albertsperspective

The 9/10/16 news reported that Hillary Clinton had said that half of Donald Trump’s supporters are “deplorables”, a term she used to mean racists, bigots, sexists, xenophobes, homophobes, and the like. The expected blow-back from the Trump campaign was swift and loud, and Trump’s running mate Pence stated that Trump’s supporters were none of those things but were instead hardworking Americans who deserved her respect.

Pence’s response was powerful, but it was not really accurate. It was Trump who introduced racism into the Presidential campaign when he denigrated Mexicans, then proposed to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S. Sexism became part of his campaign as he insulted women. He showed additional prejudice when he disrespectfully mocked a disabled reporter, and he also insulted John McCain, calling McCain a non-hero due to his capture during the Vietnam War. Trump’s insults and bigoted statements have grown so numerous that is has become difficult to remember them all, but the bad taste from hearing them will remain for a long time.

Trump’s core supporters in the Republican primaries loved his rhetoric, unfair as it was. It appealed to their sense that something rightfully theirs had been taken from them. Trump gave them scapegoats, including whole races and religions they could blame for their frustration. Some had lost jobs to technology or trade, but many were simply itching for a fight. Trump fired them up and gave them enemies to hate. They reveled in his disrespectful treatment of others.

Many traditional, mainstream Republicans were horrified by Trump’s messages, but they failed to aggregate around a candidate who could beat Trump in the primaries. Following the Republican national convention, they continued to be dismayed by Trump’s statements, but many of those same dismayed Republicans have said – however untrue – that he is their only choice. They have called him out for his racist remarks but have said they will support him because he is the nominee of their party. House Speaker Paul Ryan has said this in so many words more than once. Ryan described Trump’s words as meeting the very definition of racism, and then he soon followed up by saying he would support Trump as the nominee of “our party”.  Faced with evidence of Trump’s racism and an opportunity to make a real stand against it, Ryan chickened out.

Before Ryan caved in to Trump’s racist bombast, I had respected Ryan and thought he would be a bright light in our nation’s government going into the future. When he chickened out, essentially agreeing to support his party’s racist Presidential candidate just because Trump had won the party’s nomination, Ryan became an accomplice to Trump’s racism, bigotry, sexism, and disrespect. Ryan said he did not agree with things Trump had said, but his disagreement became meaningless in light of his continued support for Trump. In supporting Trump, Ryan is supporting Trump’s behavior, including racism, sexism, and bigotry. Although there might be different shades of support, and Trump’s support may be stronger among outspoken white supremacist individuals and groups, Ryan’s acquiescence is inexcusable, and the same goes for others who want to cover their eyes and claim their own innocence. Supporting racism is racism.

There are parallels in German history and in the history of other countries that practiced racism. In Germany, Hitler’s Nazis – at first a fringe party – gained popular support when Hitler encouraged disgruntled Germans to blame the Jewish people for Germany’s post-World War I economic plight. The Jewish people became the scapegoat race, and Hitler’s supporters allowed the systematic killing of six million Jews in the Nazi death camps. Most of Hitler’s supporters might be considered hardworking people who really meant no ill will but felt powerless to stop the Nazi machine – so they joined it.

Trump’s proclamations may not be equal to the Nazi terror, but the similarities are too strong to ignore. In their early days, the Nazis were laughed at, but as they accumulated power their naughty words became terrible deeds that led to the genocide of millions of innocent people. Following the defeat of the Germany in World War II, people of the civilized world have said repeatedly, referring to the Holocaust, that we cannot let this kind of thing happen again. It’s true that the racism and bigotry of Trump’s Presidential campaign have not yet reached the Nazi extremes, but we are already too close for comfort. Responsible Republicans can still turn away from this path and disavow their deplorable candidate. Trump’s deplorable proclamations do not paint the kind of picture we want for our children, our grandchildren, our neighbors, and ourselves.