I am just as shocked as the rest of you.

I absolutely expected that Hillary would win the election and I would be fighting to recognize her as a legitimate president.

The thing I have heard the most of coming from the left since the election is fear. So many people are saying that they feel scared or worried under a Trump administration.

My promise to those of you who may actually be afraid: should your fears manifest into reality, I will stand with you.

The reason this entire thing happened is because the left is exposing itself as the very monster we have been warning the nation about for years.

The same people who called for Trump to accept the election results if he were to lose, are the ones now marching with signs that read “#NotMyPresident.”

The same people chanting “love trumps hate” are the ones burning homemade effigies of the President-elect in the streets.

Trump was never my first choice. I would have liked to cast a vote for any one of the 16 other well-qualified GOP candidates in the race. You can bet that I will keep Trump on a short leash with my criticisms, just as I will any president. He deserves to be questioned and challenged when he does things that aren’t acceptable.

Even in my reluctance, it came time to make a decision, and frankly, my frustration with being called so many things I am not and the hypocritical accusations finally boiled over. I was beginning to feel like a minority myself, because I’m constantly reminded of how guilty I am for every bad experience a minority has because of my status as a white, heterosexual male.

I want my country to represent its people, not banks, not special interest groups and not corrupt elites, and that couldn’t have been accomplished with a Clinton presidency.

He isn’t the horrible monster the media has painted him as, just like President Obama wasn’t the horrible monster the right-wing made him out to be.

I realize that there are some evil people out there. I’ve heard about the vandalism and assaults that have happened in the name of Trump and his supporters.

Those people are not his true supporters, and they do not represent the Republican values that I, along with half the country, still hold.

I believe that we are all misunderstanding each other’s sentiments. Violence on any front is wrong, regardless of the reasons.

Trump’s America should not be a dangerous place for minorities or Democrats. It should be a safe place for all Americans to live and prosper according to their own personal choices and liberties.

Connor Evanoff is a journalism senior.

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