Thursday, July 14, 2016

Donald Trump and the Shadow of a Race War



According to some stunning new polls, Donald Trump's chance of winning the support of most African-Americans is practically zero.

Because Hillary Clinton just about owns the black vote. 

So with all the violent racial turmoil in the U.S., I've been watching that dangerous demagogue closely to see how he might react.

And sure enough he's already moving to take advantage of the situation.




By taking aim at the Black Lives Matter movement.

“The other night, you had 11 – think of it – 11 cities potentially in a blow-up stage,” he said. “Marches all over the United States. And tough marches. Anger, hatred – hatred started by a maniac that some people asked for a moment of silence for him. For the killer. For the killer.”

And blowing his dirty dog-whistle to demonize blacks, as he has demonized Mexicans and Muslims.

And so loud is that dog-whistle, Trump's very name has become a chant for racial hostility.

The chant erupts in a college auditorium in Washington, as admirers of a conservative internet personality shout down a black protester. It echoes around the gym of a central Iowa high school, as white students taunt the Hispanic fans and players of a rival team. It is hollered by a lone motorcyclist, as he tears out of a Kansas gas station after an argument with a Hispanic man and his Muslim friend. 

Trump Trump Trump


In countless collisions of color and creed, Donald J. Trump’s name evokes an easily understood message of racial hostility


He's playing on the fears and the resentment of white America.

The resentment among whites feels both old and distinctly of this moment. It is shaped by the reality of demographic change, by a decade and a half of war in the Middle East, and by unease with the newly confident and confrontational activism of young blacks furious over police violence. It is mingled with patriotism, pride, fear and a sense that an America without them at its center is not really America anymore.


He's trying to take that country back to a darker time...



Or a whiter time.

To the great delight of neo-nazis and other white supremacist groups...



In making the explicit assertion of white identity and grievance more widespread, Mr. Trump has galvanized the otherwise marginal world of avowed white nationalists and self-described “race realists.” They hail him as a fellow traveler who has driven millions of white Americans toward an intuitive embrace of their ideals: that race should matter as much to white people as it does to everyone else. He has freed Americans, those activists say, to say what they really believe.

And you don't have to be a weatherman to realize which way the wind is blowing. Or what might happen if another police officer is killed.

And Trump is able to portray himself as a champion of law and order.


And accuse Clinton, with her overwhelming support in the African-American community, of being on "their" side. Instead of on the side of the police who many whites count on to protect them from what they fear the most, the anger of blacks in racist America.

Nor is it hard to imagine what might happen if Trump should win, and heavily armed groups of white supremacists roam the country ordering anyone they think is a Mexican or a Muslim to leave. Or else.

You know, I keep hearing some Sanders' supporters say that they would rather vote for Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton because of his position on trade deals or whatever.

Which is an idea Trump is only too eager to promote...



But I don't buy that for a moment. I don't trust anything he says.

I think all progressives should unite to defeat that dangerous racist demagogue.

Before he triggers a race war, and sets his own country on fire...



Please click here to recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers. 

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Brexit just a glimpse of what may be with Trump as President. The chaos that would ensue when everyone realizes that he doesn't have a plan...

TS

A Political Junkie said...

Here is an article that looks at how many Americans were killed by terrorist activities around the world in 2015:

http://viableopposition.blogspot.ca/2016/06/terrorism-2015-part-2-impact-on.html

By using fear, governments around the world have validated their snooping into our private lives and claim that their actions are what has saved us from terrorism when, in fact, the numbers of people killed by terrorism around the globe do not bear that up.

Kirbycairo said...

One doesn't have to look far into the history of rightwing populism to understand that the drivel that men like Trump expound concerning economic nationalism ('bad' trade deals, etc.) is always little more than a campaign tactic and bares little fruit in their actual politics. IF Trump were elected (god forbid), he wouldn't do anything about the corporate trade deals even if he could (which he couldn't do by himself anyway since the executive authority of the president doesn't extend to cancelling or renegotiated such deals). But he wouldn't actually want to do anything anyway since as part of the billionaire class he is one of the few people who is actually in a position to benefit from such deals. It seems easy in America to whip up race hatred etc. But it still amazes me that those average, working-class voters out there who are not necessarily racist but just understandably angry at the growing economic inequality, would be stupid enough to support a billionaire capitalist in the belief that he would change the very economic structures that maintain his wealth. At least an overwhelming percentage of black Americans understand that Trump is their enemy. The fact that he can garner a single working-class vote speaks volumes about simple ignorance in America.

Steve said...

Another reason the Democrats should have rejected Hillary, and picked Sanders. Now it will be a clear black and white election.

Anonymous said...

Hillary "owned" the Black vote during the primaries. The establishment news media called Bernie supporters "racist, misogynist Bernie Bros." Yet during the 1960s when Bernie Sanders was arrested chained to a Black woman fighting for civil rights, Hillary was a Goldwater Girl who supported segregation and Reaganomics 16 years before Reagan.

Hillary has been working the Black vote greasing the right palms over the past 8 years after the Black vote cost her the presidential nomination in 2008, but she has no interest in representing it.

Perhaps the headless chickens screaming Helter Skelter should think ahead of 4 more years of the status quo. In 2020, the Democratic party will be responsible for 12 years of Great Recession. This economic misery will fuel the fires of anti-immigrant sentiment to a much greater degree than now. Americans will be much more fed up with political correctness than they are now. That will mean a meaner Republican revolution than what we have now that could sweep the House and the Senate.

If Hillary is a lesser evil than Trump, (is there anything more evil than government-by-bribe?) a little less evil for 4 more years kicks the New Deal can down the road to 2024 after a lot more evil has transpired.

Real progressives vote on principle. Real progressives support progressive policies. Real progressives in America will be voting Jill Stein.

-Bernie Orbust

Steve said...

we had to elect a Harper to get Trudeau, Count Iggy and Hilary are related

Anonymous said...

Bad news Simon. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2016/white_house_watch

Latest poll says Trump is ahead by... 7 points. Things are only going to get worse for Hillary from here on out. Looks like the far right is going to win the election after all.

-MC

Anonymous said...

I have to disagree with you MC. Look how far back JT was before Steven(Trump lite)Harper called the election up here. There's no way that the populace of America will give Trump a mandate of hate. He's using the same tactics as Harper did to a repugnant extreme and it will all blow up in his face in November.
I believe the good and tolerant people of America far outweigh the scum that are attracted to Trump and he will be "Trumped" come election day.
JD

Anonymous said...

Perhaps I have misunderstood. Vote for Hilary and the New Deal gets kicked down the road for another 4 to 8 years.Split the vote with Jill Stein allowing Trump to drive up the middle results in chaos followed by lock down and no New Deal in your lifetime! Not a wise choice. Relentlessly work for your principles but don't throw out the vehicle that allows you to do so.
Vote splitting reportedly brought the Bush/Cheney evil doers to power with a legacy that continues to this day. What these clowns did globally was criminal, Trump will finish the job by doing the same thing internally.
RT

Anonymous said...

I don't think you understand what's happening, globally, if you're comparing the US election to Harper's defeat.

Dan said...

Rassmussen is a GOP polling firm with a notoriously strong GOP bias (same goes for Gallup.)

Simon said...

hi TS....yes it's not just the chaos I fear would follow a Trump victory, it's the racist explosion that could follow. It happened in post Brexit Britain. And in heavily armed America it would be a thousand times worse....

Simon said...

hi political junkie...yes it is all about using fear to stampede people into giving up their freedoms, and it is Trump's game. Like Stephen Harper used to do, he must go to bed each night praying for a terrorist attack. And yes, that old saying is true, we have nothing to fear but fear itself....

Simon said...

hi Kirby...I agree with you, I can't understand how anyone can believe any of Trump's promises. As you point out, why would a billionaire betray his own class interests. And none of the swag he peddles, except for his absurd red cap, is made in America.
People are desperate and want to believe that he can restore their country, but all he will do is make it an even better place for the rich to get richer. While the rest of us grow poorer, and more and more oppressed...

Simon said...

hi Steve...whatever promises Trump might make are not worth the paper they are written on. Just ask his creditors, or all the people he has cheated, or the graduates of his phony university. And the social unrest that is almost certain to follow a Trump victory, could lead to a police state, or even a military coup. It's simply not worth the risk...

Simon said...

hi MC...as Dan points out the Rasmussen polls always favour the Republicans. Other polls do show a tight race, but with Clinton marginally ahead. And those polls were taken BEFORE Sanders endorsed Clinton, so the next batch should be better...

Simon said...

hi anon...voting for Jill Stein as good a person as she may be, will only split the vote and in a close election will only increase Trump's chances of winning. Bernie has started a political revolution that is not going away, and the next election will be determined by the new generation. So why would we want to trigger a police state or a racist explosion, when the (near) future belongs to us?