Posted by Anonymous on 2016/12/01 under Friends Living in the beautiful city of New York you come across many different races, religious, and people with different gender identities and sexual backgrounds. As everyone knows New York is predominately Liberal state and to be anything else you’re scrutinized for it. I became interested in politics as soon as Obama was sworn into office as he was Black and I was too and he was a Democrat and I assumed I was too since I lived in New York. My family and I as well as members in my community struggled on a day to day bases living from pay check to pay check, dealing with constant violence not only from members of our community but from Police. With all of this I foolish thought that since Obama was Black he would be that one to come and “save” the African American community and help us be prosperous, clearly not the case.
Life went on as it usually did and as I got older I realized that this is exactly how it always will be because I not only had a Democrat president, but I also lived in a Democrat state. I’ve seen how Democrats needed us (minorities) when voting time came around saying “remember when I condemned the actions against the police against your people, remember those food stamps, the housing vouchers so you can get “affordable” housing, yeah remember come vote for me.” I’m at the point in life now where my mother and I live in the shelter for two almost three years now, I’ve lived in two – soon to be three shelters because I’m being transferred once again. The food stamps went from $300 a month, to $200, $100, and now $65 each of these being a month, people get paid more than this a week but we had to make this stretch a month. My mother just recently was able to get a job that pays $300 a week, but $200 of that goes into savings because we have to save up to able to get an apartment.
Now these vouchers we get we’re supposed to pay 30% of rent while the state (I’m assuming) pays the rest, we have to find an apartment whose rent is about $1240, if you live in New York you know how hard it would be to find an apartment at that price. Anyway we managed to fine 30 Real Estates who took our voucher, out of 30 one of them said they’ll take our name and number down and call us in a week (they never did), everyone else told us they had nothing available at the time. You could imagine how defeated we felt because we went in with the mindset thinking we would finally be able to find something. However, during the same day my mom called back one of the Real Estates we had already call, the conversation went as followed:
Real Estate: Hello, how may I help you?
Mom: Hello, I’m calling because I’m looking for an apartment.
Real Estate: Are you in a program?
*We decided to switch it up*
Mom: No.
Real Estate: Okay, well it seems like we have a few apartments available.
Mom: *CLICK, hangs up*
Now if you’re not from New York the law is that landlords are not allowed to turn you away if you have voucher, the way to get around it? Say you have nothing to offer. Some people don’t know that either HRA (controls public assistance as well as plays a role in the shelter system) and/ or DHS (controls shelter system) get paid based on the amount of people the live in the shelter, so as one family/person moves out I got another one moving in right after. Getting paid off of the misfortune of others, that’s what goes on under a Liberal state, which really isn’t surprising.
As I went through high school and went on my way to college I’ve had teachers express their Liberal views and why we (the students) should think like they do, I listened for the sake of my grade but when I got home I decided for myself. I was never the kind of person to follow along with what everyone else wanted me to, I like to decide things based on what I believe, so when this election came rolling around, this was mine time to have a voice.
I say all of this to say I voted for Trump and I decided to write this because I often hear people saying that all of his supporters are old, rich, white, and racist, and I’m clearing not any of those. I’m a young, black, poor, far from racist woman. I have Muslim friends, Hispanic friends, and have gay people in my family. I grew up in city where you learn to accept everyone and I come from a diverse family so I’ve experienced people with all kinds of different opinions, so when I see headlines like these I’m so confused because that’s not me. My decision was an economic based decision but BELIEVE me when I tell you, I know that voting for Trump most likely wont changed my situation, I took a chance just how we take a chance with any person we elect.
Since his election the DOW has been the highest it has ever been in history, and more people went out to spend on Black Friday and Cyber Monday than last year. Hopefully this is only the beginning of good things to come.
Racism and hatred already existed in this country and no matter who’s in office it will continue to be that way, people continue to associate him winning with everyone that voted for him being racist and sexist. You don’t know the story behind everyone’s reason for choosing him, you don’t know if these people are struggle or not. Democrats are supposed to be loving, understanding people but that all of a sudden went out the window.
Don’t believe everything you see in the media ask people yourself, all of these privileged people are out there speaking for me without even understanding how I really feel, they’re just assuming that I’m standing by them because I’m poor and supposedly all poor people are Democrats we want to keep that welfare check.
I decided to write this because I read a New York Times article where this White man was explaining why he voted for Trump even though he lives in New York and one of the comments was telling him his White privileged opinion doesn’t matter and that she would like to hear from a minority.
2 thoughts on “The Voice Of a Young African American First Time Voter”
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I am a democrate and I voted for Hiliary because I was disgusted by the things and behavior of the president elect but I understand that some of his supporter are not racist or sexiest or even bigots but they are different to all the things Trump promised, things that offended and hurt many Americans. I am black and I am a middle class, both of my parents work five days a week and I work five days a week, my point is that even Trump said he would bring jobs back to America, how is going to do? He spent time insulting and degrading people and dividing up this country instead of unifying them but that is the least of my worries. I am scared that this man has no empathy towards anyone and he has no shame, he claima he can fix all the problems in America when he wont even acknowledge that there is a racial tension and there has always been a racial tension but now it has surfaced beyond comphresion because of the way Trump cgiose to portray himself as a “law and order” president and if someone looks back in history of America those words have dangerous consequences. I know some people voted for him because of the job crisis and he promised to rid Washington of corruption but my only question is that if they voted for him soley because of his slogan “make America great” does that mean as long as the economy is working great forget all the other problems happening in America. I do not mean to undermine the reasons why you indviviually voted for Trump, but it seems as people are willing to overlook everything Trump is just because he promised jobs and money. It is like when the horrifying event of 9/11 took place, we Americans gave up many of our rights and so many power to the government, now we cannot take that power back instead we hand that power to a billionaire who is not qualified to become the leader of the free world. Let me just state that Trump is a wealthy businessman that had companies and connectuon with other rich bussinessman across the globe, what made you think that he is going to care about the middle class or the poor? How is Trump who has never lived in proverty understand the lives of those who struggle everyday to make a living. I am a US citzen but I was not born here, my parents were not born here, I have lived in a place where you only eat once a week because food was scarce. We worked for everything we have now in America and now we have a president elect who calls immigrants rapist, and murder, the African Americans “lazy” with nothing to lose, that to me does not sound like a leader. The role of the President especially the American president is the role of inspiration around the world, when we were living in Kenya and I heard the way my parents spoke of the United States of America, they spoke of it with such admiration and dream, and when we got here to me it was like they were speaking of a place that did not exist, a mere dream. Now I know people would respond with if you hate America than leave. I do not hate America, I was raised here, everything I am is American, I do not know anywhere else but this 2016 election was a mockery of the values of this country. We as Americans can no longer qualify to be an example to other countries when we turn on each other and insult each other and a President who cannot even control his temperment and who is going to appoint supreme court justices and a cabinet that will turn this country upside down and to normalize that is a dangerous thing. I believe that even though some of those that voted for him are not racist and sexiest but they are indifferent and selfish because they choose a candiate because of one promise instead of his character and leadership skills because a country cannot survive without the people standing together and that is not happening under the Trump admistration
I waited eighteen years to vote. Actually to be honest I never really care about voting. It’s just that now I have the right to vote I might as well consider who to vote. This year candidates is very hard to decide. One is very straightforward and harsh while the other is nice but hide a very malicious side. I don’t really know who to vote. I did not vote this year. Don’t get me wrong that I don’t support America. I was raise here so of course I appreciate America. And I know full well that everywhere whether in the US or other country they will have their ups and downs. One president doesn’t determine the whole outcome of a country. What determine the outcomes of the country is all the people living in the country and comes together to decide. USA will be USA even if we all turn against each other. However, I just wish that if that day is to come, I hope we all can live through it because there will be a sun after a stormy day.