his rape allegations. They are protesting his inability and unwillingness to take criticism. They are protesting his threats to disavow the Constitution. They are protesting his appalling lack of character and experience. They are protesting his total unfitness for the presidency. They are protesting for marginalized Americans, for the safety of our country, for the protection of the environment, for the sake of our international allies who are shaking their heads with us in fear, grief and disbelief.
So before you post again ignorantly about protestors, please try to understand the depth of what is going on here. Try to understand why we won’t just ‘get over it.’ Try to understand that these people are not just protesting, they are taking a stand. This moment in time will go down gravely and irreversibly in history. So ask yourself: which side of history do you want to be on?
With a sincere hope to make an impact,
Julia
