First of all, for all you people saying that people are protesting because "boohoo their candidate lost" and telling people to just "get over it" because they didn't win. You. Don't. Get. It. You evidently missed the boat somewhere. People are not protesting because their candidate lost. People are protesting because the President of the United States of America, the ruler of the "free world", arguably the most influential man on Earth is an incredibly corrupt, morally bereft, manipulative, lying cheat. And it scares the crap out of people. They are standing up against him. Personally I couldn't be more proud of them as Americans.
People also say "get over it" because they didn't cry when their candidate lost 8 years ago or 4 years ago. This may be true. But I'm pretty sure Obama didn't run on a platform intended to revoke the rights of citizens and set progress for equality back one hundred years. You know who I hear saying they aren't scared? My white, middle class, privileged, straight friends. Oh don't tell me how you grew up poor. I grew up "poor". We didn't have the nicest clothes. My dad worked endless hours to make ends me. We went without health insurance and vacations and cars that ran consistently. But we had food on the table, a roof over our heads and clothes on our back. You have no idea how "poor" some people are. You have no idea what it is like to grow up a different race, or as a gay/lesbian, or try to get a job as a woman in a "man's field". I don't either. But I respect their right to be scared.
Do I agree with the rioting and looting? Absolutely not. I will never understand it. I will never understand how some people can destroy property and think that gets any point across other than making them look like a maniac. But for the people leading the peaceful marches, I am behind you 100%. I support your right to stand up and have your voice heard. They are standing up to his lies, while Trump supporters just make more excuses for him. Whose building the wall now guys? And yet, you're okay with that? How about his "draining the swamp", but that's okay too?
We are all supposed to just "get over" how people talked about Hilary and Obama for the past 8 years (and more) because now Trump is president. And we aren't supposed to say anything mean about him or post anything negative about him because whether we like it or not "he's your president". Again. You're missing the boat. "He's not my president" is not a statement of what people actually believe, it's a protest. It's called symbolism, people. It's a mantra. A call to war. A call for justice. Get it?
As someone who has been told to just "get over it" in the past, I'm not going to "get over it". (Unless you mean some extended friendships with people who don't get it. Those I can get over.) I will not be told my feelings are crazy and unjust or unreal and I for sure wouldn't tell someone else that. If you don't know the reasoning behind how someone feels, if you don't have the background information they have, if you haven't lived their life, you don't get to judge. You don't get to tell people they can't feel the way they feel. And you sure as hell don't get to tell them to "get over it". You know what you need to get over? Yourself.
I'm eternally grateful for all the people who didn't "get over it" in my past. I'm thankful for those ungrateful rebels in 1776 who turned their backs on the king who had provided them with a new start and troops to protect them by declaring their independence. I'm grateful for the abolitionists in the mid-1800's who didn't "get over it" and tried to remove the greatest stain on America history and free a group of people who should have never faced slavery. I'm grateful for the women a hundred years ago who didn't "get over it" and left their kitchens to demand the right to vote and the right to move forward in careers. I'm grateful for the people who didn't "get over it" in the 1960's and fought for equal rights for all of mankind regardless of race. I'm grateful and proud of every American who has stood up for the rights of others and opened the eyes of those too comfortable to see the struggles of those around them.
I expect my friends list will get a lot shorter by the end of the day and I'm okay with that. I've tried to keep quiet and let others spread lies and misinformation. But at the end of the day, I have to live with myself. I can't be a bystander any more.
And because I made another promise that I am obviously failing at:
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