After Trump won the election, political pundits on television started using this phrase “the silent majority” to explain how so many Trump supporters existed relative to the low poll numbers.

The silent majority is said to be all of the white, middle class Trump supporters who have been forgotten by the “liberal elites” (the irony that Trump is supposed to represent these people is inescapable).

These people hate political correctness, don’t believe in social justice, and would prefer it if everyone who is poor, black, or gay would just shut up.

Thankfully, the silent majority is not real. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, so by definition the silent majority is not a majority at all. Unfortunately, their backward views on social issues like white privilege and gay rights still linger, in some states more than others.

Last week, some North Carolina legislators proposed a bill that would ban gay marriage. And although the bill was not even heard, it was another painful reminder of how far we still have to come as a society.

Unfortunately, the election of Donald Trump has given many the courage to publicly spew hate like Trump did on the campaign trail. To those who feel attacked by these pathetic attempts to take your rights away: trust me, there are far more of us who have your back than those who choose to hate you.

To those who are choosing to hate: please stop. I urge you to show some regard for the lives of your fellow human beings. I urge you to look past a misguided interpretation of an outdated book.

And to those who continue to claim that this isn’t hate: you are wrong. Telling someone they deserve to burn for eternity in a pit of fire for merely loving who they love is absolutely and unequivocally hateful. Stop asking people to tolerate your intolerance.

These views will go away someday. Probably not entirely, but to the point where we no longer have to consider them as a semi reasonable way of thinking. I hope it happens sooner than later; my faith in humanity depends on it.