What If He Doesn't Go Down?
Two years ago I wrote a post on this blog titled What If He Goes Down. It speculated about the dangerous place this country would become if Trump were removed from office, or not reelected, or imprisoned for treason. His supporters are militant and don't hesitate to tell the rest of us they are armed. I wondered if there is a risk of armed rebellion if Trump had to leave office.
He survived the many investigations, and even an impeachment trial, and now the country faces his possible reelection. Today I'm not certain the country won’t be in more danger if Trump wins the election than he will be if he loses it.
I have plenty of things to fear if he is reelected. I fear his economy will continue to favor his wealthiest supporters and push more Americans at the bottom into poverty wages with no health insurance. I fear his constant diplomatic missteps. I fear his mental instability. I fear he will trash the planet. I don't want him reelected for many reasons, but two years ago I didn't think I would fear his supporters if he has another term. As long as they have Trump in office, they will be happy and they won't rise up in violence against the people who held Trump back.
After seeing everything that has happened this year, I wonder if I should be afraid of the folks in the red hats even if their side wins.
For all of my life I have been aware of the existence of racism in this country. I was probably not nearly as educated in the history of it as I should have been (a failure of our white-dominated education system), but I knew minority groups have suffered over the centuries through indigenous displacement, slavery, exclusionary legislation, and Jim Crow laws. I hated how my supposedly "free" country treated people this way. I understood my privilege. I was also grateful that some things were better over time. When I was born Jim Crow laws were gone. Racism wasn't something polite and decent people were supposed to openly express (although it took me a decade or two of education to understand the types of covert racism that still exist in our society). Archie Bunker was a buffoon and not a hero. The Confederacy was treason. The Klan and other white supremacists were looked down on as bad people.
Even though I knew the situation improved, I didn't see racism disappear in my lifetime. As I grew older and better educated, I understood the many subtle ways racism is still expressed in this country. I blogged about it many times before. I saw the examples and heard the political dog whistles. Social media have become a safe space for people of color to express themselves about their experiences that they might have felt uncomfortable expressing to white people. Racism didn't disappear, but until 2016, it felt like certain lines were not crossed.
When Trump first became a candidate, he was crossing those lines from the get-go. Decent people were turned off, but his rhetoric was intriguing to some. It was blunt and plain-spoken. Many of these new Trump fans denied being racists, but their covert, systemic racism was exposed. He expressed what many Americans were thinking, but would never say out loud. These were the people who would say, "I am not a racist, but..." before saying something racist without apology.
"I'm not a racist, but I love his 'political incorrectness'," said these new admirers. "He 'tells it like it is'." These are not the white nationalists who were always going to love Trump's inflammatory speech. There were ordinary Americans who always felt uncomfortable discussing inequality or were distressed by minority empowerment even if they would never admit it.
Trump's willingness to say out loud what too many racists were afraid to say moved the Overton Window to a place where open racism became acceptable. Dog whistles were lauded as political incorrectness. Being racist was considered bold and fearless. Trump was speaking for all of those supposedly marginalized white people who felt minorities were responsible for their failure to succeed. There was nobody to tell marginalized white people they are marginalized by an economy that is being controlled not by a racial minority, but by an economic minority determined to keep all wealth for itself. As Trump spoke out more, he emboldened conservatives at all levels of government to come forward with these views. He also emboldened public figures in the corporate media and ordinary citizens on social media.
The casual racists were not the only Americans who felt free to express their beliefs. The vile and dangerous white nationalists are now equally empowered by Trump's divisive language. They are freely marching in the streets and committing acts of violence. Their words are not dog whistles. They are openly racist. Trump will defend them and call them "very fine people." In a few short years, we have certain members of society trying to redefine what makes a good person for every American.
The tides are turning and most rational Americans are saying we have had enough. Systemic racism is not only causing a few "snowflakes" to feel offended. It is destroying lives. BIPOC Americans are speaking up against the violence and injustice in their communities, and even against those small everyday acts of racism like media stereotypes and white suspicion. BIPOC Americans are saying they won't take it anymore and are fighting back. Sympathetic white Americans are joining the fight. Most of us want to be allies and are starting to take the steps to learn what we need to do to help recognize and stop racism.
Now BIPOC Americans and their white allies are taking to the streets and stating they want a new direction for this country. We are tired of the racism. We are tired of police brutality. There is energy here. It's not only about taking it to the streets. We want to take it to the polls. Establishment politicians are being primaried. More states are pushing early voting and voting by mail.
The pushback from the right is hard. They are trying to prevent any measures that will empower Americans. Instead of supporting measures to decrease police brutality, they are supporting legislation that will restore "law and order". They are using scare tactics like the repeatedly-debunked myth of voter fraud to make sure voting is as difficult for poor and minority communities as possible. Will Russian bots continue to flood social media in hopes of persuading enough voters to stay away from the polls? Conservatives don't care and won't do anything about it even though we should all be terrified that a hostile foreign power is trying to influence our elections. Trump could win again. If he does, will the racists feel satisfied and quietly go back home? Will the BLM movement fade away in defeat?
Trumps 2016 victory didn't end racial violence and it didn't satisfy or quiet the white nationalist movement. They rallied. They brandished their guns and threatened anyone who opposed them on social media. They participated in mass killings. Trump's election wasn't their only goal. It was only one single tactic to achieve their goal. All Trump did was give them permission to do what they felt was necessary to silence those who opposed them.
If Trump wins in 2020, I hope BLM and similar movements continue their momentum. I hope there are more women's marches. I hope June 2021 Pride becomes bigger than it ever was. Alongside that hope is the fear that the opposition will feel their time has come to “take their country back”. They will come for the Muslims. They will come for the immigrants of color. The will try to restrict the rights of black Americans and keep indigenous people in poverty on their reservations. Will they stop there? What about the Jews? What about nonbelievers? They hate liberals. Will they feel justified in killing people with the "wrong" political views? Can this country take this sort of division?
Is the US destined for civil war (or maybe just a fresh outbreak of the original Civil War that never ended but is on a long-term detente). Six years ago I wrote about the fragility of our union and the massive ideological divisions in this country. I questioned if this country could stand it. Countries are rarely stable forever. Borders are always changing. Is it possible the United States isn't meant to be one huge country of united people. We all say we love freedom, but nobody can agree what freedom is anymore. Some of us care more about positive liberty and some of us care more about negative liberty ("freedom to" rather than "freedom from"). We refuse to care about responsibilities as much as we care about rights.
Maybe it doesn't matter if Trump wins or not. No matter what happens, Americans will be angry and many Americans are armed. Trump already divided us. We are going to go on this path of division no matter what. White nationalists, racists, religious demagogues, and nativists feel they have the right to speak and they won't be silenced. This is their right, but they will also try to silence other groups who oppose them - possibly by force. Minority groups, LGBTQIA groups, women, and their allies are not going to be silenced either. This could end badly.
I don't know if Trump's presidency will go down or not, but I know Trump himself will go down in history as the one who divided us all. History tends to correct itself. Maybe once the smoke clears the world will be a better place. The one who should be worried is Trump himself. He will be judged by the legacy he left. He has spent his career obsessed with winning. In the end, what will he have won?
Think we have nothing to fear? Look at the sticker at the top left.
He survived the many investigations, and even an impeachment trial, and now the country faces his possible reelection. Today I'm not certain the country won’t be in more danger if Trump wins the election than he will be if he loses it.
I have plenty of things to fear if he is reelected. I fear his economy will continue to favor his wealthiest supporters and push more Americans at the bottom into poverty wages with no health insurance. I fear his constant diplomatic missteps. I fear his mental instability. I fear he will trash the planet. I don't want him reelected for many reasons, but two years ago I didn't think I would fear his supporters if he has another term. As long as they have Trump in office, they will be happy and they won't rise up in violence against the people who held Trump back.
After seeing everything that has happened this year, I wonder if I should be afraid of the folks in the red hats even if their side wins.
For all of my life I have been aware of the existence of racism in this country. I was probably not nearly as educated in the history of it as I should have been (a failure of our white-dominated education system), but I knew minority groups have suffered over the centuries through indigenous displacement, slavery, exclusionary legislation, and Jim Crow laws. I hated how my supposedly "free" country treated people this way. I understood my privilege. I was also grateful that some things were better over time. When I was born Jim Crow laws were gone. Racism wasn't something polite and decent people were supposed to openly express (although it took me a decade or two of education to understand the types of covert racism that still exist in our society). Archie Bunker was a buffoon and not a hero. The Confederacy was treason. The Klan and other white supremacists were looked down on as bad people.
Even though I knew the situation improved, I didn't see racism disappear in my lifetime. As I grew older and better educated, I understood the many subtle ways racism is still expressed in this country. I blogged about it many times before. I saw the examples and heard the political dog whistles. Social media have become a safe space for people of color to express themselves about their experiences that they might have felt uncomfortable expressing to white people. Racism didn't disappear, but until 2016, it felt like certain lines were not crossed.
When Trump first became a candidate, he was crossing those lines from the get-go. Decent people were turned off, but his rhetoric was intriguing to some. It was blunt and plain-spoken. Many of these new Trump fans denied being racists, but their covert, systemic racism was exposed. He expressed what many Americans were thinking, but would never say out loud. These were the people who would say, "I am not a racist, but..." before saying something racist without apology.
"I'm not a racist, but I love his 'political incorrectness'," said these new admirers. "He 'tells it like it is'." These are not the white nationalists who were always going to love Trump's inflammatory speech. There were ordinary Americans who always felt uncomfortable discussing inequality or were distressed by minority empowerment even if they would never admit it.
Trump's willingness to say out loud what too many racists were afraid to say moved the Overton Window to a place where open racism became acceptable. Dog whistles were lauded as political incorrectness. Being racist was considered bold and fearless. Trump was speaking for all of those supposedly marginalized white people who felt minorities were responsible for their failure to succeed. There was nobody to tell marginalized white people they are marginalized by an economy that is being controlled not by a racial minority, but by an economic minority determined to keep all wealth for itself. As Trump spoke out more, he emboldened conservatives at all levels of government to come forward with these views. He also emboldened public figures in the corporate media and ordinary citizens on social media.
The casual racists were not the only Americans who felt free to express their beliefs. The vile and dangerous white nationalists are now equally empowered by Trump's divisive language. They are freely marching in the streets and committing acts of violence. Their words are not dog whistles. They are openly racist. Trump will defend them and call them "very fine people." In a few short years, we have certain members of society trying to redefine what makes a good person for every American.
The tides are turning and most rational Americans are saying we have had enough. Systemic racism is not only causing a few "snowflakes" to feel offended. It is destroying lives. BIPOC Americans are speaking up against the violence and injustice in their communities, and even against those small everyday acts of racism like media stereotypes and white suspicion. BIPOC Americans are saying they won't take it anymore and are fighting back. Sympathetic white Americans are joining the fight. Most of us want to be allies and are starting to take the steps to learn what we need to do to help recognize and stop racism.
Now BIPOC Americans and their white allies are taking to the streets and stating they want a new direction for this country. We are tired of the racism. We are tired of police brutality. There is energy here. It's not only about taking it to the streets. We want to take it to the polls. Establishment politicians are being primaried. More states are pushing early voting and voting by mail.
The pushback from the right is hard. They are trying to prevent any measures that will empower Americans. Instead of supporting measures to decrease police brutality, they are supporting legislation that will restore "law and order". They are using scare tactics like the repeatedly-debunked myth of voter fraud to make sure voting is as difficult for poor and minority communities as possible. Will Russian bots continue to flood social media in hopes of persuading enough voters to stay away from the polls? Conservatives don't care and won't do anything about it even though we should all be terrified that a hostile foreign power is trying to influence our elections. Trump could win again. If he does, will the racists feel satisfied and quietly go back home? Will the BLM movement fade away in defeat?
Trumps 2016 victory didn't end racial violence and it didn't satisfy or quiet the white nationalist movement. They rallied. They brandished their guns and threatened anyone who opposed them on social media. They participated in mass killings. Trump's election wasn't their only goal. It was only one single tactic to achieve their goal. All Trump did was give them permission to do what they felt was necessary to silence those who opposed them.
If Trump wins in 2020, I hope BLM and similar movements continue their momentum. I hope there are more women's marches. I hope June 2021 Pride becomes bigger than it ever was. Alongside that hope is the fear that the opposition will feel their time has come to “take their country back”. They will come for the Muslims. They will come for the immigrants of color. The will try to restrict the rights of black Americans and keep indigenous people in poverty on their reservations. Will they stop there? What about the Jews? What about nonbelievers? They hate liberals. Will they feel justified in killing people with the "wrong" political views? Can this country take this sort of division?
Is the US destined for civil war (or maybe just a fresh outbreak of the original Civil War that never ended but is on a long-term detente). Six years ago I wrote about the fragility of our union and the massive ideological divisions in this country. I questioned if this country could stand it. Countries are rarely stable forever. Borders are always changing. Is it possible the United States isn't meant to be one huge country of united people. We all say we love freedom, but nobody can agree what freedom is anymore. Some of us care more about positive liberty and some of us care more about negative liberty ("freedom to" rather than "freedom from"). We refuse to care about responsibilities as much as we care about rights.
Maybe it doesn't matter if Trump wins or not. No matter what happens, Americans will be angry and many Americans are armed. Trump already divided us. We are going to go on this path of division no matter what. White nationalists, racists, religious demagogues, and nativists feel they have the right to speak and they won't be silenced. This is their right, but they will also try to silence other groups who oppose them - possibly by force. Minority groups, LGBTQIA groups, women, and their allies are not going to be silenced either. This could end badly.
I don't know if Trump's presidency will go down or not, but I know Trump himself will go down in history as the one who divided us all. History tends to correct itself. Maybe once the smoke clears the world will be a better place. The one who should be worried is Trump himself. He will be judged by the legacy he left. He has spent his career obsessed with winning. In the end, what will he have won?
Think we have nothing to fear? Look at the sticker at the top left.
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