So I'd like to know Mr. Trump, for who exactly was America great? I read an article on CNN, where you told us when, but you said the late 40's and 50's were when America was "great." Who was it great for? The African Americans who didn't earn the right to vote in the country their ancestors built until 1965? The same African American men who fought for our country and couldn't even vote for their leader, was it great for them? The African American children who couldn't attend schools with white children, was it great for them?
What about Japanese Americans who were forced to live in concentration camps? Was it great for them? I fail to see what would be so great about being ripped from your home and forced to live in "relocation camps," because your neighbors are scared of you.
What about Ms. Rosa Parks? Was it great for her to have to sit in the back of the bus because some white person decided that was her place? She was tired, her feet hurt, and she went to jail for standing up for herself? What's so great about spending a night in jail for not letting some white man tell himself he's more important than you?
The Fair Housing Act was signed into effect in 1968. Was it great for the millions of black Americans who were forced into ghettos and unsafe neighborhoods because the elitist whites didn't want them in their neighborhoods?
What about the women who couldn't get birth control before 1960? Was it great for them to have men who didn't even understand how menstrual cycles worked make their reproductive decisions? What about women who couldn't get an Ivy league education until the 60s and 70s? Was it great for them too. Mr. Trump? What about the millions of women who still to this day do not experience equality in the work place, despite the ERA? Was it great for them? What about not being able to get credit cards in our names until the 70's? What's so damn great about that?
What about the Chinese exclusion act that denied Chinese immigrants until it was repealed in 1942? What was so great about being denied immigration to try and make a better life for your family, just because of your ethnicity?
What about the 5 million Mexican workers who were brought here purposely by our government to replace the farm workers fighting in WWII? What's so great about working for less wages than a white man, so that white men can still eat? What about "Operation Wetback" from 1953-1958, where Latin Americans were unfairly deported, many of them citizens? What's so great about being forced out of your country?
What about Muslims in the armed services who were not able to list themselves as Muslims until 1952, in a country founded on religious freedoms? Was it great for them? What's so great about not having your religion recognized as a "legitimate religion?"
What about all those years when anything other than heterosexuality was considered a perversion and mental illness (and still is by some, including your VP)? Was it great for those LGBT people who faced (and some still do) conversion therapy, including electroshock therapy? Did you know they were considered a security risk to the nation? What about in 1952 when the American Psychiatric Association classified homosexuality as a "sociopathic personality disturbance?" What about in 1953 when Eisenhower signed an act barring homosexuals for working for the federal government or any of its private contractors? What about when homosexuality was a punishable offense? What about them, was it great for them too?
What about all the poor people? The homeless people? All the voiceless people you claim you're speaking for. What about them? Because the only people I see you speaking for are the ones tripping over their privilege on the way to the polling place.
There have been verified accounts of minority harassment already less than a week after the election. Children are being harassed at school, and when asked why, they say "If Trump can do it, so can I."If you don't stand in opposition of these things Mr. Trump, you might as well stand for them. I hear your followers telling me you're a good man, that you want to make this country great for everyone, so when are you going to stand against these people who are inciting violence in your name? When are you going to use the voice you promised for change? You have an awesome responsibility now, Mr. Trump. It's not Twitter and campaigning against crooked Hillary now, it's the lives, personal freedoms, and security of millions of Americans, including minorities. It's time you speak up, and say enough is enough. That there is to be no more violence in your name. If you don't, you're giving them permission to continue. This is the only change you can make before your inauguration, start it off right. Show us now that this isn't what your term is going to be like. Free speech isn't free anymore when somebody else has to pay the price.
Don't get me wrong, other than the occasional sexist remark, groping, catcalling, chauvinism, sexual assault, and the continued fight for equality, my life in America has been pretty great. But I'm also white. I've heard a lot lately about "Trump's America," and I've experienced it myself, being called a "little bitch" by a male friend just because I called him childish for posting #trump on everything I posted. That's not the America I want to live in.That's not the America we deserve, any of us, even you Mr. Trump.
*Disclaimer: this is an opinion piece, supported by facts found on government websites. I will moderating any comments posted and will not allow abusive or harmful language to myself or anyone else.
