We Need Anti-Trump Protests
Americans around the country are exercising their right to protest in the name of tolerance and love
By Romi Azulay
The Progressive Teen Staff Writer
THE KKK IS CELEBRATING. The glass ceiling remains intact. Bigotry and sexism were brought to the eyes of the American people, and nearly half of them turned the other way and believed they were helping make America great.
Almost two weeks have passed since Donald Trump was elected President and the protests continue. Mike Pence, a supporter of electric-shock conversion therapy for homosexuals, is one heartbeat away from being President, and that in itself is enough of a reason to protest. Now, with the recent appointment of Steve Bannon to chief strategist, action against the discrimination that Trump brings to our country continues to become more and more important.
Hundreds of thousands of people felt the need to march through their streets to prove that “love trumps hate” despite what recent events show. The other end of the political spectrum scoffs at the protesters, wondering what they believe they are going to accomplish. I back the protesters wholeheartedly and will personally be attending a rally soon. When sharing this with my conservative colleagues, I was asked, “What difference do you think you can make? Trump is our President, you can’t change that, give him a chance.”
I hope, just as any American should too, that Donald Trump will be a fantastic President who creates jobs, combats terrorism, helps those in need, fights for minorities and makes our country great. However, when a campaign based on fear-mongering proved victorious, my common sense of decency shows me that something is wrong. According to Robert McCaw, Government Affairs Director of The Council of American-Islamic Relations, the U.S has “witnessed a sharp jump in anti-Muslim incidents nationwide… accelerating after the November 8 election”. Swastikas are being spray painted and transgender individuals are being told to die. When hatred and bigotry are brought to light and minorities are shushed into the dark, it is our duty as Americans to speak up for them.
“When hatred and bigotry are brought to light and minorities are shushed into the dark, it is our duty as Americans to speak up for them.”
The phrase “Make Racists Afraid Again” has appeared in these peaceful protests. This is a prime reason for why I believe that we need these protests. I do not argue that Trump himself is a racist, although he does have numerous ideologies that discriminate minorities. The issue is that with Trump’s election, white supremacists now feel like they have a platform to promote their nauseating agendas.
MY FRIENDS NAOMI FRIEDMAN AND CAROLINE WOLINSKY attended an anti-Trump protest in New York City on November 11. Their powerful words, captured by ABC News 7, illustrate the necessity of exercising one’s right to protest. Wolinsky reminds us that “just because it was a huge blow that Donald Trump was elected, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t stand up for our rights, and that we shouldn’t stand up for each other and that we shouldn’t spread messages of love.” Friedman makes the important point that “if he stands for bigotry then [we] can’t stand for him.”
The great Martin Luther King Jr.’s words ring true today especially: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” As a nation, we must acknowledge that immigrants’ lives matter, gay lives matter, black lives matter, all lives matter. We can never allow ourselves to forget that we all matter; we can never allow ourselves to fall silent.
