I have made many election posts on Facebook, but this will be the absolute last time I talk about the 2016 election in a serious manner (other than memes and junk).

Donald Trump beating Hillary Clinton shocked the world. Many people predicted him to lose because of the campaign he ran that appealed to racists, xenophobes, homophobes, and more. Some people (including myself) even posited that Trump was a Clinton plant so that she could win and the Republican Party would look bad in the process.

But the real reason Clinton lost is not because there are so many racist, xenophobic, and homophobic people in America. It was because of arrogance, hubris, and pride. These are dangerous traits to have, and the DNC clearly showed their lack of respect for the American people when they engineered everything to go Clinton’s way. Bernie Sanders fell on the sword for it all. He is a man I admire greatly for standing up for people, everyday people like you and I, in the face of corporate interests, lobbyists, and more.

I will state that I am not a fan of Clinton or Trump. Let’s face it: everyone has flaws, and to deny that is being delusional. While Clinton has experience and intelligence, she was dogged by scandals about emails and corporate America that put her credibility and integrity in question. On the other hand, Trump spoke his mind freely about certain issues (whether or not that he actually believed those things is another story entirely), and that is something that one should admire. Having faced censorship, belittlement and more in my own life, that was the one trait I can say I like about him, that he was willing to talk about issues no one would talk about. The content of what he said, however, is something I cannot defend. He made disparaging remarks about women, minorities, immigrants, and other groups. Picking Mike Pence as a VP, someone who believes that homosexuality can be literally shocked out of people, spelled that these people wish to repudiate all the progress that has been made under President Barack Obama.

After Trump won, many of my friends were scared. They were scared for legitimate reasons. They were going to have their rights taken away, and Trump’s more radical fans would find that their bigotry would be justified because Trump won. Acts of violence, hatred, and more would be considered okay. These acts are NOT okay under any means. This goes for both sides.

I made a status update (I rarely make public statuses because of employers and people out there who wish to take things I say out of context) regarding the election here. It is very simple. We need to be understanding. Heck, we need to be understanding of Trump supporters as well, and why they came to that view. We can’t change people’s points of view (as much as we want to), but we can at least set a good example for others to follow.

The 2016 election made me think about the way I approach things as well, especially in regards to how I deal with others. I realized that the people I had been at odds with really just need understanding. Hate and anger are very easy things to do, and things I have done as a way out. But that does not work. This is why in the aftermath of this election, we need understanding. It doesn’t matter if you’re Democrat or Republican or whatever, we are all human beings, and understanding one another is a lot better than hate or anger. That is what I have learned. That being said, this is the last thing I will say about the 2016 election. That is all.