She was going to the grocery store one day and saw a group of people outside the store with Trump signs, flags, etc. As she walked by them, they looked directly at her and made the “Heil Hitler” sign. She was obviously very disturbed by this, as were her children. They’re starting to feel that Mexico is a safer place for them to be, in spite of the violence from drug cartels around their former community. 

How is this the America that we’re living in? How did we end up with a president that inspires these types of people? How is it that his supporters call the other side hateful and divisive when literally every other sentence that comes out of his mouth pits one part of this country against the other, as well as against people from other countries? I am furious that my friends, who are good people, no longer feel safe in America. I am furious that I too am starting to no longer feel safe in America. 

And I’m sad. Sad for this country. Sad that Americans are so focused on hating other Americans simply because of the political party that they’re registered under. And sad that the rural, white voters who often support Trump, don’t realize that they have more in common with the Hispanic immigrants that he so demonizes than they do with the man himself, or the other billionaires that he truly supports through his policies.

Rachel Smith

Whittier