At this very second my heart is pounding out of my chest, my eyes are tearing up, and my hands are shaking. I’m sitting in my bed, wrapped in my blanket, scrolling through every social media outlet I belong to. I’ve landed on SnapChat, laughing at the events of my friends’ day, occasionally tapping through stories that I’ve deemed pointless. It’s very rare that someone has a SnapChat story that I become extremely invested in. You know, a post that’s so good that you continually refresh the app to see if they’ve uploaded something else. Those types of stories are rare. Today, November 4, 2016 at exactly 8:19pm I am here, constantly refreshing, because right now one of the bravest people I have ever met is at a Trump Rally! She is not attending this rally as a supporter, and I’ve never been more proud to know her. Yet, at the same time, I am genuinely concerned for her safety. I feel this way about a rally for a potential President of the United States of America. This fact makes my blood boil, because the feeling I have now could be how I feel everyday for the next four years of my life.
It shouldn’t have surprised me that Ashley Nave would have step foot in that kind of enviornment. She is an extremely spirited person and stands up for what she believes in, always. During the most recent strike between the PASSHE State System and the APSCUF here at Kutztown University, Ashley could be seen fighting on the front lines, with a picket in one hand and blow horn in the other. However, I still had to ask her, “What made you go?” Ashley answered with, “I wanted to go because I wanted to see what the people who are voting for Trump are like, and my guess was right. The people were outrageous. They were handing out flyers with a target of Hillary’s head on it saying, ‘Hey, this is for target practice.’ One woman said, ‘She’s been too busy munching carpets,’ implying that homosexuality will ruin our country. They kept chanting horrifying slogans like, ‘Lock her up,’ and ‘drain the swamp,’ in reference to Washington D.C. being built on a swamp. I will say that the rally gave me chills, but I can’t say why. I was in disbelief when I heard their chants and the rage I saw in their eyes. I felt like I was surrounded by animals ready to kill.”
There were children at this rally sporting Trump hats and buttons, standing by their parents and absorbing everything this man and his supporters spit in their direction. There were cards with President Obama’s face animated in a old racist cartoon fashion. Even buttons calling Secretary Clinton out of her name and the target sheets with her face on it. I am far from an expert in politics, but I know enough to understand that nothing about this election screams normality.
Trumps view on women, the disabled, black people, Mexicans, and just about any other aspect about America that brings diversity, uniqueness, and beauty to our country are plastered for you to see. So I will not rant about his views, instead with November 8th approaching, I urge you all to go out and vote.