It has been five days since America elected Donald Trump to be our next president. The shock was apparent to all (I think that even Trump supporters were surprised by his win) and has caused a significant amount of debate across the country. But, if there is anything positive to be taken from the turmoil that the election has caused, I believe it is the passionate reactions of the people.<\/p>\n
Messages of hope, love, and solidarity are everywhere. People are uniting together by expressing themselves with words, art, and music. When performing the song on Wednesday, lead singer Dan Smith made an alteration<\/a> to his lyrics: When students learned about the rock, they immediately painted over it with messages of love and encouragement. When students learned about the woman who was attacked, groups were formed to offer assistance to people who were afraid to walk home alone. When Trump encouraged violence and hate, Americans protested with messages of love and inclusion. It has been five days since America elected Donald Trump to be our next president. The shock was apparent to all (I think that even Trump supporters were surprised by his win) and has caused a significant amount of debate across the country. But, if there is anything positive to be taken from the turmoil […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2184,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7856"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7856"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7898,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7856\/revisions\/7898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe Diag, which was once an empty canvas, has now become a vibrant visual representation of the student mentality in response to Trump\u2019s win. Messages are written in different fonts, colors, sizes, and languages- all showing solidarity, hope, support, and unrest within the campus. \u201cEstamos juntos,\u201d \u201cStill with Her,\u201d \u201cYou belong here,\u201d \u201cYou are loved,\u201d \u201cLove can still win,\u201d \u201cHope must live,\u201d and \u201cMichigan Loves You,\u201d<\/strong> are just some of the many chalk messages that have been left. The Diag represents the heart of campus and this is truer now than ever.
\nAround the country we are seeing peaceful protests, with chants calling for justice and tolerance: \u201cHey, hey, ho, ho, racism has got to go,\u201d \u201cMy body my choice, her body her choice,\u201d \u201cWe reject, the president elect,\u201d \u201cSi se puede.\u201d<\/strong> The photographs and videos from these marches are powerful, showing an American that is standing against bigotry, racism, and hatred.
\nArtists around the world are expressing their discontent as well. Bastille, a British alternative band, has written a song called \u201cThe Currents<\/a>,\u201d inspired by Donald Trump and his rhetoric.
\n\u201cI’m swimming to the surface<\/em>
\n I’m coming up for air<\/em>
\n Cause you’re making me feel nervous<\/em>
\n I need to clear my head<\/em>
\n I can’t believe my ears<\/em>
\n I don’t wanna believe my ears<\/em>
\n Swimming to the surface<\/em>
\n Coming up for air<\/em>
\n How can you think you’re serious?<\/em>
\n Do you even know what year it is?<\/em>
\n I can’t believe the scary points you make<\/em>
\n Still living in the currents you create<\/em>
\n Still sinking in the pool of your mistakes<\/em>
\n Won’t you stop firing up the crazies?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\u201cWon\u2019t Trump stop firing up the crazies?\u201d<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe rhetoric that Donald Trump has been using really has fired some people up, as more and more incidents of hate and racism have occurred in the days following his win. Even on the Michigan campus a Muslim woman was forced to remove her hijab. The Rock, which is commonly painted by different student organizations, was vandalized with racist comments. Donald Trump\u2019s win has validated and encouraged this behavior and resulted in a fearful America.
\nBut this hateful behavior has not been condoned by this campus or this country.<\/p>\n
\nA video<\/a> of Maya Angelou has been circulating social media in the days since the election. In it, she recites her poem, \u201cStill I Rise.\u201d In the beginning she introduces the poem by saying,
\n\u201cEveryone in the world has gone to bed one night or another with fear or pain or loss or disappointment. And yet each of us has awakened and risen, seen other humans and said \u2018Morning, how are you? Fine, thanks. And you?\u2019 It\u2019s amazing. Wherever that abides in the human being there is the nobleness of the human spirited. Despite it all, black or white, Asian Spanish or Native American, pretty or plain, thin or fat, we rise.\u201d<\/em>
\nTo the many of disappointed Americans who fear for their life in this country under a Trump presidency, this introduction is inspiring and encouraging. Her words are being spread online to empower people to keep rising, even in the face of hate. And that is what we have done and will continue to do. We will rise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"