Recently, when America discovered that Donald Trump, a man who has made numerous racist and sexist remarks, would become the president elect, a feeling of alarm and fright was generated across the country among Hillary voters.

To make matters worse, the vice president-elect and former Governor of Indiana, Mike Pence, is openly anti-gay. He supports a ban on gay marriage, encourages the government funding of conversion therapy and doesn’t believe anti-discrimination laws should include gay people. This shows his lack of concern to protect the members of the LGBT+ community.

People are genuinely scared for their liberties, and rightfully so. This was especially evident on Friday Nov. 18, after a performance of the Broadway musical “Hamilton” in New York City. Pence attended the show and after the final bows, cast member Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr, stopped Pence from leaving early to talk to him, according to The New York Times.  

Dixon encouraged Pence to honor the vast diversity of American and to “work on behalf of all of us.” During this short speech, Dixon was respectful, quieting boos from the crowd by stating, “There’s nothing to boo here. We’re all here sharing a story of love.”

Afterwards, #BoycottHamilton began trending on twitter, and Donald Trump expressed his dismay. He tweeted that Pence was “harassed”, that Hamilton is “highly overrated” and that the theater should “always be a safe and special place.” Simply, he demanded an apology from the cast and producers of Hamilton.

Trump speaks of safety, but how can citizens feel safe when their very rights are threatened? Some feel that calling out Pence was disrespectful and uncalled for. This is not the case. Exercising one’s right to freedom of speech, especially when it preaches love and tolerance, should never be frowned upon, even when it is aimed towards the vice president-elect. The ability to disagree with people in power and to freely express opinions is what makes this country great.

Respectfully addressing valid concerns is not “harassment” or unsafe behavior. If our president elect can’t recognize the inalienable right of freedom of speech, we have a long four years ahead of us.