Donald Trump was born with an overwhelming advantage: he was the son of a millionaire real estate mogul. The consequences of his birth would basically guarantee Donald Trump a life that the majority of the people in this world can only dream of. He was destined for the life that he has lived, a life that has presented him with no ceilings to bump up against on his way to the apex.
Mr. Trump took full advantage of his status as the son of a millionaire, using his father’s name and money to lay down the foundation upon which his own empire would be built. And now he employs thousands of workers, owns and trademarks his name on thousands of properties and products, and travels the world in a private jet that bears his name. He has cycled through three glamorous wives without repercussion and sired children that are unquestionably loyal to him. He’s starred on a successful television show that was watched by millions, becoming an icon as a result.
Now Mr. Trump hasn’t always been successful. He’s had to file for bankruptcy three times; he’s failed miserably as a husband, and his university has been found out to be a sham. But unlike the rest of us, Donald Trump has always failed upward. Each of his failures has been easily replaced with a chance for redemption. And now, with no experience of serving the public to speak of, he is the republican candidate for the president of the United States.
Thankfully, Donald Trump is on the path to losing the election to Hillary Clinton. But despite the fact that he will most certainly lose this election, all signs still point to post-election success. Mr. Trump will still be a rich man, with the advent of Trump television being a nice consolation prize after the election fades into history. He’ll be given another chance to be a winner once again.
But he is losing now and he is losing badly. And to compensate for the shocking realization of this impending loss, Trump has latched onto a new strategy of stoking the fear among his followers of an election that is rigged against him. The system is rigged against Donald Trump? Really? The system is rigged against a white male billionaire who for years has played an important part in creating the system that he now rails against? The rest of us should be offended by this man.
I’m a black man without a criminal record and I have a college degree. But my chances of gaining employment are equal to those of a white male with a documented history of crime. I am more likely to end up in prison because of my race, and I’m 2.5 times more likely than a white male to be killed by a police.
Mass incarceration techniques have decimated generations of black families. Forty percent of the prison inmates in this country are comprised of black men, while we are only six percent of the general population. The median wealth for black Americans is among the lowest of all racial groups and black employment rates exceed those of every other racial group. This is taking place in spite of the fact that a record number of black students are acquiring high school, college, and advanced degrees.
Voting rights’ protections for blacks and other minorities were gutted by the Supreme Court, giving republican elected officials across the country the green light to concoct devious policies that are designed to dissuade black people from voting. And Mr. Trump insists that the system is rigged against him. Black people should be offended.
Women only make 77% of the salary that is earned by men. Women continue to make less money than men in the workplace even as they acquire more undergraduate and advanced degrees than the men who oversee them.
Sexual assault is still being perpetrated against women at high rates-20% of women report being the victim of a sexual assault during their lifetimes. Most sexual assault victims won’t report the crime because they are not assured of justice even if they do. Many victims’ stories are dismissed by the people to whom they report the assault, and women risk their reputations being sullied by the perpetrators and their supporters. Mr. Trump is currently engaged in dismissing the claims and besmirching the characters of the women who have accused him of sexual assault. However, Mr. Trump is still a candidate for president despite it all. Teflon Don insists that the system is rigged against him. Women should be offended.
Shortly after descending down the escalator of one of his hotels in June 2015, Mr. Trump launched his candidacy for the presidency of the United States by disparaging the reputations of millions of people of Latin descent who live in this country. He is quoted as saying that “Mexico is not sending their best” and that the people who are crossing the border are “rapists.” He has also said that Mexican immigrants are “bringing drugs” and that “they’re bringing crime.” Can you imagine Obama or Hillary saying such things during their runs for the presidency?
Of course, the overwhelming majority of the people who cross the southern border are law abiding citizens. Mr. Trump should also know that their migration to this country is a response to the many opportunities that the titans of industry in this country have made available for undocumented workers. Mr. Trump himself currently employs many thousands of the people that he has described as rapists and criminals.
The children and grandchildren of these undocumented citizens have been reared, educated, and have worked in this country. America is their home, but many are not allowed to live up to their potential because their path to citizenship has been discouraged by republicans, and young Latin citizens with birthright citizenship are still facing obstructions to voting.
Painting millions of people with a negative brush that is this broad should have been a disqualifying event for Mr. Trump. What is worse is that Mr. Trump is accused of the same crimes that he ascribed to a large group of Mexican people, and has not been prosecuted. And yet, he is still a candidate for the president of the United States. Mr. Trump insists that the system is rigged against him. Latinos should be offended.
Mr. Trump has called for Muslims to be unconstitutionally expelled from this country. He has disrespected the parents of a fallen American soldier because of their Muslim faith. Disparaging the gold star parents of a fallen soldier should have been a disqualifying event for Mr. Trump. And yet, he is still a viable presidential candidate. Mr. Trump insists that the system is rigged against him. Muslims should be offended.
And there’s more.
Donald Trump has been accused of unlawful sexual behavior by 14 women; he has openly maligned the servicemen and women of the American military; he has encouraged our enemies to interfere in our elections; he has questioned the legitimacy of our first black president; he has incited violence against peaceful protestors at his political rallies; he’s insulted a female moderator who dared to question his treatment of women during a debate; he has mocked and insulted disabled American citizens; he refuses to pay his debts; and he promises to threaten our democracy by not conceding the presidency after he loses. Does anyone think that Obama would have been nominated for the office of president in 2008 if he had engaged in the same behaviors as Donald Trump? Trump says that they system is rigged against him. Obama should be offended.
Donald Trump complains that the system is rigged, but the system is not rigged against him. It has been rigged by people like Mr. Trump against the rest of us: the poor, the women, the minorities, and the gays. All of us who have been victimized by the system have a harrowing story to tell. Perhaps you have been fired from a job because of the color of your skin, denied a promotion because you were of the wrong sex, or prevented from visiting a spouse in the hospital because you were gay. But even though we are victims of this system, we still love our country. And as patriots, we strive to improve the system so that it works for everyone. And we have the opportunity to use the system to embarrass the person who has benefited the most from it and that seriously irks him. So now Donald Trump complains of a system that has somehow been rigged against him as a means to explain his defeat. We should all be offended.A
