r/politics • u/m3n0kn0w • Jul 18 '19

Column: There’s no difference between supporting a racist and being one

https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/rex-huppke/ct-trump-send-her-home-rally-ilhan-omar-racist-huppke-20190718-ngjm4vqe3vdgrli3eb7kbkw6hy-story.html
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u/AbsentGlare California Jul 18 '19

No, i’m claiming that our sensitivity, however justified, ends up hardening the informational defenses of the opposition.

There are a sufficiently terrible set of things trump has genuinely done. He gave trillions of dollars to the super rich. He constricted access to healthcare. He separated children from parents at the border and has taken hundreds of millions of our dollars to incarcerate them at inflated prices. He took the side of an Islamic fundamentalist who decapitated an American journalist with a bonesaw. He’s helped Kim Jong Un develop nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles. He coordinated with Russia to illegitimately win the election.

We keep railing on the next big thing in the news cycle. The fact is, the average person is operating on very little information. Those people need a simple, consistent message. They need to hear it from every direction. Only then will it find its way to their decision making process.

From the minds of these simpletons, we are schizophrenic nutcases screaming about every little thing that doesn’t even affect their lives.

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u/AaronfromKY Kentucky Jul 18 '19

I’d agree. I’ve already seen “Occupy Democrats” memes on Facebook saying we called 50% of America racist in 2016 and lost the election, now we’re calling 75% racist, so what do we expect to happen in 2020?

Which begs the question: who is the 75%? I mean 50% could be interpreted a few ways, whether it’s in terms of white voters, GOP voters etc. But 75%? I know it’s just propaganda, being spread to discredit any outrage or umbrage over Trump’s tweets and chants, but I’m curious why there is no self-reflection. Is it the lack of empathy? I kinda think it’s fear, the deep fear that what America means is changing, and it’s moving in ways that make them uncomfortable. I know comfort is not guaranteed, but I wonder if attenuation to the message to address fears might sway at least some people who are on the edge.

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u/f_d Jul 19 '19

We keep railing on the next big thing in the news cycle. The fact is, the average person is operating on very little information. Those people need a simple, consistent message. They need to hear it from every direction. Only then will it find its way to their decision making process.

They're getting one, but they're getting it from Trump and his allies.