By Kassel Franco Garibay
I don’t know about you, but I am not over the election. Trump’s victory left a sour taste in my mouth that I haven’t been able to get rid of, and once in awhile I find myself tearing up. I am angry. I am upset, shocked, and enraged that such a large amount of people allowed hatred to win on this election.
It is true, things should not be the way they are, we shouldn’t need counseling after an election. My parents shouldn’t have felt the need to ask me if I wanted to fly back home. The fear that many of us feel should not exist, the anger in our chests should not be there.
But that doesn’t mean I am about to walk on the streets and burn every American flag I see. That is not who I am, and I know that is not who you are either.
I have been in the United States for almost three months now, and the results of the election only made clear the way this country feels about people that are unlike them. Whether it is because we come from foreign places, or because the colors of our skin are different. Maybe they hate us for our religion, our sexual orientation, or simply because of our gender. Regardless of the reason, the hatred is there; and, despite of how tempting it is, that does not give us the right to hate back.
However, it does mean that we have the obligation to fight back. It means, that as immigrants, we have the responsibility of showing the president elect that our countries do send their best. As members of the LGBTQ+ community, it is in our hands to show the world that love will always be stronger than hate. As women, it is time for us to prove it is not in our DNA to give up. As citizens of the world, it is our duty to show we care.
It is time for art to get political, turn this fear and mourning into art: paint, write, sculpt, perform, compose. If you are not an artist, it is your responsibility to consume this art. It is time for us, the younger generation, to realize it is our job to build the world we want to live in.
Kassel is a freshman.
