“She is white, he is black,” that’s how an older woman described our new neighbors to me and her face showed disapproval. We are a mostly white neighborhood and a mixed racial couple disturbs a lot of the older people here. They are nice to them, don’t cause any harm; the hurt is done behind their back in the way people talk about them – especially her.
Just a while back they had a fit because a male couple moved into our subdivision. “You know, they are gay,” someone told me and I couldn’t help but joke around. “Gosh, we need to warn them that we are straight,” I said but nobody laughed. My liberal views are shocking to them, my European openness rattles their cage each and every time.
We have to stop saying that President Trump doesn’t represent American values. Actually, he quite accurately represents the values of a very large portion of Americans—at least one-third of all Americans and one-half or more of White Americans, the dominant ethnic group in the country. Take away Trump’s White nationalism and there are certainly many Americans of color whose values would also resonate with Trump’s.
The major problem America faces is not Donald Trump (though he is a problem). It’s the fact that so many Americans now have a vision of America and its values that radically differs from the vision that many others of us hold dear. If Trump spoke just for himself we’d be fine. The reality though is Trump speaks for a very large portion of the country—and a portion that is likely to continue to control the majority of electoral districts at both the state and federal levels for quite some time.
It’s time we ask the question of what are American values. Following that, the next question is what does it mean to be an American.
Trump’s abominable behavior has not lost him one vote amongst his base. In fact, his tyrannical, abusive behavior is what drives his base to follow him. They say he tells it like it is and they love him for it.
Tells it like it is? He tells them he has no respect for the rule of law and they cheer. He tells them he is going to prosecute his opponent and they cheer. He openly supports Nazi’s and they cheer. He claims that those who sought to overthrow the government in support of slavery represent our culture and values, and they cheer.
Trump couldn’t be Trump if it were not for his base. After all, he has done, about one-third of the nation swears allegiance to him. He is their guy. He is their Trump!
What Trump represents is a breakdown of American values. He thrives because he makes money for those that put him in power. He is a driver of ratings for media like Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. They sell hate and Trump gives them a product to sell. His people swallow it all and ask for more.
Trump supporters get angry when they are accused of racism. They have a point. The source of their hate is more than just race. They hate the very institutions that operate this nation. They wanted a tyrant, an authoritarian. They got one.
My fear is this will go on, this will not just go away. I have different values, I feel lost right now.
my recent is very similar to this post !!
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Well I understand your viewpoint but I look upon myself as a realist rather than an idealist . I find it quite amusing that many people start with I’m not a racist but —etc and then they trot out their pet dislikes of other people’s behaviour. Before written history we lived in warring tribes just as we found the Red Indian tribes when we snatched America from them. Tribalism is hard-wired into us , it’s a survival mechanism.
Steven Pinker in his ‘ Blank Slate ‘ scorched the idea that we are born empty vessels ready to be educated , we carry a huge evolutionary baggage.
Racism is not a black and white issue ( pardon the pun) it’s deep in some and shallow in others. What white shopkeeper will not take a blackmans money?Some don’t mind rubbing shoulders with blacks but they don’t want them next door. Others are happy to celebrate with blacks but they would not like their daughter to marry one. It is an extension of familyism which leads on to tribalism and then nationalism.
Birds of a feather flock together educated men don’t associate with fools and honest men ( if they exist) don’t associate with thieves.
Circumstances may well force our hand on some of these issues we may have to do a deal with thieves to step up the business ladder.
We may have to be looked after by a black nurse when we are strechered off to hospital. A Muslim surgeon may remove our appendix.
When it comes to jobs which mean money and lifestyle it’s every man and woman for themselves. So let’s recognise human nature for what it is not what we think it should be , because we can’t change it.
I don’t agree with your comment, but appreciate it.
Yes, he does. Unfortunately.
Yes and just like you I hate it.
It’s scary to think this won’t stop at the end of his first (and hopefully only) term…that it might go on. I am hanging on to the hope that we wake up and kick him far far away as soon as we can figure out a way to do it. I guess that makes me an optimist.
You and me both but I am also a realist. I don’t see much on the other side. 🙁
Keep your values, when you know better, you do better. There is no going back, your situation is dire at the moment and the World is watching. These are very scary times for USA and that filters down to the rest of the world.
It’s scary what the word things and writes about us right now. Most of it doesn’t get translated in English and published here in the U.S. what drives me mad.
I wish you weren’t right but, I fear that you are and it is indeed very scary.
“They wanted a tyrant, an authoritarian. They got one.”.
Spot on, sadly.
I looked at the photo at the top of your post and I saw evidence of why Trump is as he is. The three men/boys in the photo to me are the disenfranchised. Trump like any fascist of his kind gives them something to believe in, someone to blame and hate and offers them the opportunity to feel they can belong to something. The fact a lot of what he promises is never going to be realised by them doesn’t matter as much as they hope it will be realised, what matters to them is they have this sense of belonging to a cause. We know and history tells us that people like Trump say what they say to generate support. For him everything seems like a business deal and there is only one winner him. People will follow him with passion and to those of us outside looking in we know that in time he will be exposed to them for the fraud he is. By then though those in the ‘silent majority’ will most likely be more disenfranchised than ever before.
I loved your comment, Bridget, about warning the gay couple that you’re straight. Good one, and a gentle way to call out bigotry when you see it. I don’t think the country’s values have declined so much as the dark side is willing now to step into the light without shame. It’s always been there, just now it’s in our faces. As disturbing as it is, perhaps it has also awakened some rational people who were complacent, whose lives it didn’t touch. Thanks to Trump, it touches all of us now. We can stand up in protest, and we can also reach out in friendship and set an example to our neighbors of the values we hold dear. A wonderful post, Bridget, despite the despair.
It should touch all of us and I hope it does. I think one way or another now all of us are forced to take a stand. But then I look at the amount of people that didn’t show up. Will it wake them up or will Trump become the new normal. I fear he will have a second term.
Oh Good Lord, don’t say that! Let’s see what happens in November in terms of turnout before we panic.
Oh and to answer the tag line question: “Does Trump represent America?” A firm and resounding NO! But he does have a lot of followers.
And that’s the problem. If he has that many followers he does represent a part of America if I like it or not. Perhaps it’s time that we deal with it.
Trump may not be ‘responsible’ (is he really responsible for ANYTHING he says or does, or incites others to do ‘in his name??’ I don’t think so). However he is the face of my personal demon and what’s wrong with America today. I loathe him with a feavor that is equal to his rabid followers, and that doesn’t make me feel any better about it either. Like you, I follow a different set of ethics than a huge number of people in my area and in my demographic. I’m the lone weirdo. During the past year and the reign of der fuhrer (he is, they can say he isn’t following Hitler’s playbook, I call bullshit on that); I’ve gotten more strange looks, loss of friends and family, and I expect the peasants with pitchfork and torch to show up at my door any time now. They (that 1/3 or whatever) seem to think I represent some sort of threat because I ‘worship’ (if you will) the gods of common sense and decency and it’s becoming more and more evident that the T Dump group does not. He is stupid (definition I read recently: Stupid is dumb, illogical and refuses to change; ignorant is uninformed) and he is dangerous. We should be very afraid. And while the ‘white’ population in America may still be the majority, that margin is shrinking and the ‘brown’ population is gaining ground. Soon enough white will be a minority. People with common sense and decency already are. Sad commentary on the state of the once great United States.
Calling them stupid or deplorable, doesn’t help. We have a problem and it won’t just go away. I am with you, we should be very afraid and I am.
Perhaps one of the reason why I don’t shut up on my blog. I fear for the future -for the first time in my life.
[…] Source: Does Trump represent America? […]
I’m right there with you. I do not understand how people can choose to live a life filled with judgment, hate and non-acceptance of others. Does that truly make them happy or their lives better? The people that call themselves Christian and espouse the glory of all that is Donald Trump are really not Christian, in my opinion. The second commandment tells us to love our neighbors, love others, and there are no exceptions to that love. To agree with Trump’s white nationalism is to go against humanity and the people that would truly make this country great again.
I don’t know anything (by choice) about Christianity, neither do I know (by choice) any commandments.
However, I do know right and wrong. The difference It was hammered into me by my Grandmother, by teachers, by people who loved and cared for me and my future.
Racism is fear, at least in my books. The fear of the unknown. Will I ever understand it? Perhaps not.
You are not alone. Sadly, it is not just America that has this problem. The world seems to have gone crazy – perhaps we always were!
Some political situations seem to automatically lead towards dictatorship …
(Remember Nazism and Fascism)
As we know , history doesn’t teach anything ,and the same errors are carried on , generations after generations….
Sadly, this is the truth. Scary, very scary.