Continuing to Demonize the President’s Supporters

The events at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia were truly horrific. The violence, the protests, the message, and acts of terror committed are a scourge to the nation. Racial violence and the idea that one race is better than another is ideology is immoral, prideful, and wrong. It does not belong here and cannot be justified anywhere. It divides the nation, tears people apart, and shows disrespect for the heroes of World War II that gave their lives to defeat the Nazis and their evil ideology. In this instance, the white supremacist group are entirely to blame. However, their ideology does not speak for the majority of white people. They are a small group that receives way too much attention from the media and commits acts of violence. Perhaps if there was less attention given to them, they would not be able to cause the damage that they have. Similar to terrorists, if we give them the attention and media coverage that they want, it will only be fulfilling their purposes. Stop giving white supremacists the spotlight and let them fade away into the lowest dregs of society with all others that commit acts of racial violence.

Still, there is an issue that needs to be addressed. Is the message of white supremacy the battle cry of the president’s supporters? Throughout the campaign, presidential candidate, Donald Trump, was accused of being willing to accept the support of leading white supremacists. He did not handle the denouncement of their support very well initially, but when one of their newspapers attempted to side with the campaign, there was a swift response. Just recently, the president gave a spirited clear rebuke to the white supremacists and other like-minded groups after his initial statements. But wait a second, we need to look at the larger issue. Why is there such an urge to point out the possibility of white supremacist support to the president? Could it be that the media is still trying to delegitimize the supporters of the president by labeling them as racist bigots and terrorists?

There was an op-ed published by the Washington Post just two days ago that is concerning. The article titled, “These are your people, President Trump”, discussed the initial response of the president to the attacks, and explaining why that hateful group represents the supporters of President Trump. Is it true that the white nationalist ideology is the reason that voters wanted to “take back America” and give Donald Trump a chance to take action on many of the issues they felt were important? Even CNN commentator, Van Jones, stated on election night that the results were a “whitelash”. He claimed that voters were racially motivated to vote for Donald Trump as a response to a changing nation and the previous president, Barack Obama. Predictably, Van Jones returned to give his thoughts on Trump’s response to the acts of violence.

Concerning the 2016 election, it is clear that Americans wanted change. They did not want the status quo that would have continued with Hillary Clinton. Looking at Rasmussen polls from the summer of 2016 shows that at one point over 70% of Americans were unhappy with the direction of the country. Now, it is possible to create racially charged reasons for any political position. Let’s examine some of the actions of the president, see how they compare with the ideology of white supremacists, and if there is a clear racially charged reason behind them. Cracking down on illegal immigration and sanctuary cities because federal law is being broken and the jobs of American citizens are being taken by non-citizens? I don’t see the connection there, otherwise why have borders to your country at all? Attempting to fix the health care system because it is taking away insurance from millions of low-income Americans? Also hard to find the racially charged, white supremacist motivation in that one, especially since the point of the reform is fix the terrible situation of millions of low-income Americans from a diversity of backgrounds. Suspend immigration from nations prone to have terrorists or terrorist organizations? Seems like a common sense policy to protect American lives, but maybe there is a white supremacist undertone that is missed there. Nominating a Supreme Court Justice that upholds the rule of law and follows a doctrine of original intent concerning the Constitution? Well I guess if you consider the Constitution to be a racist document that was meant to ensure white supremacy ruled the United States, then it is possible. Oh, and what about Trump’s promise to be a friend to Israel? After all, Prime Minister Netanyahu was very frustrated with the way he was treated during the Obama administration. President Trump promised to be a close friend and ally to Israel, as they collaborated on the mutual threat of Iran in the region. How does this relationship uphold the white supremacist anti-Semitic narrative. Especially after the president condemned the various attacks on Jewish people and their communities back in April.

Here’s the deal. You can try to fit the white supremacist narrative into the campaign promises and actions of the president. The Washington Post and other organizations will probably continue to do so. They want to make sure everyone knows that John Kelly is apparently serving a white supremacist racist bigot and a Nazi sympathizer. The other option is to accept the fact that the hard-working Americans voted for Donald Trump because they wanted a change to the status quo policies they believed were taking the country in the wrong direction.