Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
Local Government TV
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Wednesday, August 07, 2019
Trump's Divisive Rhetoric
I've said before that I'm certain Donald Trump was as shocked and saddened as any of us over this past weekend's mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton. Having said that, it's equally true that his divisive rhetoric has winked at the racists and xenophobes among us.
When I was growing up in the '50s, I remember jokes about some white guy shooting a black guy and being charged with littering. I thought they were funny at the time, when I was as racist as anyone from the Lehigh Valley. But I grew up. Trump apparently did not.
At a Florida rally in May, Trump displayed exactly this kind of callous humor when musing about illegals.
"Don't forget: We don't let them, and we can't let them, use weapons. We can't," Trump said. "Other countries do. We can't. I would never do that. But how do you stop these people? You can't."
"Shoot them!" Shouted someone in the audience.
Trump smiled and joked, "That's only in the Panhandle you can get away with this stuff. Only in the Panhandle."
This is why his comfort is no comfort to the families of undocumented immigrants and Mexican nationals whose loved ones were murdered in El Paso.
What he could do is say he was wrong, admit that he should never under any circumstances condone violence against another human being. But he will never do that. This is why he is unfit for the nation's highest office.
60 comments:
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.
Bernie, you are missing a TON of hateful, harmful speech and behavior from the Democrat side. Don't be so naive, or maybe, deceptive. Like most Trump opponents, you are projecting all the Democrat negatives over to your opponent. Won't work!
ReplyDeleteApproval of Trump is rising among every group. His management decisions have helped to improve many aspects of EVERYONE'S lives.
As I said, he is unfit for any public office. I notice you do not condemn this vile behavior. Your sweeping condemnations of Democrats demonstrates exactly what you are.
ReplyDeleteTrump 2020! MAGA! Keep America great! Make liberals cry again!
ReplyDelete"I've said before that I'm certain Donald Trump was as shocked and saddened as any of us over this past weekend's mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton."
ReplyDeleteWhy do you believe this to be true? His only statement about unity seemed to be read directly from the teleprompter in a way that made it seem as though he was being forced to read rather than actually saddened by the events.
”Why do you believe this to be true? ”
ReplyDeleteBecause he is a human being.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteNow do AOC and her rhetoric with regards to the guy that attacked the ICE detention facility.
ReplyDeleteAlso, do the MSNBC reporter who flat out lied and said Trump is trying to exterminate Latinos
And while you're at it do the other MSNBC reporter who said that Trump is raising the flags back from half-mast on 8/8...H is the 8th number of the alphabet so 8/8 is HH and HH stands for Heil Hitler....
It's not just one person and one side here Bernie.
"Because he is a human being."
ReplyDeleteNot all humans are capable of empathy. 45 is lacking.
Bernie is a hapless never-was who is jealous of the success of President Trump. He is jealous of anyone successful since his own life has been a failure. This blog is his therapy.
ReplyDeleteIf it's his therapy, I don't know but you sure do sound like a rectal irritant. You need to be cured with a big tube of preparation H through your mouth.
Delete"Trump smiled and joked, "That's only in the Panhandle you can get away with this stuff. Only in the Panhandle."
ReplyDeleteAnd the full explanation of this saying????
When i was younger we bought small human shaped licorice covered in sugar and called them "N*^%^*er Babies". I had no idea that was a racist thing.
I called a black kid, "Boy", in a sentence during a joking conversation at about 12 years old. He chased me. As i ran i actually realized, like a light switch going on, that "Boy", in the way i used it, was racist. A negative word. (In that SENTENCE)
I DIDN'T DO ANY OF THESE THINGS as a racist.
I'll await confirmation Donald Trump is throwing the "N" word around, or calling on Latinos to be killed, attacked. If we were on the border with Ireland, and they were pouring over illegally, asking for resources from the American Tax payer, i bet we'd wanna build a wall.
Meanwhile in Chicago and Baltimore. Silence.
Pink Hats, Russia, Racism......
I like Red Lines, Tariffs, pulling out of Arms Treaties, NATO members paying their share, (GERMANY?), Low unemployment, opportunity to make money by investing, even $25.00 a month, to start. And on and on and on....
I have made clear that I will no longer allow comments that make sweeping generalizations about one side or the other. Do it and you will be deleted. If you want to play team sports, go out for football.
ReplyDeleteTrump will prevail once again because he gets done what he promises to do unlike virtually every other politician. He is resolute in returning America to a country of laws & has appointed Supreme Court & Lower court judges that will not pander to the snowflakes afraid to enforce our laws.
ReplyDeleteGoing after China to restore balance to international trade will ultimately raise the standard of living for all minority citizens. No other President has had the fortitiude to challenge this unfair trade hurting American workers.
You mean like Mexico paying for the wall!
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteAmen !
ReplyDeleteAh the Trump lovers are out in force defending their dear leader. "Democrats do it too!" "I was racist once and didn't know it" and, and.... Keep your blinders on and your ears shut folks, what reality is might really screw with your head. Please keep getting your information from FOX, and Breitbart, and Rush, and whatever other extreme right wing media you listen to or read. Its pablum for your soul to prevent you from seeing what you don't want to believe.
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean without Trump's rhetoric these people would remain as sleeper cells.
ReplyDeleteIs Trump's rhetoric strategic?
How would you smoke them out with hope and change?
Seeeping generalizations about Democrats are being deleted. If you want to be specific, your comment will survive. Trump isn’t no means the only divisive person. But the condemnations of an entire group are wrong. They are also illogical. If A does something wrong, that does not mean B can do something wrong.
ReplyDeleteBernie is right, there has been mass shootings since the time of the tee-pee.
ReplyDeleteHope and change rhetoric got us the same results as Trump's rhetoric.
Unless you are already predisposed to criminal activity, it's wrong to suggest, that left or right politicians are at all inspirational.
Growing up in the 1970s, I remember similar jokes about lots of different groups. I remember laughing at them, too. I didn't realize they were racist. Now I do. When you know better, you do better.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeletedemocrats do not believe in killing babies ask the VA governor or new yok state led by como the democrats will not take any blame for the Dayton killings the killer did not follow the democratic beliefs the democrats do not believe in socialism ask sanders or warren the dems love America so they do not want border security. the dems want sanctuary cities for other countries not ours.the dems do not want higher taxes will this be deleted
ReplyDelete1:41PM
ReplyDeleteFarts are sometimes funny even if they stink.
Bravo, Bernie. Each time a white person acknowledges past racist behavior, we are one step closer to healing the vexing wounds of racism. There is still a ways to go but if everyone does this we will get there.
ReplyDeleteSeparately, I've noticed that whenever Trump makes statements against violence and racism, almost always off a teleprompter, it's like watching a hostage video. I'll not diagnose why, but I do find that interesting.
I should add that I've laughed at tons of racist jokes and said racist things in years past. And I still have racist practices ingrained in me that I struggle to shed, for example fear if I am alone on a deserted street and see a black male. Or, if I park my car and, walking away, see a black or brown person, I reflexively wonder if I locked the car. I'm not sure where this racism comes from; my best guess is that for years Hollywood and TV news bombarded us with images of black/brown people as dangerous criminals. It's hard to undo that exposure, and I think it still influences my behavior in ways I'm not even yet aware.
ReplyDeletecanary
ReplyDelete"Each time a white person acknowledges past racist behavior."
Which white people? The Spanish? The Italians? The Germans? The French? The Britt's maybe? Who are the "white" people you speak of?
History has shown that these "white" people hate each other and have gassed and killed each other, they took turns burning down each other cities over the last century all without racial consideration.
Perhaps you meant, each time a person acknowledge the past they stop putting people in groups based on skin color or some other physical characteristics.
Bernie Sanders hasn't backed off his flame throwing, race-baiting rhetoric - even after a Bernie Bro shot Republican lawmakers at a baseball practice. The silent crescendo from this blog and the rest of media was deafening. The double-standard is as frustrating as the devolving back and forth from both sides. I've decided to simplify and just hate everybody.
ReplyDeleteEvery single time Trump farts out of his face it's breaking news.
ReplyDeleteCan you possibly imagine if Trump made an unintentional gaf while speaking about this shooting?
It is a hostage video thanks to the media, who in all honesty, report as if they're just trying to stay out of GITMO.
" ... almost always off a teleprompter, it's like watching a hostage video ..."
ReplyDeleteWith respect, Obama off-TelePrompTer fell somewhere between mentally retarded and stroke victim. Poor communicators come from all sides. Bush couldn't pronounce nuclear. Obama couldn't pronounce Copenhagen. We're not electing the sharpest linguists, these days.
"I've decided to simplify and just hate everybody."
ReplyDeleteWelcome aboard!
I love when old, white democrats call Trump a racist to prove that they're not racists.
ReplyDeleteHow courageous and noble!
The reality is that they throw the word around to further their own self-serving political agendas, and have used the word so carelessly that it's meaning has been diminished.
Pathetic.
I'm so old that I remember when the word "prejudice" and the word "racist" had a distinction.
ReplyDeleteThat distinction became a problem for the state during the civil rights movement so the words had to become synonymous.
If you call a Irish person a "white mick" but hire him anyway, you're prejudice.
If you are absolutely respectful when speaking to a Irish person, but don't give him the job because he is "white mick", you're a racist.
You admonished Beto for expressing his view of this character, and now you write this. I agree with Beto.
ReplyDeleteBeto called Trump a white supremacist as they were still taking bodies away. I did not, but provided a chilling example of Trump’s divisive rhetoric.
ReplyDelete"You mean like Mexico paying for the wall!"
ReplyDeleteIf you are building a wall to help control human migration into your nation, you are practicing discrimination between Americans and everyone else.
If you are building a wall to keep out Hispanics, you are a racist.
If you practice open borders for your military and closed borders for everyone else, you are an imperialist.
When the military and everyone else stays behind there respective borders that's called peace. So you will be labeled a unengaged xenophobe.
Beto reminds me of the kind of person that would hold in his quiver a statement or action of a foe, only to report it to authorities at a heighten state of alert, to settle a score.
ReplyDeleteA form of Swatting.
beto is a asshole
ReplyDeleteHow much space does Trump take up in your head? Time to change the air in your skull- breath! Trump will be reelected by a landslide! Open borders= a NON-SOVEREIGN country and is lawless.
ReplyDeleteHere’s the thing. If he wouldn’t have visited Dayton and El Paso, the left would’ve criticized him. Either way, they’ll attack him. His rhetoric is against those who come here illegally. He has done more for minorities than any other politician. My family and I will be voting for him (again).
ReplyDeleteI feel as if “white supremacist” is the new “racist” that the left has failed at trying to label him as. Either way, the left has nothing to run on and will be defeated by a landslide no matter who they nominate.
ReplyDeleteMr. Trump spews hatred and devisiveness. R switching to D.
ReplyDeleteAs I said before to 7:13, nobody actually wants open borders. This is a total fabrication. I don't know why on Earth this was deleted before.
ReplyDeleteI don't think America hating, false accusations, identity politics, and continuous race-baiting is a winning strategy these days.
ReplyDeleteOf course, labeling the whole white population as benefiting from some racist privilege, labeling white males as some kind of racist oppressors, etc. etc, is not divisive, labeling anyone who supports Trump as a racist, bigot,etc. is not divisive. Calling Trump supporters deplorable s is the same as suggesting they are sub-human. Attempting to enforce the laws on immigration is now racist, arresting any minorities is now becoming a racist act. Look in the mirror.
ReplyDeleteTrump is a douche bag, but not a white supremacist. He's encouraged them as much as Obama encouraged black radicals to shoot cops and chant "pigs in a blanket - fry 'em like baconRs have as many bigots as Ds, by percentage. Robert Francis is a furry with an affected Mexican nickname. Bernie Sanders never apologized when an ardent supporter shot duly elected officials. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAccording to New York Times, Trump's approval rating is now higher than what it was in 2016.
ReplyDeleteCaution now, it IS the New York Times. They lie, distort, and obscure frequently. So, this might actually be false . . . . but it was printed.
"As I said before to 7:13, nobody actually wants open borders. This is a total fabrication. I don't know why on Earth this was deleted before."
ReplyDeleteSure you do. You violate my standards and expect to be deleted. This is nondebatable, and comments complaining about deletion will be deleted as well.
Life is good. Unemployment is down, money pouring into the State unemployment fund being replenished, stock market doing ok, fuel prices not so bad, best military best the world, the US leand the world in reducing pollutants, life should be good for most Americans, yet the hate lingers on. Get immigration reform now, stop licking the can down the road, get working on infrastructure. Make America Great Again.
ReplyDeleteIt interesting to see who the racists are in this comment section. Good writing, sir.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me, 10:55, a 'racist' is someone who makes everything/every move out to be someone's racism.
ReplyDeleteWhen repeated claims of racism are lobbed at everything, the charge becomes meaningless. It loses the shock value it once had.
Do you really think the Dems spew hatred when they bad mouth corporations or anyone that is successful in business?
ReplyDeleteTrump is the only President to accomplish virtually everything he promised in his first term despite the undo investigations & slander from all sides of the aisle. His Supreme Court & Lower Court appointments will insure that the rule of laws will be implemented once again vs the snowflake courts failing our country. Finally, we have a President willing to take on China & others whose unfair trade practices for decades have been putting US wokers & specifically minorities into unemployment lines.
right on 2:40
ReplyDeleteA reader complains that I deleted his comment calling another person again, but kept a comment calling Beto O'Rourke an asshole. I will allow anonymous personal shots at elected officials or candidates. They are closely connected to core political speech. I will not allow anonymous shots aimed at other readers. That is just ugly.
ReplyDeleteClear-headed Americans will despise, and hopefully reject, those politicians who are using the human tragedies in Dayton and El Paso to boost their standing in the polls. It's disgusting and DEVISIVE.
ReplyDeletedivisive means nothing. It's just a way of saying you don't like something without having to explain yourself.
ReplyDeleteTrump will prevail once again because he gets done what he promises to do unlike virtually every other politician.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing he "got done" was giving a massive tax break to people like me and not you. Here is your bread and circus.
For the record, Trump has not built an inch of wall.
With respect, Obama off-TelePrompTer fell somewhere between mentally retarded and stroke victim. Poor communicators come from all sides. Bush couldn't pronounce nuclear. Obama couldn't pronounce Copenhagen. We're not electing the sharpest linguists, these days.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Obama after Charleston and off teleprompter was a real disaster. Get the hell out of here. Trump either talks out of his ass or reads off a teleprompter like a 5th grader doing a book report in Social Studies. To compare the idiocy of Trump to Obama is being disingenuous and you all know it. You elect idiots and Trump is the crown prince.