It has become the story of a generation perhaps. A tale about the exposition of the true working class conservative, the mom and pop neighbors, which occupies the position of the "average American" in our collective imagination. Their support for a candidate who openly assigns the labels "rapist" and "murderers" to Mexican immigrants made us uneasy. The blatant sexism rubbed us the wrong way. The suggestion that Muslims not be allowed in the country was an obvious red alert. The advocation of violence towards black protesters, reminiscent of pictures featuring police dogs and water hoses tearing at the flesh of black citizens, pushed us over the top. We have since seen op-ed after op-ed, article after article, about how Donald Trump's overt bigotry speaks to the nature of the Americans which support him. These articles are not wrong; there is something to be said about thousands of people cheering at the physical beating of a black protester, or at the labeling of a people as rapists, or at general disgusting conduct not fit for a respectable human being, let alone a presidential candidate. Donald Trump's candidacy has brought chauvinism to a national political stage in a way which has not been present certainly in my lifetime. His conduct and rhetoric has played into the anger of troubled white Americans, restless after 8 years of a black man named Barack Hussein Obama representing their sacred country. It has also attracted the likes of white supremacy groups, salivating at the chance to have a flesh-and-blood public bigot in the white house again. However, Donald Trump's appeal reach extends far beyond the Tea Party, "Obama is a Muslim", Fox News subscription, ultra-right fringe. He has attracted the support of the GOP's core; the Mitt Romney, John McCain, Jeb Bush voters. He has not done this through the brash bafoonery tradition of racial bigotry. Rather, he has done it by tapping into a more nuanced narrative - equally as historically significant - of racism in a way which is on his part, political genius. Genius not only because of its effectiveness as a mode of manipulation, but also in the ease in which it can be disguised as something other than a manifestation of white supremacy. White working class fear and distress has been possibly the most potent social and political phenomena throughout our country's history. In times of economic hardship and social disorganization the white working class's dissatisfaction with the current system normally translates itself into political unruliness. A phenomena which should be predictable; in a country which is supposed to cater to them, hardship and depression are unacceptable. Time and time again, rather than directing this unrest at the governing powers of capitalism and corporate hegemony for which responsibility normally lies, politicians have turned this political energy towards the classic enemy: people of color. It is in line with some of the country's most effective politicians. Nixon became president by popularizing the narrative of the welfare queen. Reagan's war on drugs saved his approval ratings. Clinton cracked down on "crime" as well (with the help of his beloved wife no less). Presidents have also used other nations of color as a rallying point; an enemy which all white working-class Americans can get behind in opposing. Trump's Mexico, Trump's China, is no different than (both) Bush's Iraq, Johnson's Vietnam, Truman's Korea, and FDR's Japan. Through both of these narratives Donald Trump has tapped into the mobilizing power of white supremacy. It is not just the angry rhetoric, the unapologetic racism, which has appealed to this mass of white working class citizens which have turned out to support the demagogue. It is this idea of cleansing America of the black and brown problems which have muddied its integrity which has propelled him into the pole position. The power, and subsequent danger, of this rhetoric is that the "black and brown problem" goes without being said. When he says "Making America great again" we know what is implied. White working-class America's yearning to restore the codified means of maintaining white supremacy provides the rhetorical base for which Trump to build his candidacy on. His tapping into this imagery is possible because the fear, the infrastructure, for the whole narrative already exists. Trump, or anybody really, need only push the right buttons. It is this less salient racism which has captured the mainstream conservative in this country, and many whom don't consider themselves conservative, for it allows the exploitation of racist fears without responsibility for the oppression which it inevitably leads to. This is the phenomena we should truly fear, for it needs not Donald Trump to advance it. The absolute circus which Donald Trump has brought to the campaign is unique to him. He is a true imbecile; his primitive ridiculousness is that which cannot be replicated perhaps by anybody else. It is the absolutely ludicrous nature of his campaign which has drawn all forms of media sensationalizaiton. However, the method of tapping into the subtle racism of colored politics to win over working-class, and possibly middle-class, Americans can be picked up by many more a seasoned and polished politician. One who could gain respectability and legitimacy even among those who disagree. This would be the true disaster. We must realize the nuanced ways in which white supremacy seeks to infiltrate our politics, and we must rebuke it in the same way in which we rebuke the politics of racial violence. For if America wants to truly see a racial uprising, it needs only to elect another Ronald Reagan.
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October 2018
Matt BruceViva DSM!! |