Inauguration Day has come and gone like the grim reaper, and many Americans continue to fear for their safety and the protection of the supposed “free world.”  As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump spewed hateful stances on people of color, women, the LGBT+ community, and other minority groups.  These groups are fearful of their rights being violated under a Trump administration.  Unless, of course, they are afraid of the violation of the Second Amendment, which probably will not occur under a Trump administration because who doesn’t need a machine gun for their home.  These groups and their allies have every right to be concerned for their safety as hate crimes continue to rise after the election of Donald Trump, making the future uncertain to those who are not what some Americans view as “American”.

Hate crimes against minority groups such as African Americans, Hispanic Americans, immigrants, Muslim Americans, and the LGBT+ community rose after Trump announced his campaign for office, and these crimes continued to grow when the presidency was won.  Cases of sexual assault against women of all races, ages, and sexual orientations are being reported and spread across social media, establishing fear in many women.  After the election, horror stories spread across social media about racist comments that people of color had to suffer through in school and in work, as well as stories of people attempting to pull hijabs off of Muslim women and men taunting women about their right to her body.  According to the Southern Poverty Law Center reported 867 cases of hateful harassment or intimidation in the United States in the ten days following the election, 250 of those were reported in the first two days- which is more than usually seen in a six month period.

Muslim Americans have been targeted numerous times throughout Trump’s campaign, and their fear is justified through the ignorance and harassment by some extremist Trump supporters.  According to a study by the California State San Bernardino Center, Muslim hate crimes reported in California increased by 122% between 2014 and 2015.  Another study demonstrated that there was a 87.5% increase against the Muslim community in the five days that followed Trump’s declaration on December 7, 2015 in which he proposed a ban on Muslims entering the country.  Another statistic researched by the FBI for 2015 demonstrated a 67% of hate crimes against Muslim Americans.  Fear in the Muslim American community has escalated since the 9/11 attacks, but in recent years ignorant fear of Islam has spread across America, only to be exemplified by Donald Trump’s rhetoric.

In 2015, the LGBT+ community were granted legalized same sex marriage in all fifty states, establishing the freedom of love that the community and their allies fought for years to obtain.  This marked a turning point in the LGBT+ struggle for equality, but obstacles are still common in everyday life for many member of the community.  Hate crimes are something that LGBT+ people are familiar with, sadly.  However, after the election, hateful rhetoric and hate crimes against LGBT + people escalated, and many fear for the four years to come under a Trump administration.

These next four years will be uncertain and scary for many, but that fear cannot stop the fight for equality and safety for all.  Hate crimes occur on a daily basis, and many live in fear.  With that being said, someone should not fear for their safety in a country that prides itself on equality and freedom for all.  For all.  For all includes people of all genders, sexualities, races, ethnicities, and cultures.  For all includes the immigrants who chose to come to America to better their own lives in the land of an abundance of opportunity.  Many hate crimes go unreported, and it is time to stand up for those being oppressed-to not let the abuser of unalienable rights provoke fear within American citizens.  Trump’s administration may provoke extreme ignorance from some and they may resort to hate, but it is up to the people who believe love will always trump hate to stand up and hold true to the American ideals of equality-so no one will feel unsafe in the land of the free.