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This is not a normal post that you’ll find on my blog, but I was placed in a situation today unlike anything I ever expected to encounter. I wanted to share it with all of you in hopes that you will end up feeling the same way that I do.
I am a sophomore at university in the United States, and as a liberal arts credit, I am required to take English Composition II, the second installment of my writing courses. My professor asked us to write a one-page opinion response on which presidential candidate we would be voting for the upcoming election.
Initially, I came into the class with the expectation that, seeing as my generation would be passionate about choosing a candidate that would best mold their futures, there would be a handful of, maybe two or three, Donald Trump supporters. After being placed in a group of eleven people, myself included, I was faced with the reality of nine different people stating that they would vote for Donald Trump come fall.
After attempting to get over the initial shock, I looked at the four females and five males and asked one simple question, “If you didn’t just choose to write about him and are actually considering voting for him, why would you?” Immediately, a silence followed until a male stepped up and said, “Wait, Trump is an excellent candidate; why wouldn’t I want to vote for him?” My heart sunk even further.
Finally, I managed to get a few replies from different people, and here’s what they had to say. One man said, “I like Trump because he doesn’t want to take our guns away.” After that, a woman spoke up and said, “Yeah, I feel really passionate about Trump because of his opinion on the Second Amendment.” And the final statement: “I think Trump would be a great president because he’s a business man and he understand how to make this country better because of his work in business; that’s who we need in office.”
To someone, these ideals might be completely adequate reasons to elect someone into office, but you will see below that simply looking at one side of an argument is not enough. Donald Trump has a track record that dates back before he even considered running, and most recently, his record has become more worrying. If you are thinking of voting for Trump, I implore you to read what facts I have complied below, and I ask that you use logical reasoning and that you change your decision. If you are choosing to vote for another candidate, please, spread the word of this post. I’m twenty, and today, I saw other twenty-year-old students say that their future would be better if Trump was in office. This is not the case, and I ask for you to spread the word and inform people of what is below. And if you happen to not live in United States, please, still discuss this information with others; inform your followers and others in your life about the dangers of supporting Donald Trump.
In no particular order, compiled below are the most important reasons why Donald Trump, primarily, is not a viable presidential candidate and, secondarily, is not a respectable person.
Trump has said a multitude of things against Latinos, so I will list these. [source | source]
1. He called Latinos “rapists” and “criminals” and “killers” and extended his comments to Central and South Americans, too.
2. He stated that the Mexican government is more cunning and purposely sends Mexican criminals to the United States because Mexico does not “want to take care of them.”
3. After being told that 80% of women and girls from Central America are actually raped by gang members and/or human smugglers, Trump dismissed the victims and stated that Latino immigrants were actually the cause of those rape statistics.
4. On Twitter, Trump attacked Jeb Bush’s Mexican-Born wife twice.
5. Trump stated that his followers were “passionate” after he heard that two men beat-up an 58-year-old Hispanic man in Trump’s honor.
6. Trump openly blamed African American and Hispanic individuals for the violent crimes in major U.S. cities.
7. Trump voiced that he will build an impenetrable 2,000 mile wall between Mexico and the United States to keep the “illegals” out, and he stated that Mexico would pay for the wall, a symbol that would represent anti-Mexican hostility.
The Issue: This is blatant discrimination against not only Latinos but other minorities as well. This type of discrimination includes calling a broadened group of individuals terms like “rapists” and “killers”, which is biased and which maliciously affects minorities. These hateful words from Trump stems hate from his supporters, as seen in number five above, and this type of racial violence is utterly unacceptable.
Trump wishes to ban all Muslims from entering the United States by creating a religious screening before entering the country. Additionally, the ban would be enforced on Muslim tourists wishing to enter the United States, and though the ban would not affect Muslims currently living in the States, Trump did state that the country must remain “vigilant”. [source]
The Issue: Trump and his supporters recognize the past and recent ISIS attacks in various parts of the world and try to find a common thread. That common thread, in some cases, is their religion. However, Trump makes the over-generalization that all Muslims are terrorists, and this is religious discrimination. There are radicals in every religious group. For instance, in Christianity, the KKK stemmed off as a radical group; however, this clearly does not mean that every Christian individual is a part of the KKK and believes in their values. This same mindset follows in line with Muslims and ISIS, and doing what Trump wishes to fulfill is a perfect example of religious discrimination against Muslims.
Much like Latinos, Trump has said many derogatory things about women, so again, I will list these. [source | source]
1. Women are essentially aesthetically-pleasing objects.
2. Sexual assault in the military is expected because “what did these geniuses expect when they put men & women together?”
3. Women on The Apprentice were largely dependent on their sex appeal.
4. Bad press isn’t detrimental as long as one has a “young and beautiful piece of ass”.
5. A woman’s ability to become a journalist is entirely dependent on if she’s attractive or not.
6. Pumping breast milk to feed a baby is “disgusting”.
7. Women hate prenups because they are in the marriage for money.
8. Hillary Clinton would be a bad president because, if she couldn’t satisfy her husband, she wouldn’t be able to satisfy the United States.
9. Women find Trump’s money a turn-on.
10. About various women, to Trump, Angeline Jolie has dated too many men to be attractive anymore, Bette Midler is unattractive and has an ugly face and body, Rosie O’Donnell is rude, cruel, obnoxious, and dumb, and Cher is a lonely loser because she doesn’t support him.
11. After reporter Megyn Kelly stated to Trump, “You’ve called women you don’t like ‘fat pigs,’ ‘dogs,’ ‘slobs’ and ‘disgusting animals…” he voiced back, “Only Rosie O’Donnell.” After the statement, Trump said that Megyn had “blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her – wherever,” making a reference to her being on her period.
The Issue: This is, yet again, another form of discrimination; this time, it is against women. Alongside of Trump discriminating women who speak their minds against him, he also over-generalizes women and regularly associates them as sex objects. This is sexual harassment and abuse, and his words and actions violate not only women on a personal level but a collective level as well.
His Jokes on Shooting People:
Trump stated previously that he could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot someone and that he wouldn’t even lose a voter. He laughed about the comment and refused to answer questions asking for clarification. [source | source]
The Issue: Taking someone else’s life is not a joking matter in any case, and even more so, it shouldn’t be a joke made during a presidential election. Homicide is not a laughing matter, yet Trump seems to think it is.
His Opinions on His Daughter:
Trump stated in 2006 that, if Ivanka Trump wasn’t his daughter, he would be dating her. He also said, “If I weren’t happily married and, you know, [Ivanka’s] father…” He also said that the one thing he liked having in common with his daughter was sex. [source]
The Issue: Based on the aforementioned, Trump exhibits incestual desires towards his daughter, and seeing as the United States does not culturally or legally agree with those types of actions, this section makes extremely uncomfortable.
His Violation of His Wife:
Trump’s ex-wife Ivana stated that she felt “violated” during sex and actually accused him of rape, but not in the “criminal sense”. Michael Cohen, Trump’s special counsel, rebuked the claims, saying, “You cannot rape your spouse.” [source]
The Issue: I don’t wish to make any definitive accusations on this topic, but please, read the source if you choose to. The one part that is disturbing is the belief of Trump and his counsel that one cannot rape their spouse. After 1984, a law was enacted that a spouse could not longer be exempt from sexual assault charges filed against them by their wife or husband. Therefore, a spouse can be raped by their significant other.
His Views on the Middle East and North Korea:
Trump wants to take $1.5 million worth of oil from Iraq to pay off the cost of the war, and he also feels that Iraq should pay for their own liberation. Also, he deems that humanitarian interventions are not effective, that the United States must only use direct threats to best serve the country. Trump also wants to use reciprocated nuclear force to stop North Korean threats. [source]
The Issue: The United States chose to get involved in the political and social unrest in Iraq. Asking the nation to pay for the United States debt and informing the nation to handle its own liberation is morally unacceptable. The United States brought it upon itself to get involved, and leaving at a time where the nation could potentially collapse is not a plan of sound mind. Also, direct threats would only cause fear in Iraq and even in the United States, and if actual bombing do occur, innocent people in Iraq will be killed with no remorse. Finally, using reciprocated nuclear force will only cause a repeat of the Cold War, a time where no one felt safe.
His Plan of Mass Deportation:
Trump wants to deport over 11 million Americans, calling an end to birthright citizenship as well, which is a constitutionally protected right. [source | source]
The Issue: Primarily, Trump wishes to change the Constitution, a feat that would nearly separate the nation into two groups once more. Secondarily, the mass deportation of Americans would cause economic unrest. As for individuals who may state that the deportation would create more jobs for American citizens who are, by Trump’s actions, “allowed” to stay, the United States current unemployment rate is 5%, which is an extremely healthy rate. Just compare it to the rate of 24.75% in 1933 after the stock market crash of 1929. The unemployment rate will never bottom out to 0%; there must be some variation in the job market for the economy to keep moving.
His Lack of Knowledge on Political Principles:
Trump lacks knowledge of key political principles, specifically those that deal most with security, such as the nuclear triad. [source | source]
The Issue: As a stated above in my beginning paragraphs, people believe that Trump would be an excellent president because of his business knowledge. However, in cases like nuclear threats and international security, his knowledge stops. No matter how much of a businessman he is, Trump does not have the proper amount of political knowledge needed to be the president of a nation.
His Lack of Factual Knowledge:
Trump believes that vaccines cause autism, states that President Obama was not a citizen of the United States, and believes that global warming is hoax and that it “goes up and it goes down”. [source | source | source]
The Issue: Trump’s necessity to voice his own opinions with factual backing will lead to a road where individuals lack the ability to think for themselves and oppose differing viewpoints. People will simply blindly follow without any inductive reasoning on their own.
His Public Support from a Former KKK Leader:
Trump’s rhetoric is being used to recruit more individuals to join the KKK because of the momentum at his rallies and campaigns, and he has full support from a former KKK leader, specifically concerning his plan to ban Muslims from the United States. [source | source]
The Issue: I present this without much explanation. Just remember that the KKK was and still is a radical religious group that killed various minority individuals, and Trump has their support.
His Remarks on John McCain:
Trump completely disregarded the service that John McCain paid to his country by stating that McCain was only a war hero because he was captured and that Trump preferred people who weren’t captured. [source]
The Issue: This is discriminatory towards all of the veterans who have served for the United States.
His Accusation of George W. Bush Causing 9/11 Attacks:
Trump pointed the finger at former president George W. Bush, stating that 9/11 attacks occurred during his presidency and alluded that Bush was to blame. [source | source]
The Issue: The 9/11 attacks are a topic that continues to be painful for a majority of Americans, yet Trump finds it moral to pin the blame on a former president for these attacks, once again, without any factual backing.
These thirteen subcategories are, guaranteed, not everything that I could list, but these points were the ones I wished to emphasize the most. Now, I will make a final appeal to you.
A common thread throughout all of these points is fear and anger, and these emotions are infectious. Trump presents fear whenever he incorrectly speaks out about Muslims and their alleged link to terrorism. Trump hands over anger when he incorrectly states that all Latinos are rapists and killers. Also, when Trump objectifies women, others then think it is acceptable to do the same, much when Trump speaks out about jokingly killing people on the street. These types of emotions and ideas that Trump breathes are not conducive to a safe environment for minorities, women, children, or even the general public. Fear turns to anger, anger turns to outrage, and the society that we currently live in will house more violence and more discrimination; and that type of fear and anger will be hard to stop.
History does repeat itself, and I see a repeat of history occurring if Trump is elected into office. Minorities will be punished, starting with the Latinos and Muslims in the United States, and eventually, this anger will spread throughout the world. Defenseless human beings will lose their lives in countries without the power to save themselves because one man with immense political power is arrogant, discriminatory, and hateful. Countries will quickly turn on us, though many are turning already because of this upcoming election, and the networks that the United States have made over years of progress will be lost in an instant.
Occurrences in the past will repeat again. Individuals are and will be brainwashed by this man, and I can assure you that nothing good will come of this fact. People who don’t fit the genetic or physical make-up will be ostracized, removed, and/or killed, and the United States will cease to be the great and powerful nation is it now. It will become merely a target for other countries to laugh at, to frown upon, or to attack and stop.
This is not some minor thing that you simply won’t affect; this is a revolutionary election coming up, and every vote counts. That being said, every vote away from Trump is a vote towards a better and undoubtedly safer future.
Here is a list of primary dates to vote, and if you aren’t registered to vote, you can do that here. But know that if you are not registered as either a democrat or republican, you will be unable to vote in the upcoming primaries. However, you can still vote in the election come fall, which will be held on November 8. If you are away at college, overseas, or unable to make it back by the primaries and election in your state, you can request an absentee ballot here. If you would like a full calendar of events, click here.
I am not writing this to tell you to vote for a specific candidate on the ballot; I am telling you these things so that you do not check off that box next to Donald Trump’s name. It is imperative that you vote in the primaries if you can and then in the fall, and please, do not vote for Donald Trump. I am excited for my future, to see what is to come, but if Donald Trump becomes president, I will truly fear my future. I hope that you feel the same way I do and choose to vote for anyone but Trump for the 2016 election.
Also, please retweet this tweet to spread awareness.
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