A Look at the Protests: Is Trump’s Election Justified?

Since November 8th, many cities across the United States have been protesting the results Election Night 2016: Donald Trump of the Republican Party won the election.

Protests broke out in cities such as Dallas and New York. According to the New York Times, the protestors include children of immigrants, partially because of people’s fears about Trump’s proposed immigration reforms.

In addition, Trump is considered by many to be homophobic. Thus, protesters were seen carrying rainbow flags to represent the LGBTQ community. Other banners were also flown, ranging from communist and anarchist flags to Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton posters.

The Latineer asked TBLS discipuli to share their opinions on the matter. To some, they are a waste of time.

“The Anti-Trump protests are a huge waste of time,” argues Quentin Livingston, Class IV. “What are these people hoping to accomplish? Marching in the streets and carrying signs isn’t going to change anything.”

Before the election, many people felt outraged by Trump’s skirting of whether he would accept the election results were he to lose. Those against the protests argue that, by opposing the election results, they are doing they very thing they said Trump shouldn’t.

There is, however, a side that feels the displays are justified.

“I think it’s great that people are showing resilience against the results because it shows that we as a country are not willing to be oppressed,” notes Deep Patel, Class II.

Many people think that a true democracy would rely on the popular vote. These people are upset and feel that their voices aren’t being heard and that they are being overshadowed by the electoral college.

This is the fifth time in United States history that a presidential candidate lost the popular vote but still won because of a victory in the electoral college. The last time this happened was when George Bush lost the popular election to Al Gore in 2000. Many people today are still upset with President Bush’s victory, largely due to the fact that he waged wars in the Middle East that were considered by some to be pointless. This discontent has emerged again with the current election results, leading many to want to abolish the electoral college altogether.