Hate Isn’t the Opposite of Love, Apathy Is

I took a walk with my best friend to get food. On our way back to my house, someone yelled, “Hey Nigger!”

I turned around confused by what the person was yelling. Soon, I realized this man was shouting this at my best friend. He ignored the comment and kept walking.

“Hey Nigger!” The man shouted louder.

I turned around and yelled, “How dare you!” along with various other words. I was shaking with anger. How could someone yell this without any concern for how someone would feel? How could someone harbor this much hate for someone based on the color of his skin? Why does this man have so much hate?

We kept walking and the man stopped yelling.

“Why didn’t you say something to that asshole?”

“Soph,” Kai said, “It’s no use.”

“What do you mean it’s no use? Why not fight? That guy is so ridiculous!” I continued to shake.

“I’ve met guys like that my entire life.”

“You mean to say that’s normal? People say shit like to you regularly?”

“Yup.”

I didn’t know what to say. I’m white and for some reason the color of my skin makes me better. Fuck that. He’s my best friend and anti-discrimination is something I will always fight for.

I believed I wasn’t alone. This election proved me wrong. Donald Trump is the president of the free country. The country that I believed stood for equality and justice. Donald Trump. Donald. Fucking. Trump.

I couldn’t believe it. I had seen racism. I had seen discrimination. I had seen hate, but I couldn’t fathom hate was this apparent. I couldn’t fathom people wouldn’t vote because they were apathetic. Apathy tore America to shreds.

So I did what a lot of Americans did. I got really fucking angry. I went to Facebook and spat out the first thing that came to my mind. It was negative. It was something a short-minded person would say. I took a deep breath. Then another and another.

Where do I fit into this? Where does my best friend fit into this? Where does my disabled cousin? The veterans? The lower class? The immigrants? Where do anyone but white, Christians fit into this country? Anger filled my being again: How has one demagogue been elected to lead America for FOUR YEARS?

Deep breath. Then another, and another.

I went back to social media and realized that my newsfeed was not filled with hatred. It was filled with inspiration. We need to not allow this man to ruin this country, to ruin what Obama did for minorities. We need to come together and act unified without violence.

Then, I remembered I thought someone qualified would win. Have I surrounded myself with people of similar beliefs? Is that why my newsfeed is filled with these things? Am I not aware of how people actually think? Am I in a bubble?

The election results say yes but my social media says no. I am informed. Something went wrong. Something went extremely wrong. How do I fix it? How do I use my voice to fix it?

I created Meet My Friend, a Facebook page, to encourage individuals to share inspiring stories about individuals who need our help. Those who are about to face extreme hatred from white supremacists and Trump supporters. Those who are deemed different.

I encourage you to go there and share a story about someone who needs love. Someone you are willing to fight for. If not, do a good deed today. Help someone out. Spread love, not hate.