I want to first say that it’s been hard for me to put into words how I’ve been feeling. There have been a lot of tears and there is a lot shock and anger. So with that I hope what I’m about to say will in some way resonate with you or give you another perspective.

My friend Tatiana posted that we need to spread love not hate and that being violent with Trump supporters only makes us as bad as them. Reading this, my first instinct is to say she’s white, she doesn’t understand. Reading these types of posts from white people makes me want to write them off. I forget that being white and having white privilege does not mean they won’t be affected by a lack of healthcare or educational opportunities, or by sexual assault, loss of income, environmental changes, and so much more. As a person of color who will be directly affected by Trump's presidency and his policy changes, it is all too easy for me to become caught up in anger and only see red. I’ve never believed in physical violence—until Tuesday night, November 8, when I found myself and fellow people of color wanting to fight the people who believe in Trump. So I understand wanting to fight and hurt those who want to hurt us, but we cannot stoop to their level.

Today I realize how much we need people to remind us to project love over hate and how we must not attack those who are trying to give us perspective, which we honestly really need. We need people to remind us of the basic lesson that we must not fight fire with fire. We need people to be our MLK, Jr. and remind us to love when we start to hate.

Looking back in history, we see people like Malcolm X who said when they hurt you, you make sure they don’t do it again. I understand this logic, but it’s 2016. We have more tools now than ever to come to a peaceful understanding without violence. We can educate and empathize with people on both sides; validate fears that overwhelm people on both sides. There is no need to physically or emotionally hurt people who oppose your views.

To clarify, I’m not saying we can’t me mad, I’m not saying it’s not okay to be angry or to yell and protest. We need those feelings to remind us and to use as fuel to keep us going. It’s okay to be mad at people who didn’t vote or who voted for someone you don’t agree with. But we need to put that aside and educate them on to why we believe what we do.

We cannot sit and cry forever and we must not abandon our country. Too many people have fought and died for us to have what we have today. It is insulting to run away now.

We need to fight for what we want in a way that will make our ancestors and children proud. Our time is now. In the words of Michelle Obama, “When they go low, we go high.”

Isabella Faith is a freshman at University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.