Trump held a rally last night, some of you may have seen the whole thing or saw some clips on television. I have seen neither. Last night I watched The Handmaids Tale and The 100 and enjoyed a little fictional dystopian brought to me with creativity thoughtfulness of the writers, costume makers, directors, actors and so may others. Sometimes it's good to get away even if the fiction itself can be tragic, there's always a promise of hope somewhere.
Back to the Trump rally, I caught some comments of those who would either be in attendance inside or who set up little tailgating parties (via The Atlantic) outside and their America is one dark, dark place that has little room for the likes of me or you.
Randall Terry a male anti-choice activist formed a band with his young children called The Terry Train (if that ain't a weird enough name in intself) had this to say about Trump's attacks on the Democratic Congresswomen especially Ms. Omar:
"It was only about the systems of government from where they’re from. These wenches. These disrespectful wenches criticize our country incessantly.
“Well, Ilhan Omar, go back to some Middle Eastern country where you’d be afraid to live under Sharia law! I’m of Italian descent. I don’t care what color the skin is … You don’t like America? Go back to where your ancestors are from and then try to make that country better.”
Ilhan Omar is from Somalia in Africa, but I don't reckon Terry knows the difference between Athens, Greece and Athens, Georgia so he'll keep coasting on his ignorance into death. I also don't recall Omar saying squat about not liking America. She chose it, she wasn't born here, she chose to live here and become a member of the United States Congress. Terry was born here, he didn't chose this country, his citizenship is an accidental case of birth, like many of us.
Matthew Ritchie is just 18 years old and attended Trump's rally last night and had this to say:
“I want to be here. I feel unity here. Everyone is like-minded here and celebrating the U.S. and our president,” Ritchie said. Trump “has done a good job so far. He’s been able to get more jobs back into the U.S. They’re building more cars here; the economy is growing.”
Could he imagine casting his first-ever vote for someone other than Trump? “If there were grounds for impeachment, I would look at those. But it would have to be very credible for me to change my mind.” As for Trump’s tweets about the congresswomen, “I don’t believe it was racist. He’s just making a point and speaking his mind. That’s important. There aren’t enough people who say that nowadays. Everyone is politically correct. You can’t get out what you want to say. I like that in a person. He speaks from the heart and speaks his mind.”
Politically correct...hmmm. That's a young man who has never voted in a presidential election before. Our politics are largely formed at home when we're young but I surely hope he grows out of Trumpism and finds a diversity of opinion.
Quite honestly Ritchie was the most thoughtful of those who attended who were interviewed and he wasn’t that thoughtful at all.
I think a lot of these people find some weird kinship going to Trump's rallies. They treat it like a football game or a concert beforehand but when Trump takes the stage the worst of them shines through, the deep dark belly of the beast so to say.
I don't have any answers and no questions. I just know we have to beat them at the ballot box, that's all that matters.
