These days it’s clear that the lessons provided by history are not being learned.
In August of 1925 the Ku Klux Klan marched on Washington, D.C. to express their views of white nationalism. In order for the 50,000 members to get permission to march they had to make a concession, they wore their pointy tipped hoods, but they could not wear masks. There were millions of KKK members in the U.S. and the marchers were not afraid of having their racism exposed. Almost one hundred years later we see Donald Trump receiving the glowing endorsement of the KKK for the 2016 Election while he borrows their slogan: America First.
For Trump racism is not embarrassing.
In business he practiced discrimination throughout his entire career. When laws have been put in place to prohibit the practice he breaks them, he clearly prefers doing business his way — the path of hateful bigotry. In the 1970s he chose paying fines rather than making real estate available to black and brown people. The Fair Housing Act was a Trump no-no.
But it is really just one example in a life full of them. He has no shame in any of his racist adventures, no apology for birtherism or vilifying the Central Park Five. They were exonerated, not that it matters to someone as openly racist as Trump.
His immoral hijinks have included affairs during all his marriages, but that is something he is willing to go to great lengths (and expense) to cover up and keep secret, but not his racism.
Sure Trump inspires outrage. He has locked up children in cages and placed concentration camps at the border to detain people who are trying to legally obtain asylum because he believes this type of cruelty will deter others from following in their footsteps. Just like when the Klan whipped people into a frenzy singing the classic “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” the knee jerk is severe with each maleficent maneuver. But I must concede: The snowflakes are failing.
From the urban dictionary:
Snowflake: Began being used extensively as a putdown for someone, usually on the political left, who is easily offended or felt they needed a “safe space” away from the harsh realities of the world, but now has morphed into a general putdown for anyone that complains about any subject.
On the one hand, I openly confess I’ve failed to get a single conservative to turn on Trump. The deference to his racism is too much for me; some people won’t admit it, some just don’t care, and some openly approve.
On the other, I’ve also received notes of appreciation from African-Americans thanking me for attempting to get the Republican party they’ve left to account for that party’s invidious reality. It’s another unethically cunning move on Trump’s part — the white nationalist dog-whistles gain him more support than he loses. Trump played race cards to help him win in 2016, and he’s playing them now toward 2020.
Trump stays in now because of the failure of snowflakes to utilize people power. Puerto Rico is a great example; the people said: “Ricky, te botamos!” (“Ricky, we threw you out!”) after forcing his resignation. Setting aside Trump’s obstruction of justice and collusion with Russia, his racist policies alone should be treated as the impeachable offense. Abraham Lincoln’s words — “Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” — are more than enough to set and reflect this standard.
The United States of America’s most sacred value — what sets us apart from the world — is a foundation of equality. Donald Trump is the living breathing tweeting dereliction of this duty.
Trump has surrounded himself with fellow cesspool people who refuse to tell him that he has no clothes, or that his xenophobia is appalling… A snowflake would be silly to expect this broken system to fix itself when racism has proven so rewarding.
No, the snowflakes must accept their failure in waiting for Robert Mueller to catalyze impeachment. The power is in the hands of the people and it is time that we made our collective voices heard. When the people unite in delivering the message that we will not tolerate this hate in our country or our Extra-White House, then we can return to addressing the important challenges of our times.
If we do not resist the intolerable behavior with all the energy we can spare, then we only have ourselves to blame. Far Right extremists already push for the next Civil War, but it is “united we stand” not “united we wait” so if we do not pay attention to the lessons we have been given it is going to be a very ugly slide to autocracy and reversal of half a century of hard-won gains in human rights and civil rights.
Wim Laven, Ph.D., syndicated by PeaceVoice, teaches courses in political science and conflict resolution.
