Post-election riots are running rampant and reeking havoc across the United States. Both anti-Trump and anti-Hillary protesters are launching mayhem in response of the recent election, voicing their dismay and delight of the country’s soon to be Commander-in-Chief.

Reporters say that most of the uprisings have occurred in blue states that Clinton won on November 8th, like California. Even though this is not the first time that someone with more popular votes has lost the election, demonstrators are using this as a weapon against Trump’s victory saying “she got more votes.” Trump won this election through the electoral college, but not through individual votes, outlying how more Americans voted for Clinton in this 2016 election.

Many of the brutalities on the street have exceeded the American rights and are starting to wander into sinister territory. Among these actions is the growing support of #NotMyPresident, a hashtag and reoccurring protest initiated by anti-Trump advocates.

On November 10th, over 2,000 citizens of Portland, Oregon, marched through the streets peacefully for 3 hours, until 8:30 pm when teen violence ensued. A nearby Toyota car dealership was destroyed, car windshields shattered and bottles broken on the streets of a bus stop.

Meanwhile in Denver, Colorado, over 1,000 people gathered to show their disapproval of President-elect Donald Trump. Although, there was no result violence, offensive slanders  were thrown between a competing group of riled up Trump supporters and as a result, I-25 was shut down.

Also on November 10th, 49-year-old David Wilcox of Chicago, Illinois, was beaten by a mob and dragged down the street with his hand stuck in a window, by a crowd screaming “You voted Trump!”

After Donald Trump’s Hollywood star was vandalized, a protest and counter-protest began. During these shenanigans, Hillary Clinton supporters actually attacked a homeless African-American Trump supporter. They tore up all her signs, and stole her belongings.

Donald Trump is obviously extremely pleased with the outcome of the election; however, on Twitter he posts,“Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!” said Trump on Twitter. Also on Twitter, Trump takes another approach after his first comment when he says “love the fact that the small groups of protesters last night have passion for our great country. We will all come together and be proud!” Donald Trump obviously would appreciate all of America coming together and uniting under him as the future president; however, extreme Clinton supporters are still not ready to put their faith in Trump as the future president.

All of these contradicting Clinton’s “Love Trumps Hate” campaign, but we also must acknowledge the equal amount of terror Trump supporters are showering upon the country. Police have been investigating a wave of alleged hate crimes against Muslims, Hispanic Americans, black people, ethnic minorities and the LGBT community in the wake of the US election.

There wouldn’t be any fear of Trump overturning the Marriage Equality Act, but newly elected Vice President, Mike Pence, has bluntly stated his anti-LGBTQ+ beliefs and Trump supporters are starting to relinquish that same hate.

A gay man from Calgary, Canada, was attacked by impassioned Trump supporters on Election Night in Santa Monica, California. Chris Ball, a film producer visiting California, was watching the election results at a bar, where tensions between Trump and Clinton supporters heightened as the night progressed. As Ball left the bar alone later in the evening, he was jumped by a group of men. One of the men smashed a beer bottle on his face. He fell, hit his head on the concrete, and blacked out.

“When I came to, I remember waking up and wiping the blood from my eyes. I called some friends, they picked me up and I went right to the hospital,” Ball told advocate.com, a political online newspaper.

Katie Zurbrick, a senior at Portland State University, told KATU that a stranger approached her with a video camera and asked her if she wanted to be on “Trump TV.” After she declined, he reportedly began to shout expletives and sexual slurs at her, only to grab her phone, attempt to destroy it, and shove her out of the way until she screamed and he ran off.

A white blonde woman reportedly began to verbally harass a black Muslim woman on the patio of a Washington, D.C., Starbucks, and ultimately threw a “liquid-like substance” at her. The victim told CAIR [the Council on American Islamic Relations] that the suspect said that she was voting for Donald Trump in hopes “that he would send ‘all of you terrorist Muslims out of this country.’”

The “hate issues” occurring since his election are being fueled by people using Trump’s election as an excuse to cause violence.  These incidents aren’t representative of all Americans, or Trump supporters, but that these Trump-fueled hate attacks may become more normal during Trump’s presidency.

“I support those who do decide to go to the protests and stand up for what they believe in. Donald Trump may be our president elect, but he is not my president. He does not stand for the things I stand for and I believe that many other people feel the same. The protests turning violent, this is where things go wrong if we are to stand as one group and fights our argument cannot resort to violence. On the other side, it has turned violent for those who won the election. I will not stand by and watch my friends who are people of color, who are from the LGBTQ+ community, who are Muslims, be threatened in their homeland. As future president Donald Trump cannot directly impact us on a small level, his supporters can and have already started to. Unprovoked attacks at those who are gay, or black, or Muslim is not something anyone should be okay with. People need to be held responsible for their actions, and I feel President-Elect Donald Trump must hold his supporters responsible,” Kadet, Whitney Moran, stated regarding the recent outbreak of violence.

The very people who have the power to stop these protests and riots with just a few well-spoken words have been completely silent on the issue. The unification of America is essential in this transition, and the pathway to this harmony cannot be achieved if we don’t realize, that yes, we are Democrats and Republicans, but we are patriots first.

“It’s our responsibility as Americans to accept the results of the election; whether we side with president-elect or not, it is important to maintain unity during this time of transition. Anti-Trump protesters need to realize that the election was fairly settled, and protesting these fair results only causes more disunity and makes matters worse,” stated junior Kadet Jonathan Flat.

We must accept that Donald Trump is our next president. We must give him a chance to lead. We must keep an open mind. We must look forward to the future. We must stop the violence and give new meaning to “Love Trumps Hate.”

The next four years are a mystery, but we are resilient, we are strong, and we will continue to fight for equality and freedom.

For more information, visit The Washington Post website below:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/11/10/not-my-president-thousand-protest-trump-in-rallies-across-the-u-s/