Today? Absolutely not. I carry a weapon on myself everywhere. I don’t feel like I can be safe with the way that Trump is brainwashing America right now. Essentially, Trump is training a pack of wolves with the words he uses to describe women. He objectifies us so much that sometimes I feel guilty for wearing a lowcut blouse. I fear for my daughter’s future, the way she will grow up with the boys that are adopting the verbal traps that Trump lays for the youth to hear. On top of being afraid to be “handled” by a man, now I’m afraid to walk into the grocery store, or sit in class unarmed or at ease, because of the lack of gun control. My daughter is 3 years old, it’s already time to start thinking about when and where to put her in school. Because there is so much going on in the world, I have started a savings fund to hire a personal homeschooling teacher for her, but even then, my mind is not at ease. I can’t believe the world has come to such a sticky trap for crimes that we can’t even trust each other. To the point that wearing a hooded sweater is prohibited in Colorado gas stations due to the number of robberies that were committed by “hooded safe bandits.” Guns are handed out at pawn shops to whoever has money and an I.D. is almost like lollipops on Halloween.

Was there always this much crime or is the country barely catching onto it enough for the media to inform us about it? I caught myself wandering away from lecture in class the other day because I was lost in thought about what precautions I would have to take if there were a mass shooting at this school, where would I hide? What would I do? Who is capable? I almost have a sense of post traumatic stress disorder by reading about all the mass shootings happening in the world right now. I think there should be a mandatory contract that ensures whoever conceals carry to inform their instructors that they conceal carry. Trump seems to treat guns like genitalia, except when we hear that we understand that our privates are to remain private, and not whipped out and shot around at people we don’t like. As Trump would say, “it’s ridiculous.” The way that school shooting, suicides and rape happen today is almost as common as a weekly-continuing series. I have read about one or the other every week in the news this year. It doesn’t seem to be getting any better.

The ironic part about these mass shootings is that most of the shooters are white American men, as are the rapists and the bullies. Trump has this idea in his mind that if he puts the blame on the immigrants, he can minimize crime. Yes, crime has decreased since he has been president, but how many of those crimes that weren’t reported were committed by white men who “got off the hook?” I agree that we should minimize crime performed by gangs, but what about the white supremacy groups that can’t be deported because they are Americans? The crime that seems to be reported mostly occurs in the census in impoverished towns. I am in no way discriminating against white men, colored men or men in general. I’m on my guard about everyone because of the way that Trump has influenced people’s mindsets since he has become president. I believe Trump is supposed to be a respectable man that our kids can look up to. Personally, I have never let my daughter see this man’s speeches because I want to protect her growing self-esteem. Trump talks about women and Mexican people in a way that makes you feel like dirt if you are one, and when the president feels it’s okay to treat women or people of color like dirt, so will everyone else.

I’m afraid a little more every day for the future of our youth, seeing as the country they are growing in is currently being led by someone who is so close-minded. However, after the congress has opened their chairs to a more diverse set of minds, I do feel like the future will be headed to a more grounded way of being since their will be more diverse perspectives being considered. I pray that when my daughter starts school, she will be protected and safe. Unrealistically, I hope the hate of the world washes away and my daughter wouldn’t need to know how to survive at school the way that we do. I hope, for the sake of our future, that Trump opens his mind and becomes more humanized toward the beauty of diversity in the United States.