Why Trump is Dangerous
/A group of protesters congregated in a parking lot while I drove by. They wore "Dump Trump" or "Fuck Trump" shirts. Their efforts can be seen here. The road winds around through what appears to be a preplanned community until I reached police directing traffic. The clear blue sky was marked by a light breeze. It was a Saturday morning perfect for a family gathering at a park. It felt like it was a local festival more than a political rally. Fountain Hills is about 40 minutes from downtown Phoenix and is one of the most affluent areas of Arizona. The location was no accident. I am sure was to minimize protest.
Vendors lined the sidewalk peddling bottled water and assorted Trump gear. All the standards were there and emblazoned with some variation of "Trump2016" or "Make America Great Again". T-shirts, buttons, stickers, signs, flags, and the ubiquitous hats (now in CAMO) all sat on white tables. There was another curious and horrifying item for sale. I wonder who these people are. Could they be zealous Trump supporters that want to make sure Trump gear is distributed as much as possible? Could they be capitalists attempting to make a buck on the newest political fad?
I reached the entrance gate to the stage and the line stretched as far as i could see. I walked along the grass just to take it all it.
There was a strong police presence as one would expect.
A High School student held a sign up protesting Donald Trump.
He was at constant battle with various trump supporters. Including name calling. A man old enough to be a (great)grandfather called a teenager a faggot because he disagrees with his politics.
There is so much going on in the video below. Contradictions? There are plenty.
- Middle aged man berates him
- "We need a manager argument"
- "You need an education"
- "My son died for your freedom"
- An argument that Trump is not racist
- A guy is wearing a "Trump, Lincoln, Reagan" shirt
The woman in the multi-colored pastel tank top said we need a manager and she is a manager and then she explained she has spent a lifetime voting for people that don't care about the citizens (in which she just lists off a bunch of Republicans). The young protester is told he needs an education. Yet this small group included a handful of Trump supporting teenagers. Are we to assume they already have the proper education to make political decision? No. This is simply the weak argument of "I disagree so I will point to anything to make your position invalid". This continues when the same woman in tells him that her son died for his freedom so he needs to listen to her. Perhaps I am the bad guy but I am tired of people saying the wars we fought are for our freedom. 9/11 had nothing to do with our freedom. Lady I am sorry your son died but stop using him as prop. If your son died for that young man's freedom then don't patronize your own son and let him speak instead of demanding he listen to you.
In passing I heard a man say "a little waterboarding? they killed us".
These men below discussed the nuanced points of fascism and racism.
"Wanna talk about racism? These black lives matter protesters hate everyone except white people it is worse. They want to kill them."
Later on the same man in the black shirt starts a conversation about fascism.
"I am a nationalist. I am a fascist."
"I grew up thinking fascism was a dirty word."
"No it's just was militaristic way of running the government."
This exchange is why I find Donald Trump to be troubling. The rise of Donald J. Trump from real estate mogul and Reality TV star to presidential frontrunner has normalized fascism. Fascism was reserved for the dark corners of our society occupied by Neo-Nazis or other fringe groups. It seemed like a relic of the past. Fascsim it seemed was only reserved for George Orwell novels or the DPRK.
Whether Trump believes the things he says may be immaterial. Whether he wins the presidency may not matter. We have moved the conversation to a point where people openly discuss fascism as though it is not a pejorative. There is no shame in fascism for a growing portion of our country. I fear this will lead to someone much worse. I wonder if Donald Trump has laid the ground work for an actual authoritarian and not simply narcissistic egomaniac. Trump may end up being that person. But this does not feel like the end of it. The template has been created. Trump has shown that nationalism/racism/jingoism are a viable political strategy.
I left before Trump spoke. The madman's staff was playing The Eagles through the PA system as I exited the park. He must be stopped.
