This country has been very divided for a long time, and this election definitely brought that polarization to the forefront even more. Hopping on social media, I keep seeing videos of people celebrating Biden’s win and of angry Trump supporters certain the election was rigged.

Since Election Day, I have heard a range of opinions about how people should treat one another during these stressful times. Something I keep hearing is “Even though we vote for different people, we can still be friends.”

Quite frankly, no. For starters, I was not even friends with Trump supporters before, and I am not going to start befriending any now, but if I was friends with any, that friendship would promptly end.

When I hear this, it usually comes from white people whose lives were not negatively affected by Trump being in office and who would rather stay comfortable than call out their friends and family who voted for Trump. It is hard to fathom the fact that some people think we live in a world where we can disagree on human rights and that does not affect our relationships.

How am I supposed to befriend people who are okay with people being forced into ICE detention centers where kids are separated from their parents, where women are sterilized, and where detainees have been abused?

How am I supposed to befriend people who have killed Black people for simply existing, claiming to have “feared for their lives?”

How am I supposed to befriend people who do not want people from the LGBTQ+ community to have the right to love who they love or feel comfortable in their gender identity?

How am I supposed to befriend people who voted for a known racist, homophobe, ableist, and alleged rapist?

How am I supposed to befriend people who, upon finding out Biden won, started posting photos with guns and threatening to commit mass shootings?

Now, I am an avid believer in treating people with kindness, but I find it hard to do so if their belief system lies in hatred and prejudice. To say you can befriend someone with different beliefs from you comes from a place of privilege that I will never understand or experience.

All that being said, I mean this from the bottom of my heart: No matter what, if you voted for Trump, I think less of you. I can be friends with people who disagree with me, but not on this.

Kyara Morales-Rodriguez is a junior English major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].