Well! Well! Well! Donald Trump is a Bigot
and a Racist! The standard media got
that about right. As often happens,
they missed a few points that I will be glad to illuminate.
1)
The Rev. Al Sharpton on MSNBC brought some things
into proper perspective as he carefully explained the difference between the
two descriptive words. Being a bigot
goes to the heart of the biases that are formed in the core of a human
being. Some of it may be embossed on
one’s RNA, but mostly are taken in from one’s life experiences, milieu,
relationships and philosophical interpretations as well as the values that
others demonstrate, illustrate or force upon us.
Being biased is simply a
part of one’s make-up. It has to do with
your values, your morality, your beliefs, the myths that have invaded your
brain and the perceptions that affect your thinking and your living. You can be biased about almost anything that
exists in the realm of human life and relationships. You can be positively biased toward a
particular religion but to be bigoted, you must also demean and denigrate every
other religion based on a kind of superiority that you find in your chosen religion. You can be negatively biased about left-handed
people. To be a bigot, you would have to
find one particular negative characteristic about a few left-handers, make that
into a stereotypical characteristic of all left-handers by applying it across
the board to all who are left-handed in your interactions or experiences. You can be biased toward your own race if you
so choose (and truth be told, most of us probably are), but you become a racial
bigot when you demean and denigrate every other race; when you express hatred
in thought word or deed toward those of other races, or when you apply
stereotypes to those of other races that tend to demean, disgrace and diminish those
persons and their race.
Bias = 'a mental leaning
or inclination; partiality; prejudice; bent'
Bigot = 'a person who
holds blindly and intolerantly to a particular creed, opinion, etc.;' bigotry also involves behavior that moves beyond belief to words and/or actions of
intolerance.
This leaves us with
trying to clarify the definition and description of a Racist. The simple answer is – Donald Trump!
How can I say such a
thing? Because Donald Trump pushes his
biases and bigotry into policy, programs, government departments and offices,
and into certain institutions, such as churches, the military and into public
education. From his words and treatment
of Mexican and Muslim emigres to his latest in-meeting remarks that included
demeaning of African countries as s***holes, to his contrasting remarks about
allowing more immigrants from Norway, this is who should appear in a photo next
to the definition of
RACISM = any program or
practice of racial discrimination, segregation, etc. based on ‘racialism’
RACIALISM = “a doctrine
or teaching…that claims to find racial differences in character, intelligence,
etc.; that asserts the superiority of one race over another or others; and that
seeks to maintain the supposed purity of one race...”
(2)
The second point missed by (or avoided by) most of the mainstream media
is that this event of expressed racism is related to a much scarier philosophy
and strategy. Let me put it this
way: Donald Trump uses his racism like he
uses everything else: to advance himself as the Leader (Fuhrer). Let me be quite clear: racist words, concepts and actions are one
more strategy in his quest to de-construct the federal government, and to make
it over into a fascist-style state. Let
it be shouted from the housetops if need be – DONALD TRUMP SPOUTS FASCIST IDEOLOGY and he
seeks to remake the federal government into a fascist state that will be under
his tyrannical control.
(3)
The final point that needs to be made is that another effect of what
Donald Trump is doing – perhaps one of the more important outcomes of tactics that the Nazis were able to use to their advantage in grabbing power in
Germany of the 1930s -- is writ large: “MORAL NUMBNESS.”
We are approaching a very dangerous
intersection on our journey as a multi-ethnic/racially diverse/immigrant
nation. We are experiencing a radical
turn toward a racially superior/radically white nationalistic/morally depleted
government; we are on the brink of take-over by non-democrats. The fragile Republic established a mere 240
years ago is falling apart, being torn asunder by political sycophants,
corporate tyrants, and little men in white robes or faux militaristic uniforms
who have little or no regard for democratic values like equal and fair justice
for all, freedom of the Press, or the welfare of all the people, particularly for those who face special challenges.
Their basic values are not democratic; not
progressive; not concerned with equality, and not necessarily based on a humane
moral system or code of ethics. They are
much attuned to a philosophy and to behaviors that promote control, power,
superiority, their personal well-being and the unquestioning loyalty of their
followers/employees/citizens. Under
Donald Trump, we are rapidly moving away from our founding principles and
embracing (or becoming numb to) the fascist nature of the new
administration. And because we are not
learning from history, we are frighteningly unaware of the consequences of a
regime dedicated to fascist values.
Therefore, let us take a short detour to enumerate, and
briefly comment on, the 14 elements that are said to characterize fascist
governments, as suggested in an article by Lawrence Britt, and based on an
earlier work by Umberto Eco.; after which, we can return to the subject of
moral numbness. While this article has
been criticized by some scholars, it seems to be a reasonable list of elements
found in fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco
(Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes; these 14
defining characteristics seem common to each:
Powerful
and continuing nationalism [“America First”; make
America Great Again; “stand up” to other countries; withdraw from Agreements
and pacts that are ‘unfair’ to America; threaten others with the ‘biggest
button” (nuclear war); the cult of a ‘supreme leader’ (like he who says – “I am
the only one who can do this”) -- is often an integral part of this
characteristic for the two go hand-in-glove]
Disdain
for human rights [denounce the media
constantly; ‘fake news’; ‘alternative facts;’ thereby eroding citizen trust and
their confidence in freedom of press; denigrate people who disagree and find
ways to penalize them; deport whole groups (DACA); restrict voting by certain groups
and deny vote to others (felons); hold certain people without trial or charges;
try to stop publication and distribution of recent negative book about him
called “Fire and Fury.”]
Identifying
scapegoats [ban immigration from Muslim countries;
make Mexicans into illegals and criminals; question judge’s ability to be fair
because he is Hispanic; denigrate women especially those who charge President
with sexual assault; homosexuals; individuals who are transgender; NFL players
who kneel for anthem or pledge of allegiance]
Military
supremacy [ludicrous increases in spending on
troops and weapons; making threats against N. Korea and other countries; war
against ISIS – bombing indiscriminately – especially in Syria; generals
elevated to cabinet & WH positions; wars continued in Iraq and
Afghanistan]
Rampant
Sexism [nine women have
come forward to make charges against the president; the Access Hollywood tapes
and signed Orders removing protections for women in relation to sexual
harassment, access to healthcare coverage and to special preventative measures;
restrictions on service in the military of persons who happen to be lesbian or transgender; assault upon abortion choice
as a right; his support of Roy Moore for Senator from Alabama; stories of
harassment of women at his own beauty pageant]
Control
of mass media [exclude certain media
representatives; limit press attendance at important events; trash particular
media people; threaten to disapprove owner licenses; do not hold press
conferences; use an alternative method such as Twitter for most communication;
pick reporters from other countries to be the only media covering a major event;
attempt to stop stories from being published or aired; use media to own
advantage – plant stories; mislead and lie, lie, lie]
Obsession
with national security [his obsession with crime
perpetrated by immigrants once they arrive in this country, strangely obviated
by his non-obsession with Russian interference in the 2016 election process;
the building of a Wall on our Mexican border; his military build-up]
Religion
and government intertwined [executive
order opening religious communities to greater ability to be involved in
political issues and to receive government grants; pushing private schools
receiving public funds (many of them associated with a particular denomination
or religion); support for pro-life attempts to destroy access to abortion]
Business
interests protected [although there are several
examples, the mention of the Tax Code bill’s passage should be enough to
illustrate the depth of importance given to business interests; however, there
is always regulatory reduction and the removal of healthcare mandates]
Labor
power suppressed [support of right-to-work
states; attacks on bargaining rights; opposition to minimum wage increase; and
laws that prevent unions from striking; appointment of Labor Department head
who was anti-union along with the pro-business slant of most cabinet members]
Disdain
for the arts [look at the budgets he’s
presented or supported: cuts in public radio; first of modern presidents to not
attend Kennedy Center Honors presentations; no state dinners; presidential
medal of honor – few and far between; offended his own arts commission so that
all members withdrew]
Obsession
with crime and punishment [Since Donald Trump took
office early last year he has signed a long and ever-growing list of executive
orders, hoping to fulfill many his campaign promises. "Task
Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety" -- Signed:
Feb. 9, 2017. The order directs Attorney General Jeff
Sessions to create a task force that would propose new legislation to reduce
crime, highlighting drug trafficking, illegal immigration and violent crime.
The task force will submit yearly reports to the president. Throughout the campaign, Trump promised
voters a return to "law and order" in the United States and said
minorities from inner cities are "living
in hell" because of violent crime]
Rabid
cronyism and corruption [cronyism is evident with
all the Wall-Streeters and millionaires in his cabinet; but it is his family ensconced
in WH operation that is the worst; corruption is constantly uncovered in acts by department heads and other members of this administration]
Fraudulent
Elections [from requiring IDs to claiming rampant voter
fraud, Trump makes the point
himself that election system is broken, but it is not what Trump says; it is
caused by corrupt politicians who want nothing more than to remain in a job
where they can collect taxpayer and big business and local developer pay-offs
without fear of retribution; Trump himself has turned Trump Towers and Mar-A-Lago
into money-making machines dependent on his celebrity]
And, here’s the rub: Trump may not have (or be capable of
instituting) a well-thought-out Plan to make us over into a Fascist country,
but he is already acting upon his internalized values, beliefs and experiences
that drive his actions, as they have always done. Denying the existence and danger of that
poisonous strain in him is a fatal flaw that has left too many other countries like ours corrupted, overtaken and devastated in the wake of authoritarians who acted
upon their fascist beliefs, myths and biases, while the bulk of the citizenry
(and too many in the media) lived in constant denial of that possibility.
Let us then return to that subject of
moral numbness. Evangelical
Christians who supported Trump seem unable to recognize his fascist tendencies and continue to support him without any acknowledgment of his immoral and inhumane
budgets, or his growing idolatry (worshipping money (profit) rather than
their God). Perhaps they have also become numb to (his and) their own unethical and unconstitutional attempt to force Evangelical Christian doctrine upon other citizens in regard to personal health-related decisions (such as abortion). Evangelicals still attending Trump rallies or events may well demonstrate a moral numbness
that cannot be over-looked.
However, the moral numbness that we should most abhor and fear has been clearly demonstrated by the Republican
Senators and Congressmen who have failed to put country before party when Trump
says or acts upon his fascist and racist tendencies.
The very fact that current and former White House staff, cabinet
secretaries, and members of Congress ignore, hide from, and obfuscate by loss
of memory or just plain lies whenever Trump behaves in a white supremacist, racist manner is evidence enough for me that we are fast approaching
that time when our government could be overthrown and become immersed in its own Nazi-like nightmares.
Do not
be numb to the fact that the 14 characteristics of fascist governments are all being fulfilled; do not be quiet when
propaganda, lies and non-democratic values are being pushed upon you. Demand public response from your Representatives
in public office; support a statement of censure of the President from
Congress. Most of all, make sure that
morally numb Republicans (and Democrats) are driven from office in 2018 and
2020. Resist fascist values in the
social, religious, corporate and political spheres, demand moral budgets and ethical government, and please VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!
