Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search
Breaking News:

Outrage, shock as Americans protest against Trump’s election victory

By Victoria Ojugbana and Merit Igumah with agency report
11 November 2016   |   1:37 am
Fuck your tower! Fuck your wall!” Shouted an angry youngman. He chanted at Trump Tower’s brass-escutcheoned facade, as scores of NYPD officers manned barricades, behind which stood....
Students protest

Students protest

Fuck your tower! Fuck your wall!” Shouted an angry youngman. He chanted at Trump Tower’s brass-escutcheoned facade, as scores of NYPD officers manned barricades, behind which stood eight department of sanitation trucks filled with dirt.

“I’m incredibly upset. I’m angry,” said Parker Smith, another demonstrator, as she held a sign stating “My Body, My Choice” outside the president-elect’s Chicago hotel tower. “This has been just a lot to deal with and I’m very worried for the next four years.”

Nina, an actor living in Manhattan, said that the protest felt less like a call-to-arms than a vigil for the promise of America.“I’m distraught at the decision,” said Nina, who declined to share her surname for professional reasons. “He’s a horrible, horrible man, not the leader of the America I live in. Or the America I thought I lived in.”

Thousands also took to the streets in Chicago, a Democratic city that overwhelmingly supported Clinton according to initial polls.Gathering for what activists called an “emergency Trump protest”, demonstrators virtually shut down the city during rush hour traffic as they shouted: “Trump is not my president.”

Outrage and shock are just a few of the adjectives that describe the political upset in America on Tuesday that has continued to rock the world. After a divisive and seemingly never-ending race, the world watched with bated breath as Donald Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States.

The billionaire real estate developer and television personality, clinched the Electoral College votes that earned him the keys to the White House. As U.S. voters and international leaders began to come to terms with a Republican White House led by the former reality television star, people opposed to Trump on Wednesday took to the streets criticising the racism, sexism and xenophobia that they say the president-elect has made mainstream.

In midtown Manhattan, people took over Sixth Avenue and marched by Trump Tower, carrying signs that read “Not my president”, “She got more votes” and “Hands off my pussy”, a reference to a leaked recording where Trump bragged that he could sexually assault women because of his fame. A number of arrests were made.

Protesters who had marched all the way from Union Square – some 35 blocks downtown – continued past Trump Tower, with a crowd congregating in front of the president-elect’s building.While Chicago has gained international attention for these kinds of demonstrations in recent years – tied to the Black Lives Matter movement against police violence – Wednesday’s protests drew a diverse group of voters united in their anger at Trump.

Protesters stood their ground for hours outside the luxury building, chanting about issues including black lives, LGBT rights and women’s health.“This is the America I identify with,” said protester Nicole Endenova, a young woman of colour, as she stared at the crowds.

Some protesters waved a Mexican flag outside the tower while screaming “Fuck your wall”, referring to Trump’s controversial plan for a border barrier.As helicopters followed the march from above, while police shielded Trump Tower, some protesters shouted, “We want a president, not a fucking racist!”

High school and college students led several larger demonstrations throughout the day, including a mass walkout at a high school in Berkeley, California.

Speaking with The Guardian, Professors of International Law in Nigeria, Akin Oyebode of the Department of Law, University of Lagos (UNILAG) and Head, Research and Strategic Studies, Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Lagos, Prof. Charles Dokubo harped on what the protest portends. Oyebode said it shows that America’s reputation as the world’s leading democracy has taken a reversal.

“Majority of people voted against Hillary Clinton and not necessarily for Donald Trump. Because it is quite obvious, to many discerning minds, that among the two Hillary Clinton was a much more or better qualified candidate,” he stated.

Prof. Oyebode, who noted that Americans have racist and sexist attitude in them, said “they wanted change, but not the type of change that Trump was promising. This is a sexual pervert and a social demagogue and rabble rouser who told lies repeatedly and who even discredited the American electoral process as a rigged process that the press was against him and who suffers from elaborate conspiracy theory that the Americans did not want him.”

Oyebode said that Trump blackmailed Americans, telling them that it is only if he won that the election would be declared as free and fair. He added that the president-elect is a demagogue, who got up-set victory that had been pulled up.

“My reading in the final analysis is that costs of Trump’s victory are tremendously high. He will have to apologise to the generality of Americans that he is a better president than presidential candidate. Right now, the Americans are in discomfiture, it is as if they have just woken up from a bad dream with the idea of a President Donald Trump,” he said.

Asked whether Trump will not punish the protester, the professor of law said: “Barrack Obama is still the president. It’s still a long way off before he takes over, nearly 70 days before he takes up office and a lot of water might have passed under the bridge. We don’t know where this protest would lead, whether it would lead to real urban riot or burning of tires or smashing of windows but if it matures to a full blown street revolt, then it may be difficult for Americans to recover lost grounds.”

While urging Hillary Clinton to make an appeal, if she has not done so, to her aggrieved supporters, to sheate the sword, because its not a very happy day for United States of America, Oyebode said the example they are showing throughout the world is an example that is not commendable.

“The democracy that we knew never promised the best candidate should win, but if people smell some rat that there has been some manipulations, you can understand how they are voicing out their grievances. They say that they do not recognise him as president. The presidency of Donald Trump has taken a bloody nose,” he added.

Meanwhile, Prof. Dokubo was of a different view from Oyebode. He said that everybody American citizen has the right to protest against the election result if they are not satisfied with it.

“Whether Americans like it or not Trump has won the election, they are free to protest. The protest is not going to change the outcome. America was divided by the election but the American people have spoken. Trump has won, they might protest but it won’t change anything. There has been no election in the U.S. before where the country was divided into two-halves.On what Trump will do to the protesters, he said he won’t do anything thing like in Nigeria where they can be shot by police or soldiers.

PROTESTS were first launched early on Wednesday morning on the west coast after Trump told his supporters in New York City that Clinton had called him to concede. Protests also occurred in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Oregon and other states in regions throughout the US.

“People are fucking bummed. People are disgusted,” said Eddie Gutierrez, 33, who joined late-night protests in Oakland, California. “They’ve lost faith in the fucking system.”By evening on the west coast large rallies began to emerge in Seattle and Oakland, organized under the hashtag #NotMyPresident.

In Seattle, city councilwoman, Kshama Sawant, a socialist politician and avid Bernie Sanders supporter during the presidential primaries, told a crowd of activists on Wednesday night that people should plan to disrupt Trump’s inauguration in January.
“We are going to shut it down,” she said.

Also numerous American college students and faculty leaders took to social media to announce support groups and even postponed exams. An estimated 2,000 protesters shouted angrily in downtown Seattle, expressing their frustration at the Trump victory over Clinton, who won 228 electoral votes to Trump’s 279.Police in riot gear struggled to hold back scores of protesters in some of the cities as protesters chanted “Not My President” and “No Racist USA.” The protests were mostly peaceful. Seattle police said they were investigating a report of a shooting near the site of the protest in that city, but it may not have involved protesters.

In New York, thousands of demonstrators blocked off streets around Trump Tower near the busy intersection of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue, chanting “hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go” and “p—-y grabs back,” a reference to taped conversations of Trump making lewd commentary about women. One female protester was topless while another climbed on top of a tree to see the activity. Taxis, city buses and passenger vehicles stood at a standstill.

“We’re (mad) so we’re out here in the streets,” said demonstrator Omar Aqeel, a 27-year-old film producer who lives in Brooklyn.While he and other demonstrators said they were aware that protests could not reverse the election, they said they still felt it would have an effect on the future.

“I hope it rallies everyone together as a wake up call,” Aqeel said.“I think there’s a chance for impeachment at the end of the day,” said protester Joey Henriquez, a 22-year-old student at the City College of New York, who lives in Manhattan. “We can’t let him have eight years.”

In Boston, thousands of anti-Donald Trump protesters streamed through downtown, chanting “Trump’s a racist” and carrying signs that said “Impeach Trump” and “Abolish Electoral College.”Also in Chicago, several hundreds of protesters gathered near the Trump International Hotel and Tower to express their displeasure with the president-elect.

The protesters held signs with messages such as “Love Trumps Hate,” “Not My President “ and expletive-laden repudiations.Chloe Stratton, 33, a transgendered woman who moved to Chicago earlier this year, said she fears for what a Trump-Pence White House holds for the nation’s LGBT community.Pence has opposed same-sex marriage and expressed support for shock therapy for people with same-sex attractions.

“I am terrified for my life,” said Stratton, who added that she has begun exploring options to move away from the U.S.An estimated 6,000 protesters gathered Wednesday night in Oakland, California Videos on social media captured fires erupting as the protests rolled on.Just last week, the Democrat-controlled Chicago’s city council voted to remove honorary signage near Trump’s building, a rebuke for the president-elect’s blistering criticism of crime in the city while he was on the stump.

On Wednesday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel insisted he did not fear that Trump would exact any payback on the city over the move.“I’m not worried about Donald Trump trying to somehow penalise Chicago, “ said Emanuel, who served as President Obama’s first White House chief of staff.Earlier on Wednesday, protesters at American University burned U.S. flags on campus.

In Oregon, dozens of people blocked traffic in downtown Portland, burned American flags and forced a delay for trains on two light-rail lines. Trump supporters taunted the demonstrators with signs. At one point, a lone Trump supporter was chased across Pioneer Courthouse Square and hit in the back with a skateboard before others intervened.

Across the country, universities and even a few high schools organised post-election civil disobedience of a different sort. Some teachers sent notes to students postponing tests and offering support. Student unions offered sessions of meditation, discussions and tea.

“The nation in which you currently reside decided last night to elect a president whose own words have painted him a moral and possibly physical hazard to many of us,” University of Maryland professor, Alan Peel, wrote to students, postponing all assessments. “I debated whether to press on today in the spirit of re-establishing normalcy, but have come to realize that my position and my background may have afforded me the privilege to do so. Others may find they do not have that privilege.”

“Partisan, inflammatory statements unfortunately seem to be part of modern campaign rhetoric, but they cause real wounds,” Northwestern University wrote in an email to students on Wednesday, reminding them to notify professors if they need to miss class. The email directed students to the campus Multicultural Center, the Gender and Sexuality Resource Centre and The Black House, a gathering place for the university’s black community. Throughout the day the campus hosted a “What’s Your Reaction” event for students to express themselves by drawing pictures. They even provided the paper, markers and snacks.

The University of California, Berkeley created safe spaces for minority students, and for those who might be illegal immigrants. There are also special “healing spaces” for women and those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.

“Be gentle with yourselves and take care of each other,” according to an email sent to Berkeley students from four of the university’s vice chancellors and others. “We know that the results of yesterday’s election have sparked fear and concern among many in our community; in particular our immigrant and undocumented communities, Muslim, African

American, Chicanx/Latinx, LGBTQ+, Asian and Pacific Islander communities, survivors of sexual assault, people with disabilities, women, and many others.”

At the University of Vermont, administrators voiced a similar sentiment.“This is a challenging time for many of our colleagues and students, who may be feeling isolated and concerned for personal welfare,” UVM president Tom Sullivan wrote in an email to the university community, offering time for tea and reflections, meditations and structured discussion.

The Boston Latin School, a high school in Boston, offered a support team of guidance counselors, clinicians, and nurses after school on Wednesday and before school yesterday for students who need support, according to an email sent to the school community.

Montgomery Blair High School in Maryland had an election debriefing with counselors during students’ lunch, according to a tweet sent by the school’s principal.

3 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar
  • Author’s gravatar

    good morning to you

  • Author’s gravatar

    Acceptance of things over which you have no control is an integral part of mental health and spiritual well-being. These gatherings are all about anger and denial, not fear. And they are not really protests. They are temper tantrums. Those were real protests during the Vietnam War. They had a valid objective- getting American troops out of Vietnam. There is no purpose or goal in complaining about Donald Trump being elected President. If people don’t like him they’ll have an opportunity to vote him out in 2020. Acting like immature idiots and poor losers will not make that happen. He’s going to be President for at least four years and nothing can change that. So, “protesters,” you should find something productive to do in the meantime. Like getting a job and moving out of your parents’ home.