Over the next few days, I’m going to share the thoughts of friends and acquaintances as they process the reality of a Donald Trump presidency. Some will be from people willing to share their identity. Others will be anonymous. All will help us to understand that we’re not alone in our grief and struggle to understand “what’s next.”
Installment One is from Christiann Wiest and is an essay she posted on Facebook. Christiann teaches dual-credit English and psychology courses at Civil Memorial High School in Bethalto, Illinois. She lives in Glen Carbon, Illinois with her husband and daughter.
Enjoy.
I’m not one to post about political issues, mostly because I prefer Facebook to be about vacations and kids scoring soccer goals. But after a powerful message from my minister this morning, I’ve decided that by being silent, I am being complicit. So, I’m calling myself out on my fear of offending people because if I’m honest with myself, that’s just an excuse for me being a coward. Donald Trump spews hate — he is a racist, homophobic, misogynistic man.
If you voted for him because you like his fiscal policies, that does not excuse you from the fact that you have elected a bigot into office. It’s not my job to make you comfortable with your decision by being silent. Your idea of what it means to “make America great” is obviously very different from mine.
And for those of you who base your vote on the Second Amendment, just get over it. I am a gun owner. I have a firearm owner’s identification card in my wallet as I type this. No one has come to get my guns, despite all of the blathering nonsense about this over the years. It would take a vote of two-thirds of the House and Senate to repeal the Second Amendment and I don’t see that happening. Your irrational fear is no excuse to vote this bigot into office.
If you don’t know people who are black, or Asian, or transgender, or gay, I suggest you get outside of your little bubble and go meet the real people who are affected by hatred and bigotry. I condemn the acts of violence and hatred that have occurred toward minorities and the LGBQT community that have taken place since Tuesday.
For shame.
