Public Takes a Stand; No Matter What the Circumstance

By: Briana Delbuono

After the polls close and the results are drawn, there is always a particular discomfort on the unfavorable side. This is shown throughout the years, especially during the most recent election where Donald Trump swept up the majority of electoral votes.

Because Hillary synched the popular vote, her supporters went into an uproar and began questioning the validity of the Electoral College, suggesting its abolishment despite the system being in place for the last 230 years.

The backlash went further than just unhappy speculations. Angry voters contested the presidency and started protesting in the streets with signs stating that Trump is “not their president.”

In Portland, peaceful protesting took a turn for the worse.

“Due to extensive criminal and dangerous behavior, protest is now considered a riot. Crowd has been advised,” Portland police officials said in a Twitter post late Thursday, as reported on the Washington Post website.

“The department earlier warned that some drivers were being attacked during the demonstrations and advised protesters to stop the use of ‘illegal fire devices,’” the website continued.

In 2008, when Barack Obama won the election against John McCain, equal outrage ensued. Republicans started Tea Party Protests, which is affiliated with the Tea Party Movement, otherwise known as a conservative political movement, with the purpose of opposing the efforts of the Obama Administration.

Sound familiar?

There have been significant efforts to reverse the results of the 2016 election. President-elect Trump did not win the popular vote; there is still a chance for Hillary to become president.

Over 4.3 million people have signed a petition asking the Electoral College to vote for Hillary Clinton as early as November 12th. Technically, the Electoral College doesn’t vote until December 19th, and the electors have the ability to choose Clinton instead of Trump and essentially overturn the results of the election.

The protesting spread from New York to Los Angeles — some of which turned into riots. There were school walkouts in Omaha, Nebraska and Denver. Interstates were blocked and flags were burned.

Although Obama’s win in 2008 didn’t lead to rioting, it had unhappy Americans speaking out in different ways, questioning Obama’s citizenship and harshly rebuking Obamacare. People channeled their hate to violence and racism was personified, much like it was this year, just days after the 2008 election results were in.

People are calling for the assassination of Trump just as they called for the assassination of Obama — outrage and fear are prevalent in our society right now, there is no denying that.

Some speculate that it is due to the media, which arguably has blown up since 2008, while others believe that it’s Trump himself, and the insensitive comments that he has uttered during his campaign, that has brought about this fear.

Regardless, this type of post-election fear and uncertainty has always surfaced. The level of violence that comes along with it varies from election to election. Ultimately, the racist undertones imbedded in our society will always reemerge.