By: Lili Ramirez
Staff Writer
My heart sank into my stomach as they announced Donald Trump the new elected president of the United States. I embrace being a woman, I am proud of my Mexican roots, and it is a privilege for me to be American, but on Nov. 8, America let me down.
I am still in disbelief. I cannot grasp the idea that a man who has belittled minorities, degraded women and has no form of political experience was elected to be president of our country. From start to finish, this election has been insulting, extremely disappointing and depressing, not only for me, but for many other women of color.
Kayla Arango, a UCLA alumna in International Development and Latin American Studies shared in the feeling of betrayal.
“As a woman of color and a formerly undocumented immigrant, the results of the presidential election were devastating,” said Arango. “Trump symbolizes sexism, xenophobia, Islamophobia. The phobias and fears that he represents and that separate us as people of the United States won last week.”
Fatima Maldonado a UC Davis psychology major, is another woman of color who was shocked by the news.
“This entire election portrays the wrong image to our children that bigotry, misogyny oppression and racism are allowed in our presidential leader,” said Maldonado. “Here we are under the false impression that we were giving a step forward as humanity and as a nation but in reality, Donald Trump has given light to racism that was patiently hidden.”
It baffles me that Trump did not think twice when he ignorantly generalized Mexican immigrants as rapists but finds absolutely nothing wrong with sexually assaulting women. In 2013, Trump tweeted: “26,000 unreported sexual assaults in the military-only 238 convictions. What did these geniuses expect when they put men & women together?” When confronted about this tweet during his campaign, he defended it by saying: “Well. It was a correct tweet.”
I will never respect any man, let alone the president of this nation, who believes that sexually assaulting women is by any means, ever OK. What kinds of examples are getting set for our daughters? As a woman, it scares, infuriates and disgusts me that the leader of this nation is OK with that. The saddest part is, this nation was OK with that as well.
The new presdient-elect does not follow our values. As students, each and every one of us was required to take the “Not Anymore” sexual-assault training before registering for classes. We are trying to prevent sexual assault, not promote it.
My parents sacrificed and dedicated their life to create a better future for my siblings and I, just as much as many other families out there have.
As a Latina, I refuse to let Trump categorize me as a sexual object and a criminal.
