Re: 173 Declared Democratic Presidential Candidates
Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2019 1:03 pm
Is Donald Trump a racist? Affirming that appears to be required for the Democratic candidates. For a while, it seemed that opposition politicians and media commentators were holding off on that judgment. Then, with the next racially-charged statement Trump made, more of them said the hell with it, we can now just say he's a racist, and we need to make that clear.
I don't think that's the best way to go, labeling someone as if there is a known threshold, beyond which a person is a racist, and thinking it important to assign a label. We'll never be able talk to those we disagree with if our opening is, "Trump is a racist." That's a way to maintain polarization, not get past it. We should be talking about deeds (which include words), and when we do we're obliged to cite the specifics of Trump's statements and our view of how they divide the country along racial lines, threatening the social progress made in the past 50 years. It's not important, really, whether Trump condemning first a district of Baltimore and then the whole city issued from a deep core of racism. The same goes for his targeting "the squad." Given our history, the attacks will be interpreted as racially motivated. Not being a student even of recent history, Trump doesn't appreciate that.
I tend to believe that Trump allows his visceral feelings around poverty, dirt, decay, poor sanitation, etc., to dictate some of his politics. That combines with a lack of empathy for people stuck with such conditions, who happen most often to be minorities. Wouldn't he offer to help if he cared about them? He would probably say that he blames the Democrat leaders, not the people themselves. Again, we don't know for certain what's in his heart, but we have seen the divisive effect on the country of his actions.
Late edit: with the two mass shootings now in the background, one most probably the work of a white nationalist, we'll be hearing that liberals are blaming President Trump for that slaughter. But listen carefully. There is a difference between blaming Trump for a specific act and saying that his words could have given encouragement to deranged individuals like the El Paso killer. That "could have" is a serious charge in itself.
I don't think that's the best way to go, labeling someone as if there is a known threshold, beyond which a person is a racist, and thinking it important to assign a label. We'll never be able talk to those we disagree with if our opening is, "Trump is a racist." That's a way to maintain polarization, not get past it. We should be talking about deeds (which include words), and when we do we're obliged to cite the specifics of Trump's statements and our view of how they divide the country along racial lines, threatening the social progress made in the past 50 years. It's not important, really, whether Trump condemning first a district of Baltimore and then the whole city issued from a deep core of racism. The same goes for his targeting "the squad." Given our history, the attacks will be interpreted as racially motivated. Not being a student even of recent history, Trump doesn't appreciate that.
I tend to believe that Trump allows his visceral feelings around poverty, dirt, decay, poor sanitation, etc., to dictate some of his politics. That combines with a lack of empathy for people stuck with such conditions, who happen most often to be minorities. Wouldn't he offer to help if he cared about them? He would probably say that he blames the Democrat leaders, not the people themselves. Again, we don't know for certain what's in his heart, but we have seen the divisive effect on the country of his actions.
Late edit: with the two mass shootings now in the background, one most probably the work of a white nationalist, we'll be hearing that liberals are blaming President Trump for that slaughter. But listen carefully. There is a difference between blaming Trump for a specific act and saying that his words could have given encouragement to deranged individuals like the El Paso killer. That "could have" is a serious charge in itself.