TRUMP HAS TAKEN THE “THEY’RE ALL DIFFERENT FROM US” CAMPAIGN TO A NEW LEVEL

…A picture that recalls the riots of the 1960’s

 

Destructive memories of the past are turning into today’s realities.

 

With all the hoopla going on about Trump’s saying that he would stop all Muslim from coming to the US, now some are using all the “their not like us” discussion to start including those other than Muslims in the “they’re all different” conversations.

 

For some of the older generations, this attitude takes them back to the day when the Italians, the Jews, the Irish and of course African Americans were generally excluded from the then mostly white, “average American community meetings”.

 

As a youngster from the South, I can still remember the rest rooms and water faucets for “whites only” at the local diners and train stations.  But, when we relocated to the West Coast, where those circumstances were very foreign, it wasn’t until I was older that I realized from which I came, and how fortunate to be where I was.

 

Today, when I hear the divisive language against Muslims, I see all the old signs of raising their negative issues again towards groups like the “Black Lives Matter” movement.  Also, of course, then when listening to Mr. Trump’s anti-Hispanic and anti-Muslim rhetoric, it all brings back memories that I had wished were too distant to recall. 

 

What is so disappointing about the way Trump and some others are approaching their political campaigns is, they don’t compete against the opponents ideas, but are against the individuals themselves.  Trump goes after Bush’s energy level, as he did against Obama not being a real American or being a hidden Muslim.  He seldom attacks the president’s policies, but he instead personally attacks the man holding the office.

 

Trump’s latest moves against all Muslims was basically to say that “All Muslims are potential terrorists, therefore, we must keep all of them out.”

 

The other thing that is going on is the attacks against anything that appears to be “politically correct”.

 

No they say, we shouldn’t say things in a polite and consistent way as professionals should in respecting their audience.  Instead, there’s Trump’s approach such as when he said, “I wrote something today that I think is very very salient, very important and probably not politically correct, but I don’t care.” Then he continued with his no-Muslims allowed statement while the crowd responded with a huge, raucous ovation.

 

And in not being "politically correct", he doesn’t just go after Muslims.  He also attacks the media and the journalists covering his events.  Trump scolds these individuals that have been covering him day and night, but he calls them “scum” for never having the cameras show how big his crowds are.

 

It is becoming more obvious that with the nation’s demographics’ changing, Trump is latching on to the fact that American whites will no longer be the American majority by the middle of the century.  He has captured that fear within the older white members of the Republican party and repeats that the country is going downhill, but only he can “make it great….AGAIN” 

 

 

The word “Again” is the key and it’s the simplest and easiest of campaign slogans…. and it works.  Jeb Bush’s “Right to Rise” slogan is really lame in comparison.  Most people are asking, “What the hell does ‘Right to Rise’ mean anyway?”  Needless to say, Jeb’s poll ratings show the negative results, even though Jeb has outspent all the other campaigners.

 

“Making America Great Again”, really hits the mark for those Anglos that continue to watch their neighborhood being taken over by Hispanics, Asians, middle-easterners and East Indians.

 

Trump adds insult to injury, when he says things like the president was educated at Ivy League schools, but his father was a Muslim. He doesn’t have to add that the president is black, which this is all a perfect platform for supporting the voter’s fear and loathing of those that are “different”.

 

Trump’s campaign has brought out the worst in many, and his approach is to tell you to hang that rage on your shoulder and then to ask those you disagree with to try and “knock it off”.  Trump dares his opponents to go after him, then he skewers them when they do.  Afterwards, he dares the voters to do the same.

 

It’s all a game to Trump, and if he loses, he will just pick up his toys and go home, leaving whatever destruction behind him in his wake.

 

Watching how the Republican party deals with Trump in the long run should be interesting, but it also could be watching something that is highly devastating and destructive.

 

Copyright G.Ater  2015