I know there's a lot of drama going around out there right now.  I know there's a lot of Trump supporters gloating in their win, and I know there's a lot of Hillary supporters mourning their loss.  In the thralls of emotion it can be hard to think rationally, but I would encourage both sides to take a step back and think for a second.

Trump supporters: You won!  Congratulations.  I know the vast majority of you are not racist, you don't hate the LGBT community, you're not misogynistic, you're not bigoted.  But you've been called that a lot recently, and that's hard.  I'm sure I could talk to 100 of you and get different reasons for why you voted Trump, some of you holding your nose while you voted.  But you're being crucified for who you voted for, and that's wrong.  However, show some humility to the losing side.  Remember that it could just as easily have been you sitting today thinking about how your candidate lost, and what the next four years of this country would look like.

People on the other side are scared, scared because as a Trump voter you've been branded as racist, hateful, and bigoted.  So take a little time today to talk to somebody who didn't vote for Trump, someone who is scared about the future, and try to remind them that you're on their side.  Let them know that it's not going to be like they fear it will be, let them know that you believe Trump isn't going to roll in and immediately start by overturning gay marriage laws, or ripping Obamacare out of the ground and throwing it into a blender.  Trump will still have to go through the House and the Senate to enact laws and policies, and even though Republicans do have a majority in both, remind them that many Republicans don't like him because of the inflammatory things he says - and would never vote for something that takes rights away from or oppresses Americans.  Comfort them by letting them know that we're in this together as Americans, and that you believe that it's not going to be as bad as they think.

tl;dr - Try to show some humility in your victory, and show Hillary supporters the side of you they fear you don't have: the compassion, the love, the understanding.

Hillary supporters: Well fought.  It was a very close election even if it didn't seem like it.  I know there is a lot of fear going around today.  There's a lot of people with doomsday clocks set for the day of inauguration, when America is suddenly going to descend into madness and it's going to be The Purge in the streets, with rich white men killing poor LGBT people.  (Yes, I know that's a dramatization, but I really wanted to put a Purge reference in somewhere)  How could 48% of the populous vote for someone so racist, so bigoted, so hateful, and someone who has said all the things that Trump has?  How is 48% of America still so openly racist, this is 2016!

Is 48% of America really racist though?  I believe the vast majority of people who voted for Trump did so because he was the only option they saw viable, not because they love Trump and his ability to run his mouth.  In this time of grieving, I can only encourage you to remember that it's going to be ok.  You're going to be ok.  I'll tell you what I also said to the Trump voters above, Trump isn't a dictator and can't just waltz into the White House and start taking rights away from people - we have a system of checks and balances in government for exactly that reason.  You might be afraid because Republicans have a majority in both the House and the Senate, but many of those same Republicans also didn't want Trump to be president.  The Democrats in the House and Senate won't allow Trump to enact any laws or policies that oppress you or take rights away from you, and neither will the majority of the Republicans.  It's going to be ok.

tl;dr - I know you're scared.  But in this election driven by hate on both sides, remember that there is still love, and that it's going to be ok.

- Jake