“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re not sending you, they’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bring crime. They’re rapists… And some, I assume, are good people.” - Presisdent Trump
I am not a rapist. My parents aren't rapists. But keep on assuming that maybe "some" of us are ehh good. We work hard everyday to earn our living. We are not rapists President Trump, we are hard workers. Dreamers. Dreaming and working for a better future.
It began when I moved to a predominantly white school my sophmore year of highschool. In my mind, already instilled with the thought that I was less in a way because I knew I was different. I had brown eyes, brown skin. We were well off, but we weren't rich. And my parents couldn't afford going to school back in their hometowns. But their stories are the ones next to be told. Meanwhile here's mine.
I didn't know how hard it would be to try to fit in with a school that was predominantly white. And the first year I thought I fit in well. I was like well this isn't so bad as I thought it would be. You see I had grown up thinking that white people were somehow superior to me. Why? I'm not quite sure. But when Trump came and the elections were around the corner, it only reinforced that in my mind. Isn't tit nice to feel protected, to feel like you fit in. Well I was robbed of that and I'm sure many others have been as well. I thought I was safe. Safe in the country I had grown up in. Land of the free, home of the brave. But then the elections began. Trump got elected. And all hell broke loose. There were protests on the news, women fighting for their rights, riots. It was frightening to think of what might happen to the minorities and it was chaos in my head as thoughts swirled replaying the scenarios of what would happen if trump would actually do the things he said. My teachers told me it would be okay, that they were empty promises. But...they were wrong. Although he might not be able to do anything. He had already caused so much suffering and division. I felt like an outcast. I felt as if when someone talked about trump and what he was saying they all turned in my direction. I was paranoid in a place that was supposed to be safe. I felt crushed. About how they view my people. About how others began to react. Trumps words were fueling their hatred towards gays, muslims, hispanics, people of color. I cant be but disgusted with how people treat each other today.
Does it matter if you're white? Trump does it matter if you're a male? Does it matter your religion, your sexual orientation. PLEASE just take a second and think about it. You don't need to agree with everyone on what they're doing. On what they believe in. But all humans demand respect for one another. Because how do our differences make us superior or any less. If anything I think that's what's beautiful about humanity. That we are able to learn, open our eyes and be enriched with each others cultures. You can entertain the thought without accepting it. We are a country of immigrants, lets stick together. I will let my voice be heard. For my parents who struggled. For my family. For the refugees who seek a safe place. For all the minorities who are treated less than they deserve to be treated. For Martin Luther king. So that his dream. My dream, and the dreams of many others can one day come true. I began with Trump's words and I'll end with Martin Luther King Jr.'s.
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today....This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day." - MLK
Let's stand up for one another. Let's rise together.
Yours truly,
Karen Munoz
Giddy-teen
I have a dream....