Suzanne Monk, a Trump supporter living in Chicago, no longer feels safe in the city. But it's not because of road construction or high taxes. Rather, Monk wrote in a letter to the editor of Crain's Chicago Business that she and other Trump supporters living in Chicago now feel unwelcome and are experiencing "hate, bullying and intimidation," due to their support for the president.
After living in the city for 24 years, Monk explained that she no longer felt comfortable calling it home over the course of the last year. "I am ashamed of you, Chicago," she wrote, citing "the intolerance you now accept in the name of politics."
Monk doesn't seem to see the irony in her statement about intolerance. So far, the president has signed two Muslim bans, rescinded guidelines allowing transgender students to use the bathrooms of their choice, approved the construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, signed an , and further criminalized immigration.
Trump also signed a "law and order" executive order protecting law enforcement, which "appeals to fears about people of color and the demonization of Black Lives Matter," as Truth-Out reported.
But, according to Monk, Chicago is not tolerant of her views. "You see, I am a Trump supporter. My husband is a Trump supporter, too. And because we support Trump, we no longer feel proud, or safe, being in this city," she wrote.
"Chicago, you have always been a Democrat-run town, but this year you have become a one-party city terrorizing anyone not in your party for their beliefs," Monk continued.
She cited the constant anti-Trump, anti-fascist, and anti-racist protests in the city, the road blocks, and the verbal abuse of Trump supporters. She cited the Trump rally at the University of Illinois-Chicago that was shut down by organizers last March.
"So, after 25 years, after a lifetime for my husband, we have to leave," Monk explained. "In the end, we have to leave because of the hate you are willing to tolerate."
"I'd like to say, it's not you, it's me—but Chicago, I've got to be honest ... it's you," Monk wrote, breaking it off with the city she once called home. "You've changed."
"You have a Trump-sized chip on that big shoulder, and it has turned you into a city of fear, hate and division."
