A Racist Backlash?
Given the nature of Donald Trump's comments regarding Mexicans, one might think that the GOP candidates for the presidency would try to distance themselves from him. Perhaps it is his money (or perception of having money) that keeps them from doing just this, but it seems that they are not. Instead, some of them are re-interpreting his comments. Suddenly what Trump said wasn't racist or misinformed. Instead, his words are deflected to be comments about "a pressing issue" of a porous border between the United States and Mexico.
That isn't what Trump was talking about at all.
But what is it that keeps Trump going? In some polls, he is on the rise. In some border states, Trump is finding popularity. Not with Mexicans and not with Mexican-Americans. But with those of more fairer skin.
Why? I have to wonder if there isn't some very lose connection between Trump gaining popularity after voicing racist and misinformed statements and the removal of the Confederate flag in South Carolina. One may have nothing to do with the other directly, but they both seem to point to the fact that there is still a culture of racism that is alive and well in the United States. Perhaps as the flag came down, angry racism went up. Certainly with the rise of Confederate flags I have seen in flying around the Chattanooga area I have to wonder what people mean with its representation. Heritage not hatred? I have my doubts.
What Trump may have done (knowingly or not) is to have tapped in to an undercurrent of racism that feels the need to be heard without being as overt as, say, a white supremacist rally. Instead, people back Trump with stories of illegal immigrants and crime. This doesn't diminish what crimes took place, and the question of border security is an important one. But instead of turning those issue to the forefront, the means of vocalizing these offenses merely legitimates Trump's words.
With an African-American president, the removal of the Confederate flag from a state capital, and the growing influence of the Latino vote, status-quo persons of racially persuaded ideologies might be growing more and more threatened that the great American melting pot is actually starting to blend. Hence the need to react.
I recently heard a comedian say that he had dated "outside of his race." What does that mean? He dated something that wasn't human? Or does it mean he dated outside of ethnic lines? I don't know entirely - his routine wasn't that clear. But what I have heard is that race doesn't stand for humanity, it stands as a literal and metaphorical boundary that still triggers hatred, resentment, and fear for many on all sides.
Perhaps, though, we can learn how to address our fears instead of burying them. By addressing them we might stand a chance of doing away with our racist fears and outbursts for real instead of for show.
That isn't what Trump was talking about at all.
But what is it that keeps Trump going? In some polls, he is on the rise. In some border states, Trump is finding popularity. Not with Mexicans and not with Mexican-Americans. But with those of more fairer skin.
Why? I have to wonder if there isn't some very lose connection between Trump gaining popularity after voicing racist and misinformed statements and the removal of the Confederate flag in South Carolina. One may have nothing to do with the other directly, but they both seem to point to the fact that there is still a culture of racism that is alive and well in the United States. Perhaps as the flag came down, angry racism went up. Certainly with the rise of Confederate flags I have seen in flying around the Chattanooga area I have to wonder what people mean with its representation. Heritage not hatred? I have my doubts.
What Trump may have done (knowingly or not) is to have tapped in to an undercurrent of racism that feels the need to be heard without being as overt as, say, a white supremacist rally. Instead, people back Trump with stories of illegal immigrants and crime. This doesn't diminish what crimes took place, and the question of border security is an important one. But instead of turning those issue to the forefront, the means of vocalizing these offenses merely legitimates Trump's words.
With an African-American president, the removal of the Confederate flag from a state capital, and the growing influence of the Latino vote, status-quo persons of racially persuaded ideologies might be growing more and more threatened that the great American melting pot is actually starting to blend. Hence the need to react.
I recently heard a comedian say that he had dated "outside of his race." What does that mean? He dated something that wasn't human? Or does it mean he dated outside of ethnic lines? I don't know entirely - his routine wasn't that clear. But what I have heard is that race doesn't stand for humanity, it stands as a literal and metaphorical boundary that still triggers hatred, resentment, and fear for many on all sides.
Perhaps, though, we can learn how to address our fears instead of burying them. By addressing them we might stand a chance of doing away with our racist fears and outbursts for real instead of for show.
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