By Kristin Mason
Not even two minutes after Barack Obama was named the president-elect of our nation, the Internet become the voice of peoples’ strong opinions. Because I am a college student, my attention was focused on Facebook and MySpace. I must say, the comments and accusations made on these sites were horrible.
Apparently, if the people of this nation truly thought the world would end or die with Obama, then McCain would be our president. I blogged last month saying that either way it turned out, either a real war or a culture war would happen. Well, because of ignorant statements like, “He’s a terrorist because his middle name is Hussein,” or, “That Muslim will ruin our country because he’s not a Christian,” and even threats being made publicly, many personal relationships are being ruined. About three people I know don’t have the same friendships they did Tuesday morning.
It makes me wonder, if people are showing their true colors this quickly, what will it be like in the coming months? So here’s my question: If you do not support Obama and have your reasons for not liking him, is this particular man really worth ruining your personal friendships and relationships?
Now, here’s what I say to those who are still voicing their negative opinions about Obama becoming our president: If you voted Tuesday, your opinion was stated at the poll, and that is the only place that it mattered. If you didn’t vote at all, then you should have nothing to say, because if you didn’t care enough to voice your opinion between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., then you should not have anything to say now. The polls closed Tuesday night, hint, hint. If anyone makes it worse for us, it will be WE who do it.
Now if I didn’t have so many problems with uploading videos and links, I would have some for you to look at. Because I have those problems, I will simply encourage you to go to different sites and look at what people are saying. Then, take a step back and realize how those words affected you.
As a young, black woman, I refuse to get scared, discouraged or angry with those who do not agree with my choice, because at the end of the day, and every day for at least the next four years, I know that my voice counted and that no one can change it no matter what they say. I am proud of our next president, and the history made behind America’s choice of Barack Hussein Obama. As the saying goes, if you don’t have anything nice to say…don’t say anything at all.
Kristin Mason is a junior from Oklahoma City.