We've Been Here All Too Often (And Will Again, and again, and...)
Peter T.
location: New Hampshire
listening to: Too much of everything!
registered: 1999.05.20
posts: 3017
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I know we've been down this tragic path all too frequently here. What is different this time? Isn't it that we
now have a leader who has been incessantly fanning the flames of intolerance, fear, and hatred of "the
other"? And Fox News and right-wing media are the enablers that allow him to reach his base, some of whom
hear or read the word "invasion" so much (he reportedly used it a few thousand times in tweets), that they are
compelled to act in order to maintain the country as majority white.
The advantage of my having a mother-in-law who is a devoted Fox News watcher and Trump supporter
is
that she gives me a window into how many Trump supporters see things. She doesn't understand how he
could possibly be portrayed as a racist, and this is because she doesn't know about the Central Park Five
affair, the countless quotes and actions attributed to Trump before and after his presidency. She doesn't get
that Birtherism was all about race. She doesn't understand how "shit hole country" remarks, or his advice to
the minority congresswomen to return to their countries are racist. Her own racism, like that of many Trump
supporters, blinds her to all of this.
If you're watching the news or flying around the internet today, you're inundated by statistics, opinions,
ghastly images, outrage, and factoids. It's all too much. Let's just settle on one startling comparison. More
Americans have died by firearms during the last 50 years than have been killed in ALL of our wars! I couldn't
believe it when I read it, but here it is!
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/more-americans-killed-guns-1968-all-u-s-wars-
combined-n807156
And yes, I know, long guns kill far fewer people than handguns, and yes, I know, the daily shootings in
cities
far exceed these mass shootings, and yes, I know, 2/3 of firearms deaths are by suicide. I get it, and I realize
anything approaching a solution has to be multi-faceted. But can't we at least call out Trump here and make
overtly dangerous and provocative racist statements and actions unacceptable?
Peter T.
Peter T.
(view)
I know we've been down this tragic path all too frequently here. What is different this time? Isn't it that we
now have a leader who has been incessantly fanning the flames of intolerance, fear, and hatred of "the
other"? And Fox News and right-wing media are the enablers that allow him to reach his base, some of whom
hear or read the word "invasion" so much (he reportedly used it a few thousand times in tweets), that they are
compelled to act in order to maintain the country as majority white.
The advantage of my having a mother-in-law who is a devoted Fox News watcher and Trump supporter
is
that she gives me a window into how many Trump supporters see things. She doesn't understand how he
could possibly be portrayed as a racist, and this is because she doesn't know about the Central Park Five
affair, the countless quotes and actions attributed to Trump before and after his presidency. She doesn't get
that Birtherism was all about race. She doesn't understand how "shit hole country" remarks, or his advice to
the minority congresswomen to return to their countries are racist. Her own racism, like that of many Trump
supporters, blinds her to all of this.
If you're watching the news or flying around the internet today, you're inundated by statistics, opinions,
ghastly images, outrage, and factoids. It's all too much. Let's just settle on one startling comparison. More
Americans have died by firearms during the last 50 years than have been killed in ALL of our wars! I couldn't
believe it when I read it, but here it is!
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/las-vegas-shooting/more-americans-killed-guns-1968-all-u-s-wars-
combined-n807156
And yes, I know, long guns kill far fewer people than handguns, and yes, I know, the daily shootings in
cities
far exceed these mass shootings, and yes, I know, 2/3 of firearms deaths are by suicide. I get it, and I realize
anything approaching a solution has to be multi-faceted. But can't we at least call out Trump here and make
overtly dangerous and provocative racist statements and actions unacceptable?
Peter T.
