I couldn't wait to hear about the first female president of the United States. I could picture Clinton's inauguration speech: with tears in her eyes, she would promise to be a flaming beacon of hope for women and minorities in North America and around the world.
But then, things got crazy.
I didn't want to believe that Clinton's bigoted contender, Donald J. Trump, had any chance of winning the election. I was in denial yesterday night, but the results are official today: Trump is Mr. President, and Melania our First Lady. What an unimaginable downgrade from Barack and Michelle Obama.
As an ESL-teacher-in-training, Trump's morals (or lack of) and stereotypes about immigrants, women, and visible minorities offend me immensely. His promise of "extreme vetting" of Muslim migrants, his plan of building a higher wall between the U.S. and Mexico, and his utter disrespect for the Black Lives Matter movement all unfortunately reflect the beliefs of the majority of voting Americans. And this is the scariest part about the results of this election.
I have had the privilege to witness a government-funded ESL class made up of mostly Syrian refugee women. These women have overcome unspeakable atrocities to find a safe haven in Canada, all the while caring for their children as well. Some of them have limited literacy skills, and are starting from point zero: they are learning their ABCs. As I spoke with them, any subconscious, unfounded bias that I had about women wearing hijabs or burqas slowly fluttered away and disappeared. I felt a deep sympathy for these women, as well as the utmost respect for their courage. I became confident, then, that I want to dedicate my career to helping immigrants and refugees start a new life in Canada. I want to end prejudice against the "other."
Where I value hope, inclusivity, and power through education, Trump values hatred, exclusion, and fear mongering. I hate a lot of things about him, but his attitude towards immigrants is probably the most repulsive. In the college course I'm taking, I was taught on Day One that we need to respect newcomers and never be condescending, because we do not know where they come from, or what hardships and horrors they may have endured. Clearly, Trump has never taken the slightest interest in how his actions affect other people, and how they may contribute to a spiral of bias, racism, ostricization, and violence.
There are dark days ahead of us. The people have voted. They have left us with a selfish dimwit for a leader. I hope the people who voted for him did so because of his (however flawed) economic promise, or because of his flamboyance as a public speaker. I just pray that the majority of American voters did not vote for him because they agree with his bigotry, and his silencing of women's voices and dismissal of horribly sexist remarks as "locker room banter." I hope they don't agree with his promise to "Make America Great Again" by pushing "reverse" on the time-machine and undoing all the progress that Obama has made in the past eight years of his presidency.
But then, things got crazy.
I didn't want to believe that Clinton's bigoted contender, Donald J. Trump, had any chance of winning the election. I was in denial yesterday night, but the results are official today: Trump is Mr. President, and Melania our First Lady. What an unimaginable downgrade from Barack and Michelle Obama.
As an ESL-teacher-in-training, Trump's morals (or lack of) and stereotypes about immigrants, women, and visible minorities offend me immensely. His promise of "extreme vetting" of Muslim migrants, his plan of building a higher wall between the U.S. and Mexico, and his utter disrespect for the Black Lives Matter movement all unfortunately reflect the beliefs of the majority of voting Americans. And this is the scariest part about the results of this election.
I have had the privilege to witness a government-funded ESL class made up of mostly Syrian refugee women. These women have overcome unspeakable atrocities to find a safe haven in Canada, all the while caring for their children as well. Some of them have limited literacy skills, and are starting from point zero: they are learning their ABCs. As I spoke with them, any subconscious, unfounded bias that I had about women wearing hijabs or burqas slowly fluttered away and disappeared. I felt a deep sympathy for these women, as well as the utmost respect for their courage. I became confident, then, that I want to dedicate my career to helping immigrants and refugees start a new life in Canada. I want to end prejudice against the "other."
Where I value hope, inclusivity, and power through education, Trump values hatred, exclusion, and fear mongering. I hate a lot of things about him, but his attitude towards immigrants is probably the most repulsive. In the college course I'm taking, I was taught on Day One that we need to respect newcomers and never be condescending, because we do not know where they come from, or what hardships and horrors they may have endured. Clearly, Trump has never taken the slightest interest in how his actions affect other people, and how they may contribute to a spiral of bias, racism, ostricization, and violence.
There are dark days ahead of us. The people have voted. They have left us with a selfish dimwit for a leader. I hope the people who voted for him did so because of his (however flawed) economic promise, or because of his flamboyance as a public speaker. I just pray that the majority of American voters did not vote for him because they agree with his bigotry, and his silencing of women's voices and dismissal of horribly sexist remarks as "locker room banter." I hope they don't agree with his promise to "Make America Great Again" by pushing "reverse" on the time-machine and undoing all the progress that Obama has made in the past eight years of his presidency.
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