“Burning and defacing the flag is a critique of what American patriotism and the American flag represent.”

On Friday, hundreds of Wesleyan students took part in a multi-stage demonstration that featured testimonies and chants from perspectives ranging from staunchly anti-State to “final stands” of full blown Trump supporters.

The second stage of the demonstration saw students gathered outside of Olin library and several among the crowd ascending the steps to communicate their response to the election results. During this part of the demonstration, we posted a live Facebook video of Yael Horowitz ’17 and Abby Cunniff ’17 spray painting “Amerikkka” on an upside down American flag. The video now has over 22,000 views and 142 shares. Many comments on the video declare their hatred for Wesleyan students, and several have been explicitly threatening and violent. We are posting the following guest submission so that they protesters can explain their motivations. The following views are the writers’ own.