Trump Hate with Love

Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you are highly aware that Donald Trump is well on his way to becoming the Republican candidate for the upcoming presidential election. That’s right- Donald Drumpf the real estate developer and television personality who has been a pop culture icon in our country for decades has somehow been deemed by many of us Americans as “presidential.”

Before I go on, let me make one thing clear: This post is not intended to be political as I do not even know Drumpf’s platforms on many of the important issues (and to be fair- I don’t think he knows himself). The only thing Drumpf seems to be certain of is that he is “going to make America great again” without giving us consistent details of how he plans to do so. If you can’t tell by now- I don’t consider Drumpf a true politician. Just one of the many reasons I feel the way I do: Linguistic analysis of the various speeches that Drumpf has given shows that he speaks at the level between a 3rd and 4th grader. Combine that with his constant self-praise, consistent lies, and overt racism it is almost unbelievable that he is the Republican front-runner in the Presidential primaries. In short, I don’t care if you vote republican or democratic. We are not talking politics here- we are talking about Humanism.

Donald Drumpf’s campaign is doing damage to this country that we will be paying for in the years to come. His rhetoric is filled with prejudice, vitriol, xenophobia, islamophobia, and overt racism and it is proving to be highly divisive and damaging for intercultural relations in this country. Drumpf is a threat to the UNITED in the United States of America. This man might not be an experienced or knowledgeable politician, but there is no doubt about the fact that he is a man of power and privilege. Unlike most of the other candidates in his party, most Americans knew who he was well before he ran for President. Thanks to the power of the media, he was an already branded household name. His celebrity status has allowed him to be highly influential to millions of Americans, both young and old. What’s concerning to me is that Drumpf has attracted a group of unwanted supporters and some have been caught on video shouting phrases such as “White Power.” Even though Drumpf claims to not want the support of these people, his campaign has been said to have reinvigorated the dying White Supremacist movement in our country. It might have something to do with the fact that his rhetoric is eerily similar to the rhetoric of the 1920’s Klu Klux Klan. Regardless, this momentum and presence of people who stand against racial justice in our country is only working to undo the tireless efforts of the thousands of people who risked and lost their lives in the name of freedom, equality, and racial justice during the civil rights movement.

The most devastating impact of Drumpf's bigotry is that it is impacting American children. His intolerance and messages encouraging hate and violence go beyond the political stage and have reached the larger society including our children. Children are like sponges and are highly influenced by what they are hearing in the media and in their homes. They are watching and listening and unfortunately seem to be bringing the bigotry into their schools. Watch this or read this if you are unaware of just how much Drumpf is impacting the future generations of Americans.

I am well aware that racism, bullying, and intolerance still occur in schools today but the idea that it might be worse now than it was when I was growing up in the 80’s and 90’s is absolutely gut wrenching. The thought that my children might be more suspect to discrimination or feeling isolated because of their brown skin due to the influence of Donald Drumpf’s bigotry is infuriating. My American born Asian Indian children should not have to endure the racism or school bullying that I did as a child and should never be left to feel embarrassed or question who they are or where they came from. Thanks to the Trump Effect, this is now something that myself and millions of other American mothers and fathers might have to help their children navigate.

Some of you may not be able to connect Drumpf’s hateful rhetoric to school bullying or think that his remarks pose any harm or threat. However, Drumpf's words are helping to strengthen stereotypes which create bias and have the potential to lead to serious and sometimes violent oppression of innocent people. For example, when Drumpf stated that Mexicans are bringing in drugs, crime, and are rapists he was creating barriers by helping to strengthen prejudices towards the millions of Mexican people that live among us. To understand the potential impact of his ignorant and hurtful statements about Mexican people- check out the Hate Pyramid that was put out by the Anti-Defamation League. This pyramid shows biased behaviors, growing in complexity from the bottom to the top. The behaviors at each level negatively impact individuals and groups, but as you move up in the pyramid, the behaviors become more damaging and have life-threatening consequences. It is important for us as a nation to realize that if people or institutions treat behaviors on the lower levels (ex. Stereotype) as being acceptable or “normal,” it results in the behaviors at the next level (discrimination/violence) becoming more accepted.

When Drumpf strengthens the stereotypes that Mexicans are druggies, criminals, and rapists then it can easily result in acts of prejudice such as the incident in which White students chanted “Build a Wall” to a largely Latino basketball team while holding up Trump signs. This Prejudice builds to various forms of discrimination such as building Drumpf’s proposed wall along the Mexican/U.S. border. Once discrimination against Latinos is perceived to be acceptable by the majority, then we see bias motivated violence that many have endured at Drumpf rallies such as Ariel Rojas who was dragged to the ground and kicked in October at a Drumpf event. Not holding people accountable for this type of violence could lead to the most life threatening consequence which the pyramid indicates is genocide. Drumpf’s messages of hate are not just useless words- they matter. Stereotypes matter. We need to show zero tolerance for his destructive rhetoric and teach our children that difference does not mean deficient.

Donald Drumpf has proved to be a powerful man, but we are far more powerful as a united and collective nation of people who are committed to fair treatment, inclusion, and equity for all. It is now more than ever that we need to unify against the bigotry and intolerance of Drumpf's divisive rhetoric. If we are able to let go of some of the stereotypes and prejudices we hold about each other we can begin to build bridges instead of barriers with people who are different than us. This won't happen unless we make the effort to get to know and communicate with our neighbors, co-workers, and people in our diverse communities. This campaign season could be a time of friction and division or we could work together to trump hate with love and make this a time of strength and unity for the United States of America.