By Troy Headrick
I’ll start this one off with a confession. Lately, I’ve been feeling depressed and overwhelmed. These feelings are a byproduct of what I see happening in America, the place I currently live, and elsewhere, especially in parts of Europe.
As everyone certainly knows, America’s president is Donald Trump. (Just having to say that disturbs me more than you can imagine.) Though he has always been a profoundly obnoxious bully, lately, it seems, he’s making a concerted effort to demonstrate, in lots of different ways, how much of a racist he is. It’s almost as if he’s coming out of the closet and is now openly (and proudly) saying many despicable and hateful things. Earlier in his presidency, he tried to camouflage his racism some; now, though, he is wearing it like a badge of honor.
Being constantly bombarded by this sort of soul-sapping ugliness, especially because it emanates from someone we all want to look up to, is psychologically unhealthy, for the individual citizen and for the nation as a whole. In fact, I have recently noticed that many political and cultural analysts, when they discuss Trump and Trumpism (more commonly known as fascism) on TV, speak more angrily and despondently than they once did. This means that as Trump becomes more hateful and divisive, many others who are opposed to him are (quite understandably) reacting by becoming either more vehement or more disheartened. Thus, the espousing of hate for others has a habit of causing those who are the objects of hatred to behave in ways that are ultimately unattractive and perhaps self-destructive. A kind of emotional maelstrom is developing. And it threatens to pull all of us into its powerful vortex.
The best way to combat racism is to become more tolerant and loving. (However, as I look back at my previous sentence, I feel the need to add a caveat: We all have a human duty to be tolerant, but we absolutely cannot tolerate intolerance.) In other words, we defeat the bully by giving loving support to his victims. This, I think, is self-evident, and it is also the way to preserve our sense of well-being and psychological health.
The great Abraham Maslow, one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century, tells us that we are ultimately motivated by a variety of needs, and that our ability to “self-actualize”—reach our highest state of emotional and spiritual development—is diminished if we are unable, for whatever reason, to fulfill these needs, which he arranges into a hierarchy. (For a nice overview of Maslow’s theories, have a look at this or, for a fuller discussion, you could read Motivation and Personality, one of his books I taught from in the past.) A lot has been written about the characteristics of those who’ve self-actualized. Scott Jeffery, creator of CEOsage, a leading “transformational leadership agency,” writes that self-actualized individuals show, among other things, an “increased identification with the human species” and a “resistance to enculturation” as well as having a “more democratic character structure.”
Thus, as Maslow believed, the people who realize their full potential will be those who are the opposite of racists. That’s because racism keeps us small, disconnects us from others, and makes us behave in petty and hurtful ways. We owe it to ourselves and to the victims of racism to reach out, to embrace, to love and respect, and to protect.
The bullies of this world will not win. They will create the conditions that will lead to their eventual downfall. We must take the high road for our own good and for the good of those who’ve been marginalized and treated unjustly. Let those who want to wallow in the mud do so. They will exit the wallow looking and smelling like pigs.
Troy Headrick’s personal blog can be found at Thinker Boy: Blog & Art.
well said. let’s hope kindness wins out in the end.
I do believe that Trump and his ilk will ultimately self-destruct. The vast majority of Americans are decent and find racism distasteful if not abhorrent. You’ll note that I didn’t advocate kindness to those who were dishing out insults, only to those who were its victims. I’m especially sensitive to this because I’m married to an immigrant from Africa, someone I met when I was living in Egypt. I would be terribly upset if anyone ever said anything racist to her. Luckily, it hasn’t happened yet. By the way, I checked out your blog and will do so again. Thanks for the comment.
I agree, it’s much harder to deal with such issues when they are personal. But sometimes showing kindness is the best way to change someone’s mind.
I recall a story I read some years ago that chronicled how an African-American man (living in the south) took it as his mission to befriend members of the KKK in an attempt to turn them away from their ugly beliefs. His willingness to listen to them and to calmly present his arguments actually changed many of the men’s minds. That’s a testimony to the power of kindness and being a good person who is willing to listen rather than simply rant. My concern is that many progressive Americans are being worn down and exhausted by this constant barrage–I often feel despondent myself. I think that is actually Trump’s plan to so belittle so many folks that good people simply wither and fall to the floor. It’s a very ugly psychological plan. Again, thanks for participating.
This shows my privilege that I couldn’t even finish reading this because I was too upset about the reminders of our classless and awful president. I know I’m missing out on some lovely blogging about kindness but I just can’t handle anything US president related at the moment. I’ll check back tomorrow.
I’m with you, joharkessblog. There are days when I feel like I’m losing it and falling into despair. You’ll notice, when you come back to this later, that I’ve written the following sentence: “We all have a human duty to be tolerant, but we absolutely cannot tolerate intolerance.” So I’m not strictly calling for “turning the other check.” I think goodness will ultimately prevail, but maybe not until a really dark period comes our way. Thanks for the comment and hang in there.
I think the thing that horrifies me the most is that America voted for him. I’d like to hope we will all come out of this stronger and with a greater desire to strive for equality.
Like you, I hope something good comes of this. Like I said in my piece, I have noted that progressive TV pundits are starting to show the psychological wear and tear in they way they discuss things on their telecasts. I hope we don’t all get worn out by all this. I sometimes think that Trump’s plan is to so exhaust us that we just give up. Take care, hang in there, and thanks for commenting.
Yes, well said, especially about racism keeping people small and disconnected. He may be the loudest and get all the attention but we must not forget there are still many, many good people around.
Most folks are good, I think. I totally agree with you. I just hope that he’s not successful in normalizing all this or so exhausting the nation that people simple give up and tune out. I don’t think that is likely to happen, but who knows? We’re in such weird and unpredictable times that I just don’t know. Thanks for the compliment and the comment.
I’m not even American. But, I feel bad of what has happened in there (and it seems like getting worse when he leads US? is it right?). Racism can’t be tolerated whatever the reasons are. In fact, racism still happens in many countries (including my country too). In my country, the people of ethnic Chinese descent and minority religious people are still often targeted by racism act and discrimination. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Let’s spread love and peace to the world.
Thanks for your comment. Yes, things are deteriorating in America. I hope we can come through this difficult period in one piece. Yes! I totally agree. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all learn to live together and respect one another! By the way, do you blog? If so, why not post a link here so I (and others) can have a look.
Yes, I do blogging too. But, I’m still newbie. If you (and maybe others) are willing to check my blog, click here https://lunaseptalisa.wordpress.com
My blog contains of poetry (most of them), motivations on writing and some of my opinions about something or social issues.
Thank you for including a link to your blog and giving people a chance to check it out. Many years ago, when I first started writing and publishing, I wrote mostly poetry. So I’m looking forward to seeing some of your writing. Take care and keep on writing!
If only Trump could be singled out to be a lone monster. The appalling thing for me is to find out that so many people walking around in my USA support this evil man. It’s like millions and millions of him-Trump— out there. He has given people permission to be racist, sexist, homophobic, not just unkind but cruel. It’s overwhelming. I’ve experienced enough evil in my life that I’ve lost my capacity to trust, especially when our countries leaders back this mentally ill man. I appreciate that you write about this topic.
I appreciate that you’ve taken the time to read my piece and comment on it. Yes, I wonder what’s happened (and is happening) to this country. Most understand that it’s beauty partly comes from the diversity of its people and its openness to new ideas and cultures. Anything that challenges that openness is to be looked at with tremendous suspicion. It is especially difficult for me because I’m married to an immigrant from Africa, a women I met while I was teaching at The American University in Cairo. I feel a deep sense of hurt when I hear people telling others to “Go back to where they came from.” If Trumpism gains more traction are people going to begin talking to my wife that way? I think many of us in America are being traumatized, and I don’t ultimately know how this trauma is going to play out and manifest itself.
Tony, I certainly understand your concern about your wife and what she might face. I have four mixed-race grandchildren, born here in the US and that doesn’t matter–it’s the color of their skin that sparks racist remarks. Having a president that promotes racism is spreading that evil virus. Last night, at his rally in North Carolina, when everyone was chanting racist remarks (following his lead) a young girl in the front row began looking at all of the adults and then began chanting in unison, pumping her fist. That was the saddest thing. Our next generation…
I live in a wonderfully diverse neighborhood–many Asians, Hispanics, Muslims, and even some white people, like me! My heart breaks for them as all of this is played out in the news…
Thanks, mandy, for your comment. I lived overseas for nearly two decades and only returned to the US in 2015. Shortly after that, Trump was elected and the nation went nuts. I really don’t recognize the place where I was born and raised. Of course, racism was always present, but when Barack Obama was elected, I thought we’d turned a corner of sorts and were in the clear. What I don’t get is that many Americans look at all this and don’t see it as fascism, plain and simple. Americans have this naive notion that it can’t happen here. It is happening here! I sometimes want to shake people to wake them up. One thing I’ve noticed recently is that many progressive TV pundits seem to getting despondent. My greatest fear is that Trump and his ilk will so exhaust us that we just can’t keep going on and will become sad and apathetic. Do you think that’s possible? By the way, your neighborhood sounds wonderful. My wife and I live in San Antonio, Texas, a very diverse city and one of the deep blue spots in Texas. By the way, I checked out your blog and will continue to return to it on a regular basis. You can post a link to here it here if you’d like. Take care.
Thanks for the follow, Troy. I think we are on the same page in feeling a bit helpless/hopeless with the country’s situation. When you have that many congress people standing by the president, and others unable to step in when he repeatedly breaks laws calling it executive privilege, it’s hard to feel hopeful. I see the progressive pundits wearing down. They are unable to keep up with the daily breaking news. My daughter is a journalist and I remember the days when just one of the offenses committed by the president would be a huge deal. Now everyone is conditioned and desensitized to the latest news. Families imprisoned at the border an example.
I can only imagine you being gone for decades and finding the US a foreign place now. I think it feels foreign to many of us who never left here.
I do live in a very diverse community, however, I don’t want to paint it too rosy. We still experience racism, and if there are break-ins the Hispanics will always be the first blamed. I think Trump has fueled that fire.
I’m glad to find your blog and hope we keep in touch as things move forward. ~mandy
https://musingsofmandysmith.wordpress.com/
Yes, yes and yes!
“… racism keeps us small, disconnects us from others …”
Thanks for the comment. “Divide and conquer” is one of the oldest plays in the authoritarian playbook. Racists are some of the smallest people I know. Those who welcome others from other places and celebrate diversity are some of the largest! Let’s hope that goodness prevails!
I am on the left side and think that Trump is an absolute joke. But I have been recently active on one left forum. And I was soooooo …. sooo surprised, how actually completely normal and cool people think about the violence, plot which steps they can do to make life of Trump-supporters bad, plain also divide the world into “we” and “they” and declare that “we” are good and “them” are bad. I think just usage of this horrible word “deplorable” to describe any group of people is really really bad idea. It emphasize the division, the boundary, and it gives the group you describe with it basically an indulgence. I mean if someone thinks that I am so “deplorable” then I can as well really be it.
I think that any division of the humans into “we” and “they” is the same as racism. It doesn’t matter if you take a skin color or value system as a base for the division. If you want the things to become better you MUST think about the human and normal part in the other side. You must think not about how you can make something bad against “they”, but about how can you make things better in the world.
Yes! I agree with everything you’ve said. I recently read two books that are relevant to this discussion: Madeleine Albright’s Fascism: A Warning and How Democracies Die by two Harvard political science professors. In the latter book, the writers made the point that the final nail in the coffin of democracies come with the opponents of authoritarianism begin to mimic the acts of authoritarians. In other words, if these scholars’ analysis is correct, eventually both sides will become deeply antidemocratic as they attempt to destroy one another. This is the phase that I worry America is entering. As an American who has lived for many years outside the US, I no longer think of the world as “us versus them.” In fact, I think of myself as a “citizen of the world.” We are all one. But most Americans haven’t traveled, are very small in their thinking and experience, and are therefore prone to thinking in tribal ways. Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. What, in your opinion, is going to be the outcome of all of this? How will this troubling story end?
I want to thank all those who are reading my blog, liking it, and leaving comments, all of which are so interesting! Let’s keep this conversation going!
I appreciate this post. It’s so easy to become despondent and give in to paralysis. But it’s especially important for privileged people like me not to do that. We have to put in the work to help those who can’t afford to go it alone. Thanks for the reminder.
You are welcome and thank you for such an empathetic response. The topic of racism is one that hits close to home for me because I’m married to an African woman, a very decent and kind person, who is now living in America and having to hear the US president belittle and besmirch immigrants and people of color. I’ve also been an economic immigrant. I left America because I’m an educator who makes so much more money abroad than I can do even in my home country. I know, firsthand, how much immigrants contribute to the country they move to. Make no mistake about it, we may be “white” in these (dis)United States but if we are progressive in our political outlook and if the current regime stays in place via re-election, we will no longer be in such a privileged place. I have lived in countries where dark political forces took over. I have seen what can happen to the open-minded in such places. First comes silencing and then comes persecution. And I see so much anger being generated. And so much sadness among those who find all this so exhausting and depressing.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚞𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗! 𝙻𝚎𝚝 𝚞𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚞𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍, 𝚗𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚢 𝚋𝚎. 𝙻𝚎𝚝 𝚞𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚒𝚌 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕, 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚜. 𝙰𝙻𝙻 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚜. 𝙴𝚍𝚞𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎; 𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎. 🕊
Thank you for such an insightful response to my blog. Yes, ignorance is at the root of most American problems. As someone who does workshops on critical/creative thinking, i always make the point, in my presentations to my audiences, that I see the widespread lack of thinking abilities as being at the root of much of what ails us. But how does one educate those who revel in their ignorance? The psychological toll of all this divisiveness and polarization on the US in nearly immeasurable.
Hi. I’d like to discuss a blogging opportunity with you. Please contact me at troyheadrick@gmail.com. Thanks.
𝚂𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝! 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑. 🕊
Some friends and I were talking about this, and the comment was made “I’m all out of righteous indignation…” And that’s what this toxic mass wants. It wants to be the norm, to push the boundaries just a little further, to spread cell, by cell, as the cancer it is. Or, to quote ‘Young Frankenstein’ – “Hump? What hump?”
I’ve spoken with people who’ve completely lost their minds when I say these conditions are inhumane. That it takes incredible faith and courage to walk for months, often with children, with only what you can carry. And then – everyone is separated into cages, children die, and we’re supposed to be fine with that, because they came here “illegally”. Hmm… I’m not seeing a whole lot of the human trafficking from other parts of the world being detained in ports or entry ways. It’s all at our Southern Border. But I’m the “blind” one.
This is NOT who we are. This is not acceptable. This is the face of evil, and if it means I have to keep posting my views, and casting votes, and pushing for this to end – even if it means I get incarcerated for some stupid thing – I’m going to keep going. There are good and beautiful souls in there, crying out. We need to honor them.
I really appreciate your comment because I know you’re doing your part and will continue to do so. That is what we need. We have to push back against this ugliness. I sometimes find myself feeling despair, though, and incredibly frustration in the face of this dark challenge. This is one of my greatest fears. That this cancer (nice choice of words on your part by the way) has metastasized to the point that the “patient” is already in a fatal condition. It has happened in other places and it can happen here. The psychology of this whole situation is what’s so depressing. What is this doing to us spiritually and psychologically? Can be emerge from this without suffering from something akin to PTSD?
At the very real risk of sounding like someone who likes to see others suffer (I don’t, PTSD is hell) – I feel we should have some form of it for allowing this to happen at all. The signs have been there, but we’ve kept saying “Oh, that will never happen HERE. This is America.” Guess what, kids – this exactly the complacency that allows for hatred and bigotry. If you’re not part of the solution…
I don’t know entirely where this went wrong. I suppose it’s possible to throw it back to the original Europeans who came over with colonization as their “right”. It could be that we never seem to have officially made reparations to Native or enslaved peoples. It could be the the “old boy’s club” lost their heads entirely when *gasp* a black man made the Presidency, and did so with a lot more grace and finesse than his predecessors.
In order not to have any emotional trauma, you have to be soulless. Er hrm… Look at the pictures of Pence at the “detention facility”. Horrific – even some of his squad look ill. When this is over, I would rather feel the trauma of trying to change this, of being physically and emotionally uncomfortable, than the spiritual trauma of not seeing humans.
For the record – the Cancer analogy was ALL Simon and Garfunkel.
Thank you for writing that. I totally agree. I have actually started, very slowly, to write something about him as well. I need to take my time because of the depth of my feelings. I want to get it right instead of just spewing hate as he does.
Thank you, Linda, for being part of the solution. We all have to act in some form or fashion, and, like you, my action often takes the form of writing. Being married to an immigrant from Africa makes all this very personal for me. And I’ve been an immigrant too. It makes me more than sad to see the president of this country talk about people who’ve come from other places in such demeaning ways. My wife works hard (she has a job and is starting a business) and is making such a great contribution. I am ashamed of the man who “leads” our country. And to his followers, to those chanting “send them back,” I’d like to say, “You should be ashamed of yourselves.”
RE: Trumpism and Racism, I do see them as the same thing. Reading your article and comments I agree that we always have to support those who are the direct victims of racism; However, love/kindness alone will not combat the vicious acts of bullies. Bullies have to be fought directly, strongly, and consistently. Just think of ‘trumpers’ as those Middle School bullies. Not standing up to them only enables them. You can’t change a racist you have to stand up to them each and every time to limit the damage they intend to cause (and I’m not saying to get physical). But they have to be called racist to their face, by the media, and by all government officials. Let them know that racism will not be tolerated ever by enforcing laws and making new ones against all “hate crimes, verbal and physical” ones. This can be done by voting 45 and all of those who support him “out of the White House”. Nuff said…
I hear you. I waver all the time. A part of me wants to be better (kinder and more understanding) than they are, and I guess we–those of us who champion tolerance and decency and such–are better, in all these ways, than they are. But even thinking in “us versus them” bothers me because that is the way they “think.” (They mostly don’t think and thus the use of quotation marks.) Another part of me wants to wage war on them. I try to rein this part of me in because I’ve seen it show itself before and it certainly ain’t my best self. Having said all this, I think I said, in the blog itself, that I have this really strong belief: That I believe deeply in tolerance; however, I cannot and will not tolerate intolerance. Damn, we’re really screwed in this situation. We probably can’t beat all this unless we unleash the worst in us. (I hear you about laws and such but Trump is showing that he has zero respect for the rule of law.) Hell, I have no idea…
I just wanted to add that I’ve seen two TV pundits use the “fascism” word recently. That’s a major step forward. I think it’s so important that we don’t sugarcoat things. So far, people have been calling Trump and his ilk “populists.” That’s exactly what I mean by sugarcoating. Populism sounds so benign. Let’s tell it like it is. He’s a fascist, plain and simple. Language is important! Calling things what they are is important!
Thanks for your reply. I understand what you’re saying. But, since tolerance means, “accepting that something different has a right to exist, whether or not you agree with it,” we simply can’t apply this definition for things like racism, xenophobia, misogyny, or this “illegitimate president (because he is all of these). Maybe Christians can tolerate such ‘evil’, but I have “0” tolerance for all of these. What 45 and his sheep stand for is NOT a matter of opinion. Evil is evil. Wrong is wrong. In spite of his cult following, influence, and control of the law-there WILL be consequences for them soon. It may not seem so right now, but the world is slowly becoming more liberal.
Yes. You’ll see that I basically said the same when i said (in the blog) the only thing we can’t tolerate in intolerance. Tolerating intolerance nullifies the power of tolerance. Also, check out my comments above on calling fascists “fascists.” We have to stop pussyfooting around and call these malignancies what they really are. I have hope that the younger generation will clean up some of the messes our generation made. Trumpers are dying out. The reality of our demographic changes will make them as rare as the dodo bird. I also agree that America is mostly a progressive nation.
Yes, what we need are more people, like you, writing about love, tolerance, and understanding. Thank you for posting this. If more and more of us do, it will make a difference.
A while back, I wrote a post called “Hating is not fair”. It’s amazing how utterly controversial such a post as that can be. It concentrated a little bit on race, the mentally ill/stigma, and those who commit crimes, but more on rejecting the concept of evil. I absolutely do NOT want anyone like Donald Trump to be my president, but I do have some pity on a person like him. I do see him as ill and/or misguided, in a sense.
A while before I wrote the post above, I wrote about an incident I witnessed at a diner near my home. I have always regarded my state and town as quite liberal and educated, but I realized my own naivety in thinking prejudice was quite rare in my backyard. On that particular day, I was frozen. I said nothing. If I could go back in time, I would have done things differently. But we can’t go back in time. We can only do things in the present and future.
I think many of us were perhaps wearing rose-colored glasses. We thought that because the nation had elected President Obama that we were moving into some post-racial period. Boy, were we ever wrong! As someone who strongly embraces internationalism and multiculturalism–I’ve lived and worked all over the world and am married to a North African Muslim woman–I find it hard to deal with what’s going on in America and elsewhere, like many countries in Europe. And I’m torn about how to respond to all this ugliness. Michelle Obama said, “When they go low, we go high.” Well, really? Is that really going to work? I think we have to push back strongly but I don’t believe that fighting ever really helps. But sometimes we have to fight! Donald Trump is likely ill. If that’s the case, why doesn’t the GOP take some action to remove him from office and safeguard the nation and the world? I have never seen America so befuddled, polarized, angry, and disconsolate.
I totally agree with you, Troy. As for the answer to your question, the GOP doesn’t take any reasonable steps because they are afraid for their own jobs and likely also afraid of losing all the “perks” they get from the various lobbyists, corporations, etc.
The Trump base is unfortunately significant enough, so that’s a consideration for them. However, there does come a time for doing the right thing and being honorable. The GOP members are selling out the largest section of the US public to get certain things done that they wouldn’t ordinarily get done. It’s kind of odd, many members of the Trump base would be better served, in many ways, by more liberal politicians than conservative. They are fooled, unfortunately. That or they emphasize low priorities over truly high ones. We know that many members of the Republican party (or that vote Republican) don’t really agree with all conservative policies/ideas. There are many that are socially liberal and fiscally conservative (as an example), but play the full conservative “game”. That’s a real problem with having only two political parties in the country. Or at least only two parties that stand a chance. If SS and/or food stamps were taken away from many Trump voters, they would not be happy campers, though that’s a goal of many in the GOP. They don’t all know, because some keep themselves ignorant or believe the propaganda they are fed.
I would someday like to see the elimination of the electoral college and gerrymandering. It’s not right! Really, if the GOP had had some spine, they never would have even let a person like Trump be their nominee. Many liberal news outlets frequently play clips of conservatives (and even some Fox News people) severely blasting Trump before he was the nominee. We know that Trump breaks rules all of the time. He is not a respectable person and never was. He’s an international embarrassment. Perhaps someday soon after he leaves, or is removed from office, stricter rules about candidate qualifications will be put in place. I know that no one on this earth is perfect, but there should be a limit to how imperfect (and criminal) a major leader should be. Even the average company in the US looks at the backgrounds of potential hires.
I’m sorry I have not yet responded to your contact message. I haven’t forgotten about it. I will explore your website more today. I’ve put it off because I’ve had writer’s block for a while. I haven’t been sure if I could properly commit, if brought on as part of a team.
First of all thank you for this article! As I come drin a divers Background i habe benn Target of racism too, i recently stattet a Blog alles searchingforconfidence.wordpress.com and it would mean so much if you would habe a Nick read! All the best wishes
Thank you for your comment. By the way, I have already looked at your blog and left a comment. I have also followed you. We people who cherish tolerance need to stick together! Again, thanks so much for joining this conversation.
First of all thank you for this article! As I come from a very divers background I also have been Target of racism. I recently started a Blog called searchingforconfidence.wordpress.com and it would mean so much if you would have a quick read, unfortunately my autocorrection caused the poor spelling of my First comment
I have lived in several countries and am married to a woman I met while I was living in North Africa. I feel like a “citizen of the world” and have a very hard time dealing with people who are ethnocentric, judgmental, and racist. I’m curious about your diverse background. Are you living in a country other than the one you were born in? I know all about the challenges of living in places where one doesn’t speak the local language or fully understand the culture and such.
This is way to live I want to aspire as well! I was born and raised in Germany and my parents are from Mongolia and Iraque, so i was raised bilingual! I See it as my biggest oppurtunity to habe this direct insight into multiple cultures but in the past it has been proved that it is harder when you do not like everyone else so my Problem has not been not knowing the language but rather not being accepted from the community I indentify with.
I totally understand. I was born in America and grew up in that country. Then, I left for many years. Now, I no longer feel much like an American when I am at “home.” I guess my ideas expanded so much when I was out seeing and experiencing the world that I simply can no longer see things in a very narrow and nationalistic way. Your background is very interesting. By the way, I have been to Germany many times and lived in Poland for a little more than two years. I really like that part of the world. I have also lived in the UAE, Turkey, and Egypt. And I have traveled to 30 or more countries.