There are many reasons why I won't be signing up to the #givehimachance mentality, here are just a few of them:
I already know what kind of man Donald Trump is. I do not need to 'wait and see' - that is the way atrocities occur and civil liberties are lost. I will not 'unite in the name of the country' as Trump does not represent any aspect of my country that I want to be associated with.
I love ALL my fellow Americans, not just those who are 'like me'. I embrace our beautiful melting pot of ethnicities, it is what really does make us great. I cannot and will not distinguish between people on the basis of color, creed, religion or sexuality and I will never do so.
I want ALL of us to have an equal share in our country and our society. Without this, we are nothing.
I want everyone to be valued fairly and given an equal chance to succeed. I want freely available decent education for everyone, no matter who you are or how small your wallet is.
I want sensible gun control laws in order that we may all live safely and without the continual fear of being shot by some nutter, or by a neighbor who's annoyed with us, or by an abusive partner who never had his/her gun permit revoked, or by someone who just has bad aim and kills me 'by accident'. There are no 'accidental' shootings, there are just idiotic gun laws.
I want every single person to have access to good quality medical care and mental health care. Regardless of who you are or how much money you have. At the point of delivery, I want every American to feel confident they, or their children, will receive the most advanced medical care we have to offer. Health is not just the province of the rich.
I want good quality children's programs to enable young people to find direction in their lives and help and assistance when they need it.
I do not want walls in this country. There is enough already which divides us. I want bridges, bridges everywhere, linking us all together, joining us in a common mission to improve and move our country forward.
I want great relations with our allies and good diplomats to work with those who are not our allies.
I will not tolerate any Administration which uses, as its by-word, hate. Hate can NEVER be a feature of our country. It MUST never be a ruling feature of our country. It NEED never be the thing which guides us.
Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Hindu, atheist, black, white, oriental, disabled, non-disabled, straight, gay, bi or trans, right wing, left wing, nothing wing - I want to live in a country which embraces us ALL, listens to us ALL, and welcomes us ALL equally. Always.
I don't need to 'wait and see' what Trump does or doesn't do. I reject his entire system of belief, his popularism, his mercenary calculations and his entire unsuitability to be President.
So I will NOT be encouraging people to sit quietly by. I will NOT be working towards everyone 'settling down'. I will not continue to live in a country where this kind of prejudice and discrimination passes for the 'norm'. I refuse to believe it is.
So I will continue to support every single non-violent protest, every single non-violent campaign, every single non-violent action, which seeks to defeat and frustrate this rebarbative, anachronistic, hateful election outcome.
There is no other option for me. If I don't live by what I feel is right, then I have nothing.