But I have to explain why I'm struggling so much with the results of this election/the entire campaign season.
I can't forget - and I don't think we should forget - Trump's words.
...
I can't forget - and I don't think we should forget - Trump's words.
...
Politics and policy aside entirely: from his mouth, we heard words that were charged with hatred. Things he even later acknowledged and didn't apologize for. Ways he talked about women. How he addressed people at his rallies, encouraging violence and hateful rhetoric. His campaign told people to be afraid if he wasn't elected. His campaign told people to be afraid in general.
And now that he's elected, I am afraid.
We're seeing the ripples of his words growing in intensity voiced by children in school to their peers who are different from them. I know people who have had slurs yelled at them from cars passing by. My own alma mater - a small Christian campus - has been rattled this week during what was supposed to be a reconciliation service by students intolerant to diversity.
A friend of mine, who happens to be a minister and a gay man, shared these words from his own heart with me:
"...it’s about knowing that 40% of those I think are my friends endorsed an administration that thinks I’m not worthy of the same rights they have. It’s about realizing that 40% of the people I THINK believe I’m a valid person really don’t believe that at all...If it came to it, would they be in the crowd chanting against me?"
Those of us speaking up are not upset by your difference in political opinion. Honestly, We value that difference - we need each other to find balanced and effective solutions.
What would make us less afraid? What would help me personally to trust Trump as a leader?:
He needs to speak out against the voices of his supporters who are terrorizing LGBT people in their communities.
He needs to denounce the KKK.
He needs to apologize to women for the specific horrible things he's said about them.
He needs to show humility and that he values and embodies compassion for the many lives he now represents.
None of this is to suggest I'm not without hope. Even though I don't necessarily see eye to eye with some of the people he has brought into his cabinet, I trust that many of them want the best for all people. I hope for his team to take quick action proving themselves trustworthy and unifying as an administration.
Until then, I will not forget who he has been, what he has said, the many people who have been affected, or the many who fear the effect his influence will have on their lives going forward.
The attached post (by a friend from my alma mater) speaks powerfully about all of this from her first hand post-election experiences. We can't ignore it. We have to demand him to challenge these and his own actions. - Emily Race
And now that he's elected, I am afraid.
We're seeing the ripples of his words growing in intensity voiced by children in school to their peers who are different from them. I know people who have had slurs yelled at them from cars passing by. My own alma mater - a small Christian campus - has been rattled this week during what was supposed to be a reconciliation service by students intolerant to diversity.
A friend of mine, who happens to be a minister and a gay man, shared these words from his own heart with me:
"...it’s about knowing that 40% of those I think are my friends endorsed an administration that thinks I’m not worthy of the same rights they have. It’s about realizing that 40% of the people I THINK believe I’m a valid person really don’t believe that at all...If it came to it, would they be in the crowd chanting against me?"
Those of us speaking up are not upset by your difference in political opinion. Honestly, We value that difference - we need each other to find balanced and effective solutions.
What would make us less afraid? What would help me personally to trust Trump as a leader?:
He needs to speak out against the voices of his supporters who are terrorizing LGBT people in their communities.
He needs to denounce the KKK.
He needs to apologize to women for the specific horrible things he's said about them.
He needs to show humility and that he values and embodies compassion for the many lives he now represents.
None of this is to suggest I'm not without hope. Even though I don't necessarily see eye to eye with some of the people he has brought into his cabinet, I trust that many of them want the best for all people. I hope for his team to take quick action proving themselves trustworthy and unifying as an administration.
Until then, I will not forget who he has been, what he has said, the many people who have been affected, or the many who fear the effect his influence will have on their lives going forward.
The attached post (by a friend from my alma mater) speaks powerfully about all of this from her first hand post-election experiences. We can't ignore it. We have to demand him to challenge these and his own actions. - Emily Race
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