“I am surprised you’re a Republican!” These are the words I often hear when I tell someone I am a teacher. The next comment, however, is “That’s awesome!” It’s not so awesome having to keep this secret about myself at work, though.
I’ve had to consistently suppress my thoughts and emotions at work. For example, my principal sent the entire staff an email after the 2016 election about how upset the students might be because Hillary Clinton lost the election and we need to comfort the students given how sad of a day it was supposed to be. Meanwhile, I was thinking that this was the best day of my life with no one to talk to about it. I was silently celebrating in my head and thinking about the email and wondering why he didn’t consider that some of us might actually be celebrating instead of mourning.
Isn’t being a Republican in California, in general, a secret society that we cannot reveal to friends and co-workers unless we want to be shamed? I feel that if I reveal my political party, I’ll be seen as a racist and all the other stereotypes that the left has labeled us, so instead, I just stay silent.
I know what the Republican Party stands for and I understand what their party stands for. I accept that is their stance, but sadly I don’t think they’d give me the same courtesy the same if I revealed mine. I don’t let that bother me. I am proud of my morals, values, and political party. There’s no need to shout it out. Quietly and proudly, I stay on the Republican side.
