Thoughts Experiencing the Election as a Young, Muslim, 2nd Generation, Female

12:03 AM

11/6/2024

At school this last morning, I was really stressed about the outcome that would come out of the possibility of Donald Trump winning. I tried to express these anxieties to my fellow HOPE Squad members but they didn’t understand. In that group and many others of my peers, I’m one of the most politically educated. With that being the case, they laughed at my worries and told me the chance of Trump winning was not even likely. Knowing that I was paranoid about my identity, everyone has tried to tell me how senseless it is to believe that he could unconstitutionally discriminate against communities. This just shows me that these kids have not researched Project 2025, where they specifically describe their step-by-step plan to execute these laws. Being undermined by my classmates, I gave up and went to the bathroom to cry until I calmed down a little. Now, it is the middle of the night and I’m supposed to be asleep but I’ve been crying for 30 minutes for the second time today. I’m supposed to be in bed but I’m following the news under my covers. Bernie Moreno has already won and Donald freaking Trump is about to. My therapy assignment is to assess my feelings, so I’ll do that to center myself a little. For one, I am so scared. People don’t understand what I specifically have at stake. I am Muslim, a second generation person of color, and a female. I am the walking symbol of everything our former president hates. Project 2025 will abolish every part of my identity. I physically should not exist in their eyes. He wants to be a dictator to all Muslims and ban our rights like freaking Hitler to the Jews. He wants to put us into concentration camps or deport us. He wants to remove the birth citizenship of second generations like me or, again, deport people like me. He normalizes the negative impacts of racism, affecting my image amongst other Americans. He wants to eliminate the protection of LGBTQIA+ citizens and erase inclusive language and the opportunity for resources and the acceptance of one’s identity from the government. The same goes for identifying as female, along with the rights to my own body. The chances of me actually needing an abortion are slim but I still need it available to myself and fellow women. Not just abortion, but miscarriages, birth control, patient privacy, OBGYN, any woman health situation that could worst case lead to death. And the man who is openly campaigning for all of this is about to become the president of one of the most prominent countries in the world for the second time. He is outwardly accepting this and his fans are still supporting him. I also feel frustrated, betrayed, and targeted. The news keeps panning to clips of his fans gathered in their hats in his Florida HQ cheering on his cause. These people are acting so nonchalant and happy about something that is the exact reason for a terrified queer child to be in tears for the fear of their own safety and protection. For the most part, the people who are known to vote Trump have a specific demographic: white, straight, cisgender, Christian, and male. (Even though, unfortunately, he has received plenty of votes from the opposite gender, other races, and religions as well.) The people I have just described would be safe with either candidate. Myself, however, am the most opposite from them as possible. I am not safe with Donald Trump as president. Do his supporters feel so threatened by my simple existence that they need to make it illegal for me to live on their beloved country? I want to love this country with them. I want to love America so badly. However, they won’t let me. I’m barely allowed to be here at the moment, so how can I be allowed to enjoy my state of living in this country? If he does win, I might actually move out to Canada. I don’t want to have to go to Canada, but maple syrup and Tim Horton’s is a whole hell lot better than having Donald Trump trying to actively kill me. And I feel angry and helpless. I cannot do anything about this. I am watching our country fall apart and I am just expected to sit and watch and do as told. And people care about taxes that much?! You are risking the rights of millions of people just to save yourself a few thousand dollars?!

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This is the rant that I wrote in the middle of the night whilst secretly watching the election. Keep in mind that specific details have been edited out whilst the sentiment remains the same. I am fortunate enough to have a therapist and the peace of mind to write everything down as I felt it that night. If you feel or felt this way, I highly encourage you to find someone to be able to talk to during this time. Stay safe and we'll fight through this together.