America, What Have You Done? (From Someone Outside The United States)
By Emily Tate
I’ll be upfront. I feel, for many reasons that on some level I do not have the right to be writing this. For one, I do not live in America. I live on the other side of the world and it would be easy for anyone to argue that this doesn’t affect me (although since globalization in particular to do so would be both ignorant and naive but I suppose that’s how we’ve ended up here in the first place). I am also not a part of the minorities who have been vilified and ostracized by Mr. Trump throughout his campaign (unless you count women however they aren’t a minority). Nevertheless, all of this needs to be said. America you need to realize what you’ve done and whilst I am in no way blaming an entire country for this, your country is a democracy and therefore the majority of voters have to have elected Trump in order for him to win by such a margin*.
There are people sitting in their homes tonight terrified for the future. In fact I think the majority of us are in that state at this point, regardless of where we are in the world or who we are. However, there are some who fear that they will no longer be able to live in their own country, who fear violence and discrimination and the eradication of their rights. There are people who feel this way for the color of their skin, for their religious beliefs, for their sexuality, for their gender and for their mental health (or lack thereof). Parents are scared of telling their children about the results of the election. They are scared to stay in their own country.
In the past I have hated the comparison of Hitler to Trump and whilst I am in no way suggesting Trump is a Nazi or anything close to it, this is almost a mirror image of Germany during the time Hitler rose to power. And it is so beyond chilling, so beyond nerve-wracking and so beyond tragic that much of the world is paralyzed, we can only watch on as you determine your own fate.
To anybody who has ever claimed that Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump are ‘just as bad’ as each other, consider this.
Hilary Clinton is a woman with over 30 years of experience in the political system. She is educated and understands the politics of America in a way no ‘outsider’ ever can.
You may not agree with every single one of her policies, or even particularly like her as a person but at no point in her campaign has she denigrated, verbally abused or discriminated any group based on race, gender, religion, sexuality or any other physical factor. The only group she has targeted, in fact, is Trump supporters. She has conducted a balanced, reasonable, mature campaign based upon solid facts and policies. Regardless of your opinions on her as a person, that much is certain. The only reason she could, with any justification, be compared to Trump is through the email scan which, let’s be reasonable here, the majority of the population does not even understand, they simply know that it is ‘wrong’.
On the other hand, we have Trump. He has repeatedly discriminated against Mexicans, Native Americans, Latino/as, homosexuals, females, Muslims, refugees, Asians, reporters and the disabled. He has blatantly denigrated his opponents in an almost child-like manner lacking any sense of composure or basic human decency. He has encouraged murder, on the families of IS. He has claimed a war veteran is not a true hero because “he was injured”. He has condoned sexual assault on women and even appears to boast of it in his ‘locker room talk’. He has threatened to deport all Muslims and deny one quarter of the population of the world access to America.
This man has been supported by the Ku Klux Klan, a terror group. One founded on Christianity, sure, but still a terror group just as IS, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra and every other Islamic terrorist organization is. Trump has utilized and manipulated the fear of the middle class in these uncertain times to incite hate and obtain support for populist views founded upon bigotry, racism, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia. I feel scared. Not only for the minorities who now fear for their security, but also for the rest of America. Have you really proven that you are fueled by fear that immense? That you can be so easily manipulated into pure hatred?
So no, don’t tell me they were ‘equally bad’.
This was a kick in the guts for every woman who has been turned down because she was too nice, too gentle, not nice enough, too aggressive, too bossy, not assertive enough, not serious enough, too uptight, in place of a man who was more ambitious, more approachable, more assertive, more in control. This was a kick in the guts to every minority group who now feels the rest of the country was against them. This was a kick in the guts
To America, you must now consider who you are as a nation and who you want to be.
Whether they want to allow this bigot, this racist, this sexist, this xenophobic man to dictate the future of the country. Or if they wish to take democracy into their own hands, and force him to abide by policies which they choose. Ones based upon tolerance, upon acceptance, upon love and compassion.
Yes, Trump has won. Yes, this is going to be marked as a dark day for US history. Yes, it shows the flaws in the system and in the society. But do not forget that above all, America is a democratic nation. You all have the power to control what policies your government legislates. America, you messed up. But it’s not over yet.