For just one second.  I don’t often make posts directly addressing people on anything more serious than fanfiction, but.

The election.  I’m not going to spin you the same explanation everyone else has given about why voting third party is dangerous in this situation–all you have to do is google the Bush-Nader-Gore situation and find many people with much better explanations than I could give.  I’m not going to list every law that Hillary Clinton would support and Donald Trump would repeal–I’m too tired to put myself through that panic attack.  Rest assured, there are many, and the Supreme Court decision of last year regarding marriage equality is just the tip of the iceberg.

Just.  Listen.  

I have friends, old friends and new ones, who are observant Muslims.  I want to keep those friends, I want them to be safe and happy in their homes and in their faith.  Under a Donald Trump presidency, that would not happen.

I have trans friends that I adore.  I want them to be at ease in their own bodies, given the right of their own names and their own identities.  Under a Donald Trump presidency, that would not happen.

I have cousins adopted from other countries, friends who are exchange students working on a citizenship, friends whose children are natural-born American citizens.  I want them free to live where they want, with their family or overseas from them, because they’re people and they deserve that choice.  Under a Donald Trump presidency, that would not happen.

I have black friends, black family I love.  I want them to be safe, and alive, and goddamn, that’s not a guaranteed thing right now but under a Donald Trump presidency, it would be impossible.

I’m queer–men, women, none of the above, all of the above, I don’t care.  I want to be able to marry a woman, if I fall in love with one, just like I would be able to marry a man.  I want to feel as safe with a girlfriend in my arms as a boyfriend, without a care in the world for what someone might get away with doing to us.  Under a Donald Trump presidency, that would not happen.

I have a history of sexual assault that statistically predisposes me to being a victim of rape.  In the event that the worst happens, I want to be able to bring that to court.  I want to be able to get an abortion without going to jail.  Under a Donald Trump presidency, that would not happen.

I am a woman, for Christ’s sake.  We are half the world, and we deserve to be paid equally, treated like adults rather than children, respected as thinkers and dreamers, mothers and scientists, artists and politicians and human beings.  Under a Donald Trump presidency, that would not happen.

We are people, us who are under threat from this man.  And if your plan is to ‘vote your conscience’ by voting third party, whether as a protest vote or as genuine support, far be it from me to dictate your morals.  But let me take this moment to remind you that we are people.  If Donald Trump is elected and has the prerogative to appoint judges and select cabinet members and run the country, we are not going to be treated like people.  If Donald Trump is elected and we are shafted in the process, and you did not do everything in your power to stop that, you bear some degree of responsibility.

So whether what’s driving you to vote third party or abstain altogether is sincere conviction, arrogant moral superiority, or just a desire to not take either of the two options available, think about that.  Take that into your considerations.  You might sleep great, knowing you didn’t sell out like the rest of everyone who voted for Hillary Clinton.

How are you going to sleep if Donald Trump wins the election after a split vote and the fallout starts to take lives?