Apologies: strong language ahead.

I rarely, if ever, post about politics, my friends. I usually don’t have much opinion on the matter, and since I don’t often read about these things, I’m not usually terribly informed.

But what the fuck.

What the living fuck just happened to the United States of America?

Let me start by pointing out that I am about as far from nationalist as it’s possible to get. I don’t much care for the notion of patriotism or even countries in general—I don’t subscribe to the idea of national pride, or that one country is somehow better than another. I prefer to think of the world as a global community of people, all equal in worth, with the ability to communicate freely with each other in open dialogue.

But yesterday’s events just showed me how atypical my point of view must really be. Sixty million people just declared in one voice their pride for the very worst of what the United States has to offer. Another sixty million—of which I am one—declared a modicum of sanity by trying their hardest to elect one of the most competent and qualified women in the world to the most powerful position in the world: but it wasn’t enough.

Sixty million. It’s a number that’s hard to comprehend. Sixty million people think the United States needs to be made ‘great again’. Sixty million people think eight years of peace and prosperity under Obama was worth throwing away, right into the fucking toilet.

Sixty million people think they just got a carte blanche to act out the very, very worst of humanity. Bigotry, hatred, racism, sexism, and a blatant disregard for human decency have just won the day. Never have I seen so many reports of people being despicable to other people under the guise of supporting a political leader. Where are the Clinton supporters telling immigrants to get the fuck out?

‘Make America great again.’ I refuse to refer to the United States as America, because it is outrageously offensive to the wonderful people of Canada and Mexico. What, exactly, is this greatness you’re striving for? White supremacy? Religious indoctrination? Tell me, please—how will Trump make the United States great again?

Speaking of religious indoctrination, I have a message directly for those of you on Facebook posting ‘Bring God Back to the White House’: fuck you. Seriously, fuck you. How dare you claim your faith has as place in my government? I don’t hold your religion against you in any way, but you have absolutely no right to impose it on anyone else, especially through the force of government. Do you want to know what happens when government and religion are combined? Iran. Saudi Arabia. Sudan. Yemen. Places where speaking your mind can lead directly to your death. Is that what will make the United States great again?

In theory—though I recognize it will vary locally—one in two people that I’m likely to meet every day voted for Trump, or support him. This terrifies me. I have never before judged a person by their choice of political leader, but this is different. I can’t look at another person walking down the street now without wondering, was it you? Are you personally responsible for this political disaster? And do you really think it’s so wonderful?

I fear for myself, and I fear for my friends. Many, many of the people I care for are already subject to the persecution that Trump’s supporters have been proudly touting, and now that persecution is—in their eyes—legalized. I have a dear friend from Canada, who is currently suffering from cancer. The United States is providing him with first-class healthcare at the moment. But no: deport him to die. Perhaps a third of my workplace is latin, but no—deport them, too, send them back to Mexico. (Very few of them are actually Mexican.) Hang the blacks.

Too harsh? I have seen this level of hatred flooding social media, despite the liberal channels I tend to focus on. I understand that not all of Trump’s supporters are as vitriolic as this, but you are condoning it nonetheless. You have aligned yourself with the new Nazi party.

Ultimately, of course, there is nothing left to be done about it. We voted. We spoke our minds. And we got what we deserved. I will be keeping a close eye on Trump for the next four years, however, and I can promise you that I will support anyone and everyone who is subject to even the slightest discrimination as a result of his policies.

This is a giant leap backward for the United States, and due to this country’s political and economic influence, to the world as a whole. But the deed is done. And I call out to the rest of you: the nationalists, the liberals, the people who believe that this country is already great: don’t abandon it. Don’t leave it to fester in its own social waste. There are sixty million good people in this country, too, and if we work together we can resist. We can protest. We can deny Trump the control over us that he desires.

Don’t give up. Don’t allow persecution. Stand up for what you believe in, and stand up for those who are unable to stand up for themselves. Show the world, the global community that can communicate freely, that you are better than this.

It isn’t over yet.