And America Continues to Show it's True Colors. . .

[jvcarroll]

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.

 

[MuppetsRule]

That's what I was saying a while back, and again, it's not just against the LGBT community, but other groups as well. The Jewish cemeteries aside (apparently, the culprit involved in one of them was a disgruntled guy who was trying to get back at the girl who dumped him, for some reason), attacks against Jewish business and places of worship have boomed in the last few months. Just this past week, a Sikh man was shot by a neighbor who told him to, "go back where he came from." Apparently a lawyer (I think) in Oklahoma keeps hurling racist questions at this clients who are Muslim.

A lot of people (including Jamie) are pointing out how quick Trump is to fly into a Twitter rant after SNL or somebody makes fun of him, but is slow to speak out about these hate crimes, and again, the last time he spoke out against the anti-semitic attacks, he was prompted to do so after Hillary called him up and wanted to know why wasn't he addressing the issue. But I agree with your point, I think Trump himself is totally and completely indifferent to them either way - I think his only concern is Trump himself; but also, like you say, a lot of people out there (including his own supporters) see him as anti-LGBT, anti-semitic, anti-Civil Rights, what have you, and more and more of them are crawling out of the woodwork with their hate because they feel they're free to do so now. These are some of the things I brought up in my soliloquy a couple of months ago.

Well, the guy you referenced that was arrested for vandalism to 8 of the Jewish cemeteries did do it in order to get revenge against his ex-girlfriend in some bizarre plot. But he was also anti-Trump and a far left liberal. I guess that part was left out. One other "vandalism" to a Jewish cemetery in New York has been cleared as well. Turns out, the cemetery wasn't vandalized at all. It was in such disrepair that the stones were over-turned due to neglect. It has been that way for years, if not decades. Oh, but that didn't keep Democratic senator and leader Chuck Shurmur from tweeting about it and that the anti-semitic vandalism needed to stop. Oops, I guess he should have waited until he had all the facts. So 9 of the cases of vandalism have been cleared and not one of those 9 has been done by a "Trump supporter". I'm not saying that some of the many others haven't been by supporters of President Trump but I would wager that some of the rest have also been done by none Trump supporters. I guess we should all take a lesson and quit painting "Trump supporters" with a broad brush and blaming everything on "Trump supporters". Many, many in here are guilty of that. Hate doesn't just belong to one political group.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Like I said, I don't think 45's problem is bigotry. The problem is basic competance for this job.

 

[jvcarroll]

Like I said, I don't think 45's problem is bigotry. The problem is basic competence for this job.

In truth, I really think it's both. It's not overt bigotry. If anything, it's latent. He's like a child who just likes to stir the pot and push buttons to get attention and applause and it works. It's insidious, but it works. In fact, I think this behavior that many see as emboldening racists is the only thing he knows how to do - being outrageous and mugging for the camera. It really is that simple. I don't believe he really wanted this gig. It was the conciliation prize for losing the Apprentice program that began to decline in the ratings. That, and not racism, is why he started the racist birther movement about President Obama. He used to heap praise on him until one day Obama said something critical about his bankruptcies. I'll have to dig for it, but there's a whole bunch of schizophrenic quotes from Trump about either high praise or bizarre criticism of Obama on any given day until the birther thing. It also helped his Twitter feed and the Apprentice ratings. That's all these theatrics really are. It's attention-seeking. It's approval-seeking. It's sad. The only bigotry Trump really has is for anyone who has even the tiniest amount of criticism or joke about him. To me, that's even more dangerous.

 

[D'Snowth]

Well, the GOP has finally revealed what their replacement plan for "Obamacare" is, and . . . oh heck, why should it surprise anybody that we'll be spending more for less coverage?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/powe...751e3e-028f-11e7-ad5b-d22680e18d10_story.html

Oh, and the previously "un-named source" of the accusations of Obama tapping the phones in Trump Tower was finally revealed too: Breitbart. Should this come as any surprise? Faux News may be one-sided, biased, and pandering, but Breitbart goes out of its way to actually fabricate sensationalist claims and stories and call them "news."

 

[jvcarroll]

That's what I was saying a while back, and again, it's not just against the LGBT community, but other groups as well. The Jewish cemeteries aside (apparently, the culprit involved in one of them was a disgruntled guy who was trying to get back at the girl who dumped him, for some reason), attacks against Jewish business and places of worship have boomed in the last few months. Just this past week, a Sikh man was shot by a neighbor who told him to, "go back where he came from." Apparently a lawyer (I think) in Oklahoma keeps hurling racist questions at this clients who are Muslim.

A lot of people (including Jamie) are pointing out how quick Trump is to fly into a Twitter rant after SNL or somebody makes fun of him, but is slow to speak out about these hate crimes, and again, the last time he spoke out against the anti-semitic attacks, he was prompted to do so after Hillary called him up and wanted to know why wasn't he addressing the issue. But I agree with your point, I think Trump himself is totally and completely indifferent to them either way - I think his only concern is Trump himself; but also, like you say, a lot of people out there (including his own supporters) see him as anti-LGBT, anti-semitic, anti-Civil Rights, what have you, and more and more of them are crawling out of the woodwork with their hate because they feel they're free to do so now. These are some of the things I brought up in my soliloquy a couple of months ago.

I'm glad to see someone else gets it! It's frustrating and poisonous what Trump is doing. He's running the White House, the country and the world as one of his Apprentice shows. He's dividing up people into two groups, where there's even infighting with each group, and having them war it out for his approval. This toxic atmosphere might work for him in business, but it's killing us.

The one thing I can paint with a broad brush about Trump supporters is the pivot. Everyone's taking a cue from Kellyanne Conway - the Princess of Pivot. When faced with undeniable evidence, many Trumpsters will attack something else or find a technicality in something to try to discredit the whole to the point where nothing means anything anymore. It's kind of like having a conversation with a stoner. It's all about ideas, and facts are fungible. I'd like to describe it more noble terms, but that's the most accurate description. This is friggin' scary. Newspapers and blogs, both conservative and liberal, that should be akin to the National Inquirer are now seen as legit and then conflated with actual real news sources until it's all considered "the media." It's so all very dishonest in incorrect.

The fact is that many of Trump's most vocal supporters in crowds have been horribly racist. Now this certainly isn't all of them. Heck, it isn't most of them. But it's been enough to embolden others. He barely, if at all, takes issue with these troglodytes. The most he defiance he gives is a wink and nod and a gentle "stop it" and that's a very rare thing because he doesn't like to admit to his flaws. It took days of reporters hammering Trump for him to finally disavow David Duke for his support. That's nuts any way you slice it. There was a day when there'd be no coming back from that for a political campaign. You'd be done. Trump has his own rules. He's like Godzilla in the way that more more damaging things people throw his way to stop his rampage, the stronger and more angry it makes him!

Having so many vocal racist supporters certainly is a flaw. There are undoubtedly stories about vandalism that come from things other than Trump. But taking the responsibility off of Trump for much of this is either naive or intellectually dishonest and it usually comes from white, non-Jewish folk. It's harder to see bigotry in one's daily life if your group is not the one being marginalized.

My thinking is that much of white America is most frightened of immigration from Mexico, both legal and not, because they will have larger numbers here than us whites in the next couple of decades. The thinking that may of America's white folk have not been very kind to other minorities, including Mexican Americans, and some these people are frightened that they won't be treated so well once they're in the minority. It's fear that Trump sells. And this fear that he's stoked has emboldened white nationalists (i.e. white supremacists).

It's not just about people who personally support him or his candidacy. People see how he ran his campaign with latent racist tones and they think, "Hey, he won the presidency, so I can do that too!" And they do. That's what this is. The one thing I can definitely say about Team Trump is that, as of yet, he can do no wrong. One member mentioned that Trump could "cure cancer" and dems would still hate him. No. His presidency, his persona and his rampant narcissism are cancer to America and the world. That's what's happening now. This is not about political party. This about the guy. He represents the worst part of human nature. I sure miss "no-drama Obama." People could throw anything at him and he stayed frosty cool. He had his faults, like all of us, but fewer than any other president in my lifetime. I love that man. I was so proud that he showed the world that a black man can become president until Trump showed that any idiot could. /Truth.

 

[D'Snowth]

My thinking is that much of white America is most frightened of immigration from Mexico, both legal and not, because they will have larger numbers here than us whites in the next couple of decades. The thinking that may of America's white folk have not been very kind to other minorities, including Mexican Americans, and some these people are frightened that they won't be treated so well once they're in the minority. It's fear that Trump sells. And this fear that he's stoked has emboldened white nationalists (i.e. white supremacists).

I said this a while back as well, and the fact that some Trump supporters have actually suggested they feel blacks "won't be happy until they make white people their slaves" confirms my suspicion that this is one of the reason racism in America has ramped up since Trump entered the picture: not just Latinos, but statistics are showing that blacks will outnumber whites in the next few decades as well - I think a lot of these racist groups and individuals are terrified of that idea, and are doing all they can to prevent his from happening by trying to drive out these minorities any way they can.

I sure miss "no-drama Obama." People could throw anything at him and he stayed frosty cool.

That's something else I brought up too: unlike Trump, Obama had enough maturity that anytime his opponents threw shade at him, he would literally brush it off: how many times have we seen him brush his shoulders at criticism? Trump on the other hand? You say the slightest little thing negative about him, and not only does he rant about you on Twitter like a five year old, he declares you the enemy, and even his supporters attack you for being "disrespectful" to him (hmm, this sure seems a lot like how you wouldn't dare say anything negative about Hitler in Nazi Germany, or Fidel in Castro's Cuba).

He had his faults, like all of us, but fewer than any other president in my lifetime. I love that man. I was so proud that he showed the world that a black man can become president until Trump showed that any idiot could. /Truth.

I never understood why people were saying Trump's election victory was a "historic" one, but when you put it like that, now I understand completely: that's why his was historic, he did prove that anybody could be president.

However, even though it's probably just me, I still say Obama was our last true President, and Trump is our first Dictator: again, aside from him sitting in the White House and signing screwball executive orders like it's a bodily function, I've yet to see him do anything presidential or beneficial to the country as a whole, rather just any willy-nilly thing that benefits him and his people. Again, I never felt like either Hillary or Bernie were ideal candidates either, but at least they intended on continuing to steer the country in the same progressive direction that Obama had for eight years . . . now we're back to Bush-era ideals where it appears the rich will get richer, the poor will get poorer, minority groups will be oppressed, and the only people who will prosper will be the ones who cast their votes for him.

 

[D'Snowth]

http://rare.us/rare-news/caught-on-...yee-quickly-spiraled-out-of-control-in-texas/

So. . . . This guy actually calls up the off-camera person's doctor every month and makes a medical payment on their behalf? I don't understand his rant.

 

[CensoredAlso]

The Dems' focus on identity politics is why 45 won. And I really, REALLY don't want him to win again. I'm more worried about North Korea and China at the moment than one movie theater in Alabama. For God's sake...If the west coast IS actually attacked down the line, because Trump was too busy tweeting, then it won't matter how not bigoted we all were, if you get my meaning!

 

[dwayne1115]

I had a weird dream last night. I dreamed that Trump was killed in a terrorist attack. Then it was reported that he had survived, but both hig legs where blown off.
I remember having such mixed feelings about the event. Part of me was sad, because I really did and still do like his personality. I was also angry that someone would have such disrespect for the highest office in the land. Sure Trump may not be the best we've ever had, but there should be respect for the position. I also felt a little happy happy for the people who may end up suffering because of the things Trump may do.
When I finally woke up the first thing I did was check my news feed to see if it was all a dream. Thankfully it was!