TRUMP RALLY: A BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB FOR BIGOTS

Folks, please stop it with the “Donald Trump attracts White supremacists meme.”

Or, get the history straight — if you plan to keep meme-spraying — since right-wing extremists have been a part of American politics for over a century.

I can even argue that White supremacy found a place in Amercan politics for hundreds of years, but I’ll stay on topic …

And as much as the press jumped all over the story of the Ku Klux Klan endorsing an unimpressed Ronald Reagan, hardly anyone looked at the most logical question to ask: what kind of poetic meat outfit did Ol’ Gipper wear to make those wolves think they had a friend?

Many politicians have a “Don’t ask me, don’t tell me” policy with regard to White extremist support. Look at this,  this and this for examples. The relationship is somewhat like those distant cousins you could never invite to your wedding out of fear they may shoot up the reception hall upon sight of the only interracial couple you’ve invited.

But, that still won’t stop some of you from accepting crazy cuzzo’s wedding gift envelope in the mail … well, until you get caught …

The last point, for all the sad and dangerous theatrics you’ve seen on television lately, is what makes Trump’s campaign so different from even those unwitting colleagues who’ve received praise or campaign loot from extremists. His rallies have become a traveling Boys and Girls Club for bigots.

Trump acts as if his rallies’ mission is to enable all bigots, especially the ones on the most remote fringes of kookery, to be themselves and to reach their full potential as bigots in an understanding and supportive environment.

No judgements, no conveniently lost invites and no criticism — just a place to meet other bigots as well as share bigoted fears, bigoted experiences and bigoted hopes while Trump provides a path for bigots to become their own bigoted version of “responsible citizens.”

Where else in America can bigots find such welcoming public arms? For them, a Trump rally has become a “Safe place to learn and grow.”

Unless of course you’re a Socialist, African descendant, #BlackLivesMatter follower, Democrat, Gay, Mexican, Puerto Rican, …

And here’s a big plus: Trump doesn’t need donations! His services are provided free of charge. You can feel free to express your bigoted self and no one chases you or your neighbors with a pledge card.

Even the real Boys & Girls Club can’t rock that kind of value proposition.

Here’s an interesting thought — most major party primary candidates speak to the edge of their respective ideological spectrums before making a few conciliatory steps in the opposite direction as the general election draws near.

The problem Trump has created for his followers — and thus America — has nothing to do with how far he has cast his fishing line to bring a group of the most angry and hateful “Boy and Girls” into the political process. Everyone deserves a voice and a vote in a democracy, including the hateful.

The real problem has to do with Trump’s followers feeling a sense of empowerment to be publicly hateful toward others; think it’s perfectly okay to suspect brown-skinned journalists taking photos during Trump rallies of being Islamic State spies; have no issues with 61 percent of their colleagues believing the President of the United States is a Muslim, despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary; believe there’s a problem with being a Muslim in the first place; assault non-violent protesters as a way to demonstrate patriotism.

And with such a disgraceful level of empowerment and expectations, Trump has virtually nothing he can reel back to.

While Trump — who I don’t necessarily believe is the anti-establishment candidate he positions himself to be — is socially dangerous for how he catalyzes and directs bigots, I still don’t think he’s the Deep State’s first choice for President.

That honor belongs to Hillary Clinton. More on that some other time …

song currently stuck in my head: “eu não quero mem saber” – mandrake som