By Cameron Pierre-Pierre
Donald J. Trump will be the president of the United States of America. These are words I thought I would never have to say. These are words I never wanted to say. Unfortunately, at the moment, I don’t really have a choice. I’m not even sure how to feel about this. I know that I am not alone in feeling this way. None of us saw it coming. We put up a “smug-screen”, tipped up our noses and declared that it was “impossible for him to win.” “We are such a progressive and forward moving people that a racist, xenophobic, misogynistic person can’t win,” we cheered. We, on the left and even some on the center-right, were wrong.
I would say that I am disappointed by the result but disappointment wouldn’t even begin to convey my feelings. We’ve elected a completely inexperienced political neophyte into the highest public office any human being can hold. We have given the former host of The Apprentice the keys to our military. Disappointed? No. Furious. Confused. Outraged. Devastated. These are more accurate words to describe how I am feeling.
When I first started writing these columns, I wrote about the fear and uncertainty that Donald Trump and his rhetoric instilled in others and myself. I wrote this before he even got the nomination to be the Republican candidate. Well now he is going to be the president. We live in troubling times to say the least. We’ve gotten to the point where people feel so forgotten by our political and economic establishment that they are willing to vote for a guy like Trump if it means that their lives will improve. That is what scares me the most.
The key now is to move forward. We cannot turn back time to stop his election. The recounts will probably amount to nothing. This is the hand fate has dealt us. Those opposed to Donald Trump and what he stands for need to fight back. Vote in the next mid-term to make sure his party loses it’s majorities in congress. Organize and protest whenever he does something you dislike. I don’t have all of the solutions, but it is important to not sit by as this man destroys our country with his hate. Good luck to everyone, it’s going to be a crazy four years.