jvcarroll
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My personal thoughts on Trump and the LGBTQ+ community... honestly I don't think that he's against them (though I don't think he's necessarily for them either), but the anti-LGBTQ+ people automatically think he is, and thus feel emboldened by him being president and feel they have the right to persecute these people in this way. This is how I see it at least.
As a proud gay fella, I'll have to admit that you're 3/4ths right with this. Trump doesn't really care about republicans, democrats, the LGBT or even America. Really, he doesn't. At this point, it's clear. Trump cares about the only thing he's ever cared about - Trump! His blatant narcissism and megalomania used to be kind of humorous in a cornball talk show guest kind of way, but it's not so funny anymore. He campaigned saying he was going to do a lot of things for the LGBT. Like everything else he said, no one is "better" at it. And like most everything else, it was complete hogwash.
Even one of my favorite recording artists, the glorious Cyndi Lauper, recalled her time on Trump's Apprentice when the Donald took her aside and lold her to not gay it up so much for her fans because straight people wouldn't like it. Gross. By the way, for those who aren't aware, she has a huge LGBT following, her sister is gay and she's been a champion behind many causes. One of those is creating a safe space for homeless LGBT teens (a group that disproportionately kicked out of their homes) so they can get back on their feet and get employment. Why the heck wouldn't a person advertise that every chance they had? Winning doesn't mean anything if you forsake your values.
What Trump is doing is trying to have it both ways. One moment he's saying that he'd be a good friend to us, the next he strikes down Obama's order pertaining to trans protections. Things like pronouns and where to pee might sound frivolous to non-trans folk, but that's essential in order to exist in public. Have you ever been out without being able to find a public restroom? The panic that creates is incredible and real! Now imagine that is a permanent issue and that you could only pee at home. You wouldn't venture out as much, naturally. There's a lot more to it. That's just the tip of the iceberg. But the more prejudice crowd sees that order and takes it as a win against "freaks" a people who are different than they are.
This is Trump's disturbing pattern. He says one thing, but does another - or worse yet, remains silent. Not mentioning the Jews during his Holocaust speech might just look like an oversight, but he has speechwriters. That's a dream job for a lot of people. It is a competitive field and these folk are highly skilled. They wouldn't make that mistake. It had to have some purpose. My thinking is that Trump didn't want to alienate even one voter. Many people already see him as racist and antisemitic, so he's not going to cater to Jewish folk. Instead, he's worried about losing the many racist people who proudly voted for him. I would say that's not all, or even most, of his voters. But it is a disturbing amount. And the people who did support Trump seem to be okay with the odd racist remark he makes now and then, and I find that troubling.
So, while I don't believe that Trump is really racist, antisemitic or homophobic, he's okay with courting the favor of people who are. I don't think Trump is particularly bright, but he's not that dumb either. He's used the dog-whistles many times before. He's a person without conscience or legitimate values. Heck, he was a democrat a few years ago and then did a 180 degree turn. Trump is whatever he needs to be to win. He's someone that looks at the bottom line and winning is his. This has the impact of emboldening hate crimes and he certainly has the power to stop the momentum, but he won't really make the effort because some of his more vocal supporters would turn on him in a heartbeat. Sad.