The Trump Era
Black people have read this story before.
“So much of the trump era has been as if it was conceived in a writers room in Hollywood.” - Jake Tapper (Nov. 4th 8:21pm- CNN)
“Bias makes you stupid” - Brit Hume (Nov. 4th 8:47pm- Fox News)
“If you admit your wrong, people will believe you, so why don’t people admit when they’re wrong?” — Tucker Carlson (Nov 4th 8:49pm- Fox News)
The day after the election, these are the funniest things I’ve heard on TV. Partly because Fox News anchors discussing bias and holding people accountable for being wrong, is beyond laughable; but, mostly because the last four years, matter fact 2020 alone, has been a movie.
However, no matter how hard it may be, I always try to lead with compassion, like Mark Twain said,
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.”
Contrary to what the electoral college may say, majority of voting Americas do not agree with or like the current president, that is clear. What is not so clear though is why almost half of voting Americans (about 63 million) did support him? Some people said it was because “he believes in strong borders and 2nd amendment rights,” or because “he’s not a politician he’ll drain the swamp.” They may very well have been telling the truth, and if you voted for him four years ago fine, you wanted someone new or different, and you thought the billionaire businessman who likes to grab woman by the p*ssy was the answer. I don’t judge.
Fast forward four years later and the answers from his supporters have not really changed; however, my compassion has. What Mr. Tapper failed to understand when he joked about how the trump era has been going, is that Donald J. Trump is America. For writers in Hollywood to create this story all they have to do is open up a history book.
Slavery has been modernized through mass incarceration, voters are still being intimidated on all levels, and the war on drugs is no longer a war because it affects white Americans. People tend to only fear for their lives when Black people are exercising their 2nd amendment right, religious freedoms are only reserved for White Christians and Mexicans are rapist and murders, while white school shooters and serial killers have mental health and societal struggles.
“When people show you who they are, believe them, the first time.” — Maya Angelou
Black people have read this story before, long before Trump ever thought about running for president. This country was quite literally built on the disenfranchisement of BIPOC, police brutality, racism, sexism, and white privilege. Even though history has often been whitewashed and rewritten to a PG version suitable for all ages. To find the truth we have to listen to those who actually lived it, and this is what they tell us:
There is nothing more American than a rich white man getting away with sexual assault.There is nothing more American than a rich white man telling us he is the least racist guy in the room. There is nothing more American than a rich white man blatantly lying about almost everything and people making excuses for him.There is nothing more American than a rich white man telling people to go back to their country because they’re not “American” enough. There is nothing more American than a rich white man taking credit for something he did not do (or that a black man did before him).
There is nothing more American then white men and women refusing to acknowledge the horrific actions that this country and its taken on non-white people. There is nothing more American than white men and women acting as if those events have zero influence on people’s lives and the country’s policies today.
Let us be real, voters do not support this president because he is a conservative Christian republican, and despite the last four years of evidence proving his incompetence, almost 73 million people STILL support him. My theory? He makes them feel better about themselves. Yup, it’s about their feelings. All jokes aside, white people are tired of being reminded of their ancestors past and the privilege they hold because of it. White supremacists can walk around with their head held high and not feel guilty about it.
On the other hand, those people have also been convinced that Critical Race Theory and the 1619 Project are full of lies, that blue lives exist, and that affirmative action is reverse racism. They think immigrants are taking their jobs, that Mexico paid for the wall, that coronavirus is a hoax, and that the “radical left socialists” will do whatever fox news says they will do.
Protest against police brutality has his cult like followers defending murders. His loyal senators are more concerned with confirming judges, instead of helping people and businesses struggling due to Covid. The priorities are not straight, nor will they ever be. The hypocrites in power are professional finger pointers, creating a cycle of pettiness we may never recover from. Holding elected officials accountable is a thing of the past, and bias has not only been coded into our social media algorithms, but into our everyday lives.
The Trump Era is going to have serious consequences for the next couple of decades I don’t think even history can help us predict. However, what separates Trump from the Hitlers, Castros, and Putins of the past and present, is that people are not being brainwashed, tricked, or forced into some terrible way of life, they know exactly what is happening, and they’re ok with it.
This is not unprecedented times, it is simply America showing us who we’ve always known her to be. They know, that as long as people like him are in power, it is almost impossible for marginalized groups to make up for the 246 year head start that white people received. So if the Trump Era has taught us anything, it is that (insert whatever oppressive unimaginable pain our ancestors endured here) was not that long ago. It is happening right before our very eyes, and 72,714,367* Americans are ok with it.
*Number of people who voted for Trump as of Nov. 13th 6:24pm
