two sides of the story: Seeing different perspectives

The dark mood last Wednesday hung over Peninsula like a thick fog – disappointment, anger, even fear. While there were happy faces, there was a majority view across campus: the result of the 2016 presidential election did not end in the way many Peninsula students had hoped. Some students wore all black in protest. Scornful questions were thrown around campus. What has America come to? How is everyone that racist, or sexist or homophobic? How could that many people vote for Donald Trump?

In this aspect, Peninsula is a microcosm of much of the country. For five consecutive nights, major cities staged anti-Trump protests, some turning violent. Close to home, Los Angeles witnessed a protest in which 8,000 people participated, according to CNN. Cries of “Not our president!” can be heard in the streets, are spray-painted on buildings and are trending on Twitter.

However, no matter what the nation does, Donald Trump will be our next president. He will move into the White House on Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2017. He will run our nation for the next four years.

Though he lost the popular vote, he won the electoral college, thus winning the election. No matter how much we may disagree with his policies, we must accept his victory. America has spoken, and we have to respect the democratic process.

But in this, we must also recognize that there is no simple answer to the question of why he was elected. Many Peninsula students may see the outcome as a simple matter of black and white: those who respect minority rights voted Democrat and those who are prejudicial voted Republican. In reality, however, things are not so simple. Various aspects such as the economy, foreign policy and social issues come into play, and the true reason for his election falls in shades of gray.

At Peninsula, we consider ourselves open-minded and accepting. Many of us may hold the view above, as the election has held a moral priority for us. Nonetheless, we must recognize that we tend to overlook other factors in a strange twist of closed-mindedness. We assume that all other people have, or should have, the same priorities. But that, simply, is not true.

This election has brought out the worst in people, shining light on the ugly side of America: there has been a surge in hate crimes from Trump supporters with racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic and other prejudicial motives. This is unacceptable. However, there have been hate crimes from overzealous Clinton supporters, too. Both sides can benefit from listening to one another: there were innumerable factors contributing to the outcome of this election, and we have to understand that.

We must open our minds to the other side, keeping in mind our own priorities, and make an effort to understand its views. We cannot dismiss the other side simply because it is the other side; if we condemn, we should do so because we understand their lives and views and genuinely disagree.

This year’s presidential election has polarized the American public, and many of us feel very passionately about it one way or another. However, we cannot protest against a view of which we have limited understanding. It is essential we educate ourselves on all the issues and hear both sides to the story.