A letter to Trump supporters from a crazy feminist socialist

Sally Martinelli

Hi, it’s me. That girl on Facebook who has been posting Hillary Clinton videos for six months. Do you recognize me? You might know me from my other work, which is to like every article I read on Facebook and clog your Timeline.

Now that the election is over, I have something that I want to say: I am sorry. 

I am sorry that the media and popular culture does not reflect you, your values or your struggles. 

I am sorry that liberals like myself have lashed out at you and stereotyped you rather than listening to your perspective. 

I am sorry that the recession has not reached you and that you and your family have suffered. 

Most of all, I am sorry that you felt forgotten, infringed upon and trampled.

I see you, I hear you and I will work my hardest to keep this in mind moving forward.

I have spent these days after the election trying to listen more because I believe this has contributed to much of the division between you and I. 

I have read articles, skimmed comment sections and reached out to friends and strangers alike who hold different beliefs than myself. It has not been easy, and I am still not great at it. 

This pursuit of understanding is genuine. I want you to know that I still have a lot of work to do. I want you to know that I am trying.

However, I cannot do this alone. I beseech you to do the same because bridging this gap of anger and hatred will take all of us.

I hope you understand that I respect the results of the election, but I do not respect Donald Trump. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I want him to succeed because his success benefits us all. But, though he says he wants to serve all Americans, Trump has yet to prove this. 

Instead, what I know from Trump is his hateful, divisive and cruel rhetoric that targets people who are different than him. My respect, our respect, has to be earned.

I hope that you condemn the violence that has been perpetrated against marginalized groups since Donald Trump was elected president. Please do not chalk it up to a few isolated incidents and move past it. 

People are afraid that this election means they are not welcome in our country. Let’s not equate that feeling to being a sore-loser because this fear is real and valid.

We must especially denounce acts of hatred committed on our campus. They do exist with increasing regularity.

Intimidating other students is not acceptable under any circumstances. It is not acceptable as a joke, and it is not acceptable because Donald Trump often acts in a discriminatory fashion. 

We must come together to make this a place where all students feel safe and can pursue higher education.

I hope we can recognize that we often stereotype people of color, the same way that we have stereotyped Republicans as being racists and bigots.

Both groups do not necessarily fulfill the stereotypes that we hold them to. However, the feelings of frustration, misunderstanding and fear do not go away or cannot be hidden from because their skin cannot be concealed. They walk through life as people of color, and are subjected to stereotypes every day as a result.

This is true even if you do not believe you personally are racist. Sometimes, you may be acting discriminatory and might not realize it. I know I have been many times in my life. 

I hope you can understand that I am extremely upset by this election. For me, my focus was on the social issues associated with the election. This loss has left me feeling that many Americans believe that non-white and non-Christian Americans are inferior. Please be patient with my sadness. Please do not expect me to simply move on, because I refuse to.

This is all is coming from my perspective, and just a portion of what I think. I know that I do not know everything. I would love to hear how you feel.

If you are willing, let’s meet for lunch or dinner, because obviously there is nothing so unproductive as fighting in a comment section. Let’s promise not to interrupt one another, and to listen to understand rather than to craft a perfect response. 

Most importantly, let’s end with a hug, and promise to keep listening to one another.