So much more than a protest over a statue...

I’m sitting here with literal tears in my eyes reading/watching all the shit going down in Charlottesville as white nationalist take to the streets to protest… the removal of a stature and (let’s not sugarcoat it) the fact that brown people also exist on this planet and have a rising voice in the future of this country.

This certainly isn’t the first protest of white idiots carrying guns and antagonizing people of color- ie read a history book. This certainly isn’t the first time hate speech has led to violence in the south- or anywhere for that matter. And it is most certainly not the first time the sane people of this country have united against evil/hate. However, it is one of the first gatherings of these bigots post Trump that has incited a STATE OF EMERGENCY and has made it crystal clear that their numbers are on the rise and that they are ready to willfully commit illegal acts to get their message across. It works for them considering the way the law works tends to turn a blind eye toward white men’s indiscretions.

It’s interesting though, because if you listen to this video of them chanting ‘white lives matter’ (though nobody has ever said otherwise) either due to the counter-protesters or the poor enunciation of the phrase, it sounds surprisingly like they’re changing ‘black lives matter.’ I find this infinitesimally satisfying.

When they’re chanting ‘you will not replace us.’ Who the hell are they talking about? They’re talking about anyone who doesn’t believe what they believe, look how they look, and dare to have opinions that challenge their self-importance. There has been an undeniable rise and vigor to this movement of hate all due to the current president’s unrelenting encouragement of prejudice, injustice, and violence against anyone who stood in his way. Seriously, it’s mind boggling how quickly people want to forget that there was an election that put this orange danger in office. Now his voters are called ‘supporters’ and we’re supposed to forget that it is them who organizes these rallies. I for one will not let it go and I’m tired of being told that I should ‘move on’ and ‘accept the results.’ This violence is a direct manifestation of his presence in the white house and his lack of empathy for this country.

He will not call this protest exactly what it is. An act of domestic terrorism. Sure, maybe in the beginning it was just chanting and speeches, but it has escalated into an all out frenzy.  If you haven’t seen it already, the video below from @brennanmgilmore is horrifying. Click at your own discretion.

Video of car hitting anti-racist protestors. Let there be no confusion: this was deliberate terrorism. My prayers with victims. Stay home. pic.twitter.com/MUOZs71Pf4

A pure and simple act of violence that injured a number of people in the name of an ideology that has led to the downfall of civilizations.

And the spray-tan-in-chief’s words, an empty string of hackneyed phrases and trite words of comfort. The moment he said, we must condemn bigotry on both sides, and repeated ‘BOTH SIDES’ as if this kind of behavior has been displayed by counter-protesters was so abysmal, I had to stop listening. There isn’t a moment of his presidency where he’s surprised me, but this particular moment did make my blood boil. 

This hate isn’t going away. Sure, it helps that there were more counter-protesters in this particular instance, but their base is getting stronger and more abhorrently insolent. We can’t ignore this moment in time, and we cannot tolerate this behavior.

Fuck that free speech argument. They’re looking for war and they’ve made it abundantly clear.

UPDATE: Someone lost their life after that car mowed down people and it’s reportedly a YOUNG WOMAN. Her life was prematurely taken away due to domestic (white) terrorism. Two police officers who were coming to assist with this racist turmoil also lost their lives in a helicopter crash. This shit isn’t helping anyone. We need to do better, nation.

Why Trump Is So Scary & The Affect of Words

Trump’s scary because he uses people’s fears and horrible racial prejudices to further his questionable agenda. Honestly, it’s hard to tell whether Trump seriously believes what he’s saying or is just pandering to the overtly racist fanbase he’s developed that has a downright insane allegiance. Just like I can’t tell whether or not Ann Coulter is a human or a cyborg sent to divide and destroy humanity.

The way he uses language to excite his crowds is expert, reminiscent of mob rowdiness or scary football hooligans. He never uses words too big like, “bipartisanship” or “cultural tolerance,” but breaks extremely complex ideas down into simple sentences, negating nuances of certain topics, like war and homeland security. There is this distinct “us vs. them” mentality perpetuated at his rallies and embraced by his followers.

There’s seemingly no room for logic when you see and hear divisive statements like:

When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re not sending you, they’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. … And some, I assume, are good people.

Our great African American President hasn’t exactly had a positive impact on the thugs who are so happily and openly destroying Baltimore! (Twitter)

These are basically statements people say behind closed doors to their like-minded cronies, but are now made very public and given an international platform. Now, others who would have otherwise kept their embarrassing sentiments to themselves now feel confident in their ignorance, because, let’s face it, there’s strength in numbers. It doesn’t matter if these numbers are comprised of exasperated bigots.

Trump happily represents them because he knows they will vote for him. He knows the more divisive and pigheaded he is, the more popular he will become, because he’s attracting the masses of people who believe the reason for all the world’s turmoil rests on the shoulders of individuals who don’t look like them. Trump cradles the hearts of people who don’t understand the term tolerance, the people who happily dismiss facts to support flagrantly racist ideals, and the people who feel they have been “abandoned” by the “liberal” government. However, I usually don’t like making blanket statements like that because there are always exceptions, people who don’t fall into the bigoted mold Trump has created. I understand people are entitled to their own opinions and maybe there are other aspects of the Trump campaign that are appealing to less insane individuals, but honestly I haven’t heard anything from that camp that I would consider diplomatic or remotely beneficial to America as a whole.

What scares me more is they way he sees international affairs. This “us vs. them” rhetoric is nothing but detrimental to this nation that has so much healing and learning to do. In this world of misrepresentation and fear, Trump’s doing little to nothing to allay tensions. Him calling Obama a Muslim, as if being Muslim is something to be ashamed of, is downright horrifying when presented in the context of international relations.

The “us vs. them,” plainly, hate speech, is causing violent problems that the Trump campaign chalks up to “passion.” The events at his rally where a protestor was “passionately” beat up is a reminder of how powerful words can be and how careful these leaders need to be with their parlance.  It’s this kind of justification that rationalizes violence which is just unacceptable. And though I hate to say it, it’s indicative of the crowd he’s attracted as well.

Honestly, if anyone can give me a reason why this man should be anywhere near the White House I would be surprised I would really appreciate it. I just don’t see anything good from him being in office and can’t understand why anyone would. Ok, I understand it but that doesn’t make it any less disheartening to know there are thousands, if not millions, of people with these cray cray beliefs.

**edit: I wrote this last week before he came out with another outwardly outrageously hateful proposition to ban all Muslims from entering the US. Now, I’m actually beyond disbelief and I thought I had an idea of how ugly it could get, but I was wrong.