November 2, 2016

Dear Future President,

In our society, people of a certain race, religion, and sexuality are being discriminated against. They are being declined jobs, and even killed. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, almost 50% of the recorded 5,462 single bias hate crimes committed in 2014 were directed toward people of a certain race, followed by sexuality and religion. People should not be mistreated because of their race, religion, or sexuality.

One of the biggest issues in America is racism. We live in a country where people of a certain race are not being treated the same as people of a different race. African Americans are prime victims for hate crimes based on race. Police, specifically white male police officers, seem to target African American people and treat them more harshly than they would a person of their own race; in 2015, unarmed black people were killed 5 times more than unarmed white people. Black people are also portrayed as being criminals. This idea is probably the reason some people might fear them and attack them, but they are like us. They helped shape our country to be what it is today. Think of Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr, and, especially, the President of the United States today, Barack Obama.

Another problem in our country is that people are being treated differently because of their religion, especially Muslims. The terrorist group ISIS is Islamic, but it does not represent all of Islam. Because of ISIS, many Americans are led to believe that all Muslims are terrible extremists, and so they become afraid of them and where they come from. Muslims are being completely misrepresented. Another reason Muslims are being mistreated is because of the religion they practice. Muslims practice Islam, but many Americans wish to push Muslims out of our country because they do not practice the same religion. America is supposed to be a place where everyone can practice their religion.

People should not be mistreated because of their sexuality. On June 12th of 2016, Omar Mateen shot and killed 49 people and injured 53 others inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. This was an act of hate against LGBT people, and the deadliest mass shooting in American history. Almost one year before, President Obama legalized gay marriage in the United States as an act of love, not hate. People in the LGBT community should not feel scared to show their sexuality, scared that no one will accept them, or scared that they will be killed. People should not go to extremes and commit acts of violence against the LGBT community because they are not committing a crime.

To make sure that everyone, no matter their race, religion, or sexuality is treated equally, we need to take action. We need to stop all the hate that is going on. We especially need to train our police officers to start treating African American people like any other person. We need to teach people about Islam so they could learn to not be scared of Muslim people. And even though we have taken steps to have everyone accept the LGBT community, we still need people who commit acts of hate toward them and toward anyone else to be punished. I hope that everyone can work together to solve these issues and make sure there is equality for everyone.

Sincerely,

Bridget G.

Amanda Alvear's Snapchat story during the Orlando nightclub shooting.