My dad is an immigrant from Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Growing up, he would tell me stories about how he often struggled to find resources to feed his younger brothers and sisters, how he'd walk to school every day despite inadequate footwear, and how lucky he was to leave the country behind to build a life in the States.



My dad, and my brother, Circa 1991

When he arrived in the 70s, speaking very little English, my dad hustled to find a job, then two jobs, then three. Somehow, he also earned a degree from Wentworth Institute. A young boy, I remember him working at an electronics company and driving a taxi concurrently. And when he was laid off from the electronics company, I remember him bringing me to a luxury condo building to help him clean someone's apartment. Point is, I recognized from a wee age that my dad never stopped working. And at 60-something, he's still at it.

That's because, even through the hardships that come with being black, being an immigrant, and, at at times, being very poor, my immigrant father still believes in the American Dream. That if you work hard enough, follow the right path, and are smart with your money, anyone can win in this country. America has always been great, again...and again.

That's why he's voting for Donald Trump.

Over the last few months, I've been watching (and contributing to), the conversation around the upcoming presidential election. The media's take is clear: Hillary's untrustworthy, Cruz is a Jesus-freak, Rubio's run out of steam, and Trump...Trump is a hateful liar. I've read countless polls about who the Trump voter is (white, from a flyover state, making under $50K, and wildly uneducated) and why they're voting for him (Terrorism! Mexico! KKK! Misogynists!).

But after talking to my dad - remember, a black immigrant, now upper middle class, educated, and settled in the Northeast - and multiple other people whose parents have, or will, vote for Trump, the business mogul's fiercest fanatics don't quite fit the media's monolithic assumptions.

From my conversations, many parents' reasons for voting Trump are complex. In some cases, like my dad's, these parents are fearful of losing the little wealth they've worked damn hard to amass. In others, like that of the Vitenamese refugees I learned about, they are very attracted to Trump's incessant crackdown on China. The country, after all, brought Communism into Vietnam and ruined the lives of their networks. And, of course, there are those who give into the click-bait of both left-wing and conservative media, choosing to ignore what the actual facts show.

One thing is clear through all of this: The voters that many think they're assailing via social media rants are not the only ones who bleed red, white, and Trump. Their victims look like my dad, they look like our friends, our family members, and our co-workers. These are people who have lived different lives, who have had vastly different experiences than mine or yours, and, from my conversations, they seem to be voting for a specific set of personal reasons.

Here's what some of those I spoke with had to say about why their parents want to Make America Great Again:



Image Via: US NEWS

Lynn, 28, 1st Generation American, Voting for Bernie Sanders*

Lynn's father, a Vietnamese refugee, will vote for Trump in November. He's 65, works for the state, makes "OK" money, and lives in New York.

"He seems to be very affected by conservative media not necessarily because he is swayed that way naturally, but because Fox News is a little more aggressive in its rhetoric. He doesn't know the nuances of government. For him, one thing he said to me was how powerful and great the United States was to him after the war. It was supposed to be one of the greatest countries and, now, we're in debt and things are being done poorly.

My dad feels like Obama is kind of succumbing to idea that we shouldn't worry so much about that the economy [but, rather, social issues]. He thinks we should be more aggressive with the economy. And if we are trying to deal with "terrorists", then we should take a stance against China." (Note: Trump is very vocal about his distrust and dislike of China. At last night's primary acceptance speech in Florida, he talked about the Chinese stealing "trillions of dollars" in American jobs).

"Vietnamese culture is kinda against the Chinese because Communism was brought to Vietnam from there. So he doesn't like the idea that the US isn't asserting our power, and instead allowing China to do what it pleases. He feels like Trump has a strong stance on things, and he says what's on his mind and he feels like that shows strength. For me, I don't think that. But he says that most politicians play political games.

He values success a lot, he comes from nothing and he thinks money and status are very important. For him, Trump is a business man who is very successful. My dad feels like because he is a business man who has run successful businesses he feels like he could insert that life into government."

