US Election: fears for the aftermath

The United States will have a civil war on its hands whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump wins the election this year. This is my prediction.

A lot of American citizens are preparing to leave the country due to the rise in the number of protests and riots of late.  Black Lives Matters supporters, protests by the LGBTQ+ community, riots, Klu Klux Klan, Proud Boys… so many groups have taken to the streets.

Other American citizens, who cannot afford to leave the country, are preparing to stay indoors and have done grocery shopping for at least a week.

Now, why would there be protests just because one old man will win the US election?

“I think either way both sides will react or retaliate,” said one American citizen, Mary Elizabeth.

Political views are divided on race, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity but surely these are basic human rights, not issues.

Each citizen of America is a human and deserves all rights for what the American Constitution stands for.

Donald Trump’s pronouncements and actions towards anyone who does not fit his “white” image, have given an opportunity for closet racists and homophobes to plan attacks on minority groups if he does not win.

So, this is my prediction on what will happen if Joe Biden wins:

• KKK, The Proud Boys, and other white supremacist organisations will attack any member who is a part of a group that identifies or looks like a minority and or any religion that is not Christian
• The same organizations will attack any white member who stands by Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ rights
• Trump supporters will rally against this winning verdict and start riots, which will be so-called ‘peaceful’ protests
• All members of society will be in danger except for white heterosexual males and will need to stay indoors
• Trump will refuse to accept his loss and will refuse to remove himself in the White House during Biden’s Inauguration Day

The entire US will face a modern-day North vs South division within the country and this will be because of hatred, discrimination, homophobia, and racism that we should not be seeing in 2020.

Sydney Kaster, an American international student at Kingston University said: “Whatever happens happens. There will be a protest, either way, one is just going to be worse than the other.”

Now just process what I am saying as an African American citizen myself. I should not be fearful for my own life, in my own country.

I should not be fearful that a man, Joe Biden, who seems like he wants to empower the black narrative by having black people involved in his campaign and cabinet might win.

Biden who is promoting ‘love is love’ and not raising taxes. 

But if Donald Trump wins here is what will happen:

• Riots will begin again across the country
• Peaceful and or violent protest will arise through several movements that are about race/ethnicity, gender/sexuality, and religion
• Women’s rights will be stripped away
• Minority rights will be stripped away
• America will face racism and discrimination just like we had in the Civil Rights Era of the 1950s and 1960s
• Police Brutality will be more acceptable within various government organizations
• The businesses running the prison system will increase their profits

The division across the US will heighten and the violence will increase because it will be Citizens of the United States v. The Federal/State Government of the United States.

Yes, if Biden wins minoritized groups will have to fear for their lives for the remainder of 2020 but if Trump wins all the hard work that we as women, different races, different ethnicities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community have won will be washed away.

With Biden, we can potentially rebuild our divided nation. But Trump’s “Make America Great Again” will not be the America I want to live in.

Within hours I may have to hide in my home for things to cool down. Or go out and fight for my rights as a woman, as an African American, and most importantly for my basic rights.

This is how people have been preparing for election night:

• Businesses are taking extra precautions to stop any looters or riots from entering their stores
• Minority groups are panic buying groceries and personal products to save them from going outside

I know it is a lot to process. I am still processing it myself. To all my American friends near and far, we will make it through this somehow.

To all my international friends near and far, please understand that my nation is truly in a Purge movie right now and I fear there will be violence in its most gruesome form.

To everyone else watching or anticipating what will happen, if you know someone who is currently residing in the US please make sure they are alright.

Please make sure they are safe and around people who will protect them at all costs.

If you know a friend who is studying in America right now, just check up on them throughout the week.

This election has already brought chaos and uncertainty but we will soon know where America stands in 2020.