DONALD TRUMP| The Racial Divide, Paranoia, Fear and the Aftermath of his Victory.

DONALD TRUMP| The Racial Divide, Paranoia, Fear and the Aftermath of his Victory.
I was hit harder than I thought I would over Trumps win.

All year I’d been so focused on proving to people I was right that I almost forgot the implications of that.

I didn’t want Trump to win, but I also needed people to finally see and acknowledge the racial divide that America pretends to never exist, and Trumps win was to finally prove that.

Trump may not be racist,sexist and any of the other things mainstream media has accused him off; but you can’t deny that he took advantage of people who were to win votes.

He began his campaign by creating paranoia through conspiracy theories and alluding to the idea that being Muslim automatically meant you were a terrorist; something he accused President Obama of for many years.

He encouraged bad behaviour by making it ok to mock people, speak in a derogatory language and cheating your way through life if the system allows it.

He dismissed the idea of political correctness claiming it was making people too sensitive, “soft” and overly emotional. Forgetting that “diplomacy” is the reason why the world isn’t at war with its self.

But the issue here isn’t Trump himself, it’s the aftermath of his win; what happens to the division his campaign has created, the hate it’s encouraged and the fear he’s instilled.

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He can’t and shouldn’t be able to just “move on” and call it politics, because it wasn’t. The people he spoke of were real human beings, people who were affected by his words and actions. Trump gets to have security detail follow and protect him and his family, and doesn’t have to worry about some crazy person jumping him for now reason; but what about the people he created distrust around.

Real people like my Muslim friend who cried last night because of the fear she felt, and it wasn’t just in her mind as people will assume. She’d lived through 9/11 and suffered at the hands of racist, bigots and people who believed all Muslims were terrorist. It got so bad she had to “tone” down on how much she covered because her black hijab drew more attention than she wanted.

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Last night I listened to her talk about her two daughters who were already worried about the attention they were getting, and how she had to tell them to make sure they stuck to their books in school, didn’t do anything to draw attention to themselves and basically keep their heads down.

She hated that she had to have this conversation with her girls, and deprive them of living a full life. But that’s what fear does, even if it’s unfounded it creates paranoia in everyone, because you’re walking around wondering who hates you and who doesn’t. It’s like being an unwanted guest at the dinner table; you may have the invitation but not everyone wants you there. And that feeling is unsettling and this is the aftermath of the elections many refuse to see and want to ignore.

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Protesters are already on the streets and violence as erupted in several places and some with even minorities being the aggressors, because it’s become a “get them before they get me” battle. So the race war is on, and both sides are acting out on their fears and distrust.

And although it will be unfair to say only racist, sexist and bigots voted for Trump, we can’t deny that some, even if a small majority, voted for him because of some of the these things he indirectly encouraged and promised.

We hope for the best, but we have to prepare for the worst.

America has a lot of healing to do, and perhaps this is exactly what it needs to confront its issues and face them head on, instead of bushing it aside and hiding it like it’s been doing for many years.

The world is watching….