The big chop: Cutting people off after the election
Illustration by Arly Cardozo.
Lauren Prattis, Audience Editor
The day after the election I was full of sadness, anger and confusion. The results were not what I wanted.
I woke up in a country where over half of America voted to elect someone willing to completely disregard my rights and those of the people I love.
In times of uncertainty, I think it is important to find solace through community, in person or online. But when I opened Instagram later that morning, I was shocked to see how many people I knew celebrating the victory of President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign — celebrating a man who has 34 felony convictions and dozens of sexual assault allegations.
Each post I saw felt like another stab in the chest. It was a constant reminder that people I know or are friends with did not think about how the results of this election could impact the life of a Black woman in America.
After a few hours of doom scrolling, I realized instead of living in an endless cycle of disdain from seeing these posts over and over again, I could just unfollow and remove these people from my account — it did not take much internal convincing.
The same can be said for in-person relationships — if someone I have known for years decided to vote that way, it is clear they don’t value me in the long run. I have no problem letting go of someone whose choice made me feel unsafe.
In the past week, I have seen countless people say something along the lines of, “We can have different opinions and still be friends,” and I agree.
I don’t like pickles and my best friend does. I like to listen to musicals in the car and sing at the top of my lungs — most of my passengers do not.
It is OK to be friends with someone who has different opinions, even about politics. There is no world where I agree with 100% of what my friends believe.
However, I don’t think the 2024 presidential election came down to a difference of opinion; it came down to a difference in morals.
I do not understand how someone could look past everything the former president has said about women, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community and so many other underrepresented groups.
It is beyond valid to distance myself from those who don’t understand why this is such a big deal to someone like me. Since Trump formally announced he was running for president in 2015, he has done nothing but spew hatred for anyone he pleases.
Even if Vice President Kamala Harris had been elected, it would make no difference in my book — there are people who still chose to stand behind everything he stands for.
He has created a space for blatant racism, sexism and homophobia to be considered OK.
It is insane that for the second time, a man who called the Proud Boys — a far-right hate group — “very fine people” gets to lead this country.
I cannot be friends with someone who put their support behind the man who incited the riots at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, calling it a “day of love” when it was nothing of the sort.
Those people chose to vote for their beliefs, and I am choosing to firmly stand behind mine.
