I’m about as white American as you can get. My ancestors were among those Protestant settlers who left the UK in the early 1700s for the promises of a rich new land. My Ancestry.com profile shows that I am mostly English, with some French and German. That’s all of it. I’m whiter than Hitler. And probably, whiter than the latest deity of Anglo-Saxons in America… Donald J. Trump.
I sat in Puget Sound watching the 2016 election with my 95 year old white, Southern father. He is a WWII veteran. And a Protestant. Dad watched in abject horror as he saw “the two worst flags in history” being proudly marched about by angry whites — the Nazi and Confederate flags.
“These are the grandchildren of WWII veterans. Their parents had the Civil Rights Movement. Why are they doing this?” he asked.
“Because they hate the fact that we put a black guy in the White House,” I said. “Twice.”
He was devastated. I said, “let’s not watch the news anymore.” We don’t.
I haven’t told my father that since the cult of Trumpism gripped such a large percentage of American whites, racism, white nationalism, and hate crimes have risen significantly. I didn’t tell him that Nazis, the KKK, and other white supremacist groups are enjoying a flowering on the Internet. I’ve not mentioned that extremism of all kinds is on the rise globally. I mentioned nothing about the sociopolitical civil war we are now entangled in. He doesn’t know about Brexit, which is cut from the same cloth. He’s 98 now. I can’t tell him any of that. I might as well punch him in the face.
Donald Trump has tapped into the deepest fears of those in a privileged majority who have not taken full advantage of the brass ring we whites were born within easy reach of.
Donald Trump has tapped into the deepest fears of those in a privileged majority who have not taken full advantage of the brass ring we whites were born within easy reach of. Trump fans are unwilling to think deeply. They don’t see that their privilege as white Americans is so significant compared with persons of color and immigrants (particularly brown ones) that the problem isn’t one of leveling the playing field so everyone gets a fair shake. We’re on different playing fields altogether.
Trump’s fans tend to be the least educated and lowest income whites. They don’t see that they already were born with privilege far outside the grasp of most of humanity. They look at the higher educated and more prosperous whites, who are more inclined to be liberal, and call them “elitist” while they worship the very symbol of unfair advantage. In truth, he is a natural fit for the demographic, but this was not by some clever design. He did not enrapture them with skill and cunning. This is just him being himself and saying… anything.
And the things he says! Racist, misogynistic, antiscience sentiments that make the informed cringe. He is not capable of educating himself and he refuses to listen to advisers.
He appeals to these people because they find him “fresh and honest.” They feel like for once, a politician is expressing their views… that he understands them. They share a world view; a view that whites need to be protected from the dangers of diversity. As if white skin was some kind of treasure that must be guarded with blood. Melanin is a polymer; we all have it. Somewhere along the line, we decided that the amount of melanin in skin is extremely important. I am supposed to care that my progeny keep our long family line of low melanin… not the generations of family history of university education for males and females… not the long line of professors, surgeons, inventors, and clergy in my family. I’m supposed to care that our skin stays white.
Somewhere along the line, we decided that the amount of melanin in skin is extremely important.
I couldn’t care less about that.
Trump appeals to those who choose to not think deeply, who react off the cuff at anything at all. From where I sit, I see a cult. I see a religious cult where the dictatorial leader is not to be questioned, but rather, to be revered. He loves it. They love it. As he likes to say, “there’s a lot of love in this room” spreading his arms wide as they chant such lofty phrases as, “build the wall!” or “AOC sucks!” It’s like the love of 1930s German crowds for Hitler. The videos are indistinguishable.
They cannot see that he is that terrible uncle who you have to include at Thanksgiving and everyone cringes while he drinks too much and bellows his vile and ignorant observations. Uncle knows everything. He is an expert on it all. He is as loud as he is belligerent and you find yourself plying him with more alcohol so he will finally fall asleep on the sofa and you can have an adult conversation over the chainsaw of his snoring.
That is who Donald Trump is. I’m no historian, but I’ll wager that he is the most ignorant president in American history. I hope he will be the last blatantly racist one.
Membership in extremist groups has risen significantly since the election. We are becoming more divided and white extremist violence is on the rise.
I’m supposed to fear the Muslim and the immigrant. But the scariest person in America is the person who looks like me. And our president.
U.S. Hate Groups Rose 30 Percent In Recent Years, Watchdog Group Reports