By: Jerome Simpson (’19), Staff Writer
Trump supporters:
I want to begin by saying I do not believe all Trump supporters are racist. I do not believe all Trump supporters are sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, or generally bigots.
However, I do believe, all Trump supporters, ALL Trump supporters, have normalized these things to a degree that I believe is unacceptable.
Let me explain:
Donald Trump IS racist. He has proven his racism in a multitude of ways. He said “Laziness is a trait in Blacks”, he’s said that illegal Mexican immigrants are drug dealers and rapist, he’s said that a federal judge was incapable of doing his job because he has Mexican heritage, he’s denied housing opportunities to African-Americans and he did not disavow the endorsement from the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
Donald Trump IS sexist. He has said, “Putting a wife to work is a very dangerous thing.” He has also said, “When I come home from work and dinner is not made I get angry.” He said women should be punished for seeking an abortion. He called Fox News journalist Megyn Kelly a “bimbo.” He bragged about being able to touch women any way he chooses because he’s rich. These are only the MOST notorious examples of his misogyny.
Donald Trump appeals to homophobia, despite having expressed support for the LGBT community. Mike Pence, our next Vice President and the man Donald Trump tapped as his right-hand man, passed some of the most hateful legislation ever against the LGBT community. Pence has advocated conversion therapy for LGBT citizens. Conversion therapy attempts to “turn gay people straight” through methods such as exorcism and electroshock therapy. Being gay is NOT a disease or something to be “cured.”
Donald Trump IS xenophobic. He began his campaign by pandering to the majority’s fear of illegal immigrants. While I do believe people should enter the country legally I also acknowledge the dire systems of oppression many of these people are trying to escape. This is no different than our Founding Fathers coming here to escape the persecution they faced in England. Donald Trump continued pandering to these fears when he called for the “total and complete ban of all Muslims.” Since 9/11 Islamophobia has run rampant in this country and we have created an environment where many Muslim-Americans don’t feel safe. Due to the violence their community has endured, fewer young Muslim women wear their hijab out of the fear that they will be harassed for practicing their cultural traditions.
I believe if you gave your vote to Donald Trump and Mike Pence then you either failed to acknowledge these things or did so and failed to put them in their proper perspective. None of these qualities have a place in America in 2016, especially not at the head of our Republic.
Perhaps the most disheartening thing about Trump supporters is this: While you may not be a racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, or bigoted, in some way, shape or form, you allow it to exist without rebuke. You’ve allowed the most powerful voice in the world to exemplify these qualities. If the leader of the free world is allowed to openly hold these ungodly beliefs, then anyone can.
As an African-American, feminist, Christian and LGBT ally, I cannot forget these things and I refuse to stand idly by if Donald Trump, or any member of Congress chooses to act on these hateful qualities in any attempt to turn them into legislation.
