Last night in New York, the mayor, a few activists, and a few celebrities threw a protest rally. To my surprise, it was literally across the street from where I work in Columbus Circle, but I haven’t been feeling well the past few days and called in sick. I still watched the live coverage on Facebook, but I was dismayed by all the negative reactions that people posted in realtime.
“An army of snowflakes…”
“Black lives don’t matter…”
“Look at these Hollywood faggots…”
“You lost. Get over it, Libtards…”
Sure, there are a number of internet trolls who take great joy at instigating conflict, but a lot of these comments seemed absolutely genuine. I guess it comes as no surprise that a lot of these people are middle-aged or baby boomers, and I’m pretty certain they got a Facebook account less than five years ago. Nonetheless, I can’t help but wonder why some people (a good portion of middle class America) think like this. Don’t they know when they criticize the Hollywood Elite, they elected an Elite Reality TV Star?
The part of me that irks me most about Trump is his personality: brash, narcissistic, and utterly immoral. He clearly had no respect for anyone, much less for minorities, immigrants, and women. Are people that angry that they helped elect a morally-bankrupt individual to office? The answer, sadly, is yes. I’m a rational individual who always examines the motives behind people, but I’m utterly shocked that an individual can forgo his or her moral compass and support such an awful human being. Maybe I’m in that so-called liberal echo chamber, but I know what’s right and wrong. I know how to feel empathy and care for my fellow human being. I also know that I can’t blame my misfortune on others and feel helpless. Is it the economy that encouraged people to vote for Trump? If so, I’ve struggled with unemployment at the tail end of the Bush administration and deep into Obama’s. Is it terrorism? As someone who pays attention to the news and is aware of history, whatever is going on with ISIS and terrorism stems back to the last administration, if not decades ago. If it’s illegal immigrants taking jobs, I have never worried that I’d lose my job with my college or masters education. Throughout his presidency, I have never blamed Obama for my downfalls and saw the country as pretty prosperous. It wasn’t the calamity that fringe conservatives have been hawking on about.
After reading and watching news about his cabinet hearings, I can’t help but worry that these positions are going to be filled with unqualified billionaires and millionaires who will do nothing but harm our future generation. Why can’t those who supported him understand that their children will be affected by their proposed federal cuts on education, health, environment, and housing? Why can’t they realize they voted against their best interests? Did they truly hope that Trump, with his self-interest and billions, would change things? Because it looks like he’s not going to change the status quo on a corporate-owned America.
Today, after his inauguration, Trump immediately took down informational pages on climate change and LGBTQ rights from the White House webpage. I’m hesitant because this is a clear sign that the our compassion for our fellow human being — both present and future — is at stake.
These are dark times ahead, and people might not realize it just yet, but we all have to fight for what’s best for both ourselves and our children’s lives. Why? Because we’re all human, and we’re all in this together.