The unexpected results of the recent presidential election have caused much debate among students. While tapping through stories on Instagram the day after the election, I found myself unfollowing almost every person who posted something in celebration of the results.
You may be asking yourself, isn’t that a bit petty? I mean, he’s a controversial man, but is it so bad that you can’t be friends with people who voted for him? In short, yes, it is that bad. But trust me, I have my reasons.
When I think of the two-party system in America, like most of you, I think of Democrats and Republicans. To me, Trump supporters are in their own party. They took the ideologies of Republicans and twisted them into something much more extreme. Therefore, when I found out that people I knew voted for Trump, it felt personal because his proposed policies directly affect my life and the lives of those around me.
If you voted for Trump and are reading this article, I don’t want you to feel offended, but I urge you to put yourself in someone else’s shoes for a moment. Imagine there was an election, and one of the candidates wanted to put policies in place that directly affected your life in a negative way. On top of this, the candidate constantly berated and spread harmful rhetoric about who you and your family and friends are as people. Not only would you not want to vote for that person, but it would be hard to imagine how people could vote for a person who was so cruel about things that are near and dear to your heart.
Now, I want you to imagine that you find out that your best friend in the whole world voted for this candidate. You would be confused, right? How could someone that you’ve made countless memories with, shared secrets with and claimed to be your best friend, vote for a candidate knowing the harmful things they’ve said about your community and knowing the policies they want to put in place to stop your community from thriving?
This is the reality for many after these troubling election results. When a friend votes for someone who openly and proudly opposes the community that you are from, it becomes personal. The biggest difference for me between Republicans and Trump is that Republicans disagree with Democrats on policies. Things like gun control, how to combat climate change or issues that are subjective. However, Trump thinks that human rights should be up for debate and that should never be the case, not here, not anywhere.
What I think a lot of people who voted for Trump don’t realize is that nobody is going to benefit from his presidency. His policies are going to affect everyone, from students to POCs to the LGBTQ+ community.
As I’m sure many of you have heard, Trump has said that he wants to dismantle the Department of Education because he believes that it is making American education too “woke.”
To anyone reading this who voted for Trump or voted third-party and still has two or more years left of college, this may put you on edge. The Department of Education is essential to low-income college students, public schools and teachers everywhere.
If Trump can get this done, it will mean that many students at Suffolk and beyond will not be able to afford college anymore. It will also mean that underfunded public schools will not be able to provide the best possible education for students in marginalized communities.
This campaign promise alone ties us all to someone who will be negatively affected by Trump’s policies.
To those who had to drop friends this week because of who they voted for, I understand you completely. Knowing that someone voted for a candidate that they knew had a vendetta against your community is painful, and you are completely justified in choosing who you surround yourself with.
To those who were dropped, please know that it probably wasn’t an easy decision for your friend to make.
Nobody should have to be friends with someone who voted against their human rights and their futures.
