Comparing a not even a handful of Trump supporters transgressions to the rioting and burning of our flag by opposition forces is laughable. It now seems the lefts narrative is coming down to blaming the victim. You may disagree with Trumps views but, and it's a big but, an organized (Moveon.org) movement has taken over what should be peaceful protests.
23
The man enjoys provoking people. The people who support him enjoy provoking people. So it's the fault of the people who respond when things get rough? Sounds to me like the age-old taunt of the bully - "THEY started it!" When people react to the provocation Trumpers sound, if you blame them, you are blaming the wrong people.
17
History will show you that riots take place when there is no other way left to voice your frustrations. Not all can argue intellectually but they hurt all the same.
Hitler could not be defeated at the ballot box. If you were a Mexican and openly called by a major party leader that Mexicans are rapists and these Mexicans have no other forum than show their anger by riots then thats what going to happen.
No Republican leader has called out on Mr Trump for any outrageous statements he makes and their supporting him indirectly suggests they are really OK with what he says. If the party had rejected him you would probably not see any riots
Hitler could not be defeated at the ballot box. If you were a Mexican and openly called by a major party leader that Mexicans are rapists and these Mexicans have no other forum than show their anger by riots then thats what going to happen.
No Republican leader has called out on Mr Trump for any outrageous statements he makes and their supporting him indirectly suggests they are really OK with what he says. If the party had rejected him you would probably not see any riots
25
So true. Passion and rightful indignation is one thing, but violence is quite another.
25
This is a great speech, and you managed to summarize things that otherwise have remained too nebulous and confused.
24
Seldom do I agree with your political view Charles but this is one of them.
Let's take it a step further; consider this. As is evident by the violent clashes at the Trump rallies, does this not prove the overwhelming swing of the political pendulum has gone too far in both directions?
The record low approval ratings for Congress on both sides of the aisle may need someone like a Trump in the White House - who is OFTEN TOO philippic - to force these 535 members to work in a bipartisan way to pass legislation AND stop him from acting unilaterally.
Put ideologies on the back burner, work together and do what is in the best interest for America.
Let's take it a step further; consider this. As is evident by the violent clashes at the Trump rallies, does this not prove the overwhelming swing of the political pendulum has gone too far in both directions?
The record low approval ratings for Congress on both sides of the aisle may need someone like a Trump in the White House - who is OFTEN TOO philippic - to force these 535 members to work in a bipartisan way to pass legislation AND stop him from acting unilaterally.
Put ideologies on the back burner, work together and do what is in the best interest for America.
9
Donald Trump is Tar Baby. If you hit at him or his minions, you'll only get stuck. Don't hit Tar Baby. While I do prefer Sen. Sanders, I am comforted that Secretary Clinton will be quite at home in the briar patch.
43
Currently, the protesters seem real, and bring publicity (and sympathy) to Trump, "The Candidate," and his supporters.
However, I don't think Trump, "The Entertainer," would be above hiring protesters if he had to.
However, I don't think Trump, "The Entertainer," would be above hiring protesters if he had to.
52
It's amazing, watching Trump's supporters read Charles Blow's article and the Times' front page today, then yell about how nobody condemns violence from progressives, and nobody covers violence from progressives.
But then, it's been amazing to watch people support a candidate who yells about moozlims and mezzicans, who says he wants more people tortured and their families hunted down and killed, who calls for carpet bombings and allows as how he might just nuke Mosul, who wants millions rounded up and deported, and who offers to pay the legal fees for anybody who slugs a protestor.
I don't care who's committing these acts of political violence. It's wrong, and it's stupid.
Oh, and by the way--nobody on earth even tries to be as politically correct as Trump and his supporters, unless maybe there's still some old fool in a Moscow basement maundering on about how nobody appreciated Joe Stalin enough.
But then, it's been amazing to watch people support a candidate who yells about moozlims and mezzicans, who says he wants more people tortured and their families hunted down and killed, who calls for carpet bombings and allows as how he might just nuke Mosul, who wants millions rounded up and deported, and who offers to pay the legal fees for anybody who slugs a protestor.
I don't care who's committing these acts of political violence. It's wrong, and it's stupid.
Oh, and by the way--nobody on earth even tries to be as politically correct as Trump and his supporters, unless maybe there's still some old fool in a Moscow basement maundering on about how nobody appreciated Joe Stalin enough.
18
I am a republican not planning to vote for Trump, but the behavior of the gangs attacking Trump supporters is one thing that could change that for me.
19
I disagree with Charles Blow.
I do not believe the actions that have taken place for and against trump should be decried as being violent.
I didn't see any explosions or people being killed.
There was much more violence in Vancouver when the Canucks lost to the Bruins
Even if you can call it violence the actions against Trump were taken by
a very few from a small group (People who support Sanders)that from what some in your country is considered extreme and therefore isn't descriptive of America.
Politics by it's very nature is about opposition which can lead to anger and violence.
So far all I have seen is anger.
This can change.
When the Times keeps on printing articles that tell us Trump is evil I can see how people will go overboard in their opposition to his candidacy.
So if anyone is to be blamed for what might happen blame yourself.
You are trying to get people agree.
Don't be surprised when they do and do something violent.
I do not believe the actions that have taken place for and against trump should be decried as being violent.
I didn't see any explosions or people being killed.
There was much more violence in Vancouver when the Canucks lost to the Bruins
Even if you can call it violence the actions against Trump were taken by
a very few from a small group (People who support Sanders)that from what some in your country is considered extreme and therefore isn't descriptive of America.
Politics by it's very nature is about opposition which can lead to anger and violence.
So far all I have seen is anger.
This can change.
When the Times keeps on printing articles that tell us Trump is evil I can see how people will go overboard in their opposition to his candidacy.
So if anyone is to be blamed for what might happen blame yourself.
You are trying to get people agree.
Don't be surprised when they do and do something violent.
11
If we want to make America greater again, then it is Sanders we should be going with. The majority of white America is fighting for life as they know it and the hope of all the world. Immigrants, people of color, want the American Dream too, but if whites in America can't have, then the reality is that no one will. Income inequality affects us all and unites us all. It is the way of light in this fight that will be fought one way or the other.
11
Dr. Martin Luther King's words are inspiring. Note that he also praises the ballot box as an alternative to violence? Yet still, today, many African/American people are barred from voting in Republican-run states.
In the Primaries, every race has been shut out of the ballot box if they were Bernie fans. My son, a new voter, was refused a ballot in Arizona, until he produced his recently-acquired voter ID. He was suddenly "found" on the list.
Dr. King is correct, violence will not solve the problem of the destruction of democracy, but with $800 million in a SuperPAC, the middle class of all races have been shut out of the process.
So I ask, how will we get to decide for whom we should vote, when we are given a choice of two oligarchs, neither likeable, and neither Presidential material?
In the Primaries, every race has been shut out of the ballot box if they were Bernie fans. My son, a new voter, was refused a ballot in Arizona, until he produced his recently-acquired voter ID. He was suddenly "found" on the list.
Dr. King is correct, violence will not solve the problem of the destruction of democracy, but with $800 million in a SuperPAC, the middle class of all races have been shut out of the process.
So I ask, how will we get to decide for whom we should vote, when we are given a choice of two oligarchs, neither likeable, and neither Presidential material?
12
Trump is a classic bully. (No wonder Chris Christie and Trump are bros.)
I spent 7 years working in an anti-bullying program in three elementary schools in rural Maine. If I were still doing that work I would bring in film of Trump to show the kids how a classic bully behaves.
Trump is trying to bully this judge. Cannot let that happen.
I learned that you cannot talk to and reason with a bully. You have to stand up to him (or her). Hillary started doing that in her speech last week.
Keep it up, Hillary. Honestly, you have no choice.
I spent 7 years working in an anti-bullying program in three elementary schools in rural Maine. If I were still doing that work I would bring in film of Trump to show the kids how a classic bully behaves.
Trump is trying to bully this judge. Cannot let that happen.
I learned that you cannot talk to and reason with a bully. You have to stand up to him (or her). Hillary started doing that in her speech last week.
Keep it up, Hillary. Honestly, you have no choice.
58
Look what the narcissist Silvio Berlusconi - who promised a "return to greatness" to Italy - did to harm Italy. Multiply that by an order of magnitude of Trump wins POTUS. The ironic part about Trump is that he is right about the rigged system, but wrong about almost everything else.
21
Maybe if more Americans felt that journalists and politicians were doing something to protect us and our country from Trump and Trumpism, then Americans would fell less need to express their opposition, anger and fear physically and violently.
But apparently journalists, media and politicians and political parties are content to exploit Trump and Trumpism for their own self-serving purposes.
But apparently journalists, media and politicians and political parties are content to exploit Trump and Trumpism for their own self-serving purposes.
33
Charles: you call Trump a threat that "could move from rhetorical to real." I understand your point here--his craziness could move from campaign babble to national policy. His very presence on the national scene, however, is real and his followers are real and Trump's fascist aspects are real. Given that, Trump and followers are a real problem precisely because they undermine freedom, they don't celebrate it; they assail fellow Americans, they don't cooperate with them; and ultimately they are motivated by selfishness, not equanimity. Their idea of America is separate and not equal. If there is a silver lining to the debacle that is Donald Trump, it is that his current status is a grim and urgent reminder that democracy is something we are fighting for all the time, not with guns and bombs, but hearts and minds.
25
It's entirely plausible that the Trump people hired ringers to make disturbances
posing as anti-Trump forces. The far-far-Right does this all the time, so why wouldn't a borderline psychotic case of Narcissism like Trump take a page from their book?
posing as anti-Trump forces. The far-far-Right does this all the time, so why wouldn't a borderline psychotic case of Narcissism like Trump take a page from their book?
30
Despite our eternal boasting this is a nation that is perhaps not suited for long term survival. We seem to be afraid of everybody, our potential leaders are despised and we engage in unending wars that are unwinnable and that no sane nation would fight. Survival of the fittest applies to nations as well as biological systems.
28
Please provide ONE example of Trump supporters showing up en masse to create havoc at a Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders event. Just one. One is all I'm asking for. One. Just one.
The so-called "protesters" are hard-Left Communists and anarchists whose only goal is to create trouble. Trump is one object of their enmity. This summer, Hillary Clinton and the Democrats will suffer at their hands in Philadelphia. These people want to collapse the system. Trump is just a convenient excuse.
"Make America Mexico Again!" Waving Mexican flags and carrying signs that say "America was never great!" Throwing eggs at rally attendees and defying the police while peeing on their cars. That's not protesting; that's creating a disturbance with no object other than creating a disturbance.
These people deserve no respect and Blow is wrong for blaming Trump. The Left is the problem, as it always is. When you admit that, you can start to attack the problem at its root. Until then, things will continue on the sad road they are on now.
The so-called "protesters" are hard-Left Communists and anarchists whose only goal is to create trouble. Trump is one object of their enmity. This summer, Hillary Clinton and the Democrats will suffer at their hands in Philadelphia. These people want to collapse the system. Trump is just a convenient excuse.
"Make America Mexico Again!" Waving Mexican flags and carrying signs that say "America was never great!" Throwing eggs at rally attendees and defying the police while peeing on their cars. That's not protesting; that's creating a disturbance with no object other than creating a disturbance.
These people deserve no respect and Blow is wrong for blaming Trump. The Left is the problem, as it always is. When you admit that, you can start to attack the problem at its root. Until then, things will continue on the sad road they are on now.
53
There is a deep irony in Dr. King's quote. What was the single greatest period of violence in our nation's history? The Civil War. We attempted to solve injustice with violence then. Obviously, a lot of good came from the North's victory; however, as Dr. King himself points out, killing liars and haters didn't kill the lies or hate. It has simmered ever since, waiting to boil over again, because the other thing violence inspires is revenge. I have been to the South. Stone Mountain National Park was a particular eye opener for me. There are many still waiting for revenge for the losses of 160 years ago. We must find a better way, one that will heal wounds instead of creating new ones and the resentments that go with them.
9
Maybe the corporate press, in its lust for ratings, should not have given the racist and incendiary Trump free time on their outlets for a year, thus impressing on a small percentage of those who feel most threatened by him the need to respond in ways the decorous media finds objectionable.
25
I have to say that I do like the burning of Trump hats - it sends a very colorful and graphic image that needs to be sent - and hurts nobody. Burn hat burn!
13
When I hear that so many Bernie supporters are young and are students, I recall a non-incident in my own teaching. Coming up to the first anniversary of the Tiananmen Sq massacre, I knew that back home in Ireland, there would be demonstrations, or some gestures, marking the brutality of the Chinese rulers in those events.
I asked the post-grad class I was teaching in NYC if they wished to modify the date of the class scheduled for June 4, 1990--as a gesture to those who had died a year before. My class, with no exception, looked at me as if I were mad. Those people felt no burn other than their own ambition. I can't imagine that all of Bernie's supporters are very different,
I asked the post-grad class I was teaching in NYC if they wished to modify the date of the class scheduled for June 4, 1990--as a gesture to those who had died a year before. My class, with no exception, looked at me as if I were mad. Those people felt no burn other than their own ambition. I can't imagine that all of Bernie's supporters are very different,
8
Thanks for your optimism and eloquence!
5
The insanity to which you refer is here, it's not new, it's not something we're becoming now, it's something we've been becoming, and becoming moreso for a few decades. When our highest elected "leaders" refuse to accept a supreme court nomination for review--(because they can!) leaving the country without a fully functioning fundamental branch, when they've shut down the government hurting hundreds of thousands of employees to make points, when they pass no legislation that doesn't fully articulate the viewpoint of conservatives, ignoring half of the country, what is left but the underlying and brewing rage? We should all be very angry at the government. But you are 100% correct--bloodying us pawns on either side, doesn't do a thing to improve the situation.
18
Resorting to violence usually means you have run out of good ideas. Common people! Trump is not the one with the good ideas!
Trump is not even looking to be president of Mexican-Americans, Muslims, Women or any other scapegoating minority on his list. What is left? He wants to be president of the worst this nation has. That can't possibly be a majority
- right?
Trump is not even looking to be president of Mexican-Americans, Muslims, Women or any other scapegoating minority on his list. What is left? He wants to be president of the worst this nation has. That can't possibly be a majority
- right?
12
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
Amen to that. When will we see an NYT op-ed columnist applying it to ongoing US (and UK) programme of assassinations by drone in the Middle East?
Amen to that. When will we see an NYT op-ed columnist applying it to ongoing US (and UK) programme of assassinations by drone in the Middle East?
3
"...the violence that Trump has incited in his supporters". What are you talking about? There has not been a single instance of violence by Trump supporters remotely comparable to the disgrace seen last week in California. There have been incidents in which persons who have come to Trump rallies with the specific intent of denying his supporters their constitutionally-protected right to peacefully assemble, and ignored and physically-resisted lawful instructions to leave, have been harassed and even, on occasion, assaulted. Those who have engaged in those assaults have been arrested and charged. As wrong as such incidents are, if you believe they are comparable to physically attacking random people leaving a rally for the sole reason of their political beliefs, your moral compass is badly in need of adjustment. You Mr. Blow are part of the problem, and your rationalization (exactly how many times do you say 'I understand...' in this column?) of violence and disorder from Ferguson, to Baltimore, and now to San Jose, is utterly reprehensible.
19
The depravity and hypocrisy of the Republican party could never be manifested more clearly than by how all those who once held their nose at Trump are now backing him.
11
Charles Blow is shocked, just shocked at the barbaric antics of our engaged citizens over the Clinton vs Trump election.
The only shocking thing that I see so far is how many people are shocked at this horrible election.
Should we be surprised that the boobs who would support Bernie (The Boob) Sanders are violent people?
And how about those Trump supporters in the media? Now they want a serious election about the issues! Ha! They can forget about that right now. Anyway, Trump aint’ following that script; even his biggest supporter Newt Gingrich is now bad mouthing Trump. Serves him right!
This election is a national tragedy unfolding before our very eyes. Better get used to it, Charles Blow. It ain’t getting better any time soon.
The only shocking thing that I see so far is how many people are shocked at this horrible election.
Should we be surprised that the boobs who would support Bernie (The Boob) Sanders are violent people?
And how about those Trump supporters in the media? Now they want a serious election about the issues! Ha! They can forget about that right now. Anyway, Trump aint’ following that script; even his biggest supporter Newt Gingrich is now bad mouthing Trump. Serves him right!
This election is a national tragedy unfolding before our very eyes. Better get used to it, Charles Blow. It ain’t getting better any time soon.
2
Charles, you appeal to reason and empathy. The problem is that, although we like to believe that we are creatures of reason and, when "appropriate," of compassion, forgiveness, understanding and all those other qualities which arise from an ability to empathize, the far more powerful motivator for human behavior is fear -- and the anger, hatred and violence which fear breeds.
And there is a very good reason why fear is so powerful. It's because throughout the millenia over which we evolved, fear worked. Those of our ancestors who killed first and asked questions later when confronted with "threatening others" survived.
Unfortunately, because we have failed to have an honest, open and thoroughgoing conversation about the extent to which we are Darwinian creatures, where reason was the LAST of human qualities to evolve, we just have no idea of the extent to which we now use our reason to justify our fear-filled id.
I, at least, have very little hope that this blindness as to what 'makes-us-tick' is going to change any time soon. At least not until the conditions are ripe for what evolutionary biologists maintain is frequently necessary for evolutionary development. Unfortunately, the condition most often cited is that we be om the edge of chaos.
And there is a very good reason why fear is so powerful. It's because throughout the millenia over which we evolved, fear worked. Those of our ancestors who killed first and asked questions later when confronted with "threatening others" survived.
Unfortunately, because we have failed to have an honest, open and thoroughgoing conversation about the extent to which we are Darwinian creatures, where reason was the LAST of human qualities to evolve, we just have no idea of the extent to which we now use our reason to justify our fear-filled id.
I, at least, have very little hope that this blindness as to what 'makes-us-tick' is going to change any time soon. At least not until the conditions are ripe for what evolutionary biologists maintain is frequently necessary for evolutionary development. Unfortunately, the condition most often cited is that we be om the edge of chaos.
6
Outstanding! Just what needed to be said.
4
Imagine if prominent Republicans were paying white supremacists to attack supporters of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. That is the equivalent of what's happening here.
And the real exposure of the problem is that some on the left may denounce the violence, but they won't denounce the anti-white, anti-American ideology behind it, because their entire political strategy depends on it. They have numerous tenured professors who spout it from their ivory towers. The media promotes it.
But ultimately, the left cannot have it both ways. Either La Raza and Jeremiah Wright are as illegitimate as white supremacists, or none of them are illegitimate. Either Democrat race baiting is unacceptable, or all race baiting is acceptable. The double standard may be tenable at the elite level. It is not tenable at street level.
These protesters disrupting events with the stated goal of "shutting them down", and the violent mobs attacking Trump supporters are taking their cues from the highest levels of the Democratic Party, and their constant race baiting against Republicans. You cannot just reject the violence. You must the race politics that motivates it.
And the real exposure of the problem is that some on the left may denounce the violence, but they won't denounce the anti-white, anti-American ideology behind it, because their entire political strategy depends on it. They have numerous tenured professors who spout it from their ivory towers. The media promotes it.
But ultimately, the left cannot have it both ways. Either La Raza and Jeremiah Wright are as illegitimate as white supremacists, or none of them are illegitimate. Either Democrat race baiting is unacceptable, or all race baiting is acceptable. The double standard may be tenable at the elite level. It is not tenable at street level.
These protesters disrupting events with the stated goal of "shutting them down", and the violent mobs attacking Trump supporters are taking their cues from the highest levels of the Democratic Party, and their constant race baiting against Republicans. You cannot just reject the violence. You must the race politics that motivates it.
14
Thank you Charles for calling for calm, just as the Reverend Martin Luther King would have done. When violence is indulged, then that person becomes part of the evil. Trump baits people, it is what bullies do, as those who have debated him have found out. Once you respond with anger, he has you exactly where he wants you. Save the anger for the ballot box. Take this egomaniac down in November, and consign him to the dustbin of history and dangers averted.
7
Nominating Clinton will result in election of Trump.
IN 2016, A narcissistic pathological liar from within the establishment will not be able to beat a narcissistic pathological lair from outside the establishment.
IN 2016, A narcissistic pathological liar from within the establishment will not be able to beat a narcissistic pathological lair from outside the establishment.
14
Eloquent. Thanks for this.
6
"It is easy to look at Republicans like Paul Ryan abandoning their principles and selling their souls to fall in line behind this man and be discouraged,..." Not half as discouraged as Paul Ryan must be, who has just blown his presidential chances for 2020 and perhaps all time. Imagine the zingers in the 2020 election race -- Ryan has put his judgment and sense on the table to be carved up and dished out back to him four years from now. His economic policies never made any real sense to me anyway, but one could respect his belief in his beliefs. But now the man himself doesn't make sense. He is belittled by his capitulation. And deep in his heart, he must know it.
J
J
9
Martin Luther King plagiarized his doctoral dissertation at Boston University. He
was a notorious adulterer. Don't give him as a model.
was a notorious adulterer. Don't give him as a model.
5
During a current conversation about whether or not bias can play a roll in one's thinking and decision making you prove the point with your allegations that it is Trump supporters causing the violence. The only violent action that the majority of the people have been exposed on the part of Trump supporters has been defensive.
12
More dishonest false equivocation. I thought I admonished about having some integrity in your last article where there too you pretended the same amount of violence was coming from Trump supproters as from his detractors even though you know imperically that is not the case.
Btw, you say the detractors should express their dissatisfaction with Trump "at the ballot box." Have you not been paying attention or something? Did you not see who was protesting in San Jose? They were ILLEGALS--ie people who can't (or shouldn't be able to) vote--burning the American flag, waving the Mexican flag. Did you somehow miss this? Is your refusal to point this out silent complicity? Do you actually agree with their burning the flag of the nation you call home?
And you wonder how on earth someone could support Trump. This is becoming more than just the little issues you and your ilk nitpick everyday. This election is setting up as an America vs "other" election. THAT should be what makes you concerned.
Btw, you say the detractors should express their dissatisfaction with Trump "at the ballot box." Have you not been paying attention or something? Did you not see who was protesting in San Jose? They were ILLEGALS--ie people who can't (or shouldn't be able to) vote--burning the American flag, waving the Mexican flag. Did you somehow miss this? Is your refusal to point this out silent complicity? Do you actually agree with their burning the flag of the nation you call home?
And you wonder how on earth someone could support Trump. This is becoming more than just the little issues you and your ilk nitpick everyday. This election is setting up as an America vs "other" election. THAT should be what makes you concerned.
15
"Violence by either?" Really?
Disingenuous false equivalence at its best. It's pretty evident that the people waving (Mexican) flags, pelting people with eggs, stomping heads, burning Trump hats, trashing cars, and assaulting police were not Trump supporters.
It's time to admit there is a problem with left protesters.
Disingenuous false equivalence at its best. It's pretty evident that the people waving (Mexican) flags, pelting people with eggs, stomping heads, burning Trump hats, trashing cars, and assaulting police were not Trump supporters.
It's time to admit there is a problem with left protesters.
18
"It is easy to look at Republicans like Paul Ryan abandoning their principles..."
This is the only thing I found in your column that is wrong, but it is Completely and Absolutely wrong. Paul Ryan's principles are much closer to those of Trump than you imply. But when he expresses his views, he couches them in softer rhetoric. Ryan the rest of his pals would be just dangerous as Trump if they occupied the White House.
This is the only thing I found in your column that is wrong, but it is Completely and Absolutely wrong. Paul Ryan's principles are much closer to those of Trump than you imply. But when he expresses his views, he couches them in softer rhetoric. Ryan the rest of his pals would be just dangerous as Trump if they occupied the White House.
9
"... the violence that Trump has incited in his supporters..." Repeat a lie often enough, I suppose. There is an absolute paucity of evidence that Trump "incites" violence in his supporters, whereas there is a wealth of evidence that Democrats have and do, and Tammy Bruce explains in the Washington Times.
9
I disagree with the premise that violence is always the wrong way to go. History has shown that to be wrong in many cases.
The anti-Trump protestors are fighting for more than something a few moments at the ballot box can heal. They’ve re fighting for their survival as Americans and/or potential Americans. They’re fighting for the right to stay in this country, or in the case of Islamic people, to come to this country.
I’m not saying it’s the best way to go in the current state of Trumpmania, but that when someone is attacked purely on the basis of their race, normal means of communication are short-circuited.
The anti-Trump protestors are fighting for more than something a few moments at the ballot box can heal. They’ve re fighting for their survival as Americans and/or potential Americans. They’re fighting for the right to stay in this country, or in the case of Islamic people, to come to this country.
I’m not saying it’s the best way to go in the current state of Trumpmania, but that when someone is attacked purely on the basis of their race, normal means of communication are short-circuited.
Blow has always found a way to defend rioters, as long as they share his grievances, whether in Ferguson, Baltimore, San Jose or Costa Mesa. Here he imagines that he has taken the moral high ground by preaching non-violence. But before doing that he misrepresents the facts: these are anti-Trump agitators and rioters, not Trump supporters. So Blow's moral lecture begins with a lie. And although he may imagine that he is being sincere in his appeal to civility, one can easily see that his real concern is that anti-Trump violence is going to gain Trump many new supporters.
11
Why is there an assumption that it's anti-Trump people who are instigating violent protests at Trump rallies? Didn't the fascists pre-WWII Italy and Germany start riots at their own rallies in order to discredit their opponents? I would not be surprised in the least if that is what's going on at Trump rallies. He and the crew he's assembled around him are just clever enough in a low sort of way to do exactly that sort of thing.
11
There is no excuse for the violence by the anti-Trump protestors. None. If you can't control yourself and cause damage or assault someone, based on what you think someone else or they said you are a CRIMINAL.
And the only "madness" is the Mr. Blow's and the liberal media's refusal to call it out. That is one reason why they are discredited. With lies like:
"One of the most disturbing displays of this madness is the violence that Trump has incited in his supporters, and the violent ways in which opposition forces have responded, like the exchange we saw last week in San Jose."
it makes the rest of Mr. Blow's article ring hollow.
And the only "madness" is the Mr. Blow's and the liberal media's refusal to call it out. That is one reason why they are discredited. With lies like:
"One of the most disturbing displays of this madness is the violence that Trump has incited in his supporters, and the violent ways in which opposition forces have responded, like the exchange we saw last week in San Jose."
it makes the rest of Mr. Blow's article ring hollow.
15
Im all for supporting the belief that the violence (real and only verbal)) of the Trump camp should not be met with actual violence from his opponents...but we need to come to grips with the facts on the ground in the US. We're a nation drenched in violence as a means to correct things. We're also a nation that inserts and accepts violence in child/teen entertainment. (namely videos games)
Today's youth have seen nothing but violence and its rhetoric directed towards all corners of life. Every time there's an important social issue in need of attention, we wage a war on it. Drugs, poverty, and in their lifetime - terrorism. Or when some people feel persecuted - like American evangelicals - they ratchet up their rhetoric to make it sound like they are being marched off to FEMA camps. When more people then not want to have a sensible dialogue about guns - the NRA and their GOP cronies and pundits ratchet up their propaganda to make it appear that the Obama admin is actually going house to house to take guns away from law-abiding citizens.
Violence is the go-to reaction of the American psyche, especially in the Gov't. We're a people caught up in what appears to be a simmering rage, most of which is heated-up by lies and propaganda.
Today's youth have seen nothing but violence and its rhetoric directed towards all corners of life. Every time there's an important social issue in need of attention, we wage a war on it. Drugs, poverty, and in their lifetime - terrorism. Or when some people feel persecuted - like American evangelicals - they ratchet up their rhetoric to make it sound like they are being marched off to FEMA camps. When more people then not want to have a sensible dialogue about guns - the NRA and their GOP cronies and pundits ratchet up their propaganda to make it appear that the Obama admin is actually going house to house to take guns away from law-abiding citizens.
Violence is the go-to reaction of the American psyche, especially in the Gov't. We're a people caught up in what appears to be a simmering rage, most of which is heated-up by lies and propaganda.
7
Charles Blow has written a fine article. A Trump presidency would be the end of our democracy. He has made our political divide much more polarized and fearsome. As others have said in the pages of the Times, this is a Weimar moment.
5
"The candidacy of Donald Trump, the fervor of those who support it, and the fierce opposition of those who don’t "
Sorry . I'm not agree with your statement . I've only seen trump's haters violence against his supporters .
Sorry . I'm not agree with your statement . I've only seen trump's haters violence against his supporters .
8
Thank you for this column, Mr. Blow. I loathe Donald Trump's modus operandi, but I am also distressed by the violent behavior of some anti-Trump protestors I strenuously oppose anti-Trump violence for moral and pragmatic reasons. Regarding the pragmatic: in 1930s Europe, Fascists gained popularity by persuading many middling voters that fascists would govern better than the violent wing of the Left. To argue that Trump's violent rhetoric warrants a physically violent response is wrong -- and dangerous.
8
Wow made up lies by Mr. Blow. Sad really. One incident of a punch at a Trump rally and one shoving match, compared to over TWO HUNDRED violent attacks by Bernie and Hillary supporters. And now he claims they had no choice. As bad as blaming a rape victim.
14
Violence is to be condemned, for sure. But when the only language a thug understands is violence, there are times when, for survival sake, particularly when the violence is institutionalized, that one must respond in kind. Appeasement has its own 'devils', where injustice and even racism become ingrained in our psyche. That Trump is a dangerous demagogue, a most arrogant bully trying to bluff his ignorance by vulgar and hateful attacks, leaves not much room for doubt. What ought to bother us, and be afraid of, are the prejudiced folks supporting him in spite of the evidence. That most of the republicans have surrendered to Trump is telling; that, in spite of all the denials, they are much closer to him than suspected, or/and that the G.O.P. is so desperate to win, that they are ready and willing to throw their principles and rigid ideology in the hands of a charlatan who, when all is said and done, will betray them and the rest of us, and 'sell' the country to the highest bidder, himself; unprincipled, unpredictable, hateful and divisive, with an awful explosive temperament, undeserving to occupy an office meant to serve the people...instead of self-serving a dictatorial ego.
8
In the tense exchange in Marion, Indiana, Ted Cruz reasons with the man holding TRUMP in his hands https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ErZCMcoC8X8. Mr. Cruz invokes "respect and civility" but the man says "You are the problem, Politician!" The man could have easily have said it to the press. Clinton and Trump continue to be the shiny objects for media coverage. In a tense moment Mrs. Clinton stands in a gymnasium, and says “What, like with a cloth or something? … That’s for the people investigating it to try and figure out.” https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T2OJwsit0WY Where is the investigative journalism? Where is the reporter who takes the risk? Where is the newspaper which has persistence for facts and documents? Does the editorial page not put it together? She meant convenience as defined by the convenience of evading FOIA, convenience of Clinton Foundation activity on the same server, and convenience of no public accountability for her activity in public office. No, the media is covering a horse race. There are times when persons believe that merely speaking and voting will no longer do any good, who believe that a system is rigged, who believe the powers that be will never repent. They will either shrug, scream or batter. Of the three, which reflect madness in America? Which reflect the founding fathers? The media shrugs, publishes and profits. And occasionally the media enters into the business of preaching nonviolence. Hypocrites!
8
Trump represents a last gasp by a rapidly diminishing majority of white middle-aged voters. They yearn to return to those idyllic days of yesteryear, when for them they were the best years of their lives.
They ignored the signs. There were many others for whom life was not good. There were a host of others, disenfranchised segments of the populace. They had no voice. Their assigned place in society was in the closet. For awhile, they stayed there. Avenues to power were deliberately blocked. It would take more than civil rights laws passed to turn the nation's eyes to their plight. Those in power did not want to rock the boat. When you're king, life is good.
Protests initially were viewed as mere passing tantrums, to be ignored. When they increased they were met with force. They needed to be put down. Then all would be right again. But it wasn't. New problems emerged. Undocumented workers who were once accepted had now become a nuisance. They were taking away jobs. The GOP used these growing issues as a wedge between Whites and a growing diverse nation for decades, culminating now with the Trump phenomenon.
It's them versus the rest of a nation which no longer resembles that of their youth. They are scared, frightened, and fighting back supporting someone so obnoxious only a person with enormous pent-up anger could find Trump appealing.
They can't see it, but they are heading to their Little Big Horn. Like Custer, this is their last stand.
DD
Manhattan
They ignored the signs. There were many others for whom life was not good. There were a host of others, disenfranchised segments of the populace. They had no voice. Their assigned place in society was in the closet. For awhile, they stayed there. Avenues to power were deliberately blocked. It would take more than civil rights laws passed to turn the nation's eyes to their plight. Those in power did not want to rock the boat. When you're king, life is good.
Protests initially were viewed as mere passing tantrums, to be ignored. When they increased they were met with force. They needed to be put down. Then all would be right again. But it wasn't. New problems emerged. Undocumented workers who were once accepted had now become a nuisance. They were taking away jobs. The GOP used these growing issues as a wedge between Whites and a growing diverse nation for decades, culminating now with the Trump phenomenon.
It's them versus the rest of a nation which no longer resembles that of their youth. They are scared, frightened, and fighting back supporting someone so obnoxious only a person with enormous pent-up anger could find Trump appealing.
They can't see it, but they are heading to their Little Big Horn. Like Custer, this is their last stand.
DD
Manhattan
8
It is most probably an unobtainable dream, but I wish for a rational, nonviolent response to emerge for those who protest. Emotions are such that no protest is not likely. I picture protesters dressed in all white and silently turning backs to Trump & supporters. But I think some creative soul could do better.
2
You might be right about the publicans except when you look at their candidates, cruz, kasich, carson, walker, fiorina and on and on. Not a decent person in the bunch. ryan, the turtle and their ilk are no better and maybe worse.
5
you're writing about America being born & growing by violence and racial subjugation against Native Americans, right? Or were you - yet again - slipping in the race card to - yet again - another column?
14
It appears you blame Trump and his supporters for the violence and disruption and his rallies. You don't see his supporters invading the other candidates rallies, do you.
It is the powerbrokers using the main-stream establishment's politicians and the media to play on peoples emotions of anger and fear. The fix was in for Hillary to become the next president, so the fix is in to prevent Trump from becoming the next president. What NY Times misses is the people are feed up with its lies and attacks resulting in causing harm to the people, America and many other countries of the world.
It is the powerbrokers using the main-stream establishment's politicians and the media to play on peoples emotions of anger and fear. The fix was in for Hillary to become the next president, so the fix is in to prevent Trump from becoming the next president. What NY Times misses is the people are feed up with its lies and attacks resulting in causing harm to the people, America and many other countries of the world.
19
Come on Charles, "One of the most disturbing displays of this madness is the violence that Trump has incited in his supporters" is as baldfaced a lie as Hillary's statement that her server was "permitted". Anti-Trump "protestors" are astro-turf BLM, Occupy riff raff bought and paid for by the likes of George Soros and you know it.
20
Mr. Blow is exhibiting a great deal of hate and hyperbole. It really didn't matter who the republican candidate was Blow would write something very similar no matter what.
18
The media calling him a Nazi can encourage violence, as well. They ought to stop.
16
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that."
Dr. King saw clearly that even the darkest room is changed by a single spark of light. Darkness exists only in the absence of light; just as evil can only exist when good is absent.
For those who would understand that the deep roots of American racism must be dug up and exposed to the light, Mr. Trump has ignorantly done us a great favor. What was once unspoken, hidden away deeply buried, has been brought to the surface for all to see and consider. How does it feel to be an America that hates itself; to be the schoolyard bully that would inflict it's fear and hatred on others, on itself? The light of civilization changes everything.
My spiritual community tells me that "the vibration of every atom furthers the Covenant." How could it be otherwise when only love is sustainable?
Dr. King saw clearly that even the darkest room is changed by a single spark of light. Darkness exists only in the absence of light; just as evil can only exist when good is absent.
For those who would understand that the deep roots of American racism must be dug up and exposed to the light, Mr. Trump has ignorantly done us a great favor. What was once unspoken, hidden away deeply buried, has been brought to the surface for all to see and consider. How does it feel to be an America that hates itself; to be the schoolyard bully that would inflict it's fear and hatred on others, on itself? The light of civilization changes everything.
My spiritual community tells me that "the vibration of every atom furthers the Covenant." How could it be otherwise when only love is sustainable?
3
The bombast isn't working from All the blow-hards!
Krugman / Friedman / Bruni / and you of course coupled with the rest of the cabal who sing when directed have a platform, but all of you are discredited Tools of a system whose time has past. The propaganda is too transparent. You need to be more subtle.
Bernie & Trump's supporters can get the truth by other means. When this election is over, the NYT is going to have to do serious soul searching and return to its roots and clean house including the Editor - Dean Baquet
Krugman / Friedman / Bruni / and you of course coupled with the rest of the cabal who sing when directed have a platform, but all of you are discredited Tools of a system whose time has past. The propaganda is too transparent. You need to be more subtle.
Bernie & Trump's supporters can get the truth by other means. When this election is over, the NYT is going to have to do serious soul searching and return to its roots and clean house including the Editor - Dean Baquet
22
Mr. Blow....
Is this the best you can do on the eve of the California primary?
More spotlight on Trump and his supporters?
Once again, anything but discuss the close race between Bernie and Hillary.
The people have awakened to the 'rigged economy' in their lives and they won't be lulled back to sleep with the words of more 'discouragers' in the Media Establishment.
Is this the best you can do on the eve of the California primary?
More spotlight on Trump and his supporters?
Once again, anything but discuss the close race between Bernie and Hillary.
The people have awakened to the 'rigged economy' in their lives and they won't be lulled back to sleep with the words of more 'discouragers' in the Media Establishment.
15
Hilary & Bernie have to call off the dogs - the violence by their supporters in California was uncalled for and counterproductive - egg throwing ? chasing people down? burning Trump campaign hat? - c'mob folks - elevate the conversation.
21
The hysteria generated about the Trump candidacy -- based on a handful of obnoxious actions and utterances on his part -- is excessive, to say the least. If this comment column is representative (of course most contributors are left of center) we are back in the 1930's and Trump is the Second Coming of Hitler. No serious thinker can buy this crude parallel. It trivializes the barbarism of the Third Reich to claim that Trump is an apostle. He's clearly got a problem separating his anger about illegal immigration from his perception of Hispanics, and this leads to his ugly characterizations and attack on the judge in the Trump University case. But is this Nazism? It is stupid thinking he will soon abandon because he has no choice. His concern about Muslim immigration is a more difficult call. As we witness the unmaking of Western Europe caused by its growing Islamization, Trump's concerns suggest farsightedness. Trump is not Mussolini. A better parallel is Andrew Jackson who, while fiercely protective of white working-class Americans, never sufficiently widened his social sympathy. The original sin of populism was racism. Trump must purge it of its racism.
23
You must blame the bush-Trump axis of hate for this problem.
Despite the best brains from Wall Street, Obama & Secr Clinton have not been able to prevail because of the capital strike by Trump, pursuing his campaign of hate rather than erecting luxury casinos in promising areas like South Chicago to bring thousands of jobs and education to the aspiring youth there.
Bernie is right this time!
Global Warming and Black Lives Matter must be accepted to be two sides of the same coin of GOP contempt.
The economy & Black Lives Matter must be seen as one same construct!
Despite the best brains from Wall Street, Obama & Secr Clinton have not been able to prevail because of the capital strike by Trump, pursuing his campaign of hate rather than erecting luxury casinos in promising areas like South Chicago to bring thousands of jobs and education to the aspiring youth there.
Bernie is right this time!
Global Warming and Black Lives Matter must be accepted to be two sides of the same coin of GOP contempt.
The economy & Black Lives Matter must be seen as one same construct!
4
The Republicans could have stopped trump before things got crazy but they didn't due to denial or cowardliness? The Speaker of the House's submission was the last straw for many of us.
America is angry, we all can agree on that.
America needs to step up at the voting booth and say no trump!
If we don't we will see increased violence internally and internationally. Unfortunately we will also have a pinup girl for a '1st lady' - she looks like his daughter and has "been on display".
America is angry, we all can agree on that.
America needs to step up at the voting booth and say no trump!
If we don't we will see increased violence internally and internationally. Unfortunately we will also have a pinup girl for a '1st lady' - she looks like his daughter and has "been on display".
1
Donald Trump's attitude and speech of "ambient viciousness" reminds me of Richard Nixon's enemies list and providing money to those criminals who broke in and entered the Democratic Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. The actions of both men betray the spirit of republican democracy and advocate political practices more akin to fascism. Those opposed to Richard Nixon's candidacy for President often joked, "Would you buy a used car from this man?" The same joke-question applies to Donald Trump. "Our democracy might work better," President Barack Obama wrote in "The Audacity of Hope", "if we recognized that all of us possess values that are worthy of respect...".
3
The Madness of America?
More like the Madness of the Republican.
Get real and get accurate.
More like the Madness of the Republican.
Get real and get accurate.
1
I I have one one question for Charles Blow and others on this thread; how would you feel if it were your wife,daughter, sister, or mother that was pelted with eggs for wearing a Hilary, Bernie or BLM shirt? I imagine it would engender a good deal more outrage if it had been a black or brown skinned woman being assaulted by a white mob. But hey, it was only a white bimbo that supports Trump, no big deal!
19
Aside from his other cogent remarks, kudos to Charles Blow for working the phrase "Gish-gallop" (coined to describe creationist Duane Gish's trademark debating style of spouting torrents of scientifically illiterate nonsense too dense for his opponents to respond to) into the broader political context. The tactic is characteristic of the liars and fools that make up the vast non-reality-based community; it is good to see the commonality between them recognized and named.
3
This is necessary reading for those of us who never pictured America reaching this point. What a perfect time for the Martin Luther King, Jr. quote. We have to believe it, and we have to stay positive.
3
I would recommend borrowing a technique from our non-violent Friends. Trump should be Shunned. Turn you back on him and his supporters, do not engage them because that feeds two dysfunctional groups: The Trump Campaign and the Press that feeds the campaign with attention.
This is not a call for apathy, it is a call to bear witness to hatred and to publicly turn your back on it. It is also a call for the press, if you feel you must feed the Trump machine, which you created BTW, give him one column inch on the last page.
We are a better country than Trump is trying to make us. It is time to show that by turning our back on his brand of politics, to witness the hatred and to turn our back on it. To show Mr. Trump how an enlightened society deals with him.
This is not a call for apathy, it is a call to bear witness to hatred and to publicly turn your back on it. It is also a call for the press, if you feel you must feed the Trump machine, which you created BTW, give him one column inch on the last page.
We are a better country than Trump is trying to make us. It is time to show that by turning our back on his brand of politics, to witness the hatred and to turn our back on it. To show Mr. Trump how an enlightened society deals with him.
3
1000's of nonsensical narratives all because a few rational Americans want a border after 50 years of open borders. It completely exposes leftist motivation.
16
Mr. Blow, you assume that the people who support Trump read the NYT and your column. That "an elevated plane of truth that floats a mile above Trump’s ... putrescence". But here is no elevated plane for Trump supporters. If there were, it would not have allowed the likes of Trump to get as far as he has for as long as he has.
You implore us, your actual readers, to not allow ourselves to be baited into brutishness. But Trumpism is just the loudest, most pointed manifestation of the GOP's hatred for off-white, female, foreign, non-Christian, non-religious, and non-super-straight-sexual people. It may not be unique to this GOP and this specific place and time, but it is here now. Full-blown brutishness has here been for some time.
We knew what Trump was and what he stood for when he led the birther bunch, attacked our president for simply not knowing his place, wasn't Trump's style of African-American, didn't fit Trump's narrow stereotype.
You seem to think that Trump's supporters can be turned away from him. But some must stick with him to keep their seats in government or justify the support they have heaped on him. Some will stick with him come hell or high water because they are identical to him. None will be persuaded by rational discourse.
Trump's loyal mob has one overarching value: strength is all. They will not compromise, back down, cave in, listen or change their minds, ever, because that would be weak and strength is all.
As in all brawn and no brain.
You implore us, your actual readers, to not allow ourselves to be baited into brutishness. But Trumpism is just the loudest, most pointed manifestation of the GOP's hatred for off-white, female, foreign, non-Christian, non-religious, and non-super-straight-sexual people. It may not be unique to this GOP and this specific place and time, but it is here now. Full-blown brutishness has here been for some time.
We knew what Trump was and what he stood for when he led the birther bunch, attacked our president for simply not knowing his place, wasn't Trump's style of African-American, didn't fit Trump's narrow stereotype.
You seem to think that Trump's supporters can be turned away from him. But some must stick with him to keep their seats in government or justify the support they have heaped on him. Some will stick with him come hell or high water because they are identical to him. None will be persuaded by rational discourse.
Trump's loyal mob has one overarching value: strength is all. They will not compromise, back down, cave in, listen or change their minds, ever, because that would be weak and strength is all.
As in all brawn and no brain.
6
"One of the most disturbing displays of this madness is the violence that Trump has incited in his supporters, and the violent ways in which opposition forces have responded, like the exchange we saw last week in San Jose."
Really, Mr. Blow. You should know that there is video of the confrontations and it is VERY CLEAR that the Trump supporters were attacked by anti-Trump thugs, and the police stood by. Readers should Google the story and videos and see if Mr. Blow's statement rings true.
In addition, what made these people go crazy to attack people who attended a Trump rally. The vapors? Drugs? No - they acted out - just like the adult babies they are. Expect they are criminals also. How about some personal responsibility for their actions, Mr. Blow? Or does that only work for one political party? There's NO EXCUSE for such behavior. NONE. We all, at one time or another disagree with things people or leaders have said and we don't have thug attacks.
The rest of the column is irrelevant. The madness is Mr. Blow's - In not seeing or writing true, what is in front of his face and on the video.
Beyond shameful.
Really, Mr. Blow. You should know that there is video of the confrontations and it is VERY CLEAR that the Trump supporters were attacked by anti-Trump thugs, and the police stood by. Readers should Google the story and videos and see if Mr. Blow's statement rings true.
In addition, what made these people go crazy to attack people who attended a Trump rally. The vapors? Drugs? No - they acted out - just like the adult babies they are. Expect they are criminals also. How about some personal responsibility for their actions, Mr. Blow? Or does that only work for one political party? There's NO EXCUSE for such behavior. NONE. We all, at one time or another disagree with things people or leaders have said and we don't have thug attacks.
The rest of the column is irrelevant. The madness is Mr. Blow's - In not seeing or writing true, what is in front of his face and on the video.
Beyond shameful.
23
There is an element of America that will never accept "others" - Blacks, Latinos, Asians - as equals and have never forgiven Americans for electing President Obama. Donald Trump is doing his Almighty best to ride that wave into the White House, believing that making America great again is really about making America white again - in mentality and social protocols. What I fear would result with a Trump presidency is not just a leader who is clueless about foreign policy as well as improving economics and bettering social ills in this country, but a president who will fuel hatred and violence. Both camps - pro-Trump and anti-Trump - know this. That's the reason for the violence.
9
Yes, we are in a democracy ... but I wonder how well a democracy can work in the age of the internet, where so many can for so long be exposed to nothing but the false and the crazy. Can we expect democracy to work well when so many can live in a false reality?
4
Dear Mr. Blow,
I totally agree with your premise, however, I take issue with your inference that the violence in San Josw was the result of Trumps incitement, it didn’t help, but I believe it would have happened without the violence that Trump espoused These were people of Mexican ancestry, waving Mexican flags, that represented the Dregs of Mexican Americans, & should never be lumped with Mexican Americans who are in the main Law abiding citizens,I realize you believe as I do, but it must be made clear,
I totally agree with your premise, however, I take issue with your inference that the violence in San Josw was the result of Trumps incitement, it didn’t help, but I believe it would have happened without the violence that Trump espoused These were people of Mexican ancestry, waving Mexican flags, that represented the Dregs of Mexican Americans, & should never be lumped with Mexican Americans who are in the main Law abiding citizens,I realize you believe as I do, but it must be made clear,
14
The deliberate, blanket, obstruction of Democrats -- any idea from a Democrat, any President from the Democratic Party, any Democratic policy regardless of its fitness for actual needs -- by Republicans is what gave rise to the divisions in our nation. Specific Republican individuals may be thanked. Start with Newt Gingrich and his "contract with America" Congress of the early 1990's. Lee Atwater and Karl Rove may be added, as can Rush Limbaugh and other talk radio personalities with their constant drumbeat of indiscriminant falsehoods. Certainly Mitch McConnel, John Cornyn, Paul Ryan, and Jim DeMint also are members of the cabal that fanned the flames of fear and anger that, finally uncontrollable, gave rise to Donald Frankenstein Trump as the Republican Party's standard bearer. Voters need to remove the obstructionists from office.
27
"the violence that Trump has incited in his supporters": Where is the evidence for that? Other than one or two isolated nut-cases, Mr. Blow simply lies his way to blame Trump for the violence perpetrated by the miscreant anti-Trump protestors.
And then he refers to their organized and pre-planned law-breaking actions as merely "responding", in an "exchange". The hate embodied in Mr. Blow's essay distorts his ability to reason, or to reach a sound conclusion.
The bulk of his essay justifies anti-Trump violence, with a token of admonition tossed in. Mr. Blow is no better than the punk thugs of San Jose; there is no need to qualify to whom i am referring. We all know.
And then he refers to their organized and pre-planned law-breaking actions as merely "responding", in an "exchange". The hate embodied in Mr. Blow's essay distorts his ability to reason, or to reach a sound conclusion.
The bulk of his essay justifies anti-Trump violence, with a token of admonition tossed in. Mr. Blow is no better than the punk thugs of San Jose; there is no need to qualify to whom i am referring. We all know.
16
Tet another masterpiece from Charles. Democrat supporters engage in violence and it is Trump's fault. To avoid this, we should make sure that trump does not get elected.
13
Yet another low blow cleverly delivered by Le Grand Charles in his never ending quest for reasons upon which to base an argument to explain away the left’s responsibility for the abject failures of so called “progressive” policies, and the disastrous consequences of those feckless policies which now threaten our Republic.
Mr. Blow feigns horror at the very thought of violence directed toward Trump and his supporters, yet fans flames of hatred by words such as these:
“I understand that Trump represents a clear and present danger, and having a passionate response that encompasses rage and fear is reasonable.
It is understandable to want to make one’s displeasure known.”
Yet to any who fail to recognize the Times’ role as the all-in-one Pravda and Izvestia of the new left – that is, to any save those who hold the Times equal to, if not more authoritative than, the Constitution itself, the message Mr. Blow sends is clear. No reading between the lines is required. It is this: Violence is bad (wink, wink) but… well, maybe it’s not all the fault of those committing it…
Trump may not be the ideal candidate. But one thing Trump is that many of the “protesters” are not is this: he IS an American citizen. So, try harder, Mr. Blow. The game you play fools only those who seek confirmation of what they already believe…
Mr. Blow feigns horror at the very thought of violence directed toward Trump and his supporters, yet fans flames of hatred by words such as these:
“I understand that Trump represents a clear and present danger, and having a passionate response that encompasses rage and fear is reasonable.
It is understandable to want to make one’s displeasure known.”
Yet to any who fail to recognize the Times’ role as the all-in-one Pravda and Izvestia of the new left – that is, to any save those who hold the Times equal to, if not more authoritative than, the Constitution itself, the message Mr. Blow sends is clear. No reading between the lines is required. It is this: Violence is bad (wink, wink) but… well, maybe it’s not all the fault of those committing it…
Trump may not be the ideal candidate. But one thing Trump is that many of the “protesters” are not is this: he IS an American citizen. So, try harder, Mr. Blow. The game you play fools only those who seek confirmation of what they already believe…
13
Violence isn't something I bet 99.99% of NYT editorial page readers ever contemplate. Wouldn't this message best be tuned to the readership of the NYT already speaks to, i.e. the .01% and their minions, who, have infinitely greater influence on the courts and legislative branches who make and enforce the laws that breed fascism?
1
Every society has a dark underside, but it's demoralizing when you find it's your society. We look at each other, we speak, but underlying all is the feeling that the other guy could be the enemy. How did we become enemies?
It seems every now and then a leader emerges who builds strength by appealing to the hate and unrest within us all...Hitler's brown shirts are a good example. Like many Trump followers, they were thuggish, uneducated failures. They resented the way they were treated by society, not understanding you reap what you sow. Negating education and hard work, they were angry that others had what they did not; they became a fertile garden of hate.
Mr. Blow, you said it all very well, but it's difficult to accept we're speaking of America. One would think we would learn the lessons history teaches us, but we never do. In normal times people said the voters get what they deserve, but this election is not normal, and no one deserves the insanity that is Trump.
It seems every now and then a leader emerges who builds strength by appealing to the hate and unrest within us all...Hitler's brown shirts are a good example. Like many Trump followers, they were thuggish, uneducated failures. They resented the way they were treated by society, not understanding you reap what you sow. Negating education and hard work, they were angry that others had what they did not; they became a fertile garden of hate.
Mr. Blow, you said it all very well, but it's difficult to accept we're speaking of America. One would think we would learn the lessons history teaches us, but we never do. In normal times people said the voters get what they deserve, but this election is not normal, and no one deserves the insanity that is Trump.
3
Thank you. Well said. Ultimately it will be the voters who will determine the fate of our nation's troubled soul.
Notice that Blow never writes about the black gang violence and rampant murder rate in Chicago, home of the current president. By the way, Obama will not return to Chicago when his presidency ends. He has purchased a multi-million dollar townhouse in Washington, from where he will be able to jet to Hawaii for his well earned vacations.
9
The wisest way to have handled Trump would have been the way Glinda treated the Wicked Witch: an air of dismissive condescension ("You have no power here. Begone before someone drops a house on you"). Like the classic stage villain, Donald thrives on the outrage he inspires: boos and hisses are vitamins.
Which is not to say the very real threat of Trump actually becoming President of the United States never should have been taken seriously. After all, there was a time when the idea of President Reagan or Governor Schwarzenegger would have gotten laughs. It's the man himself who should be treated as an inconsequential nuisance.
Which is not to say the very real threat of Trump actually becoming President of the United States never should have been taken seriously. After all, there was a time when the idea of President Reagan or Governor Schwarzenegger would have gotten laughs. It's the man himself who should be treated as an inconsequential nuisance.
3
Trump is this, Trump is that (insert your favorite negative here). Yet what seems to go largely unexplored is exactly why 10's of millions of Americans will vote for him. Ditto Bernie Sanders (about to lose out because of "Independent Super Delegates", who are absolutely anything but independent), could it be that Americans have finally woke up to the fact that business as usual empty suits, on both sides of the aisle, only care about the uber wealthy donor class.
12
Periodic collapse of non-equilibrium systems is a repeating, when-not-if physics phenomenon called self-organized criticality. It's a large-event pattern that occurs relatively rapidly and reconfigures systems: meteor hits; stock market crashes; genocide; world wars; volcanoes; famines; earthquakes; climate change; plagues; mass extinctions; etc.
DNA: around about 3.7 billion years & has suffered myriad bouts of self-organized criticality. It has violent apps on file for crisis interface.
The ballot box and other political systems have not been able to process the new relationship information generated by the addition of 5.5 billion people since 1914; new billions using exponentially more powerful technology, expanding human reach in-and-across geo eco bio cultural & tech networks, & across time, to unprecedented levels. Our political systems: unable to forestall the conversion of sky & ocean into terrorists wielding weapons of mass destruction.
Former NASA scientist James Lovelock:
“The ethics of a lifeboat world where the imperative is survival are wholly different from those of the cozy self-indulgence of the latter part of the twentieth century.”
“We have to understand fully that we are still aggressive tribal animals that will fight for land and food. Under pressure, any group of us can be as brutal as any of those we deplore: genocide by tribal animals is as natural as breathing ...”
The Horror: The margins of selection are tight, impersonal and brutally enforced.
DNA: around about 3.7 billion years & has suffered myriad bouts of self-organized criticality. It has violent apps on file for crisis interface.
The ballot box and other political systems have not been able to process the new relationship information generated by the addition of 5.5 billion people since 1914; new billions using exponentially more powerful technology, expanding human reach in-and-across geo eco bio cultural & tech networks, & across time, to unprecedented levels. Our political systems: unable to forestall the conversion of sky & ocean into terrorists wielding weapons of mass destruction.
Former NASA scientist James Lovelock:
“The ethics of a lifeboat world where the imperative is survival are wholly different from those of the cozy self-indulgence of the latter part of the twentieth century.”
“We have to understand fully that we are still aggressive tribal animals that will fight for land and food. Under pressure, any group of us can be as brutal as any of those we deplore: genocide by tribal animals is as natural as breathing ...”
The Horror: The margins of selection are tight, impersonal and brutally enforced.
4
Trump has the courage to call out the race hustlers, thugs, Marxists, and corrupt bosses of the American Left.
Mr. Blow and his progressive (if going back to 1917 can be considered "progressive") allies now have a wonderful teaching moment. What we suffered with the election of Obama, now you will suffer with the election of Trump.
Only this time, we will need tear gas and barricades to control the mob.
Mr. Blow and his progressive (if going back to 1917 can be considered "progressive") allies now have a wonderful teaching moment. What we suffered with the election of Obama, now you will suffer with the election of Trump.
Only this time, we will need tear gas and barricades to control the mob.
9
You don't really understand these people, Charles. You have this fairy tale idea of the humble undocumented immigrant, drawn here by American ideals, and willing to work hard to attain the American dream. If you got out a little more, you would know that undocumented Mexican immigrants work in racially segregated industries where they are exploited for their undocumented status. The guy with a green card on a construction site makes $18/hr. with a green card, $12/hr. without the card. It is him, or his children, who are out violently demonstrating and it is immigration policies you support which created this.
12
Everyone who is against Trump, and what he represents, needs to vote in every election. Not just this November: every election, for every office. School board, county clerk, state legislature. The reason the toxic right-wingers are so prominent is that their supporters, although a minority of the public, are committed and conscientious about voting in EVERY election.
9
What kind of behavior would you expect from "he who shall not be named" ?
His antecedents came from a rather impoverished area of Kallstadt, Rhineland-Palitinate.
He's a product of a second generation family who misbehaved at Kew-Forest school & was banished to New York Military Academy where, as a senior, he was cited for hazing a freshman student.
New York Military Academy succumbed to bankruptcy in 2015.
Is it surprising that the people around him & the people he attracts have problems with conduct disorders ?
His antecedents came from a rather impoverished area of Kallstadt, Rhineland-Palitinate.
He's a product of a second generation family who misbehaved at Kew-Forest school & was banished to New York Military Academy where, as a senior, he was cited for hazing a freshman student.
New York Military Academy succumbed to bankruptcy in 2015.
Is it surprising that the people around him & the people he attracts have problems with conduct disorders ?
6
Thank You Charles,
The essay harkens back to essay written a little over one hundred years ago to an essay written by a great American who had the epiphany of which you speak. Mark Twain's United States of Lyncherdom was published only after Twain's death and showed Twain's justifiable fear of the mob mentality.
The GOP has become everything that Twain feared, in a way I think it expressed the guilt he felt for so long basking in the adoration of the multitude and failing to examine how fame and celebrity had blinded him to his own prejudices. There is only one remedy to Donald Trump and the people we have become.
It is time for all of us to look in the mirror.
The essay harkens back to essay written a little over one hundred years ago to an essay written by a great American who had the epiphany of which you speak. Mark Twain's United States of Lyncherdom was published only after Twain's death and showed Twain's justifiable fear of the mob mentality.
The GOP has become everything that Twain feared, in a way I think it expressed the guilt he felt for so long basking in the adoration of the multitude and failing to examine how fame and celebrity had blinded him to his own prejudices. There is only one remedy to Donald Trump and the people we have become.
It is time for all of us to look in the mirror.
4
Trump displays classic narcissistic symptoms: Believes he's always right and others are stupid idiots, is incapable of understanding others' needs, much less emphasizing with them, and become enraged when challenged. He CANNOT CHANGE
7
The only civilized way to prevent dangerous sociopaths from seizing power is to mandate that for the privilege to vote every citizen must take and pass a civics class. Americans don't seem to have the faintest idea how their government - which the majority of them seem to want to do away with - works. They don't have any idea that Republicans have never once won the popular vote in a national election. And most of them have probably never heard the word "gerrymandering."
6
I have no choice but to believe that in the midst of all this madness--anger, violence, hatred, vitriol--Americans continue to share ideals of compassion, community, and respect, for others and themselves. Otherwise the future for this country and the rest of the world is dire. But if these ideals are still relevant, and we hope they will be the outcome of our political and ethical activities, then we have to live by them even when it is difficult to do so. Otherwise the madness will win.
Well said. Reinhold Niebuhr said "if to defeat evil one becomes evil, then evil wins." trump dies have an air of despicable violence of spirit and actual violence surrounding him like the stench of rotting flesh. A perfect analogy. His encouraging violence by his brownshirts gives temptation to respond in kind. But feeding into his putrid evil just makes more evil. His sort of festering evil darkness can only be cleansed with the light of reason.
2
Great quote by MLK.
We would be in a different country and maybe a different world if MLK, JFK, and RFK weren't murdered in the 60's.
We would be in a different country and maybe a different world if MLK, JFK, and RFK weren't murdered in the 60's.
1
How can you say that hatred and racism is "simply ... a difference in political position"? There is no legitimacy to hatred and racism. And yet Blow raises them to the same level as their opposites and gives them equivalence.
Make no mistake about it, there is good and bad. We must pursue the good.
Make no mistake about it, there is good and bad. We must pursue the good.
3
I disagree completely with the author.
His article reeks with thoughtlessness and contempt for a man that was once a Democrat. I don't understand how people forget these things so quickly. Furthermore, why is everyone so insistent on drawing a line and taking sides? This is the same scenario, the proverbial horse we have been beating to death since the Reagan administration. It is appalling to read such a bias attempt at crowing to a larger audience.
Donald Trump, may be a blowhard. He may be selfish and greedy. He may even be racist, but he is not the anti-Christ. He is not inciting violence and death to the America. Our anti-Trump camp needs to drop the rhetoric, unless you want to further divide this nation and create unintentional consequences.
His article reeks with thoughtlessness and contempt for a man that was once a Democrat. I don't understand how people forget these things so quickly. Furthermore, why is everyone so insistent on drawing a line and taking sides? This is the same scenario, the proverbial horse we have been beating to death since the Reagan administration. It is appalling to read such a bias attempt at crowing to a larger audience.
Donald Trump, may be a blowhard. He may be selfish and greedy. He may even be racist, but he is not the anti-Christ. He is not inciting violence and death to the America. Our anti-Trump camp needs to drop the rhetoric, unless you want to further divide this nation and create unintentional consequences.
17
u think its bad now--wait until the election is over--------FOX news and their cyclonic regurgitation of hate 24 hours a day that commenced 8 years ago under the reign of Murdock the yew created the situation in the United States of Corruption we have to day
1
Unfortunately, Mr. Blow is missing the real reason that a majority of Americans are nearing the point of revolution against the status quo. This revolution isn't being caused by sexism or racism. It has a much deeper and penetrating cause: Income inequality that has gripped this country for the past 40 years.
The average blue collar American worker - whether white, black or Latino - hasn't been able to find a job that affords a decent living wage. Their wages have been stagnated by corporate self interest in making larger and larger profits for themselves and their investors on Wall Street.
Perhaps Mr. Blow has never been a blue collar worker and faced the proposition daily that, even though he works, his salary cannot take care of his family's needs. This revolution, as Bernie Sanders has said, is real and it won't go away until corporate America stops strangulating the workers' wages.
Revolutions are taking place all over the world for one reason: Income inequality orchestrated by the wealthiest corporations. It isn't just indigenous to the US.
Both Trump and Sanders are approaching income inequality in different ways. Trump says he'll bring jobs back to America and Sanders says crony capitalism has rigged our system from top to bottom in favor of the plutocrats and corporatists. In essence, they are saying the same thing, that a revolution is at hand.
The average blue collar American worker - whether white, black or Latino - hasn't been able to find a job that affords a decent living wage. Their wages have been stagnated by corporate self interest in making larger and larger profits for themselves and their investors on Wall Street.
Perhaps Mr. Blow has never been a blue collar worker and faced the proposition daily that, even though he works, his salary cannot take care of his family's needs. This revolution, as Bernie Sanders has said, is real and it won't go away until corporate America stops strangulating the workers' wages.
Revolutions are taking place all over the world for one reason: Income inequality orchestrated by the wealthiest corporations. It isn't just indigenous to the US.
Both Trump and Sanders are approaching income inequality in different ways. Trump says he'll bring jobs back to America and Sanders says crony capitalism has rigged our system from top to bottom in favor of the plutocrats and corporatists. In essence, they are saying the same thing, that a revolution is at hand.
17
I didn't notice any Trump supporters punching people or throwing eggs at anyone. From Mr. Blow's point of view, Trump's supporters should be the aggressors, they aren't. Actually the cause off violence by Trump's detractors is probably because of the non-stop crtiticism of him by the NYT, WaPO, etc.
15
Tom, a liberal friend, told me he had lunch this weekend with his conservative friend who is an NRA member. NRA member whispered to Tom, "Don't tell my gun toting friends, but I'm voting for Hillary."
I felt a tiny ray of light. Perhaps there are other conservatives "out there" who will quietly pull the "left" lever in November. And help ensure that America won't devolve into darkness.
I felt a tiny ray of light. Perhaps there are other conservatives "out there" who will quietly pull the "left" lever in November. And help ensure that America won't devolve into darkness.
5
No, not the madness of America. Rather, the continuing madness of a large segment of the American population.
Perot.
Michelle Bachmann.
Sarah Palin.
Herman Cain.
Rick Perry.
Ben Carson.
Trump.
All but one of these (Bachmann) at one point polled sizable leads among their Republican Party peers in their respective races.
Like those who rush out to buy products that a smooth pitchman has described, Republicans (and conservatives, in general, including "independents" that mysteriously most often vote Republican) believe rhetoric, forgetting to vet or indeed even consider the history or motivation of these hucksters.
Perot.
Michelle Bachmann.
Sarah Palin.
Herman Cain.
Rick Perry.
Ben Carson.
Trump.
All but one of these (Bachmann) at one point polled sizable leads among their Republican Party peers in their respective races.
Like those who rush out to buy products that a smooth pitchman has described, Republicans (and conservatives, in general, including "independents" that mysteriously most often vote Republican) believe rhetoric, forgetting to vet or indeed even consider the history or motivation of these hucksters.
2
W.B. Dubois: Home of the thief, land of the slave. Until high American capitalism is disassociated from freedom the craven elites will ferment economic and political violence. Read your history. As long as the US believes it can learn nothing from the rest of the world, violence will thrive in the unending quest for accumulation and power. Mr. Trump!
2
Trump is a very poor spokesman for some genuine concerns. Political correctness and illegal immigration have both gone out of bounds. And it is a reality that America has given up its manufacturing base and millions of jobs which went with it.
But it does not look like he is a solution, just a different kind of problem.
She on the other hand has some problems of her own. And it is your community, African Americans which has seen to it that the better candidate Sanders, is running second.
The fact that Trump and Clinton are our leading candidates is not exactly an endorsement of our form of democracy.
Is our choice only between PC nonsense and bigotry? Where are the sane pragmatic voices?
But it does not look like he is a solution, just a different kind of problem.
She on the other hand has some problems of her own. And it is your community, African Americans which has seen to it that the better candidate Sanders, is running second.
The fact that Trump and Clinton are our leading candidates is not exactly an endorsement of our form of democracy.
Is our choice only between PC nonsense and bigotry? Where are the sane pragmatic voices?
5
Mr. Blow speaks out correctly about the downward spiral of violence, but there are other more insidious forms of violence such as the attacks of racist obstructionist attacks against President Obama who tried to work with his opponents but was attacked at every turn even as he attempted compromise. The roots of violence lie in our inability to work together and ideologies that degrade people and promote and always me first position. If President Obama did one thing wrong it was that he did not speak out strongly against Republican attack dog methods which continue in the form of their present candidate. Democrats must stand up and fight with their words and votes to defeat the completely negative ideology of hatred cloaked in patriotism.
5
Great use of the term "Gish Gallop"! Yes, shotgun argumentation does occur frequently outside of creationist debates too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duane_Gish#Debates
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duane_Gish#Debates
1
Just one small point that Mr. Blow has ignored. The American people are very angry! They are angry on the right because they feel that their government has failed them. They are angry on the left because the folks on the right are standing in the way of more and more entitlements (i.e. free college, free health care) and they want their government to provide everything for them and their government is failing them also. When there is no "common enemy" we as a nation turn on ourselves.
5
Mr. Blow, If you are as tired of this cycle of violence as I am, and I know you are, wait a while. You "ain't seen nothing" yet, if you pardon my expression.. On election day in November, the swing-vote states will unfortunately witness violence the level of which we have not seen in American elections and typical of a banana republic. Folks will be kept away from voting places, US passports (illegally) required and threatened if you don't look or sound right.
The Republican candidate, or his followers, will fight with tooth and nail to stop the votes of the opposition. It is their last stand.
If you think I am pessimistic or wrong, and I hope I am, simply look at what we have seen in political rallies where abuse physical or verbal is the norm and interviews the media has foolishly used for their own benefit in the ratings while raising the popularity of those revival tent points of views that have no place in 21 century America..
The Republican candidate, or his followers, will fight with tooth and nail to stop the votes of the opposition. It is their last stand.
If you think I am pessimistic or wrong, and I hope I am, simply look at what we have seen in political rallies where abuse physical or verbal is the norm and interviews the media has foolishly used for their own benefit in the ratings while raising the popularity of those revival tent points of views that have no place in 21 century America..
1
No one thinks the Trump campaign capable of sending in false flag protesters to disrupt their own rallies so as to blame it on the left?
Really?
Really?
3
"One of the most disturbing displays of this madness is the violence that Trump has incited in his supporters,"
Have there been incidents of Trump supporters "throwing the first punch" or is Trump supporter "violence" defensive only? Let's report on that for a change and stop the partisan insinuations.
Have there been incidents of Trump supporters "throwing the first punch" or is Trump supporter "violence" defensive only? Let's report on that for a change and stop the partisan insinuations.
14
California here I come!
Can Donald Trump truly be competitive in the Golden State in November?
Can anyone imagine a California without the contributions made by the Californians of Mexican heritage?
How can California "be great again" without the contributions of people of Mexican, South and Latin-American, Middle Eastern, Asian, Pacific Islander, Russian, Indian and Native American decent? California is literally filled with people from every conner of the world as well as the Dust Bowel emigrants and the gold rushers and the sailors and the settlers from crowed east coast cities?
Democrats and some Republicans are suggesting that Mr. Trump does not have the appropriate temperament to be President of the US. I don't think Mr. Trump has the appropriate temperament to be a citizen of the US.
Can Donald Trump truly be competitive in the Golden State in November?
Can anyone imagine a California without the contributions made by the Californians of Mexican heritage?
How can California "be great again" without the contributions of people of Mexican, South and Latin-American, Middle Eastern, Asian, Pacific Islander, Russian, Indian and Native American decent? California is literally filled with people from every conner of the world as well as the Dust Bowel emigrants and the gold rushers and the sailors and the settlers from crowed east coast cities?
Democrats and some Republicans are suggesting that Mr. Trump does not have the appropriate temperament to be President of the US. I don't think Mr. Trump has the appropriate temperament to be a citizen of the US.
6
The simple answer to Trump is to register and to vote. If enough do that, they will - without through a punch, firing a shot or raising their voices - deliver him to the fate he fears the most: Becoming a clear and indisputable LOSER.
8
Political protest has an important place in American life, but in recent decades Americans seem to have forgotten how to take their anger to the streets.
What ever happened to the mass demonstrations of the civil rights and anti-war movements? The presence of thousands of Americans of all ages and from many walks of life was hugely influential in bringing about change.
In contrast, Occupy Wall Street just looked like a homeless encampment led by grimy white guys with dreadlocks. Instead of taking the streets and capturing the nation's attention, the Occupy people were inwardly focused, forever having "conversations around" this or that.
Black Lives Matter? Good luck building a social movement around hashtags.
Trump's opponents need to take to the streets all across the nation to demonstrate they will not tolerate the ascendancy of an authoritarian know-nothing.
If the past is any indication, at the Republican convention protesters will be corralled in so-called "free-speech" zones that are so far removed from the events that they might as well be "no-speech" zones.
This is where the stop-Trump movement needs to engage in massive peaceful civil disobedience to take their protests to the very doors of the convention venue.
If there's going to be violence, let it be on the part of the Darth Vader riot police attacking their fellow Americans who are exercising their right to assemble where their protests will have the greatest impact.
What ever happened to the mass demonstrations of the civil rights and anti-war movements? The presence of thousands of Americans of all ages and from many walks of life was hugely influential in bringing about change.
In contrast, Occupy Wall Street just looked like a homeless encampment led by grimy white guys with dreadlocks. Instead of taking the streets and capturing the nation's attention, the Occupy people were inwardly focused, forever having "conversations around" this or that.
Black Lives Matter? Good luck building a social movement around hashtags.
Trump's opponents need to take to the streets all across the nation to demonstrate they will not tolerate the ascendancy of an authoritarian know-nothing.
If the past is any indication, at the Republican convention protesters will be corralled in so-called "free-speech" zones that are so far removed from the events that they might as well be "no-speech" zones.
This is where the stop-Trump movement needs to engage in massive peaceful civil disobedience to take their protests to the very doors of the convention venue.
If there's going to be violence, let it be on the part of the Darth Vader riot police attacking their fellow Americans who are exercising their right to assemble where their protests will have the greatest impact.
1
Equivocting "Make America Great Again" to days of slavery is typical left media (repeating myself) distortion.
An America that is not regularly humiliated by 2-bit countries, a country where free speech is actually allowed and a nation that protects it's borders.
Maybe a great country..... again.
An America that is not regularly humiliated by 2-bit countries, a country where free speech is actually allowed and a nation that protects it's borders.
Maybe a great country..... again.
5
Democracy doesn't work. Plato was right - it inevitably descends into chaos. Because it is founded on the principle that if you can just aggregate enough stupidity it will distill into wisdom, and that you can make a silk purse by sewing together enough sows' ears.
3
Who knows who those protesters were? Who cares what signs they waved or slogans they shouted. The immediate assumption was that they were thugs, Hispanics and illegal. I watched the protest on TV. As protests go it was not much. All those sucker punches never landed. The Police were so concerned they were invisible and only arrived after the steam was let out and gently dispersed them. Arrests? Injuries? It was like a make-believe riot, a movie set and maybe it was. After-all the Great Dictator hired actors to play supporters at his coming out party. Its amazing how well it worked and the Press immediately wondered if it would actually help Trump. And it did. By the way, its a classic Fascist trick.
3
Just because you call Trump supporters violent doesn't make it true. Why don't you look at the actual facts instead of making things up.
18
Donald Trump may be qualified to lead the weasels of today's GOP but he is uniquely UNqualified to lead, inspire, and elevate the America of the 21st century. How people are treated along the way matters, not just the end point- his tactics are the sad dregs of the past. He brings out cowardice in the population and uses lies. You can't get to "Great" from where he is locating himself.
We are not to be defined as a collection of fearful people using hate as our commonality. Trump will be returned to his bat cave located in the last century. He is not "heart of a lion" material.
We are not to be defined as a collection of fearful people using hate as our commonality. Trump will be returned to his bat cave located in the last century. He is not "heart of a lion" material.
1
It is time to recognize not to blame Trump supporters for all the violence. So may are Sanders supporters. It is disappointing to read NYT these days when they are tippytoing around Bernie Sanders when all the other major news are addressing those concerns.
6
An excellent essay but there is a missing causality. Mr. Blow states:
"The best way to direct passions is not only with the bullhorn, but also at the ballot box."
The disruption we see and the attractiveness of out of the box candidates is because many feel the ballot has failed. There is an interchange of monied ruling elites. They do little to affect the working person as opportunities fade away and wages stagnate.
Each party brings a causality to game. Evil minorities, discrimination against minorities. Minority violence, police violence. Their bases become outraged as the elites just spout these phrases and nothing changes.
The destruction of income and good jobs has been a tremendous factor in the problems of the inner cities. It leads to cultural disintegration that has been seen elsewhere. It happens without racial issues but is enhanced by racism.
So Trump might offer some of stopping the destruction of American jobs and Sanders offered the same . None of the other GOP candidates and Clinton did. Trade deals that enhanced the money of the elite were their forte.
When you have two oligarchies trading positions and wealth by using social issues to rile their crowds and then doing nothing, yes - violence may come about. Folks strike out.
Does anyone really think Trump will build a wall and get more jobs? Does anyone really think Clinton will do more for people of color other than forming some commissions to study the issue in fancy hotel meeting rooms?
"The best way to direct passions is not only with the bullhorn, but also at the ballot box."
The disruption we see and the attractiveness of out of the box candidates is because many feel the ballot has failed. There is an interchange of monied ruling elites. They do little to affect the working person as opportunities fade away and wages stagnate.
Each party brings a causality to game. Evil minorities, discrimination against minorities. Minority violence, police violence. Their bases become outraged as the elites just spout these phrases and nothing changes.
The destruction of income and good jobs has been a tremendous factor in the problems of the inner cities. It leads to cultural disintegration that has been seen elsewhere. It happens without racial issues but is enhanced by racism.
So Trump might offer some of stopping the destruction of American jobs and Sanders offered the same . None of the other GOP candidates and Clinton did. Trade deals that enhanced the money of the elite were their forte.
When you have two oligarchies trading positions and wealth by using social issues to rile their crowds and then doing nothing, yes - violence may come about. Folks strike out.
Does anyone really think Trump will build a wall and get more jobs? Does anyone really think Clinton will do more for people of color other than forming some commissions to study the issue in fancy hotel meeting rooms?
2
Your comment on Ryan was perfect. And I cannot help connect Ryan's sell-out to Muhammad Ali's principled stand on just about everything. Muhammad Ali's lesson that he taught to all of us was to be true to yourself. Admittedly he was a politician but he gave up his freedom so that others might have it.
Oh, how I wish Paul Ryan et al would have learned that lesson instead of the lessons of Ayn Rand, a Russian crackpot. Very few in the GOP have the character that Muhammad Ali possessed. Who has stood up against Trump? Those that haven't are complicit in this man's sexism, racism, and demogogery. Shame on them all.
Oh, how I wish Paul Ryan et al would have learned that lesson instead of the lessons of Ayn Rand, a Russian crackpot. Very few in the GOP have the character that Muhammad Ali possessed. Who has stood up against Trump? Those that haven't are complicit in this man's sexism, racism, and demogogery. Shame on them all.
Trump spent the last 6 months directly inciting physical harm to anyone of whom he disapproved. He said to throw them out of his gatherings, he said he would like to punch protesters, he told his mob to rough them up, he said he would pay legal fees to those who were charged with hitting the protesters. Now, all these months later, anti-Trump protesters identified as local gang leaders who have no political interests except to start a fight, roughed up some Trump supports. The press reports and especially GOP self-assumed leadership talk about endorsing Trump using the false equivalency that both sides are guilty of stirring up the protests. It's BS of the most blatant and obvious kind. And that's not an excuse for what is happening but it is a recognition of who seeded the violence and how it was injected into American politics. Give credit where it is due and credit the original sources in the sequence that it happened. Otherwise you have no credibility.
3
Charles, you don't get
People aren't voting for Trump to make things better. They are voting for Trump to make things worse. Worse for their oppressors.
James Bond doesn't solve problems by having a chat or therapy session with Blowfeld, he blows up the island and hopes he can escape.
People aren't voting for Trump to make things better. They are voting for Trump to make things worse. Worse for their oppressors.
James Bond doesn't solve problems by having a chat or therapy session with Blowfeld, he blows up the island and hopes he can escape.
2
I certainly don't agree that violence should be a part of a civil political discourse BUT my views on civility in politics and my understanding of American democracy has been tossed right out the window with the rise of Trump and his mindless supporters (which represent a good 30% of the population). It's simply not possible to have a rational debate about "issues" with these neanderthals and what's more they INCITE violence. When the neo-fascist Trump can actually call for protesters to be "roughed up" like so many Nazi thugs would do, it's irrational to think that you can fight back with "words". Look, you lay your hands on me and I'm going to break your neck. I don't want to do that but it's a question of self-defense. The Jews didn't fight back against the Nazis, thinking they could be rationally negotiated with. That didn't work, did it? When people start preaching HATE and RACISM then people are going to react differently then they would if there was a difference of opinion over taxes or trade issues.
2
" violence that Trump has incited in his supporters, and the violent ways in which opposition forces have responded,"
Its time to stop lies like this. The violence comes from, and
always appears with, the Left.
Trump supporters don't intrude on and cause riots at Clinton
or Sanders rallys.
The fault is the left, and in my opinion it when they Left shows that, which they do a lot ... it should make all clear thinking people vote against them, i.e. for Trump. Trumpo has never called for violence. HE's never
incited hate.
What he DOES do, of course, is call for legal action against criminals
(illegal aliens) and for the President to stop admitting people from
religious groups whose leader call for mass murder of Americans
(i.e. Middle Eastern Muslims). Note that the President has
absolute authority to exclude any one or any group from legal entry to the US.
Blow is right to call to the Left to stop being violent. It would be better if he
also called on them to stop calling Trump names that are simply wrong.
Its time to stop lies like this. The violence comes from, and
always appears with, the Left.
Trump supporters don't intrude on and cause riots at Clinton
or Sanders rallys.
The fault is the left, and in my opinion it when they Left shows that, which they do a lot ... it should make all clear thinking people vote against them, i.e. for Trump. Trumpo has never called for violence. HE's never
incited hate.
What he DOES do, of course, is call for legal action against criminals
(illegal aliens) and for the President to stop admitting people from
religious groups whose leader call for mass murder of Americans
(i.e. Middle Eastern Muslims). Note that the President has
absolute authority to exclude any one or any group from legal entry to the US.
Blow is right to call to the Left to stop being violent. It would be better if he
also called on them to stop calling Trump names that are simply wrong.
10
I'm still fairly certain we won't see President Trump in November. However, I am also fairly certain he's already won the bigger contest - whipping up his angry, white base into a frenzy which will make the impending Clinton presidency a nightmare. I'm by no means a big Clinton supporter, but considering the irratinoal hatred of her by the Right, I'd we're in for a long 4 (8?) years of hatred, coded mysogyny, and nonsense.
1
"In a democracy, the vote is the voice. The best way to reduce the threat Trump poses is to . . . motivate people who share your view of the threat."
My attempt to motivate the anti-Trump vote:
Trump is infamous for his ability to come up with adjectival descriptors: Little Marco, Lyin' Ted, Criminal Clinton, Low-Energy Jeb, Sleepy Ben,* etc.
In a previous posting, I recommended that Hillary get back at him in kind. I have since decided that a friend is right: It would be unseemly for Hillary to descend to Donald's level and tag him with a cheap shot adjective, no matter how accurate that adjective might be.
Would it be all right for the Democratic National Committee, however, to sell T-shirts inscribed as follows?
DERAIL
DEVIOUS,
DASTARDLY,
DELIRIOUS,
DISSEMBLING,
DUPLICITOUS,
DAFFY,
DUMMKOPF,
DELUSIONAL,
DEMAGOGIC,
AND
DOWNRIGHT
DANGEROUS
DONALD!
The above inscription is copyrighted by me, but I am open to selling that right to a T-shirt manufacturer.
A second friend has recommended that I add a further descriptor, a term which is very close to the following word:
DIPSTICK
I am currently reading "The Art of the Deal" and negotiating with my friend for the right to inscribe that word in addition to all of the above.
*I think Trump lost a great opportunity here. It should have been "Narcoleptic Ben"--so much more couth--and The Donald is nothing if not couth.
My attempt to motivate the anti-Trump vote:
Trump is infamous for his ability to come up with adjectival descriptors: Little Marco, Lyin' Ted, Criminal Clinton, Low-Energy Jeb, Sleepy Ben,* etc.
In a previous posting, I recommended that Hillary get back at him in kind. I have since decided that a friend is right: It would be unseemly for Hillary to descend to Donald's level and tag him with a cheap shot adjective, no matter how accurate that adjective might be.
Would it be all right for the Democratic National Committee, however, to sell T-shirts inscribed as follows?
DERAIL
DEVIOUS,
DASTARDLY,
DELIRIOUS,
DISSEMBLING,
DUPLICITOUS,
DAFFY,
DUMMKOPF,
DELUSIONAL,
DEMAGOGIC,
AND
DOWNRIGHT
DANGEROUS
DONALD!
The above inscription is copyrighted by me, but I am open to selling that right to a T-shirt manufacturer.
A second friend has recommended that I add a further descriptor, a term which is very close to the following word:
DIPSTICK
I am currently reading "The Art of the Deal" and negotiating with my friend for the right to inscribe that word in addition to all of the above.
*I think Trump lost a great opportunity here. It should have been "Narcoleptic Ben"--so much more couth--and The Donald is nothing if not couth.
2
It is Trump's fault that out of control Liberals attack their fellow citizens.
It rained yesterday. I heard that was Trump's fault, too.
It rained yesterday. I heard that was Trump's fault, too.
13
The violence we see is coming from the left - virtually 100% are Hillary/Bernie supporters attacking those who back Trump. They are playing right into Trump's camp. "Sympathy for the Devil" anyone?
7
What is more frightening than Trump is the dysfunction of a major party that was unable to produce a qualified, honorable, statesmanlike candidate, a party that is now reluctantly standing behind Trump simply to avoid embarrassment. And yet the fallacy of false equivalence continues to prop Trump up because truth no longer matters. Honor no longer matters. Hatred trumps all.
4
It is well-known that African-Americans have high ideals and a real sense of humanity. Don't expect the rest of us to fall in line.
3
Excellent piece. The backlash against Trump, when it turns vitriolic and violent, only serves to fuel the resentment from his supporters, who see themselves as victims.
I believe that protesters who resort to violence should not only face the legal consequences of their actions, but should also be roundly ostracized by all, not given support by others who share their political beliefs.
Resorting to violence gives Trump supporters the moral high ground as they would feel justified in "defending" themselves. When that happens, combined with Trump's vitriolic rhetoric, we are headed for disaster.
Much better to let cooler heads prevail. Another civil war will not solve anything.
I believe that protesters who resort to violence should not only face the legal consequences of their actions, but should also be roundly ostracized by all, not given support by others who share their political beliefs.
Resorting to violence gives Trump supporters the moral high ground as they would feel justified in "defending" themselves. When that happens, combined with Trump's vitriolic rhetoric, we are headed for disaster.
Much better to let cooler heads prevail. Another civil war will not solve anything.
1
Yes Clinton could easily lose to Trump. All of you Democrats that think Clinton is the safe candidate will have no one to blame but yourselves when Clinton loses. For reasons good and bad she is a very unpopular candidate.
The People are not looking for a safe candidate. They are looking for someone who will go against the corrupt politicians. Clinton is not that person.
I fear Clinton and her ties to global banks and Henry Kissinger more than even Trump. So I will not be falling in line.
With 57% of Americans disliking Clinton and 67% disliking Trump, third parties have a chance to blow the two major parties out of the water.
Don't waste your vote. Vote for a third party.
The People are not looking for a safe candidate. They are looking for someone who will go against the corrupt politicians. Clinton is not that person.
I fear Clinton and her ties to global banks and Henry Kissinger more than even Trump. So I will not be falling in line.
With 57% of Americans disliking Clinton and 67% disliking Trump, third parties have a chance to blow the two major parties out of the water.
Don't waste your vote. Vote for a third party.
4
You are oversimplifying this. Trump doesn't just represent a difference in political position. People cannot fathom that a man who is a pathological liar, legitimately incapable of telling the truth; who appears to have an actual psychosis (which is plainly evident to anyone with a functioning brain); who panders to racism, xenophobia, and misguided nationalism. is being put forth by one of our two major political parties as an authentic choice for the highest office in the world.
We are angry that our fellow Americans have become this stupid and lazy that they can't be bothered to do the 5 minutes of homework that it takes to expose Trump as the fraud he is. We are angry that the rest of the world is looking at us with horror and wondering if what happened in 1930's Germany could happen here. We are angry because our fellow Americans have decided that being a "outsider" is more important than being remotely competent, qualified, or in possession of anything remotely resembling a fact. We are angry because people have decided that risking the most dangerous candidate in American history as a way of showing frustration is more important than doing the right thing...
But more than all of that, we are angry that we are watching America willingly fall into the hands of a man who will do nothing more than destroy everything it stands for and everything our ancestors have fought for.
We are angry that our fellow Americans have become this stupid and lazy that they can't be bothered to do the 5 minutes of homework that it takes to expose Trump as the fraud he is. We are angry that the rest of the world is looking at us with horror and wondering if what happened in 1930's Germany could happen here. We are angry because our fellow Americans have decided that being a "outsider" is more important than being remotely competent, qualified, or in possession of anything remotely resembling a fact. We are angry because people have decided that risking the most dangerous candidate in American history as a way of showing frustration is more important than doing the right thing...
But more than all of that, we are angry that we are watching America willingly fall into the hands of a man who will do nothing more than destroy everything it stands for and everything our ancestors have fought for.
6
I finally watched video of the violence in San Jose on a CNN link yesterday. These protesters are playing into Donald Trump's hands and enabling him to take the high ground.
Punching people, stomping on cars, stoning the police - none of this has anything to do with appropriate political protest. Not much coverage of the violence on PBS, my news station, but I'm sure it's playing over and over again on Fox News.
It will turn more people to Trump not against him.
Punching people, stomping on cars, stoning the police - none of this has anything to do with appropriate political protest. Not much coverage of the violence on PBS, my news station, but I'm sure it's playing over and over again on Fox News.
It will turn more people to Trump not against him.
11
I fear there is a large segment of the population that simply does not care if Trump destroys America. As long as he appears, in their minds, to be sticking it to the man and warring on perceived "enemies" like immigrants, they will follow him over the cliff, cheering him on. He, of course, will neatly step aside at the last moment, as the crowd surges forward.
8
Depressing column...
This came from my cousin - he's 68 and lives in Indiana. Hopefully will bring a smile.
My wife and I went to Indianapolis (city) and were shopping in a mall. When we came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket. We went up to him and I said, "Come on man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?" He ignored us and continued writing the ticket. I called him an "a**hole." He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn-out tires. So my wife called him a "s***head." He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he started writing more tickets. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more we abused him, the more tickets he wrote. He finally finished, sneered at us and walked away. Then, we moved further down the street, got into my car and went home. We always look for cars with Trump 2016 stickers. We try to have a little fun each day, it is so important at our age!
This came from my cousin - he's 68 and lives in Indiana. Hopefully will bring a smile.
My wife and I went to Indianapolis (city) and were shopping in a mall. When we came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket. We went up to him and I said, "Come on man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?" He ignored us and continued writing the ticket. I called him an "a**hole." He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn-out tires. So my wife called him a "s***head." He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he started writing more tickets. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more we abused him, the more tickets he wrote. He finally finished, sneered at us and walked away. Then, we moved further down the street, got into my car and went home. We always look for cars with Trump 2016 stickers. We try to have a little fun each day, it is so important at our age!
6
Pretty good rant for a graphic artist turned op-ed writer.
5
Too bad few , if any of Trump's followers would read. let alone, comprehend, this column, MLK's speeches, or any content requiring an IQ of over 90. The NYT best seller, "Assholes, A Theory" ,by Aaron James, published in 2012, in which Trump is mentioned as a major example of the title,should be distributed free to his followers, but alas, they would not understand the complex sentences and, words containing more than four letters.
1
Agreed in principle Charles. But let's not lose sight that what is at stake here is nothing less than democracy itself if the right wing gains complete control, and that we are at the brink of that disaster.
1
Charles Blow never forget that Obama's first term election was welcomed by the majority of Americans of every race, color and creed.....the new leader promising hope and change. And what did we get? The most devisive President in American history, who chose a similar character in the appointment of Eric Holder as AG. The race baiting began, and continues. Banksters still on the loose. Immigration Reform defeated because the Dems put 100% emphasis on protecting and promising illegal aliens amnesty, instead of concentrating on what's important in reform such as protection/closing of our borders; exit/entry visas; making it less costly and easier for immigrants legally applying for green cards and citizenship, etc; $100 billion dollar+ Obamacare bill passed and shoved down our throats by Democrats without one Republican vote; the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs by American citizens; A DOJ and President who repeatedly trash the Constitution and make a mockery of the "rule of law" to which Obama so frequently refers; etc. No wonder Americans are fed up. Jobs for Americans, close our borders., stop illegal immigration; end birthright citizenship; indict CEO'S personally....not the companies they head..if they are accused of fraud or financial manipulation. I really like the idea of an 8-people Supreme Court, and when cases cannot be resolved by a majority vote, then it is thrown back to the state jurisdication where the people will decide.
9
You can’t filter out the violence in the Trump phenomenon from the violence that defines America. Yes, “we are the new America” - more violent than ever. Chicago and its violence, as reported on the front page of yesterday’s Times, is America; it is who we are. All of the preaching and posturing from the pulpit and making violence appear as if it is the work of the devil and nothing to do with us is just hypocritical. You can’t condemn Trump and then sit in front of the television and revel in an NFL game where grown men slam each other with concussive force; condemn Trump, but sit and watch American corporations like Carrier move operations out of the country with violent repercussions that leaves hard-working people out of work and hopeless.
If we allow Donald Trump to be a solitary scapegoat for our moral outrage (much as he deserves that outrage) and stupidly believe that “the vote is the voice” in America that can diminish the violence, we are truly a society of fools. Trump is not the only violent oligarch in America; he’s just more transparent about it. At least we know where Trump stands. It is the chimeras, shape-shifters, and snake-oil salesmen that will truly destroy us. If our vote against Trump merely continues and reinforces a corrupt political system that silences the voice of the people and lets only a few take the podium, the power, the wealth, the dream – then we are doomed to our fate as self-imposed victims of violence.
If we allow Donald Trump to be a solitary scapegoat for our moral outrage (much as he deserves that outrage) and stupidly believe that “the vote is the voice” in America that can diminish the violence, we are truly a society of fools. Trump is not the only violent oligarch in America; he’s just more transparent about it. At least we know where Trump stands. It is the chimeras, shape-shifters, and snake-oil salesmen that will truly destroy us. If our vote against Trump merely continues and reinforces a corrupt political system that silences the voice of the people and lets only a few take the podium, the power, the wealth, the dream – then we are doomed to our fate as self-imposed victims of violence.
4
The elites of both parties support amnesty and open borders which they say has no effect on unemployment and wages. They also support all the free trade pacts passed on those yet to come. They say it is a positive for the average American and small business. The interventionist foreign policy continues with the support of the establishment with tweaks in the way it is implemented. Trump opposes all these policies. Celebrity energized his campaign , but his opposition to these policies is the reason he may win.
6
Since, Mr. Blow, you now recognize "the frightful, mind-numbing, hair-raising disbelief that can descend when one realizes that this is indeed plausible," then you also recognize that there is still time for the Democrats to nominate a candidate, Bernie Sanders, who clearly is far more likely to defeat that "frightful" Donald Trump.
But you refuse to acknowledge that reality. You demand that Sanders supporters support Clinton, even though she is so desperately unpopular that she is in serious danger of losing to Donald Trump.
Perhaps it's time for you, Mr. Blow, to change your mind, and support the one candidate who can deliver this country from the dangers of a Trump presidency.
But you refuse to acknowledge that reality. You demand that Sanders supporters support Clinton, even though she is so desperately unpopular that she is in serious danger of losing to Donald Trump.
Perhaps it's time for you, Mr. Blow, to change your mind, and support the one candidate who can deliver this country from the dangers of a Trump presidency.
5
Thank you, Mr. Blow. We desperately needed these words. This essay has given me hope.
The challenge now is for the Democratic Party and its nominee to rise above the hatred and anger while elevating the discourse and not taking the Trumpists' bait. I expect Trump to attempt to sabotage the presidential debates by racheting up his personal attacks on the Clintons and making it difficult or impossible for the two candidates to be on the stage together. It is difficult to imagine a substantive exchange between them given Trump's utter lack of substance.
The challenge now is for the Democratic Party and its nominee to rise above the hatred and anger while elevating the discourse and not taking the Trumpists' bait. I expect Trump to attempt to sabotage the presidential debates by racheting up his personal attacks on the Clintons and making it difficult or impossible for the two candidates to be on the stage together. It is difficult to imagine a substantive exchange between them given Trump's utter lack of substance.
3
Desiderata - Election Year 2016
It's good to know your mind & believe in yourself - this fosters creativity, strength and endurance.
However, even the greatest throughout history did not exist alone.
Honor every part of our Constitution and Declaration of Independence - these words were won with Lives & Fortunes.
Every Right exercised comes with the Duty to acknowledge & accommodate our fellows & their circumstances.
Despite aspirations, our Government may not be ideal - commit to improving it rather than diminishing it.
Expect high standards of those who take on the role of Public Servant - applaud them, for such requires very thoughtful & hard work.
Our Government exists to achieve objectives that can't be (well-) accomplished otherwise - these don't always pencil out.
Hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang (or go broke) separately.
We are only as strong as the weakest link - and that is the link not there.
Expansion of Human Rights is the bedrock claim our Nation has to greatness - all else is fleeting.
We are People - not corporations, unions, or churches.
Though we all have interests in and obligations to other groups, our Country is all of us.
It's good to know your mind & believe in yourself - this fosters creativity, strength and endurance.
However, even the greatest throughout history did not exist alone.
Honor every part of our Constitution and Declaration of Independence - these words were won with Lives & Fortunes.
Every Right exercised comes with the Duty to acknowledge & accommodate our fellows & their circumstances.
Despite aspirations, our Government may not be ideal - commit to improving it rather than diminishing it.
Expect high standards of those who take on the role of Public Servant - applaud them, for such requires very thoughtful & hard work.
Our Government exists to achieve objectives that can't be (well-) accomplished otherwise - these don't always pencil out.
Hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang (or go broke) separately.
We are only as strong as the weakest link - and that is the link not there.
Expansion of Human Rights is the bedrock claim our Nation has to greatness - all else is fleeting.
We are People - not corporations, unions, or churches.
Though we all have interests in and obligations to other groups, our Country is all of us.
1
Violence by Trump opponents only plays into Trump's hands, because he can energize his base against the "bad people" outside the gates. Don't give him what he wants.
8
The Writer frames his ideas well. Trump represents a segment of the population who have no outlet; they are mad as hell, but have no specific focus, listening to a rich capitalist flaming all the hatred in them, a hatred predicated on not accepting a tolerance of differences in fellow Americans and in the world. The quote by Dr King goes to the core of goodness, of wisdom...of true Christianity. Blow's words are important: keep the faith in the real American consciousness--goodness begetting goodness--and suffer fools, using our greatest weapon in our American experience to say no to them--the vote.
2
Completely agree that violence on all sides should be loudly condemned.
But for those of us who are terrified of a Trump Presidency and who do not have spare millions to influence public opinion, we should be very aggressive in pointing out to everyone everywhere what a disaster electing a wannabe dictator and hate-filled idiot will be.
But for those of us who are terrified of a Trump Presidency and who do not have spare millions to influence public opinion, we should be very aggressive in pointing out to everyone everywhere what a disaster electing a wannabe dictator and hate-filled idiot will be.
2
Everything about Donald Trump is unequivocally wrong, and I'd like to see some serious investigation into his affairs, to uncover the many crimes he has undoubtedly committed, including the violent ones. A person doesn't just suddenly become someone who uses, or incites, violence against the opposition. He's been doing this for a very long time. Trump knows there is a segment of our society that has been yearning for blood. The RNC probably didn't do their due vigilance on this knucklehead, for fear of what they would actually uncover.
3
"Ambient viciousness", that's great. Hits the nail right squarely where it should, I think. But here's where I think Mr. Blow and all right-thinking journalists are NOT concentrating their powers at this time. If the Republican Party is going to allow Trump to go ahead and bull his way to the White House, then now is the time to rally the Democratic Party conscience to wake up and back the only candidate who can beat Trump. That candidate is NOT Hillary Clinton. You know damn well to whom I refer and it's inconceivable why you journalists, writers of note and pollsters all don't see the forest for the trees. You don't want Trump in the White House any more than I don't yet you will not call for revolutionary change to try to force the powers at be to make the necessary adjustments so that the Democrats will back the only candidate who can beat him. Are you folks so smitten with the Clintons?
3
donald's out of control and is causing all this violence at his meetings! the government needs to crack down and order him to stop holding these campaign rallies---I'm tired of this! Hillary will beat donald easily!!
2
If Hillary Clinton would throw a bone to us Sanders supporters, the Democrats would begin to unify. But she stubbornly refuses to adopt progressive positions, and instead courts Republicans. She will lose to Trump because of this, even if I vote for her.
4
Blow follows his statement, "Trump and his millions of minions" with "We are the new America — ...more inclusive..." Blow's blind spot is that his vision of a "new" America is as flawed as the old America he despises.
4
To demonstrate the difference in leadership between Hillary Clinton and San Jose: Mrs. Clinton unequivocally denounced the violence in San Jose, whereas Trump actually encourages violence from his supporters. Over a few months, he has spoken of those 'deserving to be treated rough,' said it would be a favor to beat the c--- out of someone, offered to pay legal fees for a supporter who assaulted and threatened to kill a peaceful protestor, etc...
Hillary wants her supporters to take the high road, while The Donald just goes lower and lower.
Hillary wants her supporters to take the high road, while The Donald just goes lower and lower.
3
First we had Barack Obama and now Donald Trump. Why do we refuse to vote for candidates that espouse the middle class? And now Trump shills for Hillary perhaps helping to elect the most despicable unelectable candidate.
1
Good essay, but you're missing the point. Trump has been legitimizing violence for months. He is a demagogue who is minions look up to. He might not directly say violence is okay, but he indirectly has condoned it numerous times. Now, how do you provide your argument to people who are so emotionally riled up that they can't think rationally?
1
Another laundry list posing as an article. Sentences are not paragraphs, and compiled tweets are not an article.
8
Violence in America has a legendary history. But outside of revolution, civil war, wars against natives and urban race riots America and Americans have not known violence on a scale that it has inflicted on foreigners.
America was born in a violent revolution against the most powerful colonial empire on Earth. The Civil War was violence that left 750,000 Americans dead in a nation of 30 million to free 4 million enslaved black African Americans. America took part in two world wars that killed millions. America perpetrated violence in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan and Libya.
What is happening on the streets between the supporters of Trump, Sanders and Clinton pales in comparison to the violence of the civil rights era, Vietnam war protests and what happened in Chicago during the Democratic convention in 1968. The threat of actula violence or violence that should matter is armed white men like Cliven Bundy and sons, Dylann Roof, Eric Frein, Eric Rudolph, cops, a Tea Party rally or an anti-Muslim or Mexican rally
America was born in a violent revolution against the most powerful colonial empire on Earth. The Civil War was violence that left 750,000 Americans dead in a nation of 30 million to free 4 million enslaved black African Americans. America took part in two world wars that killed millions. America perpetrated violence in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan and Libya.
What is happening on the streets between the supporters of Trump, Sanders and Clinton pales in comparison to the violence of the civil rights era, Vietnam war protests and what happened in Chicago during the Democratic convention in 1968. The threat of actula violence or violence that should matter is armed white men like Cliven Bundy and sons, Dylann Roof, Eric Frein, Eric Rudolph, cops, a Tea Party rally or an anti-Muslim or Mexican rally
3
This type of candidacy must be met with force. Period. It is the language of Trump and his chicken hawk followers of fellow bullies, and it must be met on their level and higher to put the point out that it will absolutely not be tolerated.
1
I say there is a 50/50 chance that Trump is hiring people to attack his own supporters, because he knows the media will eat it up.
6
YOU Say!
"This won’t “make America great again,” because the “again” they imagine harkens back to America’s darkness. "
Most of the Trump supporters I know want a more secure borders with those entering the country illegally waiting their turn for residency behind immigrants those who have played by the rules. And the fact that the Americas were first conquered by Spain and Portugal with further expansion by the US provides no justification for anyone jumping to the head of the line.
This has nothing to do with any "fear of the unknown" or not wanting diversity.
As far as "making America great again", don't worry, those horrible post-war years (1946=1973) are never coming back again. But you need to tell many of your fellow liberals to stop looking back at them with nostalgia of high union membership and a jobs engine driven by manufacturing. That's gone forever so don't worry about it.
Most of the Trump supporters I know want a more secure borders with those entering the country illegally waiting their turn for residency behind immigrants those who have played by the rules. And the fact that the Americas were first conquered by Spain and Portugal with further expansion by the US provides no justification for anyone jumping to the head of the line.
This has nothing to do with any "fear of the unknown" or not wanting diversity.
As far as "making America great again", don't worry, those horrible post-war years (1946=1973) are never coming back again. But you need to tell many of your fellow liberals to stop looking back at them with nostalgia of high union membership and a jobs engine driven by manufacturing. That's gone forever so don't worry about it.
5
If Trump is elected I have a sense that all bets will be off. At least half of the US will not accept Trump as President, and while I don't like violence either, no dangerous man with great power ever cleaned up his act because a bunch of people asked nicely. Martin Luther King was a great man but so was John Brown.
Nothing good can come of Trump's candidacy, and we are already seeing that.
Nothing good can come of Trump's candidacy, and we are already seeing that.
2
There is underlying weakness to Mr. Blow's ongoing position vis-a-vis Donald Trump the phenomenon, to wit: in great many ways, support for Trump represents the inchoate revulsion a great many Americans have for Washington business as usual. A corporate defense atty is appointed AG following the worst financial crisis in 50 years, and as a result no one, NO ONE, goes to jail. Caught laundering money for the Sinaloa cartel, HSBC gets off with a fine. Caught colluding w John Paulson to defraud investors, Goldman gets off with a fine. Likewise following that same crisis, Goldman alum Tim Geithner is tapped to head Treasury, with the result that his ex-employers is paid 100 cents on the dollar for worthless AIG swaps it accumulated betting against bond issues Goldman itself sold to investors as a sure thing. And that is just the Obama administration. Let's not even mention GW Bush's fraudulent war in Iraq, his mind-mindbogglingly expensive unfunded Medicare drug mandate, or the rampant deregulation of the Clinton years (and yes, his admin set the table for the '08 financial crisis). Bottom line, there is a lot more common ground between the Trumpistas and those inflamed by short sighted, doctrinaire pundits like Mr. Blow than might appear at first glance.
5
I wish Sec. Clinton would use you as a speech writer on this subject. I can imagine her making this speech. Beautifully written Mr. Blow.
2
There is much to admire and agree with in this column. King's quote captures it well. But while I have grave concerns about Trump, I caution against implying that his supporters want the darker side of America to return. I know some of those ardent supporters and they want an America with good jobs; they want better schools; they want a foreign policy that seeks peace through engagement, not retreat into ourselves. they see Washington as broken and adrift, they see bloat in government, they see disdain by agency heads who stonewall congress; and they see a congress tied in knots over issue that go nowhere. They too are frustrated. Trump seems likely to shake things up; for me, the fear is that what is left will be worse; but for many who hurt, nothing has been offered by way of hope by the opposition. Ms. Clinton seems more of the same and Mr. Sanders seems to want more for more without any notion of how to pay for it...plus his model has proven a failure time and time again.
Violence against Trump will as Dr. King says, create even worse violence, not peace of solutions.
Violence against Trump will as Dr. King says, create even worse violence, not peace of solutions.
2
Violence can be productive and justified,notwithstanding MLK's words.Freeing people from tyranny is believed by many to be one example.When it comes to our political differences,such behavior is indeed counterproductive,but sadly to be expected.Our childish culture means that poor impulse control is all too common.Lack of information or the inability to process it,diminishing vocabularies and the ability to articulate thoughts and ideas just add fuel to the fire.Taking everything personally has the same effect.We may lament the violence we see at political rallies but should not be surprised given how parents behave at their children's sporting events.
And yet, Trump dares to call himself a unifier. The truth is, he is so polarizing that he brings out the worst in people, either for or against him.
2
Once again I read CB and I get obfuscation. Trump and his followers didn't initiate the violence. The protesters have been violent from the beginning, not trying to exercise free speech but attempting to keep Trump from speaking, rallies being held, etc. They have tried to intimidate Trump's followers through their protests and violence. This isn't free speech, it is criminal behavior.
What is the next step -- on election day prevent people from voting for a candidate you oppose through violence and intimidation?
What is the next step -- on election day prevent people from voting for a candidate you oppose through violence and intimidation?
11
I know what the polls say, but I think they are wrong. We have voted for a Black Man twice and he won by substantial margins both times. It wasn't thought possible that he could win and yet he did. Those demographics have not gone away. America proved it was great when it elected Obama. And despite a torrent of Republican hate, he has prevailed. Once the Democrates have finished their convention, the Sanders supporters will lick their wounds and face the reality of the November choice. And America will prove once again, that whatever our faults (and there are many)we are still Great.
4
Early in his campaign, Donald Trump made a yuge deal about how he was self-financing and was not in hock to the donor class. But instead he chose to pander to the mob, and now they expect from a Trump Administration a Day 1 deportation of 11 million immigrants and a blanket ban on Muslims entering the US. So instead of doing what every politician does - back down on campaign promises once in office and do what the donors like while the electorate collectively shrugs - he will be forced to live up to his outrageous plans. Will the angry and spiteful Americans that vote for Trump be content with him forgetting about the wall and mass deportation? Doubtful.
The man who claims to base his understanding of the world from what he sees on television might recall watching reruns of "Clear and Present Danger" and hearing the President's line: "I want what every first term administration wants: a second term."
The man who claims to base his understanding of the world from what he sees on television might recall watching reruns of "Clear and Present Danger" and hearing the President's line: "I want what every first term administration wants: a second term."
I hope the security folks in Philly are also planning for possible violence. Having read many blogs on various sites I am not too certain that a faction of Sanders supporters are going to go quietly into the night. The constant refrain from Sanders himself that the system was rigged against him, that every time he loses it is because Hillary and the establishment set it up so that he would lose has stoked the irrational, vicious behavior from a hard core faction.
We can't be so smug as to pointing our fingers elsewhere when those fingers should be pointing at ourselves
We can't be so smug as to pointing our fingers elsewhere when those fingers should be pointing at ourselves
3
Paul Ryan, John McCain and every other GOP leader who has endorsed Trump is responsible. Disgusting. I have never respected Trump or considered him a man with the capability to lead this nation (or anything else for that matter...not even in business, because four bankruptcies does not make show leadership it shows manipulative-ship). However, Paul Ryan and John McCain were at times viable leaders in the GOP. Not any more.
8
Amen! Beautifully written and an important read for those who are still wondering how they will vote come November!
1
Blow misses the point. Americans want change and they want politics to be interesting. Hillary Clinton promises more of the same and she is rather boring. So, voters are turning to Trump. Trump's evil words are more interesting, more exciting.
I suggest that Clinton needs to be focus on change and that she has to be more interesting. She might focus on the promise of a woman presidency. She might try some gestures.
She might make a "W" sign, by brings both hands together with "V" signs for woman. And she might form a ZERO with the fingers and thumb, to suggest that Trump has zero experience in government. Signs and gestures could be used over and over, again, while the rhetoric comes and goes and is forgotten.
As Robert Louis Stevenson said:
"Man is a creature who lives not upon bread alone, but principally on catchwords."
Hillary = W (woman)
-------------------------
Trump = 0 (zero)
I suggest that Clinton needs to be focus on change and that she has to be more interesting. She might focus on the promise of a woman presidency. She might try some gestures.
She might make a "W" sign, by brings both hands together with "V" signs for woman. And she might form a ZERO with the fingers and thumb, to suggest that Trump has zero experience in government. Signs and gestures could be used over and over, again, while the rhetoric comes and goes and is forgotten.
As Robert Louis Stevenson said:
"Man is a creature who lives not upon bread alone, but principally on catchwords."
Hillary = W (woman)
-------------------------
Trump = 0 (zero)
3
Trump may have belittled his GOP opponents on his GOP primary romp, but he also seems to have studied the policy of "Divide and Conquer" used so effectively in Wisconsin by Scott Walker. In Wisconsin, the "others" were the public employees...the so-called union thugs that were compared to ISIS on the Walker "Walking Dead" campaign trail. Trump is exploiting this tactic on a much more volatile national level with his open attacks on Hispanics and Muslims. When you intentionally pit one group of people against another, mix in a dollop of conspiracy theory and a dash of paranoia, you should know that your recipe will produce violence on both sides.
1
I see a lot of Trump's "ideas are violent". More violent than Clinton's "idea" to vote for a war that killed 300,000 Iraqis? The hypocrisy reeks.
9
As we are discovering in new ways almost every week, our votes are a devalued currency, Charles. I believe we are witnessing the volatile and hazardous end of this first iteration of the Great American Experiment. Our politics is completely broken, folks. To think now about the brilliant (young) men whose Renaissance minds reasoned their way to realizing a revolutionary idea is to see how we have caved. They were political philosophers, scientists, intelligences that could be persuaded by sound argument. Only Bernie Sanders, whom I support wholeheartedly, has come close to igniting again and amplifying the intellectual spirit and social vision that got our show on the road. Nothing short of radical political reform will save us from ourselves.
3
"The Madness of America," Op-Ed Column, by Charles M. Blow, June 6, 2016.
America is not mad, only the Presidential candidate Donald Trump and his followers are. However, I agree with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s and Mr. Blow's thesis that we must not ever try to match the madness of our adversary with our own. Instead, we must use the ballot box to beat back the advancing hordes of liars and lunatics. Our liberal-progressive leaders stand firmly on the side of reason, sanity, and civilized speech and demeanor, but they should convince the blind followers of the real estate mogul that his pledge to make America great, again, by building a wall across the southern boundary is a hollow pledge and his promise to make Mexico pay for it equally vapid because there's no way we can force our southern neighbor to do so. If the millions of the unthinking fans of the Republican presumptive nominee believe everything he says it's because they totally ignore the criticism of his political platform by the other two presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, as well as President Obama's. So as we try to dissuade as many supporters of Donald Trump from voting for him, we should emphasize that
the Republic is in no danger of disintegrating and that majority of people in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East still view president Obama as the indisputable leader of the free world. Candidate Clinton is a supporter of
President Obama's policies.
America is not mad, only the Presidential candidate Donald Trump and his followers are. However, I agree with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s and Mr. Blow's thesis that we must not ever try to match the madness of our adversary with our own. Instead, we must use the ballot box to beat back the advancing hordes of liars and lunatics. Our liberal-progressive leaders stand firmly on the side of reason, sanity, and civilized speech and demeanor, but they should convince the blind followers of the real estate mogul that his pledge to make America great, again, by building a wall across the southern boundary is a hollow pledge and his promise to make Mexico pay for it equally vapid because there's no way we can force our southern neighbor to do so. If the millions of the unthinking fans of the Republican presumptive nominee believe everything he says it's because they totally ignore the criticism of his political platform by the other two presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, as well as President Obama's. So as we try to dissuade as many supporters of Donald Trump from voting for him, we should emphasize that
the Republic is in no danger of disintegrating and that majority of people in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East still view president Obama as the indisputable leader of the free world. Candidate Clinton is a supporter of
President Obama's policies.
2
Amen!
As in most confrontational relationships the only way to change the dynamic is for one of the parties involved to be willing to "break the cycle". In this instance, since it is unlikely that the Trumpian side wants to change the dynamic, it is up to the rest of us to do so. We must rise above the level of the bully in the playground, rise above the level of the racist, rise above the level of the close-minded, and simply let it all roll off our backs like water off a duck. We must use our right to vote to demonstrate to our fellow citizens and the world that the United States of America is not like Trump and that Trump most definitely does not speak for us now, nor will he represent or speak for us in the future.
As in most confrontational relationships the only way to change the dynamic is for one of the parties involved to be willing to "break the cycle". In this instance, since it is unlikely that the Trumpian side wants to change the dynamic, it is up to the rest of us to do so. We must rise above the level of the bully in the playground, rise above the level of the racist, rise above the level of the close-minded, and simply let it all roll off our backs like water off a duck. We must use our right to vote to demonstrate to our fellow citizens and the world that the United States of America is not like Trump and that Trump most definitely does not speak for us now, nor will he represent or speak for us in the future.
4
As much as I hate Trump and I do #NeverTrump, if the roles of this incident were reversed, it would be sun up to sun down news coverage. If a group of Caucasians violently rioted and attacked Bernie or Hillary supporters while holding a Confederate flag, the news cycle would be a constant refrain of racist conservative America.
You approach a level of honesty here Mr. Blow but can't quite bring yourself to admit the inherent racism in a group of Latinos and African-American's attacking whites for expressing their opinion, however misguided that opinion is.
I applaud your effort and encourage you to take it to it's logical end.
You approach a level of honesty here Mr. Blow but can't quite bring yourself to admit the inherent racism in a group of Latinos and African-American's attacking whites for expressing their opinion, however misguided that opinion is.
I applaud your effort and encourage you to take it to it's logical end.
8
According to news reports, many of the so-called "protesters" were simply thugs trying to start trouble. And advocates of immigration do their cause little good by waving the Mexican flag. Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the whole nasty business is the lack of response by police to arrest those perpetrating violence on either side. Is this a harbinger of things to come?
7
"The candidacy of Donald Trump, the fervor of those who support it, and the fierce opposition of those who don’t is making America mad — both angry and insane, as the dual definitions of the word implies."
Amen, Mr. Blow, great opening sentence, right up there with "Call me Ishmael".
Supporting the villainous Trump should be seen for what it is, a treasonous attack on American values and institutions, unparalleled since George Wallace was plowing the fields of hate and bigotry. #NeverTrump
Amen, Mr. Blow, great opening sentence, right up there with "Call me Ishmael".
Supporting the villainous Trump should be seen for what it is, a treasonous attack on American values and institutions, unparalleled since George Wallace was plowing the fields of hate and bigotry. #NeverTrump
2
The "anti-Trump" violence is being fanned by the Trump campaign itself. By having rallies in cities with high Latino populations such as San Diego and San Jose, the Trump campaign is inviting and encouraging these outbursts of violence.
Now Trump gets to play the victim card. He allows his supporters to get manhandled so Trump can then point the finger at Latinos, and make the point that they are the ones creating all the problems.
Despicable as he might be in so many ways, Trump is frankly a brilliant strategist.
Now Trump gets to play the victim card. He allows his supporters to get manhandled so Trump can then point the finger at Latinos, and make the point that they are the ones creating all the problems.
Despicable as he might be in so many ways, Trump is frankly a brilliant strategist.
Yes Trump has wished out loud that his supporters commit violence against those protesting,giving him a share of responsibility for the violence that follows him.But those who take his bait and protest against him violently join Trump in degrading this election campaign ,making resemble a 3rd world ,banana republic election.Let's not make excuses of any kind for this violence because there is no excuse for it .
2
I totally agree with your views, Mr Blow, but I'm not yet convinced that the attacks upon Trump supporters are not staged, arranged by the Trump campaign itself. It's a possibility that should be looked into by the media -- and I'm sure that investigations are already under way.
1
You are preaching to the choir, Mr. Blow. Trump supporters don't read the NYT. They are probably watching Fox News or listening to Rush Limbaugh.
1
I noticed the violence at Trump rallies does not happen until liberals show up.
12
Show us where Trump supporters have burned the American flag, stampeded in the streets, turned into mob violence, attacked Bernie or Clinton lovers, jumped on the tops of cop cars!!!! you cannot, because we don't do this.............these are dem rent a mobs, Soros supporters, anarchists and just plain punks
12
I agree. I think they support no one except themselves.
I guess I won't be wearing my Hillary tee-shirt at the next rally for Bernie after all.
6
Well, Blow, I will give you this: At least you did not descend into Bernie bashing. I don't know why. Usually the NYT tries to lump Trump and Bernie together - although they are light years apart - because they both threaten the status quo. If the NYT is for anything, it is for keeping the status quo.
You are preaching to the choir. The people involved in these altercations are not here and are not listening, but you have done your civic duty. Now, back to reporting Mrs. Bill's talking points.
You are preaching to the choir. The people involved in these altercations are not here and are not listening, but you have done your civic duty. Now, back to reporting Mrs. Bill's talking points.
2
So I agree that Trump is irresponsible and obnoxious - not to mention dangerous if he were to become president.
But I'm not sure he is a racist. He wants to temporarily bar Muslims from entering the U.S. Yes, wrong headed and ridiculous. But he said that because he believes that is the only way to stop Muslim extremists from entering his country; not because he believes that they are an inferior race.
He wants to build a wall to prevent illegal immigration from Mexico; not because Mexicans are inherently inferior. And I don't recall anything he has said about other minorities that is inherently racist.
His treatment of woman is mixed as depicted at great length in a recent NYT article on the subject. He is belittling and obnoxious, but promotes them to the highest levels in his company.
I think Trump is less a racist than he is politically incorrect - indeed politically obnoxious - which is the source of his appeal to millions.
But I'm not sure he is a racist. He wants to temporarily bar Muslims from entering the U.S. Yes, wrong headed and ridiculous. But he said that because he believes that is the only way to stop Muslim extremists from entering his country; not because he believes that they are an inferior race.
He wants to build a wall to prevent illegal immigration from Mexico; not because Mexicans are inherently inferior. And I don't recall anything he has said about other minorities that is inherently racist.
His treatment of woman is mixed as depicted at great length in a recent NYT article on the subject. He is belittling and obnoxious, but promotes them to the highest levels in his company.
I think Trump is less a racist than he is politically incorrect - indeed politically obnoxious - which is the source of his appeal to millions.
6
Rome is burning and the mob is going to elect Nero. The ignorant uninformed masses will finally bring America the decline it so richly deserves. How on earth can so many Americans be so gullible? It's called American exceptionalism. I am no longer proud to be an American.
3
For months, he media have been trumpeting the violence at Trump rallies while implying that it has been the doing of his supporters. Mr. Blow's column comes close to admitting that it has been the protesters attacking people. Between this and the NYT's recent revelation that it has noticed the black on black mayhem in our inner cities, I am beginning to hope that perhaps this newspaper has finally remembered journalistic objectivity.
7
Thank you Mr. Blow for an insightful and excellent commentary!
Amen.
1
I'm not a violent man. I don't think I have ever struck anyone. But even I can empathize with the protesters. "Brutish" is so wrong a characterization. Righteous anger, standing-up for ones own, defending the principles of our society; these are not passive concepts and sometimes words are insufficient. Trump is invoking the attitudes of a once "great" America - a time when there was more violence - much of it racial. Appeals to civility may not be sufficient.
2
Wouldn't surprise me if some were being paid to start this violence in an effort to confirm how right Trump is about "the Others".
1
Hillary Clinton is absolutely right – the inference in Trump’s slogan, “Make America Great Again,” is inherently wrong. America is already great and suggesting that it was great in a bygone era, when it probably wasn’t (think pre-Civil Rights, pre-Voting Rights, pre- Brown v. Board of Education, et al.), is offensive. Trump could easily change his slogan to, “Make America Greater,” but then he wouldn’t be using the dog whistle, would he?
The mark of the true leader is one who uplifts you, not one who brings you down, as Mr. Trump often does with his incendiary rhetoric. So Mr. Blow is right on – violence is never the answer – we must never “be baited into brutishness.”
The mark of the true leader is one who uplifts you, not one who brings you down, as Mr. Trump often does with his incendiary rhetoric. So Mr. Blow is right on – violence is never the answer – we must never “be baited into brutishness.”
1
Let's bring some balance to this discussion, because both Trump and Sanders have been accused of encouraging violence by their supporters.
In Feb 2011 as Hillary Clinton gave a speech at Geo Washington University on Internet freedom, former CIA Analyst and Presidential Daily Briefer, Ray McGovern, was forcibly removed and injured by "security" for standing in silent protest with his back to her, as the representative of American foreign policy as she spoke. Clinton kept on with her speech, not missing a beat, even as it is clear from the video that she could see all was happening as the goons hustled Mr McGovern, out of the auditorium, in the process injuring him:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSiBpqk_93U
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/18/ex_cia_analyst_ray_mcgovern_beaten
https://consortiumnews.com/2014/02/21/standing-up-to-war-and-hillary-cli...
Even SecState John Kerry had humanely protested when a young man at one of his speeches was subdued by taser for protesting a speech he was giving. But not Clinton, she just went on talking, as if her words were more important than the brutality on an elderly man of character and ethics right in front of her.
Of course, you didn't read about it in the NY Times, or any mainstream corporate media. This is "The Madness of America" Mr. Blow. It is our leaders who strew violence around the world, and at home. It IS Hillary Rodham Clinton.
In Feb 2011 as Hillary Clinton gave a speech at Geo Washington University on Internet freedom, former CIA Analyst and Presidential Daily Briefer, Ray McGovern, was forcibly removed and injured by "security" for standing in silent protest with his back to her, as the representative of American foreign policy as she spoke. Clinton kept on with her speech, not missing a beat, even as it is clear from the video that she could see all was happening as the goons hustled Mr McGovern, out of the auditorium, in the process injuring him:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSiBpqk_93U
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/18/ex_cia_analyst_ray_mcgovern_beaten
https://consortiumnews.com/2014/02/21/standing-up-to-war-and-hillary-cli...
Even SecState John Kerry had humanely protested when a young man at one of his speeches was subdued by taser for protesting a speech he was giving. But not Clinton, she just went on talking, as if her words were more important than the brutality on an elderly man of character and ethics right in front of her.
Of course, you didn't read about it in the NY Times, or any mainstream corporate media. This is "The Madness of America" Mr. Blow. It is our leaders who strew violence around the world, and at home. It IS Hillary Rodham Clinton.
7
Trump called those protestors who got violent 'thugs' who attacked innocent people but in his inimitable manner he then heralded the "Navy seals" who attended his rally in San Diego and gave the protestors what they 'deserved'. As always Trump wants it both ways to be the victim and the bully. It is stime to stop trying to analyze this guy in normal frames of reference. He is a quantum candidate, always inhabiting two states at the same time, thus covering every possible space except logic and decency. Let's get this ridiculous election over with and move on.
2
This morning, as I watched a select quartet of Latin voters assembled by CNN, I was dumbstruck by the man who claimed nothing mattered to him about Trump except jobs, and Trump would create more jobs, so that's why he supports Trump. To me, it was an example of slave mentality.
5
Lefties always blame the victim.
They have to.
The facts are never on their side.
They have to.
The facts are never on their side.
11
Reality has a well-known liberal bias.
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
1
YOU are the reason why we have the problems. Right wingers, like yourself, who hide behind glorified titles instead of showing identity, are the true cowards and race haters of the country. Blaming one side of the asile for the actions of others is the typical cowardly response from the deluded who follow a lunatic by trump.
Enjoy the koolaid, WHOEVER you are
Enjoy the koolaid, WHOEVER you are
2
Heart-sickening, dear Charles Blow, your take on "The Madness of America". Indeed we the people who would not consider voting for Trump are angry and fear that the possibility of his being elected in five months is a horrible reality. Violence against Trump supporters is wrong, but not surprising. The American pot with all the frogs in cold water is being brought to the boiling point. And the dogs of political rage are being loosed and running amok in the streets of our cities.
Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King must be spinning in their graves. It would have to be a tragic twist of fate, as you put it, Charles, that would elect Donald Trump. But tragic twists of fate occur in American history constantly. The poison tree of racism and bigotry is still bearing deadly and strange fruit. There have been emperors (Caligula) and tyrants galore and world history has been filled with evil emperors - and empire builders who have killed millions of human beings on this earth. Donald Trump is pretty awful but not in comparison to Caligula and Nero and Hitler and his Axis who wrought havoc within our memory last century. At least, hopefully not in comparison...Will either Hillary Clinton or Donald trump or Bernie Sanders, bringing up the rear - the God of Small Donations - "make America great again"? A hae me doots.
Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King must be spinning in their graves. It would have to be a tragic twist of fate, as you put it, Charles, that would elect Donald Trump. But tragic twists of fate occur in American history constantly. The poison tree of racism and bigotry is still bearing deadly and strange fruit. There have been emperors (Caligula) and tyrants galore and world history has been filled with evil emperors - and empire builders who have killed millions of human beings on this earth. Donald Trump is pretty awful but not in comparison to Caligula and Nero and Hitler and his Axis who wrought havoc within our memory last century. At least, hopefully not in comparison...Will either Hillary Clinton or Donald trump or Bernie Sanders, bringing up the rear - the God of Small Donations - "make America great again"? A hae me doots.
So by this logic if someone would have killed Hitler in the 1930's all the terrible things that happened (WW II, the Holocaust, etc) would not have been prevented?
"Folks must be reminded that one demagogue cannot lead to a detour or a dismantling." Oh really? This is American Exceptionalism and blind optimism at its worst.
"Folks must be reminded that one demagogue cannot lead to a detour or a dismantling." Oh really? This is American Exceptionalism and blind optimism at its worst.
Trump is no Hitler but his racist remarks are in the same league as Hitler. Just revisit Hitler's speeches or his "Mein Kampf " and see how often the Jew was maligned by him. Hitler knew the psychology of the masses well by using the bogeyman Jew label incessantly.
3
Some of the politicians are acting insane even without Trump causing it. Consider the way the Democrats are threatening to deny states billions of dollars over the stupid transgender law, at a time they should be focusing on defeating Donald Trump. You don't win elections by needlessly antagonizing voters.
3
Not the Democrats, the federal government. After all, the GOP does control the house. Stop blaming a political party when the government does something to follow the law, even if your selected party practices shame.
This column is full of boilerplate bromide about not "allowing yourselves to be baited into brutishness" (what is this, Shakespeare?), meanwhile offering no rational explanation for how we got here in the first place? "Don't be discouraged" when the Speaker of the House ponders the issue for weeks, so we are told, and then endorses a galactic fool (or worse) like Trump? What was he pondering? To my knowledge, not one prominent GOP elected official with any gravitas has opposed Trump in public, notwithstanding the collection of fools that ran against him in the primaries. Even Hillary Clinton's criticisms sound impotent against him. Excuse me, Mr. Blow, but if it walks like a duck, squawks like a duck, and looks like a duck...it's a fascist duck! Remembering Dr. King's 50-year old pep-talks is not going to cut it, while this nation circles the drain.
1
Thank you, Charles Blow, for the MLK quote and for your beautifully written column.
2
Eight years ago I was in a frenzy, working the Obama campaign feeling so hopeful. Then, the first inauguration on my birthday. I thought the country had attained a state of grace. Then, Mitch McConnell. Now Donald Trump. I thought John McCain had hit bottom with Sarah Palin. But, no, he had lower to go. I hope this is a nightmare that we can actually awaken from.
4
A message of peace and righteousness coming from the man who just spent most of a year violently bashing his political adversaries at every opportunity. Only now, as growing evidence of Clinton's weakness mounts, is the Democratic primary a "heated contest". The discord is palatable.
You were warned and yet you preach. Don't be surprised when the allies you insulted aren't quite so righteous in forgiving. A sermon on hypocrisy and humility is perhaps more appropriate. You might try apologizing and politely asking for help instead. You're certainly going to need it.
You were warned and yet you preach. Don't be surprised when the allies you insulted aren't quite so righteous in forgiving. A sermon on hypocrisy and humility is perhaps more appropriate. You might try apologizing and politely asking for help instead. You're certainly going to need it.
5
Are you suggesting violence against the author?
The United States is the world's largest producer and marketer of lethal military weapons. The entire economy revolves around it (imagine cutting the military budget in half and see what happens to jobs).
And Mr. Blow is complaining about violence at political rallies? Glass houses...
And Mr. Blow is complaining about violence at political rallies? Glass houses...
1
Charles Blow has written one of his best articles. The quotes attributed to Martin Luther King, Jr. has incredible truths that speak of our current condition in the USA, but also, the human condition world-wide. Thank you for encouraging us not to stoop down to Trump, but rather, to go out and vote.
If history has taught us anything, it is that the veneer of civility can be quite easily stripped from any society. Those who attempt to aid in that process should be condemned for it.
3
Ryan buckled under self-imposed pressure to keep the income flowing. What's a government grifter to do?
Those who say they despise big government, particularly the federal bureaucracy, yet who live off of its spoils, are the ones we need to watch the closest.
Those who say they despise big government, particularly the federal bureaucracy, yet who live off of its spoils, are the ones we need to watch the closest.
2
"ambient viciousness" sounds like "hate lite". That's like calling someone who disdains those who would sneak into another country illegally, a "racist". Mexicans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans are not "races". Calling Trump a racist because he would halt the unchecked flow of Muslims immigrants is a great logical flaw. Are Muslim Chechnians and Somali Muslims the same race? There is no "muslim race". When exaggerations and spurious relationships between and among ideas are allowed to stew in your narrative, you do yourself a disservice, just like the anti-American rioters in San Jose and Albuquerque.
4
Charles, "the stench of rotting fish" is all over the politics of America. Speaking as a “99%er,” I ask, how can anyone blame us for our anger? I am personally angry about the exclusion of such a huge swath of Americans to the benefit of the wealthy. Politicians want the public to participate but every inch of support asked for come with a high or low dollar price tag. The term, "honor amongst thieves," is painfully valid.
You can blame Trump for igniting the fire, but let’s not leave out the disgrace Congress has become or the suspect actions of the Supreme Court.
If America suffers the disgrace of a Trump Presidency, from where will the necessary controls arise? Congress? Who or what will be strong enough to rein in the potential insanity he portends?
America is indeed being "baited into brutishness by Trump's trough of putrescence." As a member of the 99%, I strongly believe it stinks to high heavens and I don't want to find out the hard way how bad the stink will really be.
You can blame Trump for igniting the fire, but let’s not leave out the disgrace Congress has become or the suspect actions of the Supreme Court.
If America suffers the disgrace of a Trump Presidency, from where will the necessary controls arise? Congress? Who or what will be strong enough to rein in the potential insanity he portends?
America is indeed being "baited into brutishness by Trump's trough of putrescence." As a member of the 99%, I strongly believe it stinks to high heavens and I don't want to find out the hard way how bad the stink will really be.
2
Thank you for an excellent column. I have only one quibble, which is that I see no evidence whatsoever that Paul Ryan "abandoned his principles." What evidence, beyond a few meaningless statements that hint at principles for the purpose of politics, has the man ever shown that he has any principles?
All he needed from the Donald was an affirmation that he would support giant tax cuts for rich people, indeed the only principle that Mr. Ryan consistently stands for. With this established, the rest of what he stands for is irrelevant to Mr. Ryan.
I'm sorry, but none of the republicans currently supporting Mr. Trump can continue to claim that they have any principles, as the rest of us would define that term.
When you attempt to question the motives of a sitting judge, a guy who was once threatened with assassination by Mexican drug cartels while a prosecutor, just because his parents were from Mexico, the jig is up. This guy is not only a racist, he has no respect for the the rule of law. He is the most dangerous threat to U.S. democracy and our way of life any of us have seen in our lifetimes.
If you claim you can't see that, you ain't lookin.
Nonetheless, violence against his supporters is the opposite of the answer.
All he needed from the Donald was an affirmation that he would support giant tax cuts for rich people, indeed the only principle that Mr. Ryan consistently stands for. With this established, the rest of what he stands for is irrelevant to Mr. Ryan.
I'm sorry, but none of the republicans currently supporting Mr. Trump can continue to claim that they have any principles, as the rest of us would define that term.
When you attempt to question the motives of a sitting judge, a guy who was once threatened with assassination by Mexican drug cartels while a prosecutor, just because his parents were from Mexico, the jig is up. This guy is not only a racist, he has no respect for the the rule of law. He is the most dangerous threat to U.S. democracy and our way of life any of us have seen in our lifetimes.
If you claim you can't see that, you ain't lookin.
Nonetheless, violence against his supporters is the opposite of the answer.
5
Gee Charles, why would the Leftist violence surprise you. This is how the Latinos do politics in their countries of origin. Pick up a paper and read it instead of writing for a change.
I hope the message is clear from the Left. You don't toe the Liberal line and violence is on the way. Oh, and get a Mexican flag to wave while you do it.
I hope the message is clear from the Left. You don't toe the Liberal line and violence is on the way. Oh, and get a Mexican flag to wave while you do it.
4
I agree with much of what you have to say in this oped. But...
Why don't you also assess and take exception to the one political party in our nation that, historically, has been focused on the working-class, ordinary, vulnerable and poor American and how it can now nominate a Hillary Clinton?
Under no circumstances should a Trump ever be our President. But the same should be said of Hillary, and said, loudly. How on earth did we ever end up in a situation where our options for governance were Trump or Clinton?
HIllary represents all that is wrongheaded about our politics today. Trump is merely giving voice to the many who are disenfranchised by the elites of both the Democratic and Republican parties and have been ignored for a generation by "the system". Most people who now support Trump are not racists or sexist, they consider themselves voice less in a rigged system. SF
Why don't you also assess and take exception to the one political party in our nation that, historically, has been focused on the working-class, ordinary, vulnerable and poor American and how it can now nominate a Hillary Clinton?
Under no circumstances should a Trump ever be our President. But the same should be said of Hillary, and said, loudly. How on earth did we ever end up in a situation where our options for governance were Trump or Clinton?
HIllary represents all that is wrongheaded about our politics today. Trump is merely giving voice to the many who are disenfranchised by the elites of both the Democratic and Republican parties and have been ignored for a generation by "the system". Most people who now support Trump are not racists or sexist, they consider themselves voice less in a rigged system. SF
4
In my memory, which goes back to before the Kennedy/Nixon election, varying degrees of violence have been part of almost every election cycle. The 1968 presidential election cycle particularly stands out with the Democrat Convention in Chicago, but elections before and since had their share. It is not just Mr. Trump, and it is both unfair and inaccurate to blame it on him. Violence has also infected campaigns on the Democrat side of the current cycle, such as Mr. Sanders in Nevada. It is completely permissible to dislike a candidate, but Mr. Blow should get his facts straight if they are the basis for his dislike.
Violence of any sort for any reason should not have a place in our society. Unfortunately, as human beings, our frailties too often deny us the ability to reject violence. Mr. Blow's rather one sided view of our society should take more of the weaker side of our nature into account.
Violence of any sort for any reason should not have a place in our society. Unfortunately, as human beings, our frailties too often deny us the ability to reject violence. Mr. Blow's rather one sided view of our society should take more of the weaker side of our nature into account.
2
Trump Brown Shirts.
3
You of the Left are responsible for Trump. After eight years of Obama telling us "You didn't build that," after eight years of Obama and the Democrats doing the best to crush the spirit out of America and force us into being mindless little politically correct lemmings, after eight years of watching government get more and more intrusive and more and more indifferent to what we want, yeah, we're mad. The "angry" kind of mad. Maybe even "French Revolution" kind of mad. "Let them eat government cheese" pronounces Obama as he instructs his Minister of Health Care Cons to make sure his lies are believed by at least the dumbest 51 percent of us.
"We are the new America." quoth Mr Blow. Yeah. An America of spineless, puling, dependence on our betters in government. An American of mushy, oh so delicate, pretence. An America of whiny little brats cowering in their "safe spaces" and other whiny brats demanding $15/hour because they "deserve it."
That's not my America. It's not the America of anyone with the slightest shred of self-respect. That's a sad perversion of what America was meant to be.
And if it takes a buffoon like Trump to rid us of that America, so be it.
"We are the new America." quoth Mr Blow. Yeah. An America of spineless, puling, dependence on our betters in government. An American of mushy, oh so delicate, pretence. An America of whiny little brats cowering in their "safe spaces" and other whiny brats demanding $15/hour because they "deserve it."
That's not my America. It's not the America of anyone with the slightest shred of self-respect. That's a sad perversion of what America was meant to be.
And if it takes a buffoon like Trump to rid us of that America, so be it.
9
Not exactly sure how the stock market going to new highs, unemployment going to lows unimagined in 2008 is so bad. Also not sure why people working minimum wage jobs shouldn't get a living wage so that they can work on their own and not depend upon government handouts is such a bad thing. Not sure why people having access to healthcare, something that crazies like Mitt Romney said make economic sense, never mind your morals, is not your America.
George W. Bush spoke out again the kind of Islamophobia Trump screams. Ronald Reagan spoke out against the racism against Latinos that Trump screams. Bush and Reagan are not exactly the liberal politically correct crazies you cite. Conservative legal scholars have said Trump is a danger to the Constitution.
George W. Bush's speechwriter said Trump is a danger to America. Conservative members of the military have said the same thing. These are not liberal crazies. They are reasonable people who have said that Trump is bad for America. But anyway....
George W. Bush spoke out again the kind of Islamophobia Trump screams. Ronald Reagan spoke out against the racism against Latinos that Trump screams. Bush and Reagan are not exactly the liberal politically correct crazies you cite. Conservative legal scholars have said Trump is a danger to the Constitution.
George W. Bush's speechwriter said Trump is a danger to America. Conservative members of the military have said the same thing. These are not liberal crazies. They are reasonable people who have said that Trump is bad for America. But anyway....
55
Thank you for helping me understand why anybody would ever even consider a Trump-ish candidate. Though I personally don't agree with anything you actually said, it does bring to light for me the perspective that his followers have. I naively thought they were just idiots but your comments suggest more of an anger of the disenfranchised. It's even more sad and disturbing to realize that sentiment is so prevalent right now.
3
While it is true that Donald Trump's execrable genius for septage-stirring has unleashed the sad mayhem now becoming a common feature of his rallies, Mr. Blow is right: if the violence disgusts and dismays us, then responding in-kind only drags us deeper into the sludge tank.
That said, much of the violence seen at recent Trump rallies has nothing to do with political passion or ideology. The candidate has established a noxious petri dish to incubate violence and he knows exactly what he is doing. History will remember him for this.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
That said, much of the violence seen at recent Trump rallies has nothing to do with political passion or ideology. The candidate has established a noxious petri dish to incubate violence and he knows exactly what he is doing. History will remember him for this.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
3
well said, easy to call out other folks when they wrong, the true test is when you have to call out your own, its not only wrong its counterproductive, all it will do is help trump make his case
2
Amazing that those who promote diversity want to shut down freedom of speech
5
Bless you, Mr. Blow.
3
Thanks, Charles, this one of your best columns.
3
You keep referring to hate. Yes, the violence of Trump protesters is counter-productive, allowing him to play the victim -- but much of it is prompted by fear, not hate. You may be certain that he won't be elected president, but you may also have your head in the sand, as did the GOP for too long. You may think comparisons with Hitler are overblown and already tired, but many U.S. citizens are frustrated and enraged, as were the Germans who were desperate for a strongman whose scapegoating tactics and inflammatory rhetoric made them feel GOOD. Don't promise that he won't be elected. You can't.
1
Trump always plays the victim. He wants to play the victim in his disgraceful trial in the Trump U fiasco, vetting his judges for what he deems connections to groups suspicious in his mind for no other reason than his own clumsy and obvious attempts to persecute them. Isn't that Hitlerian enough? Naturally he attempts to control any authorities in sight. And for this he is cheered by the foolish everywhere.
Thank you Mr. Blow! I often read your column to get an better view of our country's political issues. I have been feeling very disheartened at the tone of our current national politics and the upcoming presidential election in general. Your column today has given me some hope and reassurance that the American people will ultimately do the right thing!
Hope you have a great day!
Thanks again!
Hope you have a great day!
Thanks again!
2
One would think that Donald Trump lied to the American people about WMD, voted for the Iraq War, took millions form Goldman Sacs, supported trade deals that dismantled the middle class, mass incarcerated African-Americas, destabilized Libya, created civil war in Syria, brought back the Cold War with Russia, remained quiet while the NSA eliminated our privacy, and got himself investigated by the FBI. Sorry Charles, that's not Trump. That's Hillary and Bill. The voters supporting Trump are much more afraid of what Hillary has done to this country and the world then what The Donald could do. Hypothetical fear-mongering won't make anyone vote for Hillary.
9
Yeah, Trump only supported the war and then lied about it, spent millions to buy political influence, built his career on chopping up and selling off neighborhoods, says he wants more people tortured and their families killed, plans to have millions rounded up and shipped off, cheated working people through a phony university, stuff like that.
Fair enough, I guess, but what's up with his yelling about moozlims and mezzicans, not to mention wailing like a ten-year-old every time ELiz. warren says boo to him?
Fair enough, I guess, but what's up with his yelling about moozlims and mezzicans, not to mention wailing like a ten-year-old every time ELiz. warren says boo to him?
2
Once again you hit the nail on the head, Mr. Blow.
3
If this were tea party demonstrators attacking Sanders/Clinton supporters at their rallies there would be extensive coverage and howls of protest. But since these are Trump supporters their is silence on the left and the unprovoked violence of these anti-Trump thugs. Unfortunately that is typical of the "progressive movement."
12
Not true. I see this violence shown on MSNBC and condemned by both Hillary and Bernie and many others.
Also, while I am not the flag waving patriot type, I and many of us are not happy at seeing all the Mexican flags. I know what Mexico is like, the economy and the government and the inequality and these are the reasons Mexicans come here to escape these things. The Mexican flag doesn't help the protesters' cause.
What many Trump supporters don't understand is that 35 years of Reaganomics has moved the US closer to those economic and inequality problems Mexico has. Reagan's rising tide of trickle down economics has mostly lifted the yachts of Wall St.
Also, while I am not the flag waving patriot type, I and many of us are not happy at seeing all the Mexican flags. I know what Mexico is like, the economy and the government and the inequality and these are the reasons Mexicans come here to escape these things. The Mexican flag doesn't help the protesters' cause.
What many Trump supporters don't understand is that 35 years of Reaganomics has moved the US closer to those economic and inequality problems Mexico has. Reagan's rising tide of trickle down economics has mostly lifted the yachts of Wall St.
Didn't look at the front page of the Times or even read the title of Blow's article, I see. Might want to try that first.
As Americans, all that we are and all that we can be dies a little bit each day that the “populist” campaign of petulant man-child, Donald Trump, vomits its hateful rhetoric. In that way, in winning or even in losing, Trump only serves to undermine America’s “greatness. “
3
Have I been asleep? I don't know how any of this has happened. Regardless, it is a mistake to focus only on the ridiculousness of - in this instance - a Trump candidate and not take a hard look at what the Democrats have been doing (or not doing) to help create the kind of void only one like Trump would fill.
We could say that past Republican presidents (such as Eisenhower) would be shocked and dismayed to see what has happened to the GOP in the last 50 years - but the same could be said of Democrats (such as Lyndon Johnson). DDE's prophetic 1984-like warnings about the rising power of the military/industrial complex have come to be realized - and ignored. LBJ's dream of The Great Society has been smashed - and replaced by Wall Street's version of equal opportunity. From both sides, cynicism abounds.
What we have now are two parties no longer responsive to the interests of the people they were intended to serve. To become a representative voice of the people, regardless of political affiliation, candidates have to run a gauntlet which guarantees they come out disrespected, sullied and hardened against their own principles and beholden instead to the whims of those wealthy few who finance their campaigns. The electorate has descended into a coma-like state, only briefly jerked into consciousness every now and then by a jingle such as "The Audacity of Hope," before dozing off again.
I am afraid the world sees American democracy as the King - with no clothes.
We could say that past Republican presidents (such as Eisenhower) would be shocked and dismayed to see what has happened to the GOP in the last 50 years - but the same could be said of Democrats (such as Lyndon Johnson). DDE's prophetic 1984-like warnings about the rising power of the military/industrial complex have come to be realized - and ignored. LBJ's dream of The Great Society has been smashed - and replaced by Wall Street's version of equal opportunity. From both sides, cynicism abounds.
What we have now are two parties no longer responsive to the interests of the people they were intended to serve. To become a representative voice of the people, regardless of political affiliation, candidates have to run a gauntlet which guarantees they come out disrespected, sullied and hardened against their own principles and beholden instead to the whims of those wealthy few who finance their campaigns. The electorate has descended into a coma-like state, only briefly jerked into consciousness every now and then by a jingle such as "The Audacity of Hope," before dozing off again.
I am afraid the world sees American democracy as the King - with no clothes.
3
A better question issue to examine is, "What makes Trump so attractive to so many people?" They are not all rednecks and evangelicals. Perhaps the left has gone to far? The best defense is a good offense. But, the left has become way too offensive for many of us, stuck in the middle. There is no decent choice this year. We are spiraling in!
9
Thank you, Mr. Blow, for this insightful article which tries to shed some light on a disturbing, no frightening, situation. Namely, the overall trend towards violence that we are seeing now -- not only in the city of Chicago, where murder has become the national pastime, but at political rallies where bad behavior has become the norm...on ALL sides.
Of course this is hardly surprising given the tone of anger set, and even championed by some of the Presidential candidates; whether it's to call to "Make America Great Again", or to start a "social Revolution".
Whenever it involves verbal threats, and punches thrown, there's something wrong with the picture, even if the cause is a worthy one.
And the Media hasn't helped.
With its Pundits, and its Polls, and its Prognostications, it has only added more fuel to a fire that has already grown wildly out of control.
At this point, one must start to wonder how, and if we will be able to withstand five more months of this.
Any candidate who would allow this country to crash and burn before the General Election in November, has already lost.
Of course this is hardly surprising given the tone of anger set, and even championed by some of the Presidential candidates; whether it's to call to "Make America Great Again", or to start a "social Revolution".
Whenever it involves verbal threats, and punches thrown, there's something wrong with the picture, even if the cause is a worthy one.
And the Media hasn't helped.
With its Pundits, and its Polls, and its Prognostications, it has only added more fuel to a fire that has already grown wildly out of control.
At this point, one must start to wonder how, and if we will be able to withstand five more months of this.
Any candidate who would allow this country to crash and burn before the General Election in November, has already lost.
3
This is all very calculated and a tactic frequently used used by white supremacist and by the emerging Nazi party in the early 1930's. Through rhetoric create a hostility so that your very appearance becomes an attack on the norms of society and then condemn those who protest.
Incite violence through hate (and a fair degree of ignorance) then play the victim.
The truth is there should be thousands more protesting rump rallies. Hundreds of thousands more. And not just his rallies, but in Washington as well. The GOP needs to be held accountable for Trump as he is now officially one of theirs and presumably speaks for the party.
Incite violence through hate (and a fair degree of ignorance) then play the victim.
The truth is there should be thousands more protesting rump rallies. Hundreds of thousands more. And not just his rallies, but in Washington as well. The GOP needs to be held accountable for Trump as he is now officially one of theirs and presumably speaks for the party.
3
By now liberal media should've learned a lesson. Stop trying to minimize, appease and condone the actions of the left, while exhagerating those on the right, specially trump supporters. Stop sugarcoating and brushing it all under a big umbrella: "both sides incite violence". That is false.
The only ones here inciting and causing violence are the anti trump protesters. Spare me the one case of an old man supporter whome obviously out of frustration with the thugs offer a counter punch. Using that example as the only one to level out the actions of the left is stupid; we are already aware of your tactics and double standards. If this was done by trump supporters in a sanders or Clinton rally, you people in the media would've created a mountain of news demonizing the trump supporters (not that you don't do it anyway).
Finally, the spoiled kids of this generation who feel entitled to everything, whether is being illegal (while demanding rights) or suppressing opposing speech via PC gestapo tactics, are given a good spanking. Let them whine. Trump with his firm position on illegal immigration and anti PC crusade has managed to do both. Good for him, about time!
The only ones here inciting and causing violence are the anti trump protesters. Spare me the one case of an old man supporter whome obviously out of frustration with the thugs offer a counter punch. Using that example as the only one to level out the actions of the left is stupid; we are already aware of your tactics and double standards. If this was done by trump supporters in a sanders or Clinton rally, you people in the media would've created a mountain of news demonizing the trump supporters (not that you don't do it anyway).
Finally, the spoiled kids of this generation who feel entitled to everything, whether is being illegal (while demanding rights) or suppressing opposing speech via PC gestapo tactics, are given a good spanking. Let them whine. Trump with his firm position on illegal immigration and anti PC crusade has managed to do both. Good for him, about time!
11
Trump supporters only come in three types: dumb, delusional, or desperately misinformed.
The truth about Trump--and not making fun of him at all--is that he's a con man who is not qualified for elected office.
Certainly not to be president.
The truth about Trump--and not making fun of him at all--is that he's a con man who is not qualified for elected office.
Certainly not to be president.
5
JOE -- the Clinton's are grifters who have been scamming us for 2 decades -- as public servants.
4
Yep. But don't forget that in USA a Trump supporter's vote is just as good as yours. The perils of Democracy , where numbers count.....
1
Save your breath, Blow. Explaining reason and logic -- and even decency and common sense -- to a Trump supporter is as effective as teaching a toddler molecular science: it just ain't gona happen.
Thankfully, the majority of the country does have common sense (and a sense of decency) and are not violent single brain cell psychotics, so even if they don't find her cuddly or want to have a beer with her, I trust most will make the sane choice this November.
Although it was fun to see the GOP's racist, hateful past come up to bite them on the...
Thankfully, the majority of the country does have common sense (and a sense of decency) and are not violent single brain cell psychotics, so even if they don't find her cuddly or want to have a beer with her, I trust most will make the sane choice this November.
Although it was fun to see the GOP's racist, hateful past come up to bite them on the...
5
''One of the most disturbing displays of this madness is the violence that Trump has incited in his supporters, and the violent ways in which opposition forces have responded, like the exchange we saw last week in San Jose.''
Have I missed something? Has the news media been asleep? Trump has been inciting violence among his followers? When? Where? Other than a 78 year old crackpot who attacked a protester at rally violence committed by Trump supporters has been virtually nil.In Chicago the violence was perpetrated by left wing agitators,same thing in New Mexico and San Jose.Where was the outrage when the mayor of San Jose blamed Trump for the violence? Where is the criticism and investigation of the San Jose police department who stood down while Trump supporters were violently assaulted just feet away from the cops?
Where is the ''war on women'' crowd after witnessing the attack on a young woman who was attacked by a mob while hotel security refused her shelter?
Trump wants to control our southern border,he also wants a moratorium on Muslims entering the US until they can be properly vetted.Has he been ineloquent in his phrasing? Yes.Has he been politically incorrect? Thankfully yes.Has he called for hate or violence against any group for any reason? Absolutely not.
Have I missed something? Has the news media been asleep? Trump has been inciting violence among his followers? When? Where? Other than a 78 year old crackpot who attacked a protester at rally violence committed by Trump supporters has been virtually nil.In Chicago the violence was perpetrated by left wing agitators,same thing in New Mexico and San Jose.Where was the outrage when the mayor of San Jose blamed Trump for the violence? Where is the criticism and investigation of the San Jose police department who stood down while Trump supporters were violently assaulted just feet away from the cops?
Where is the ''war on women'' crowd after witnessing the attack on a young woman who was attacked by a mob while hotel security refused her shelter?
Trump wants to control our southern border,he also wants a moratorium on Muslims entering the US until they can be properly vetted.Has he been ineloquent in his phrasing? Yes.Has he been politically incorrect? Thankfully yes.Has he called for hate or violence against any group for any reason? Absolutely not.
11
Yes, you have missed quite a lot. The media have not been asleep...you have, apparently.
1
The behaviors exhibited by anti-Trump demonstrators (often self identified as Saunders supporters) are the only NAZI like behaviors that I can see. Trump engages in heated speech but it is as protected as protected can be and it is fatuous to ascribe any justification for violent action to it. If that logic held, Charles, then one could justify the same NAZI like actions at a Hillary rally.
9
Do you even know what Trump says in his so-called speeches? He openly incites, condones, and justifies violence at his rallies, offers to pay the legal fees of supporters committing criminal assaults, and is completely unapologetic about the consequences.
1
You don't know me but I'm your brother
I was raised here in this living Hell
You don't know my kind in your world
Fairly soon, the time will tell
You, telling me the things you're gonna do for me
I ain't blind and I don't like what I think I see
Takin' it to the streets
Takin' it to the streets
Takin' it to the streets
I was raised here in this living Hell
You don't know my kind in your world
Fairly soon, the time will tell
You, telling me the things you're gonna do for me
I ain't blind and I don't like what I think I see
Takin' it to the streets
Takin' it to the streets
Takin' it to the streets
So Charles, it is Trumps fault that protestors carried Mexican flags and burned the US flag in the US?
13
I share most of the concerns and suggestions of Mr. Blow. The part I do not get is why "Republicans like Paul Ryan abandoning their principles and selling their souls to fall in line behind this man" are discouraging, whereas Bernie Sanders supporters should fall in line and vote for Hillary Clinton.
You can't have it both ways.
You can't have it both ways.
2
At the risk of sounding like a crazed conspiracy theorist, is it beyond the realm of reason that Trumplestiltskin might be planting at least some of the anti Trumplestiltskin violent actors (word used advisedly)?
8
Paul---at least you said it correctly: 'sounding like a crazed conspiracy theorist'.
1
What's your point? The people who start street fights with Trumpsters do not read the New York Times - and the people who do read your column are already with you on this.
3
So true when we think about the violence in Iraq today and that it was unleashed by a violent US invasion.
“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it."
“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it."
3
How can you talk about violence and ignore our 13 years orgy of violence in the middle east? The Bush/Obama oil wars, started with lies from the Government, have cost over 1,000.000 lives and turned Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and now Libya into hells for the people living there?
The media, the punditry, and the Political Class are all ignoring the slaughter we have brought to the middle east while bemoaning a few fist fights at political rallies and wondering where, Oh where did this acceptance of violence come from?
The media, the punditry, and the Political Class are all ignoring the slaughter we have brought to the middle east while bemoaning a few fist fights at political rallies and wondering where, Oh where did this acceptance of violence come from?
6
I think one only has to watch a few network TV programs. Their violence does not provoke violence in the population, it reflects an understanding that murder and mayhem, subterfuge and greed, are what people want to see.
In most of my life, violence has existed, but been abhorred, now it is simply entertaining.
What Mr. Brophy has to say is that we have been taught to accept regime change and war-mongering as normal. And Clinton will give us both.
In most of my life, violence has existed, but been abhorred, now it is simply entertaining.
What Mr. Brophy has to say is that we have been taught to accept regime change and war-mongering as normal. And Clinton will give us both.
In the class war, Mr. Blow, pacifism has been overrated. In hindsight, Marie Antoinette might have favored it as much as Hillary Clinton. Let's keep the masses ignorant, nonviolent, and unarmed -- right?
2
It seems that Clinton will be not able to win with old, stale ideas and many may sleep instead of vote. But by sending agents provocateurs to cause violence she just may be able to stir some excitement. The staged, rehearsed and Cold War retread speeches she gives are creepy. Were we listening to Nixon or Kissinger ?--maybe we were.
But the speech seems to be followed up with an attack by her supporters on Trump supporters.
Violence will be used by that violent woman as part of her do anything to win bag of legal/illegal tricks. I challenge the Times to investigate the use of agents provocateurs more than they have investigated any of their favorite's unpleasant behavior. I also fault the Times for its perpetual drum beat against Trump as a dangerous man as leading to more violence. To not like Trump is to not tolerate violence from anyone.
But the speech seems to be followed up with an attack by her supporters on Trump supporters.
Violence will be used by that violent woman as part of her do anything to win bag of legal/illegal tricks. I challenge the Times to investigate the use of agents provocateurs more than they have investigated any of their favorite's unpleasant behavior. I also fault the Times for its perpetual drum beat against Trump as a dangerous man as leading to more violence. To not like Trump is to not tolerate violence from anyone.
3
Yes, but one small quibble:
"I understand that he is elevating and normalizing a particular stance of racism and sexism that many view as a spiritual attack, a kind of psychic violence from which they cannot escape."
Trump, his rhetoric and ideology, and his supporters are an existential threat.
Full stop.
They do not represent "a spiritual attack" nor something as ambiguous as "psychic violence."
For Latinos, Muslims, women and the whole long list of anyone who isn't "white," male and the right kind of Protestant, Trump and the politics he represents put us at risk of violence. Real violence.
We are afraid. We have good reason to be. I agree that violence is wrong and only makes things worse. But we're afraid.
In the absence of a change for the better during this campaign, the only cure will be a Trump loss in November. And that has to become our goal.
"I understand that he is elevating and normalizing a particular stance of racism and sexism that many view as a spiritual attack, a kind of psychic violence from which they cannot escape."
Trump, his rhetoric and ideology, and his supporters are an existential threat.
Full stop.
They do not represent "a spiritual attack" nor something as ambiguous as "psychic violence."
For Latinos, Muslims, women and the whole long list of anyone who isn't "white," male and the right kind of Protestant, Trump and the politics he represents put us at risk of violence. Real violence.
We are afraid. We have good reason to be. I agree that violence is wrong and only makes things worse. But we're afraid.
In the absence of a change for the better during this campaign, the only cure will be a Trump loss in November. And that has to become our goal.
4
Given the toxic levels of passion in our discourse, these modest outbursts should not surprise us. Violence, of course, is more the problem than the solution. Those who seek extra-legal redress of their grievances are an argument against democracy, not for it. If you want to make America great again, stop complimenting thuggish behavior by your own supporters. While America is not Nazi Germany and Donald Trump is not Adolf Hitler, we shouldn't have to remind ourselves of this fact too much. It would become whistling past the graveyard of democracy itself.
1
It is the Trump denouncers who are inciting the violence, Charles. You should direct your attack towards them only, and not Trump or his supporters.
14
two guys go into a bar - one says I hate you, I want to kick you and all your kind out of the country, there is no place for people like you in positions of authority, and I slept with your mother and your two sisters all the same time; and the other guy says shut up or I'll slug you.
which one incited violence?
which one incited violence?
1
Civility, reason, non-violence and the rule of law.
Until Gandhi meets Hitler.
Until Gandhi meets Hitler.
Violence by Trump's protesters just smooths out his path to the White House. The right approach is to build a wall of peaceful protest that he cannot breach with his insanity.
Trying to block Trump's path to the White House with violent confrontation is like trying to block the progess of a blazing fire with a wall made of kindling.
Trying to block Trump's path to the White House with violent confrontation is like trying to block the progess of a blazing fire with a wall made of kindling.
3
Violence is never OK, unless in defense of self or others. When there is no alternative. Trump started this with HIS words in response to protesters simply attending his rallies, which culminated in the famous video of a Trump supporter punching a man already being escorted out by police! He incited the violence! His daily racist, sexist and obtuse comments continue do the same thing - for voters opposing him! Yet, that is no excuse. Anyone defending the actions of the protestors is dead wrong! We can understand their anger, fear and frustration, yet not justify the violence because of those emotions. Sanders & Clinton need to speak out forcefully condemning this behavior by their supporters!!
Posters here have offered an array of causes, reasons and fabrications to explain the violence. My favorite is the one who claimed HRC is inciting her followers to violence & that she has "brown shirts" doing her bidding! That took some real imagination. One blamed Obama for Trump's rise, as if Republicans were innocent of the product of their political strategies. Another confused poster views/justifies the violence as "civil disobedience!" It is not!
Protesters energy would be better spent in volunteering for/donating to their candidate! In addition to non-violently protesting at Trump rallies, start holding rallies and demonstrations without any candidate present! Do this all over the US from now until election day! BUT FOLLOW DR. MLK'S NON-VIOLENT CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE METRIC.
Posters here have offered an array of causes, reasons and fabrications to explain the violence. My favorite is the one who claimed HRC is inciting her followers to violence & that she has "brown shirts" doing her bidding! That took some real imagination. One blamed Obama for Trump's rise, as if Republicans were innocent of the product of their political strategies. Another confused poster views/justifies the violence as "civil disobedience!" It is not!
Protesters energy would be better spent in volunteering for/donating to their candidate! In addition to non-violently protesting at Trump rallies, start holding rallies and demonstrations without any candidate present! Do this all over the US from now until election day! BUT FOLLOW DR. MLK'S NON-VIOLENT CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE METRIC.
2
It is madness that any American with a modicum of common sense and decency should vote for Donald Trump.
If Hillary Clinton gets elected, the first thing she has to do is to improve the educational system in America, so that ordinary Americans don't have to dig deep into their pockets to learn how to think - critically. The GOP has been neglecting the educational standard of the masses on purpose, which together with right-wing media are herding ordinary people like sheep.
If Hillary Clinton gets elected, the first thing she has to do is to improve the educational system in America, so that ordinary Americans don't have to dig deep into their pockets to learn how to think - critically. The GOP has been neglecting the educational standard of the masses on purpose, which together with right-wing media are herding ordinary people like sheep.
5
Anarchists always take advantage of possible violent situations. Nearly all the protesters at DT rallies are peaceful police forces show up in HJGE numbers in swat clothes and anarchists show up to cause trouble. Who knows what motivates them? Fortunately the vast majority of Americans do not participate in that kind of behavior. Yes, as Mr. Blow says, "In a democracy, the vote is the voice." The world will hear us loud and clear when we elect Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton as OUR next President and we elect a socially conscious democrat/independent Congress, governors, state and local politicians.
2
Thank you, Mr. Blow. Reading this, I feel my rage turning to prayer.
2
Will at least one media interviewer ask Senator Sanders if he expects Secretary Clinton to persuade her voters to support him should he become the Democratic Party's nominee?
1
Another example of political press "sleeze"?
2
I think that the media's arguably muted response to the manhandling and assault of protesters at Trump rallies, and Trump's unprecedented role in inciting them, made a lot of people very angry, me included. Yes, it is an ugly overreaction; but let's try to remember what unprecedented acts and hate speech incited it.
It's clear that the Trump "protesters" are the most dangerous threat to our nation. Unprovoked attacks against Trump supporters undermine our essential notions of fair play and freedom of assembly and speech. Oh, we have seen this before in Nazi Germany when Hitler's brown shirts and storm troopers took the same action against parties and rallies opposed to the Nazis. The "protesters" should be very proud of themselves. Will Kristallnacht, the "night of the broken glass" be far behind? They have driven me into the Trump camp and I will vote out of anger and frustration also.
4
When they came for the Mexicans ...
and when they came for the Muslims ...
and 'unfair' judges...
Not this time. Not here. It's time to put aside our differences and allow for disagreement - except on one thing: This bully, this little man, will go no further.
and when they came for the Muslims ...
and 'unfair' judges...
Not this time. Not here. It's time to put aside our differences and allow for disagreement - except on one thing: This bully, this little man, will go no further.
3
Has anyone considered the possibility that the violence against Trump supporters at the rallies in California and elsewhere may have been started by agents provocateurs on the extreme right in order to bolster the militance and commitment of Trump supporters? I don't doubt that there are some very angry people among hispanics and other groups insulted by Trump who would resort to violence, but history suggests that we shouldn't dismiss the possibility of infiltrators stirring up violence to promote specific ends benefiting the Trump candidacy.
1
Chuck here you go again!!! Words do not give people the right to commit crime! You have it all wrong. Trump supporters have not instigated the violence, your left wing Hillary/Bernie supporters have. If this was truly as you describe, where are the Trump rioters at Bernies rallies and Hillary's one on ones in a coffee shop? You can't have it both ways, and yet your poisonous pen will have people believe it. No rally was violent until Chicago, and outside of his statements of wanting to turn back the clock..that was once! Trump supporters are being chased down....I can only imagine the field day if some southern KKK member hunted down a hillary supporter in the same way!! You would be loving the opportunity to tear it up! You wanted Trump to denounce the KKK when it 'supported' Trump, yet you are silent when the Mexican KKK comes around in their flags and black banditos beating up innocent rally attendees!! Why is that Chuck? Why so silent, why aren't you hammering Hillary to tell these people to be peaceful!!! Just wait for this....one person or more will be killed at a rally and the following will happen by your reports. If it is a Trump supporter you will remain almost Silent about it except to blame Trump, and if it is a Mexican KKK thatgets whacked from a Trump supporter in self defense you will call for him to step down.....GUARANTEE IT CHUCK!
6
The victimhood of the Trump supporters knows no bounds. You reap what you sow. Trump's rhetoric of racism, xenophobia and fear has resulted in protesters who are not going to sit and while he spouts approval of overt racism. Trump has openly stated that Trump supporters should punch protesters in the face, the protesters should be "carried out on stretchers". Please stop acting so innocent about the cause of violence, it's result of hatred spewed by Trump who has no conscience about inciting violence. I believe in the case in Chicago, that was the result he was counting on to energize his rabid supporters.
1
The first violence at a Trump rally occurred when one of his supporters elbowed some kid in the head as he was walking past him. Charles Blow's column condemns any and all violence, describing it as "angry and insane."
And it's neither Hillary Clinton, nor Bernie Sanders, who's whomping up crowds by screaming about moozlims and mezzicans, who's calling for carpet bombings and torture, and who wants to send our soldiers out to hunt down familes.
That is on you.
And it's neither Hillary Clinton, nor Bernie Sanders, who's whomping up crowds by screaming about moozlims and mezzicans, who's calling for carpet bombings and torture, and who wants to send our soldiers out to hunt down familes.
That is on you.
1
Words Regina, all rhetoric! and your party has continually planted 1000s of illegals to come to these events to start trouble knowing full well they are hands off and can't/won't be prosecuted. It won't be long before another of your parties thugs kills an innocent person like Kate Steinle, and you will all call it justified! It's only violent and illegal when it doesn't fit your narrative. As we have seen Baltimore and Ferguson were allowed to be destroyed because it needed to burn it self out. You don't treat criminals/rioters like you do a wildfire! But your party has always been turn a blind eye and do whatever the hell you like in the name of free speech! Until it comes back at you...IE President TRUMP! Then free speech be damned!
1
Oh yeah, we deplore the violence at Costa Mesa, Albuquerque and San Jose but....
4
"but "THEY" had it coming. THEY deserve it. THEY asked for it. THEY are the one who incited the violence"!!!
THEY aren't trying to put people with whom they disagree with into comas.
THEY aren't trying to put people with whom they disagree with into comas.
Blaming Trump is a red herring.
America, the most warring country on the planet.
America, more guns in civilian control than any other country on the planet.
America, the highest incarceration rate on the planet.
America, the wealthiest country on the planet, with one of the highest economic inequalities on the planet.
America, the supposed melting pot hasn't been able to shed its racism toward people different than European whites since our founding.
America, has a deep and long history of violence in our politics. We just like to disconnect it from the race riots that erupt decade after decade of oppression. We disconnect it from striking workers and union bashing that erupt decade after decade. We disconnect it from protests like Occupy Wall Street.
No, Mr Blow it isn't madness, it's who we are behind our thin skin of civility
America, the most warring country on the planet.
America, more guns in civilian control than any other country on the planet.
America, the highest incarceration rate on the planet.
America, the wealthiest country on the planet, with one of the highest economic inequalities on the planet.
America, the supposed melting pot hasn't been able to shed its racism toward people different than European whites since our founding.
America, has a deep and long history of violence in our politics. We just like to disconnect it from the race riots that erupt decade after decade of oppression. We disconnect it from striking workers and union bashing that erupt decade after decade. We disconnect it from protests like Occupy Wall Street.
No, Mr Blow it isn't madness, it's who we are behind our thin skin of civility
181
Then let's make change but not with violence, thats all
1
I agree with you about the level of violence in America in general, but you can't excuse Trump when he is one new force egging it on.
1
Awe...the poor little dears are so upset by Trump, that they have to resort to violence and intimidation to provide their safe spaces. Conflating the one or two acts of violence by Trump supporters to the mass mobs attacking people at his rallies is ridiculous. Face it Charles, liberals are reaping the whirlwind they sowed by their perpetual outrage at anyone who thinks different from them. And it's only going to get worse....
8
Charles,
Non-confrontation did not work out so well for the Jews in pre-war Germany. It didn't work well for the Armenians in Turkey nor the Bosnian Muslims in the former Yugoslavia or Kosovo either. Exciting racist sentiments in the pursuit of the popular vote has happened many times with destructive results. These days, however, the targets of racist scaremongering react with fear and anger based upon the realization that "it can happen here" like it did in Kristallnacht in 1938.
Non-confrontation did not work out so well for the Jews in pre-war Germany. It didn't work well for the Armenians in Turkey nor the Bosnian Muslims in the former Yugoslavia or Kosovo either. Exciting racist sentiments in the pursuit of the popular vote has happened many times with destructive results. These days, however, the targets of racist scaremongering react with fear and anger based upon the realization that "it can happen here" like it did in Kristallnacht in 1938.
1
The young folks see themselves as fighting an existential threat. There are more than enough parallels of history's beasts coming to power and perdition while those in civilized quarters stood mute or even capitulated to the growing tsunami of hate. Also, the young are prone to individual acts of heroism against the foe instead of participating in non-violent group disobedience. The former is somewhat vainglorious as it confirms one's courage regardless of its futility, but the latter seeks to confirm the glorious principle of equality enshrined in our constitution.
Not to be too paranoid, but who can say the violence is not just fomented by Mr. Trump and his rhetoric but paid for by Mr. Trump and his dark-visaged believers? It would, after all, fit with the continuing demonstration by Republicans that they themselves believe the worst of their opponents, and if their opponents don't live to Republican beliefs that they just need a little cash incentive to get over their cowardice. Projection that comes true because Republicans make sure it comes true extends back to at least Nixon.
1
The madness comes from the demonstrators. Their actions are criminal in nature. They have not tried free speech, instead they have tried to prevent free speech, shouting, intimidation, and both oral and physical assault. Then when the attendees fight back they are blamed. Mr. Blow knows this is the truth, but he ignores it because it doesn't fit the progressive theories he spouts and believes in. He and other media like him are very good at ignoring this type of reality.
6
America can clearly see Democrats blocking public roads to prevent access to Trump rallies and physical attacks on his supporters! What they don't see are similar blockades shutting down Sanders/Clinton rallies! There are no shouting Republicans throwing objects at Clinton/Sanders speeches either! Mr. Blow, this is NOT a mutual practice but rather the tactics of one political side only! They follow the rules of Saul Alinsky. Remember him?
7
Most of the violent ones were Sanders supporters? No word from his campaign
4
I'm sorry to be rude but only a psychopath would see a comparison between the illusionary "violence" perpetuated by trump supporters and the domestic terrorism being committed by the other side.
At one rally on one occasion a Trump supporter punched a protestor. Compare that too 5 riots and 2 occasions where individuals attempted to storm Trump on stage.
Ask yourself liberals, would Blow paint an equivalency if conservatives acted in this manner at Sanders/Clinton rally's? Today's left represent the savagery party.
At one rally on one occasion a Trump supporter punched a protestor. Compare that too 5 riots and 2 occasions where individuals attempted to storm Trump on stage.
Ask yourself liberals, would Blow paint an equivalency if conservatives acted in this manner at Sanders/Clinton rally's? Today's left represent the savagery party.
8
It is protesters from the Sanders & Clinton camps who are attacking Trump, & trying to deny his right to free speech....a shocking display of bad sportsmanship.
But ...last year, many here accused the right wing of inciting violence because of the videos about Planned Parenthood. It was alleged that this "caused" insane gunmen like Robert Lewis Dear to open fire on a PP clinic. It was espoused by lefty-liberals here: inflammatory rhetoric CAUSES crazy extremists to go to violent means.
OK, but if you take that theory all the way.....look at the rhetoric HERE in the NYT (Blow, Eagan, Edsall, Collins, Krugman, etc.) that has done nothing but inflame LIBERAL activists. Telling people (who are already angry & frustrated, such as Sanders supporters who see their savior going down in flames) that Trump is a "Nazi" -- "Mussolini" -- a dictator -- a recent article said he would not obey the rule of law & take away people's rights -- other articles have said he would put all hispanics into concentration camps -- that he will impose martial law & declare himself dictator for life -- all kinds of really unbalanced, crazy, hateful allegations against the man for simply not agreeing with lefty liberal dogma.
Now that rhetoric has some individuals REALLY believing that if they don't physically attack Trump, there will be nuclear war or worse. Whose fault is that? and why doesn't the left have the same requirement to reign in hysterical writings that they want the right to practice?
But ...last year, many here accused the right wing of inciting violence because of the videos about Planned Parenthood. It was alleged that this "caused" insane gunmen like Robert Lewis Dear to open fire on a PP clinic. It was espoused by lefty-liberals here: inflammatory rhetoric CAUSES crazy extremists to go to violent means.
OK, but if you take that theory all the way.....look at the rhetoric HERE in the NYT (Blow, Eagan, Edsall, Collins, Krugman, etc.) that has done nothing but inflame LIBERAL activists. Telling people (who are already angry & frustrated, such as Sanders supporters who see their savior going down in flames) that Trump is a "Nazi" -- "Mussolini" -- a dictator -- a recent article said he would not obey the rule of law & take away people's rights -- other articles have said he would put all hispanics into concentration camps -- that he will impose martial law & declare himself dictator for life -- all kinds of really unbalanced, crazy, hateful allegations against the man for simply not agreeing with lefty liberal dogma.
Now that rhetoric has some individuals REALLY believing that if they don't physically attack Trump, there will be nuclear war or worse. Whose fault is that? and why doesn't the left have the same requirement to reign in hysterical writings that they want the right to practice?
8
Okay, YOU explain how Trump plans to round up and deport eleven million people (or is it forty million?) without having the government go through everybody's records for everything, sending the Guard out to kick down doors, herding people into some kind of holding pens, and stuffing them into cattle cars.
YOU tell us what we're allowed to think about a guy who's running around the country cheerleading for torturing suspects, and then hunting down their families, after being told by about fifty generals that that would violate the UCMJ, and about twenty international treaties all the way back to the Geneva Accords.
YOU let us know what we're allowed to call a guy who shrieks about moozlims and mezzicans and blacks, and keeps getting caught with various and sundry Klan or white supremacist types on his staffs, or as delegates.
And before I forget, YOU clue us in to what we're allowed to mention, when Trump flips from yelling about the PC police to shrieking like a girl about the bad names from everybody who "isn't nice," to him.
Let us know, willya?
YOU tell us what we're allowed to think about a guy who's running around the country cheerleading for torturing suspects, and then hunting down their families, after being told by about fifty generals that that would violate the UCMJ, and about twenty international treaties all the way back to the Geneva Accords.
YOU let us know what we're allowed to call a guy who shrieks about moozlims and mezzicans and blacks, and keeps getting caught with various and sundry Klan or white supremacist types on his staffs, or as delegates.
And before I forget, YOU clue us in to what we're allowed to mention, when Trump flips from yelling about the PC police to shrieking like a girl about the bad names from everybody who "isn't nice," to him.
Let us know, willya?
1
Where are the voices calling to make America stronger and better for all people to counteract this fantasy of the past?
Where are the leaders who inspire and give noble vision like MLK Jr?
Where are the "Christians" to publicly renounce all that is hateful and oppressive? (they don't seem to even be aware of who Jesus cared most about - and that Jesus calls them to be light in the world - not members of the NRA)
All sides are agitated by the current rhetoric (it is truly terrifying!) and some individuals respond with violent actions rather than "love" partly because we live in a culture that glorifies violence. The adults attacking each other with fists are just grown up kids who never developed self-control or learned alternatives to aggression.
I'm scared about the future for my kids. I just hope I have the strength of character and conviction to be loving so that I can teach them a better way no matter what happens.
Where are the leaders who inspire and give noble vision like MLK Jr?
Where are the "Christians" to publicly renounce all that is hateful and oppressive? (they don't seem to even be aware of who Jesus cared most about - and that Jesus calls them to be light in the world - not members of the NRA)
All sides are agitated by the current rhetoric (it is truly terrifying!) and some individuals respond with violent actions rather than "love" partly because we live in a culture that glorifies violence. The adults attacking each other with fists are just grown up kids who never developed self-control or learned alternatives to aggression.
I'm scared about the future for my kids. I just hope I have the strength of character and conviction to be loving so that I can teach them a better way no matter what happens.
2
For the most part, Trump supporters are driven by emotion, not logic.
So, if elected what will he do first, nominate a replacement for Scalia and criminalize abortion? Will serious cuts in upper end tax rates and Medicare follow?
Sometimes violence is a derivative effect.
Let's hope he offers journalists that dissed him, free rounds of golf at Trump courses and not prison sentences for trumped up charges!
So, if elected what will he do first, nominate a replacement for Scalia and criminalize abortion? Will serious cuts in upper end tax rates and Medicare follow?
Sometimes violence is a derivative effect.
Let's hope he offers journalists that dissed him, free rounds of golf at Trump courses and not prison sentences for trumped up charges!
2
Why are republican leaders coalescing around this guy? Of coarse I agree, act with your vote, no violence. But don't just vote against Trump; also vote out any coward that has endorsed him. Paul Ryan, John McCain, Christie, Rubio, McConnell...they need to go...never to hold office again. They all have publicly endorsed Trump and that reveals incredibly bad judgement and cowardice. No eggs thrown, no pushing and fighting, just vote in droves against this wave of ignorance and racism.
13
Mr. Blow's cautionary column is admirable, but it is also somewhat unrealistic. It's all well and good to deal with Trump at the ballot box, but the party whose nominee he is has been able, courtesy of a corrupt Supreme Court, to put voter ID laws in place making it harder for minorities and the poor to register in a number of states. Also, the brilliant but corrupt gerrymandering of House districts by the Republicans for the first time allowed the circumstance in which Democrats won more popular votes but took fewer House seats.
People aren't just responding to Trump, but to the corruption of the system as a whole. They don't have the patience for democracy in the face of the theft of their birthrights by the GOP. The violence won't stop.
People aren't just responding to Trump, but to the corruption of the system as a whole. They don't have the patience for democracy in the face of the theft of their birthrights by the GOP. The violence won't stop.
5
Exactly. Trump won't win the presidency, and all of this will have been much ado about nothing, so why lower ourselves to their level? In any case, doing so will only validate the fears of Trump's supporters, thereby stoking his campaign fires and possibly encouraging others to join him.
10
"It is easy to look at Republicans like Paul Ryan abandoning their principles and selling their souls to fall in line behind this man and be discouraged, but don’t be."
Oh, please. What "principles?" Ryan sickens me even more than Trump does.
Oh, please. What "principles?" Ryan sickens me even more than Trump does.
12
So Blow is blaming the criminal assault on Trump supporters on the free speech rhetoric of Trump? The moral equivalence made by Blow is astounding.
Name the number of Obama supporters assaulted for attending either the 2008 and 2012 elections? As the left keeps crying "everyone that opposed Obama is a "racist hater," where were all the violent racist haters then?
Apparently, supporting the free speech of all Americans, which is a lot more than the liberal left, or Blow, can say about themselves.
Name the number of Obama supporters assaulted for attending either the 2008 and 2012 elections? As the left keeps crying "everyone that opposed Obama is a "racist hater," where were all the violent racist haters then?
Apparently, supporting the free speech of all Americans, which is a lot more than the liberal left, or Blow, can say about themselves.
15
Trump's opponents, Blow writes, are reacting to "a stance of racism and sexism that many view as a spiritual attack, a kind of psychic violence from which they cannot escape."
Question:
When did we become so delicate?
I've been opposed to Trump all along but I'm now reconsidering. The groupthink of our culture needs to be shaken up. Sooner than later.
Question:
When did we become so delicate?
I've been opposed to Trump all along but I'm now reconsidering. The groupthink of our culture needs to be shaken up. Sooner than later.
8
Skippy, You wish to replace so-called groupthink with "no think?" Lies? Ignorance? Misogony? Racism? Bluster? Insecurity? Chidlishness? Incoherence? You may wish to reconsider your reconsideration.
3
If people object to the denigration of others, why is that "groupthink"?
Like continuous drops of water falling on a stone eventually wear a hole in that stone, every derogatory statement, every dog-whistle call to racism and sexism and bigotry eventually wear away a hole in peoples soul.
Like continuous drops of water falling on a stone eventually wear a hole in that stone, every derogatory statement, every dog-whistle call to racism and sexism and bigotry eventually wear away a hole in peoples soul.
Don't worry about Trump.
He will be a footnote, albeit an unpleasant episode.
The upside is that he and his cohorts will have effectively wrecked the GOP.
Perhaps we can flush all the Republican xenophobia, racism and anger out to sea.
He will be a footnote, albeit an unpleasant episode.
The upside is that he and his cohorts will have effectively wrecked the GOP.
Perhaps we can flush all the Republican xenophobia, racism and anger out to sea.
6
When I was a child and my Sunday school class was learning about the Ten Commandments, our teacher asked whether it would have been a sin to kill Adolf Hitler. Not yet uneducated about world history and sociology, most of the students thought the answer was obvious.
I fear that if Trump is elected president, 20 years from now Sunday school students will feel the answer to a similar question about Trump will be equally obvious, without understanding the broader evils in a society that would follow such a moral monster.
I fear that if Trump is elected president, 20 years from now Sunday school students will feel the answer to a similar question about Trump will be equally obvious, without understanding the broader evils in a society that would follow such a moral monster.
5
Are you suggesting assassinating someone because you disagree with their politics? That's the tolerant left I hear so much about.
1
I hope the teacher taught the kids that what is obvious is not right.
Many today feel the same for Obama.
Many today feel the same for Obama.
So you are publicly calling for Trump to be killed. On the basis that he is equivalent to Adolf Hitler.
The anonymity of the mob protects all of Mr. Trump's supporters while it fuels their venom. This make everyone else's revulsion grow in like measure. Practicing non-violence is both hard and essential if we are to get through this with our very souls intact.
-----
"No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible."
-- Stanislaus Lec
-----
"Taking an eye for an eye ends up making the whole world blind."
-- Mohandas Gandhi
-----
-----
"No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible."
-- Stanislaus Lec
-----
"Taking an eye for an eye ends up making the whole world blind."
-- Mohandas Gandhi
-----
13
Trump's supporters are not the mob. The mob=the anti-Trump, often organized, hoodlums who beat up people, rip off their clothes, anonymously throw eggs in the faces of women, and often (by photo) include black lives matter members.
2
Doug Mc
By saying the mob, you must mean the mob from Chicago or the mob violence against Trump encouraged by the media, the Republican and Democrat political establishment and its powerbrokers. Or do mean a grass roots movement supported by slippery Hillary's Wall Street money.
No snowflake in a storm ever feels responsible, because it has become snow blind and is stranded by landing on the party's bandwagon.
It's time to get off the bandwagon to no-where; trade it on a new vehicle where you can see what is ahead of you and in the rear-view mirror what is behind you. Keep riding it all the while not seeing the misdirection, corruption and greed that is harming all of us. I am tired of paying for the hay rides that cost much and gives nothing back, but a deep chill!
By saying the mob, you must mean the mob from Chicago or the mob violence against Trump encouraged by the media, the Republican and Democrat political establishment and its powerbrokers. Or do mean a grass roots movement supported by slippery Hillary's Wall Street money.
No snowflake in a storm ever feels responsible, because it has become snow blind and is stranded by landing on the party's bandwagon.
It's time to get off the bandwagon to no-where; trade it on a new vehicle where you can see what is ahead of you and in the rear-view mirror what is behind you. Keep riding it all the while not seeing the misdirection, corruption and greed that is harming all of us. I am tired of paying for the hay rides that cost much and gives nothing back, but a deep chill!
2
Charles, why is it that the Democrats seem so intent on shutting down any opinion that they disagree with by using violence?
When lawless Democrats throw rocks at police, wrap themselves in the Mexican flag, burn the American flag, physically attack innocent members of the public, the news narrative is that Trump forced them to do these things by expressing opinions that they disagree with.
The Democrats not physically attacking those with different opinions are so sensitive and fragile that they need to run to some "safe zone" to hide. Heaven forbid they hear an opposing view. They might melt.
Keep up your racism narrative if it helps you to explain to yourself why you may not be as successful as you think you should be. However, very few Americans equate ensuring that immigrants to this country come here legally with racism. Your transparently fallacious argument has been exposed.
The jig is up. No longer will reflexive cries of racism, sexism, or whatever the ism of the day is, work as a political strategy. Americans have moved on and you are stuck with a political strategy of the 1970s.
When lawless Democrats throw rocks at police, wrap themselves in the Mexican flag, burn the American flag, physically attack innocent members of the public, the news narrative is that Trump forced them to do these things by expressing opinions that they disagree with.
The Democrats not physically attacking those with different opinions are so sensitive and fragile that they need to run to some "safe zone" to hide. Heaven forbid they hear an opposing view. They might melt.
Keep up your racism narrative if it helps you to explain to yourself why you may not be as successful as you think you should be. However, very few Americans equate ensuring that immigrants to this country come here legally with racism. Your transparently fallacious argument has been exposed.
The jig is up. No longer will reflexive cries of racism, sexism, or whatever the ism of the day is, work as a political strategy. Americans have moved on and you are stuck with a political strategy of the 1970s.
33
The Democrats are using Nazi-like tactics. If Hitler were alive today, he'd be proud of the American Democrats.
1
Wow...you should run for office.
1
I really don't think Ken read the same article I did!
Well said, Charles Blow! Thank you for reminding us that we are better than the news indicates. Now if only the media would get with the program !!!
6
Thank you Mr. Blow for this wonderful column and especially for quoting Dr King at length. The final line has always been a favorite but I confess to having forgotten most of the paragraph that preceded it. Keep up the good work. We'll get through this together.
11
Trump is a Fake. Fake Republican, Fake University, Fake Billionaire with Fake Hair. The job of the media is to investigate him and uncover him for the Fake that he is.
22
Looks like media especially NYT is trying. Hit pieces one after other. Except that the citizens are not buying the narrative from liberal mouthpiece anymre
2
In this day and age, fakeness is a virtue.
Charlie is to be congratulated for deftly including all the socialist talking points in one column.
Most disturbing is his implication that Trump is, weirdly, responsible for the violence that the left wing manifests.
Somehow, radical left wing dissatisfaction justifies violence against Americans.
If ever the US had a duty to stop the madness, this is it.
What we are seeing is extortion being used to promote a political ideology, it goes like this :
"If you don't give us what we want, we will wreak havoc."
The most dangerous aspect is that this extortion is promoted and approved by the left wing media, to include columnists of the N.Y. Times.
I suppose that is why Hillary's name was not mentioned.
There are enough sentences already printed elsewhere that link Hillary and crime.
Most disturbing is his implication that Trump is, weirdly, responsible for the violence that the left wing manifests.
Somehow, radical left wing dissatisfaction justifies violence against Americans.
If ever the US had a duty to stop the madness, this is it.
What we are seeing is extortion being used to promote a political ideology, it goes like this :
"If you don't give us what we want, we will wreak havoc."
The most dangerous aspect is that this extortion is promoted and approved by the left wing media, to include columnists of the N.Y. Times.
I suppose that is why Hillary's name was not mentioned.
There are enough sentences already printed elsewhere that link Hillary and crime.
8
I cannot fathom how polls can reflect a close race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. How is this possible? Pres. Obama defeated Sen. McCain handily. Forget qualifications. Sec. Clinton is so obviously qualified to be president and Trump is so obviously not qualified. Then I remember a conversation I had with my father, an Episcopal minister, when the Rev. Barbara Harris was being voted on to become a bishop. Rev. Harris is obviously a woman, and she is also black. The conservative clergy in the Church were opposed to her elevation to Bishop, so I asked my father, 'Is it because she's black or because she's a woman." He didn't even hesitate: "Because she's a woman."
So much attention has been, rightly given to problems of racism in the US. But where is the discussion about the rampant, and worse, sexism? Women make up more than half of the population, and yet, sexism is a hushed topic, not to be discussed, is considered a contrived "excuse".
Ask yourselves, though: With her resume and experience, were Hillary Clinton a man, does anyone really believe the polls would show a race this close against such an unfit, unhinged narcissistic, racist, misogynist, xenophobic, pathological liar as Donald Trump?
Is this country really capable of putting this clearly disturbed, unqualified, and temperamentally unfit person into the presidency just to keep a woman out of it?
What a disturbing and disheartening thought.
So much attention has been, rightly given to problems of racism in the US. But where is the discussion about the rampant, and worse, sexism? Women make up more than half of the population, and yet, sexism is a hushed topic, not to be discussed, is considered a contrived "excuse".
Ask yourselves, though: With her resume and experience, were Hillary Clinton a man, does anyone really believe the polls would show a race this close against such an unfit, unhinged narcissistic, racist, misogynist, xenophobic, pathological liar as Donald Trump?
Is this country really capable of putting this clearly disturbed, unqualified, and temperamentally unfit person into the presidency just to keep a woman out of it?
What a disturbing and disheartening thought.
8
Violence always begets more violence. Turning the other cheek is a perfection few of us ever achieve.
5
What a load of horse hockey. The "violence" of Trump supporters? One punch thrown by a man who was immediately arrested? Compare that to the rampant lawlessness displayed- as always- by the militant left in San Jose which was incited by leftist bloggers and condoned by the leftist mayor. You want to see what is wrong with America? It was right there in front of you, Blow. Equivocate until you are blue in the face- it just reveals you as the shill you are.
16
American Citizens need to elect a leader who will represent their best interests.. Our country is NOT a business or a casino game, it is a country that values freedom. Freedom that respects, individual pursuits of life and liberty, happiness and nonviolence. To successfully protect our freedoms and world peace the next President needs to promote and express RESPECT for people of many different cultures. Donald Trump only has reverence for his own interests. He will not represent our interests. His words and actions do not cultivate world peace, they promote violence. If he is elected President the democratic principles of our nation will be destroyed.
5
Blow's conclusion points to the future, which is a must. We must not try to conserve a racist and sexist past, but move forward toward a future of inclusion. If Republicans believe in a free market (although there is no such thing as a truly free market) then they will let the market decide the fates of minority groups, not hateful policies and speech.
2
re: "then they will let the (free) market decide the fates of minority groups"
....the government doesn't allow a 'free market' in opportunity as affirmative action, set asides and concept of " protected classes" totally distorts any sort of 'free'market in opportunity....
....the government doesn't allow a 'free market' in opportunity as affirmative action, set asides and concept of " protected classes" totally distorts any sort of 'free'market in opportunity....
This is really great Charles! The pundits (less so you, Charles) and MSN are like the physician who overdoses the patient w/ narcotic and then stands around noting the shallow respirations the unarousability and the pinpoint pupils. You have an obligation to administer the antidote but you do not. You continue to complain that the patient is still semi-comatose.
You all had a big hand in creating this monster by giving most of your airspace to this misanthrope because it sold. You ignored people discussing real issues that had intelligent solutions. You all have consistently gone for the cheap shots.
Now stop 'splaining and help us out of this mess.
You all had a big hand in creating this monster by giving most of your airspace to this misanthrope because it sold. You ignored people discussing real issues that had intelligent solutions. You all have consistently gone for the cheap shots.
Now stop 'splaining and help us out of this mess.
4
Mr Blow, really over the top and off the charts. You might try Zantac for that self righteous reflux.
“There is an elevated plane of truth that floats a mile above Trump’s trough of putrescence.”
The only thing floating above Trump is an odorous and acrid cloud of ridiculousness. As for the truth, it is nowhere in evidence in our ever more twisted political theater.
“Trump and his millions of minions have replaced what they call “political correctness” with “ambient viciousness.”’
Off with their heads!
Obviously your time for a lengthy vacation.
“There is an elevated plane of truth that floats a mile above Trump’s trough of putrescence.”
The only thing floating above Trump is an odorous and acrid cloud of ridiculousness. As for the truth, it is nowhere in evidence in our ever more twisted political theater.
“Trump and his millions of minions have replaced what they call “political correctness” with “ambient viciousness.”’
Off with their heads!
Obviously your time for a lengthy vacation.
4
Such admonitions, G. Sears, fall right in with the behavior Mr. Blow is discouraging.
A vacation? Zantac? Such tepid responses deny the kind of real grit it takes to hope, to see the larger pictures, and yes, the "elevated plane of truth." That phrase rings of Martin Luther King Jr: the arc of justice. Without such principles, we sink further.
A vacation? Zantac? Such tepid responses deny the kind of real grit it takes to hope, to see the larger pictures, and yes, the "elevated plane of truth." That phrase rings of Martin Luther King Jr: the arc of justice. Without such principles, we sink further.
1
The hate of "the Other" that the GOP has been relying on to win elections for decades has given birth to the implausible candidacy of Donald J. Trump for PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! And feckless "leaders" like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell can not bring themselves to disavow this raging narcissist. He is their baby and they're sticking with him, country be damned.
Even if a basic American decency brings out unprecedented numbers of voters to vote against the man, we will be left with the hate he has willfully stirred up and so enthusiastically spread around. KA
Even if a basic American decency brings out unprecedented numbers of voters to vote against the man, we will be left with the hate he has willfully stirred up and so enthusiastically spread around. KA
12
Everything Blow says about the counterproductivity of violence is impossible to disagree with. Yet choosing to support Trump is not about favoring a different "political position," it is a character flaw, and must be portrayed as such. The media in general (as opposed to editorials) have failed miserably by framing his candidacy as a mere "quarky" or "unusual" battle for the angry working classes rather than the exploitative, racists, and nonesensical exercise which it truly is. And I understand why people get frustrated seeing uncontested smug racists faces on the tv with no equivalent response. Showing up at a Trump rally should rightly be portrayed as the moral equivalent of showing up to a Klu Klux Klan rally. With all the same condemnations and deligitimizing that accompanies them by everyone holding a microphone.
Everytime that Donald Trump shows up on the news, the TV anchor should immediately announce, by way of disclaimer, that "The next guest is a racist, who has no policy positions or solutions that aren't ill-conceived, foolish, and/or dangerous, and according to every expert the very notion of his presidency is an abomination. Now Mr. Trump, what do you have to say about...." Every interview should start and finish with a similar line.. If it did than maybe you might not get violence after his rallies. Or even better yet, maybe some otherwise good people would be shamed into abandoning him altogether.
Everytime that Donald Trump shows up on the news, the TV anchor should immediately announce, by way of disclaimer, that "The next guest is a racist, who has no policy positions or solutions that aren't ill-conceived, foolish, and/or dangerous, and according to every expert the very notion of his presidency is an abomination. Now Mr. Trump, what do you have to say about...." Every interview should start and finish with a similar line.. If it did than maybe you might not get violence after his rallies. Or even better yet, maybe some otherwise good people would be shamed into abandoning him altogether.
3
Are you serious? Everyone who supports Trump has "character flaws?" The media should preface every segment of Trump with "here is a racist?"
Charles Blow is right, this country has gone mad and your post here is case and point. OMG, you are scary!
Charles Blow is right, this country has gone mad and your post here is case and point. OMG, you are scary!
1
To understand how Republican "community organizers" really work, you have to read the Bible they go by, "Rules for Radicals", by Saul Alinski.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Alinsky
The fact that Alinski was a left-winger and he did it first means the Republicans can do it too without shame or guilt.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Alinsky
The fact that Alinski was a left-winger and he did it first means the Republicans can do it too without shame or guilt.
Really?! - Alinski's writings are Hillary Clinton's bailiwick - she wrote her college thesis on the dude which historians say what inspired her to go into politics.
1
"Simply by a difference in political position"? Fascism is merely a difference in politics? If the word "humanity" is to maintain a positive meaning, can it be stretched so far as to contain fascists? There is far more at stake than politics in the rise of Mr. Trump.
4
I've never read an article about Trump supporters running-down young black or muslim supporters of Bernie or Hillary, and tackling them to the ground. Nor stories of Trump supporters punching black men in the face repeatedly to the point where their lips and ears bleed. No stories about Trump supporters throwing eggs point-blank into the face of a muslim woman. (Note: I make the context racial, because the Mr. Blow aways makes it racial.)
I haven't seen Trump supports vandalizing automobiles of the police/Berine/Hillary supporters. I've never read about Trump supporters waiting in huge mobs to be the aggressor towards Bernie/Hillary supporters. And all of these acts are committed in front of the police. Video footage shows the police standing-by doing nothing but hide behind their riot gear. You pretend to condemn the lunacy of the left but you don't attempt to really understand it. In fact, you are brazen enough to flagrantly defend it by empathizing with protesters stating "I understand" four separate times within your op-ed.
Newsflash: People in these violent mobs across the country don't care about democracy, Mr. Blow. They're wearing Che Guevara t-shirts and holding signs that say "we need socialism." You can do us all a favor by being honest about how radical your companions on the left are. In the end, you are quite disingenuous to anyone who actually knows what happens at the "Anti-Trump" rallies. But here, you will hear applause in your echo-chamber.
I haven't seen Trump supports vandalizing automobiles of the police/Berine/Hillary supporters. I've never read about Trump supporters waiting in huge mobs to be the aggressor towards Bernie/Hillary supporters. And all of these acts are committed in front of the police. Video footage shows the police standing-by doing nothing but hide behind their riot gear. You pretend to condemn the lunacy of the left but you don't attempt to really understand it. In fact, you are brazen enough to flagrantly defend it by empathizing with protesters stating "I understand" four separate times within your op-ed.
Newsflash: People in these violent mobs across the country don't care about democracy, Mr. Blow. They're wearing Che Guevara t-shirts and holding signs that say "we need socialism." You can do us all a favor by being honest about how radical your companions on the left are. In the end, you are quite disingenuous to anyone who actually knows what happens at the "Anti-Trump" rallies. But here, you will hear applause in your echo-chamber.
9
This column brings me a measure of comfort and serenity in these crazy times. This is not the country I wish for, but Charles is right on all counts. Thank you so much, Mr. Blow.
3
To Blow and everyone reacting: you call any of this violence? What kind of a bubble protected world do you live in? Boy, the press (or content providers, I should say) and other powers that be really got you by the short hairs, distracting everyone from the reality of what is about to happen here despite that fact that it couldn't. Dorothy, you're going back to Kansas anymore.
Good advice, Mr. Blow. The last thing we need is for Trump to gain support as the "law and order" candidate -- the only one who can put down the violence that he actually created .
1
The ONLY dangerous person running for President is Hillary Clinton. Anyone with two eyes can see this. Her policies and lack of judgment are perfectly designed to get us all killed.
5
There is always a segment of the public that will blindly follow a demagogue like Adolf Trump. He is playing the oldest card in the books---throwing red meat to the lions.
Fortunately there are enough people who get it and will feed Trump to the lions and send whats left of him back to his cage in Trump Tower.
Fortunately there are enough people who get it and will feed Trump to the lions and send whats left of him back to his cage in Trump Tower.
5
Thank you, Charles. At this point, the parallels with 1930s Germany are getting clearer: Hitler provoked violence from the Left (not hard), then was able to justify attacks from his S.A. as self-defense - always defense. And about the Republican elites' falling into line behind Trump? Similarly, German elites thought they could manage Hitler. Not a chance!
6
On most policy choices Hitler was a leftist. But I guess from your perspective, a socialist liberal cannot be a bad person.
Oh please. Violence has always won.
1
Several weeks ago, your colleague, David Brooks, wrote about his need to get out of the New York-Washington corridor to understand why Mr. Trump had been so popular. I used to live in New York, and now split my time between two southern states. I can not abide Mr. Trump. Living where I do, I come into contact with a wide array of people who will vote for him, and many are more thoughtful than this column would indicate. Those who are angry and bigoted-the people who still fly confederate flags on their cars and pickups- are attracted to him. But so, too, are many who see their vote as a reaction to other things they don't like, most especially what they view as despotic, rough-shod actions in the form of executive orders, excessive regulation, legislation that is literally rammed through (e.g. Obamacare), and, most especially, off-the-charts political correctness exemplified by the bathroom and locker room wars that, to them, defy logic and reality and common sense. Most of these people also abhor Mrs. Clinton, seeing her as untruthful and voting for her as tantamount to a third Obama term. All of this goes to the question of "who created Trump?" Many New York, Washington, and California believe it was the GOP. A great many people elsewhere see it the other way. America's choices in this presidential election are truly depressing.
11
LOL!!! .....and your point? If I want a rehash of the last 8 months I can continue reading Charles Blow :)
1
This is not just about Trump - Sanders supporters have also been vile. This is also the end game of American exceptionalism, whether on the left or right. Believing that you are entitled to a myriad of things leads to anger over anything that looks like a threat something will be taken away. This behavior is also due to the influence on human behavior of too much screen time, too little face-to-face. Empathy is on the wane, leaving us without respect for others, and being fed a stream of link bait that reflects our views leads to non-critical non-inclusive thinking.
6
Mr. Blow's eloquence and heartfelt words, while true, also lead me to wonder if the so-called anti-Trump protesters in CA. were paid by the Trump campaign itself ? I am not so naive as to believe that there are no angry Sanders supporters who might be involved in violent acts, but I also would not be at all surprised if the recent anti-Trump violence was staged and funded by his campaign. Perhaps the media might do its job and investigate instead of chasing after Trump 24/7 only to catch the toxic verbiage he spews from his big mouth.
7
I've wondered this too.
There it comes. My god can do no wrong. There must be some other explanation. And this explanation fits. A mean person like Trump is capable of this, while democrat supporters are all saints. They must be paid goons.
1
Sounds like Hillary Clinton's "vast right wing conspiracy ' !?! Be afraid - be very afraid.
2
I've been on the planet for quite a while, but had to look up the expression "Gish-gallop". My first thought was that it might refer to the KKK riding to rescue Lilian Gish in Birth of a Nation. Given Trump's demagoguery, Birth of a Nation seems apt as a reference for his attacks on immigrants and people of color.
5
The best way to direct passions is not only with the bullhorn, but also at the ballot box.
In a democracy, the vote is the voice. The best way to reduce the threat Trump poses is to register and motivate people who share your view of the threat.
And what if your vote is supressed, what if you are turned away at the booth because you did not have the NRA voter ID?
What if your state cut short voting hours and days?
We have seen this movie, when 10s of thousands of legally registered African American Floridains voters were disenfranchised in 2000 when Bush/Harris purged them off the voters list, in 2004 when Diebolt machines messed up voters names in Ken Blackwells Ohio, we won't be fooled again.
In a democracy, the vote is the voice. The best way to reduce the threat Trump poses is to register and motivate people who share your view of the threat.
And what if your vote is supressed, what if you are turned away at the booth because you did not have the NRA voter ID?
What if your state cut short voting hours and days?
We have seen this movie, when 10s of thousands of legally registered African American Floridains voters were disenfranchised in 2000 when Bush/Harris purged them off the voters list, in 2004 when Diebolt machines messed up voters names in Ken Blackwells Ohio, we won't be fooled again.
2
The violence committed at the Trump rallies was committed by Clinton supporters who infiltrated the crowds. Clinton's campaign HQ was advertising for demonstrators at salaries of $12 to $15/hour. Clinton has provided demonstrators at Sanders rallies but they were less effective.
4
Trump has outed the Republican Party. The GOP no longer has the luxury of denial, sending out dog-whistle calls from a dark closet. The GOP disavowed Trump when they feared being outed but now that the GOP is outed, it is all in. But it is even worse. Not only have they come out of the closet, they have sold their souls (those who had any).
Republicans like Paul Ryan, John McCain, Mitch McConnell et al. had enjoyed a certain respect; people who strongly disagreed with them on so many levels, thought at least they held America high, that they placed country before party. Instead, by supporting Trump, they are saying unequivocally, their party Trumps America.
The very best that can be said for the GOP is that it has chosen to play Russian roulette with our country. They are playing a dangerous game and gambling that pulling the trigger (electing Trump) will not unleash total havoc. They choose to ignore that Trump is already creating havoc throughout our country and the world. He divides us and incites violence. He insults Americans of Mexican heritage and those who practice a non-Christian faith. He insults our allies and praises dictators.
The GOP is all in for Trump. They cannot support him and still claim they don't endorse him. Trump is the face of the GOP; a face that has come into focus as the GOP came out of the closet and daylight revealed that Trump is the GOP, the GOP is Trump.
America, come out and vote in November, our survival depends on it.
Republicans like Paul Ryan, John McCain, Mitch McConnell et al. had enjoyed a certain respect; people who strongly disagreed with them on so many levels, thought at least they held America high, that they placed country before party. Instead, by supporting Trump, they are saying unequivocally, their party Trumps America.
The very best that can be said for the GOP is that it has chosen to play Russian roulette with our country. They are playing a dangerous game and gambling that pulling the trigger (electing Trump) will not unleash total havoc. They choose to ignore that Trump is already creating havoc throughout our country and the world. He divides us and incites violence. He insults Americans of Mexican heritage and those who practice a non-Christian faith. He insults our allies and praises dictators.
The GOP is all in for Trump. They cannot support him and still claim they don't endorse him. Trump is the face of the GOP; a face that has come into focus as the GOP came out of the closet and daylight revealed that Trump is the GOP, the GOP is Trump.
America, come out and vote in November, our survival depends on it.
4
There is nothing inherently non-violent about the left. In fact historically the opposite has often the case. Unquestioning believe that you are in the right and the opposition is evil is a sure path to justification of any means. The ends justify the means after all. Where is this more true than in the opposition to the rise of Trump? It is also very plain that equal vilification and vitriol is directed at Trump’s supporters as at the candidate himself. There is more hate and loathing present in the comment boards hear than at a Trump rally.
11
Mr. Blow, You refer to, "the violence that Trump has incited in his supporters," yet none of the news reports that I've seen show Trump supporters attacking Clinton or Sanders supporters at their rallies. Is simply attending a Trump rally sufficient provocation to justify having one's head bashed and bloodied with a bag of rocks while the San Jose police stand by and do nothing? Your attempt, Mr. Blow, at trying to establish equivalence between Mr. Trump's rhetoric and his opponents' violent behavior is a stretch beyond reason. None of those violent attacks are justified.
18
Hillary is every bit as much a Republican as Trump; she I such better at hiding, lying and diverting attention.
Bernie is the opportunity to change it all; if you believe we need to start over, vote for Bernie.
Bernie is the opportunity to change it all; if you believe we need to start over, vote for Bernie.
5
Blow's argument is eloquent but flawed.
He is correct when he says the answer to obscene rhetoric is not obscene deeds/results. But his solution is precisely that—obscene deeds/results as embodied by his alternative to Trump.
Clinton's veneer of respectability & competence cloaks her corruption, failure, ineptitude, abuses, authoritarianism & rage.
Conversely, Trump's artless, inchoate, hyperbolic, improvisational, New-York-City-streetfighter, ArchieBunker-Queens vernacular hides his many successes & reasoned good judgments.
When evaluating Clinton, one must be careful not to confuse policy w/ character, cold-blooded w/ dispassionate, calculating w/ wise, wonky w/ competent & smart, corruption w/ success & failure w/ experience
Review her decades in & about the WH. Her abuse of women/power, her corruption. Her calculated failure to protect national security. Her fascistic impulses. Rwanda.
How do you rationalize Rwanda?
This mess is hers:
Libya, Syria, Benghazi, rise of Islamic State, Yemen, Honduras, Russia reset, 2 irrational, nuke-proliferating, legacy-driven deals w/ insane, apocalyptic signatories, hundreds of thousands of deaths of innocents, incalculable future deaths, unleashing of al Qaeda/ISIS, destabilization of 4 continents, Armageddon pope/generals/Abdullah call WWIII.
Clinton apologists preen & scheme to put this proven unfit existential danger back in the WH.
(Insert Einstein's definition of insanity here.)
He knows…
https://youtu.be/RHGJESeoSfk
10
"Marian's" Clinton-assassinations-for-hire should be blackballed from comments sections in the Times. Whether it's an op-ed piece about kittens, sports or the planet Saturn, "Marian" will be there, spewing her vitriol in everyone's faces in the most unpleasant, smarmy possible way. Enough, please.
1
"Trump's supporters aren't violent"? Did I imagine all the video that I have seen of peaceful demonstrators being forcibly ousted from Trump rallies while supporters were allowed to punch, kick, and grab them on their way out the door?
2
Yes. You imagined it.
2
Why did those people or rabble rousers attend Trump rallies if they were going to cause trouble? Rallies are for people who want to hear what their candidate has to say - they are not supposed to be for rabble rousers?
Sorry Charles. But these violent people are Democrats. They are now the face of Democrats. This is what Obama has brought on. He is divisive and he has instilled in these people that they are victims. And they resort to violence. Just like in Ferguson. It has nothing to do with Donald Trump. It has everything to do with Democrats.
18
Spoken like a true racist.
2
"We have nothing to fear but fear itself" FDR. Tamp down the fear and anxiety, counter the hate mongering and violence by going to the polls and giving Trump and his Republican congress cronies a resounding defeat in November and show that what comes out the Dumpster buffoon's mouth is not what America is about.
2
With you! And Charles keep writing about the need to get out the vote by everyone including Sanders voters. And for Hillary you find a way to move towards embracing those voters by valuing aspects of what he said that are valuable. Obama taught us that a smart flexible honest and decent centrist president yes bone with faults is what is best for this country. Hillary will make a fine president even with her faults. She is able to mature and learn. Tell people this. You are a fine thinker and writer
5
A great piece, including the quote from King. I hope you are right.
But I am also reminded of a quote from Heilein's "Starship Troopers" novel: "Anyone who clings to the historically untrue and thoroughly immoral doctrine that violence never settles anything I would advise to conjure up the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington and let them debate it. The ghost of Hitler could referee and the jury might well be the Dodo, the Great Auk, and the Passenger Pigeon. Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and their freedoms."
But I am also reminded of a quote from Heilein's "Starship Troopers" novel: "Anyone who clings to the historically untrue and thoroughly immoral doctrine that violence never settles anything I would advise to conjure up the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington and let them debate it. The ghost of Hitler could referee and the jury might well be the Dodo, the Great Auk, and the Passenger Pigeon. Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and their freedoms."
It is not out of the question that Mr. Trumped planted violent "anti-Trump" people at rallies, for just the reasons Mr. Blow suggests.
2
I have a tinfoil hat all ready for you.
2
Donald Trump speaking in highly Hispanic San Jose reminds me of the George Lincoln Rockwell American Nazi Party march through Skokie, Illinois the home of a large population of Holocaust survivors. It was an invitation to violence little different than yelling (or setting) fire in a theater; it will always cause pandemonium. And, that's what we saw at the Trump rally. If this is to end, Trump will have to stop his provocations by holding rallies in areas where he knows there is a high likelihood of violence, jurisdictions will have to deny him a permit to hold a rally there, or the police will have to greatly increase their presence, especially after the event ends and Trump supporters leave and find themselves confronted by many protesters and few police. This is a solvable problem that Trump should not be allowed to use to gain backlash sympathy for his provocative bigotry.
1
Trump should not hold rallies where there are large numbers of illegal aliens because they will be upset? You're serious?
3
Really? So the police who stood by and did nothing have no responsibility? The Mayor whose responsibility is to maintain public order had no responsibility?
In this case, since neither the police or Mayor see the need for public order or to protect the First Amendment and right to assemble, maybe we should send in the National Guard next time.
In this case, since neither the police or Mayor see the need for public order or to protect the First Amendment and right to assemble, maybe we should send in the National Guard next time.
3
Ah yes, blame a candidate and the victims of violence, not the criminals. It's not the people throwing punches, flipping cars, setting fires, etc. among innocent people that are the problem. It's the guy giving a speech to those innocent people who support him. What shall you say when I come to a Hillary event in the south, walk up to a supporter of Clinton, and cold-cock them in the face? Spit in their face? Throw an egg in their face? Bash their car? Will you advise Hillary to abandon cities/towns throughout the south because me and some friends decided to act like animals instead of rational human beings? Your form of democracy and liberty is not one that is aligned with America. It sounds to me like you prefer civil war over rationale debate and differing opinions.
2
This is a brilliant essay. Thanks for reminding us of Martin Luther King's message about hate.
6
You can decry violence outside Trunp rallies. But to blame Trump for the rise of angry racial politics is like blaming the people carrying around umbrellas for the rain. For decades, the most prominent Latino political force has been "La Raza", a term that if translated into English and used by Whites would send politicians running. It was ten years ago mass rallies displayed thousands of Mexican and other foreign flags and demanded some kind of ethnic right to be within the United States. The most prominent social movement of our time is "Black Lives Matter" - which stems from an incident in which a Black youth assaulted and robbed an Asian storekeeper and then fought with a White cop.
Trump didn't start this. The left is simply finding out the hard way that Latinos and Blacks aren't the only ones capable of having a racial identity.
Trump didn't start this. The left is simply finding out the hard way that Latinos and Blacks aren't the only ones capable of having a racial identity.
16
why is some many people from around all want to come to countries that are governed by principles put into action by white Europeans-and then they want to destroy them? While people something worth preserving as all cultures and races do.
"... the stench from rotting flesh...."
For the GOP jihadis and Session's Taliban, this is like the aroma of Mom's Apple Pie baking in the oven.
For the GOP jihadis and Session's Taliban, this is like the aroma of Mom's Apple Pie baking in the oven.
2
Too late, Charles. Those who claim to walk the higher ground have already shown they are hypocrites and bigots as much as anyone else. Truth hurts, but it's truth none the less.
2
Mr. Blow, like much of the political press, makes too much of early June polls that show the race tightening.
Like wise for the magnitude and significance of last week's anti-Trump reaction in Southern California.
What is fascinating to me--with regards to the first issue--the polls--is that many in the chattering class who dismissed out of hand as "early" and "meaningless" other polls that showed Sanders beating Trump by significantly wider margins--now hold up as near gospel polls that appear to conferred one of the political press's most beloved tropes--a race that is "tightening."
Unfortunately, you really can't have it both ways.
Either early cycle, head-to-head match-up polls are foolish and indicative of little (a view I believe is shared with me by Nate Cohn--the NYTimes resident polling expert) or there really is something to them (in which Mr. Blow may want to revisit recent columns dismissing Sanders' efforts to say polls that show him handily prevailing over Trump should impact the party's superdelegates preferences.
And the violent, anti-Trump demonstrations in California are indicative not that some bloody civil war is about to break out--it isn't--but the frustration and fury many feel in response to the forces of xenophobia and bigotry surrounding Trump, that feel emboldened and empowered to openly parade about--in large measure because of Trump's attacks on civility as mindless "political correctness."
Like wise for the magnitude and significance of last week's anti-Trump reaction in Southern California.
What is fascinating to me--with regards to the first issue--the polls--is that many in the chattering class who dismissed out of hand as "early" and "meaningless" other polls that showed Sanders beating Trump by significantly wider margins--now hold up as near gospel polls that appear to conferred one of the political press's most beloved tropes--a race that is "tightening."
Unfortunately, you really can't have it both ways.
Either early cycle, head-to-head match-up polls are foolish and indicative of little (a view I believe is shared with me by Nate Cohn--the NYTimes resident polling expert) or there really is something to them (in which Mr. Blow may want to revisit recent columns dismissing Sanders' efforts to say polls that show him handily prevailing over Trump should impact the party's superdelegates preferences.
And the violent, anti-Trump demonstrations in California are indicative not that some bloody civil war is about to break out--it isn't--but the frustration and fury many feel in response to the forces of xenophobia and bigotry surrounding Trump, that feel emboldened and empowered to openly parade about--in large measure because of Trump's attacks on civility as mindless "political correctness."
I completely agree that violence is hardly the answer. As a Hilary supporter (reluctant), I would call upon the Democrats to take down their corresponding rhetoric on race and the 1%. Both parties can be accused of a strategy of incitement. The dialogue is consistent, "you [fill in the blank] cannot get ahead because of the [immigrants, hispanics, big business, wall street, 1%, etc]. Rise up and claim your seat at the table." Of course, this means vote for me. Protests (Trump, anti immigration, anti-wall street, etc) are a tool of our current political movement.
The Republicans are done. They have taken their poison. The Democrats still have an opportunity to shift from incitement to messages of opportunity and policies that lift everyone
The Republicans are done. They have taken their poison. The Democrats still have an opportunity to shift from incitement to messages of opportunity and policies that lift everyone
If liberals want to call it racism to actually want to apply current federal law to illegal aliens and to stop future illegal activity by keeping them from streaming over the borders, that is their prerogative, but it doesn't make them correct or give them the right to attack Trump supporters physically (I don't buy the liberal rhetoric that somehow Trump and or his supporters are somehow to blame for people with Mexican flags beating up Trump supporters). Liberals also hate HRC's past to be referenced in any respect, what is Trump doing NOW that is sexist, answer nothing. You may not like Trump but don't delude yourselves that HRC or her violent supporters are any better or deserve to be in the White House anymore then Trump.
10
Mr. Blow, you quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in criticizing the violent responses to Donald Trump's hateful incitement of his supporters. Dr. King also spoke to confronting this evil: "The beauty of non-violence is that in its own way and in its own time it seeks to break the chain reaction of evil."
1
Madness, indeed!
But, the Queen of Clubs is equally mad, as well. In a politically incorrect way, which may seem better than ambient viciousness. Neither provides the leadership we need.
And neither is fit to be President.
But, the Queen of Clubs is equally mad, as well. In a politically incorrect way, which may seem better than ambient viciousness. Neither provides the leadership we need.
And neither is fit to be President.
8
If Trump's supporters went on a rampage at either a Clinton or Sanders rally we'd never hear the end of it. There would be angry, self-righteous finger waggling columns from Charles Blow et al for days on end decrying the shameful behavior of fanatical Trump supporters.
However when progressives (who are supposed to know better) engage in violence to protest a candidate they have serious problems with then it's merely an expression of "fierce opposition" to this particular person. I'm also convinced these weren't progressives out there protesting in San Jose. These were professional agitators and vandals who really wanted to get on the 6 pm news. Remember the whole world is watching.
The media double standard reeks.
However when progressives (who are supposed to know better) engage in violence to protest a candidate they have serious problems with then it's merely an expression of "fierce opposition" to this particular person. I'm also convinced these weren't progressives out there protesting in San Jose. These were professional agitators and vandals who really wanted to get on the 6 pm news. Remember the whole world is watching.
The media double standard reeks.
10
The Democrats probably envisioned choosing the Clinton duo, was as they say, a walk in the park. Run a nice old man named Sanders against her , shut him down early, and scoop up his naive followers. Hillary was scheduled to run against Jeb, and beat him hands down, because his last name was Bush. Well here we are, with millions who decided they had nowhere to turn gravitating to Trump, as the Clintons are associated with insiders, Wall Street, and the media. All who have it made with the system as is. Trump and Hillary are dismal choices, in a dysfunctional political establishment, brought on by themselves. Not all Trump followers are dumb white males with no education, as the media explains day in and day out. I and a whole lot of very well off white people, don't run around with a sign telling who and why they support Trump. Demonstrations by youth's at either Sanders or Trump rallies doesn't mean anything. It just keeps the media hyping it. I expect articles about brown shirts roaming our streets next. If our system was functioning Warren and Bloomberg would be our two choices.
7
For God's sake, if we would just address the legitimate concerns of Trump voters; the loss of good paying jobs, illegal immigration, the loss of more good paying jobs... then much of the vitriol would go away. Americans want good paying jobs that can support a family on one earners wages, like it used to be! They want universal health care and a secure retirement - all the things that have been stolen from them by the elites in both parties and their wealthy one percent donors. Concentrate on fixing that, and the anger that brought Trump to the Republican nomination will subside. Ignore it and you get President Trump.
25
You make several valid points, but if Trump supporters wanted universal health care, good paying jobs, etc. then explain why they consistently vote for candidates who will give them none of these things they claim to desperately want? Let's look at Kentucky and West Virginia. Kentucky elected a governor who promised to take away a successful state level health care exchange. West Virginia coal miners cheered Trumps promise to bring back health killing, unsafe jobs in coal mines. Jobs that have been vanishing for thirty years. The candidates who actually do support jobs and universal health care are booed and defeated. So let's be real about the real anger here.
Sorry those people that will vote for Trump to not know that the world has changed and we need to adapt to survive in this new world. Those good manufacturing jobs are probably gone for good, because companies want to produce goods as cheaply as possible to enrich their bottom lines.
Those who vote Republican are very foolish, this is the party of big business. In many states Unions are being destroyed, Unions allowed the employed individual a stronger voice in good paying, fair and safe jobs.
Although Republican's have blamed the other for America change, this is unfair to reality. Immigration needs to be addressed by Congress, something they have been unable to address. A "wall" at this stage of the game in ridiculous.
It is impossible to change the reality and the stupidity of those who will vote for him. This election appears to be razor close at this point of time our only hope is that Trump implodes.
Those who vote Republican are very foolish, this is the party of big business. In many states Unions are being destroyed, Unions allowed the employed individual a stronger voice in good paying, fair and safe jobs.
Although Republican's have blamed the other for America change, this is unfair to reality. Immigration needs to be addressed by Congress, something they have been unable to address. A "wall" at this stage of the game in ridiculous.
It is impossible to change the reality and the stupidity of those who will vote for him. This election appears to be razor close at this point of time our only hope is that Trump implodes.
The violence surrounding the Trump campaign is just another symptom of the increasing coarseness of the American culture. Any kind of noise can now be called music, comedy on TV has declined from the genius of Red Skelton and Lucille Ball to crude bathroom jokes, appreciation of classic poetry and literature has been replaced by little or no reading, people now go out in public wearing clothes we used to reserve for bedtime, and the list goes on and on. So for someone like Trump to come along and attract the attention that he has was inevitable. As a society we are reaping what we have sown.
8
Aaron Adams, I disagree with everything that you just wrote. The rise of Trump-ism is not the symptom of our modern culture. It is a reflection of an ugly past culture, that was allowed to incubate in the modern Republican party for decades. This yearning to walk upright, and boast proudly of your racism and sexism has been protected by the Republican party since the 1960s. In their misguided view of tolerance, the Republican party consciously decided to tolerate the intolerant, which they always new that this paradox would someday emancipate the bigot.
Therefore, please don't use the excuse that American society has been crippled by the loss of your narrow Sunday school visions.
Therefore, please don't use the excuse that American society has been crippled by the loss of your narrow Sunday school visions.
A lofty, courageous article. I cried when I read it. Thanks, Mr. Blow!
3
Mr. Blow offers a powerful critique of the current state of American politics. It remains to be seen whether the American people can rise above the ugly themes espoused by Trump and his followers. We have doubts.
9
Rise of Trump shows racism in America is alive and well, the difference what people tried to hide before and proud to display their hatred toward another.
There is no other reason for the rise of Trump and media have taken a back seat calling him out afraid for backlash.
There is no other reason for the rise of Trump and media have taken a back seat calling him out afraid for backlash.
8
And what do you call the Mexican KKK that is specifically targeting young women at all of these Rallies? The F'ing welcome wagon! What do you call the peaceful demonstrations at Ferguson and Baltimore under the Obama watch???? Racism is alive and well under the watch of the man who owns it OBAMA! You wanna still blame Bush for this too? Teflon Barack is the one to look at!
2
"I understand that Trump represents a clear and present danger, and having a passionate response that encompasses rage and fear is reasonable."
That sentence completely contradicts the point of your column. It has echoes of 1964. Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Understanding is a form of acceptance. Trump is laughing when he sees Hispanics flying the Mexican flag and burning the American flag. That inflames his nationalistic message. Trump's calculation is a simple one, get a record turnout of resentful and angry whites and win the election. He is constantly on a day by day basis putting his finger in the eye of the Hispanic and Muslim population to accomplish his goal. Counter violence is what he seeks. It should be condemned in the strongest terms. No qualifiers.
That sentence completely contradicts the point of your column. It has echoes of 1964. Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Understanding is a form of acceptance. Trump is laughing when he sees Hispanics flying the Mexican flag and burning the American flag. That inflames his nationalistic message. Trump's calculation is a simple one, get a record turnout of resentful and angry whites and win the election. He is constantly on a day by day basis putting his finger in the eye of the Hispanic and Muslim population to accomplish his goal. Counter violence is what he seeks. It should be condemned in the strongest terms. No qualifiers.
2
I used to proudly display my political affiliation on the back of my car but in this election cycle I don't have the courage. There is too much anger out there so no need to advertise my support for Senator Sanders.
1
We saw a woman wearing a very large Trump button the other day. It was so strange for us to see. We all tried not to gawk at her.
Wow, Mr. B's eloquence is well established, but the unexpected power of his words on a Monday morning in June is both bracing and tonic. Never in my lifetime have American voters been presented with such a stark choice for the nation's future. The Republican establishment has been blindsided and hijacked by a dangerous and obnoxious demagogue, and, meekly falling in line behind their new leader, they have chosen to be on the wrong side of history. Mr. Blow's exhortation to America's true patriots to turn toward the light and away from darkness needs to be heard far and wide in these perilous times.
'
'
2
CB's quote of the peaceful words of Dr.King is a camouflage. His disquisition appears incendiary, and his efforts to play down the violence and brutality of the "protesters" and to draw a false equivalency between Trump's words and the aggressive behavior of the mob towards his supporters is not fair and balanced, and is misleading. Back story is that Mayor Licardo, with links to La Raza and other pro open borders groups, passed the word to his police chief, Edouardo GARCIA, to go easy on the aggressors, to unofficially stand down when they attacked Trump's adherents for exercising their First Amendment rights.Forces of order that night were also deliberately understaffed to allow the mob to attack at will. These r "chismes,(rumors) but insinuations ultimately turn out to have more than a grain of truth. CB should have informed us of this back story, although unproven, in the name of professionalism. This otherwise good writer has allowed himself to be carried away by his own emotions and frustrations. I hope we can look forward to more professionalism in the future because I and many others enjoy reading his columns.One final point:What will be the outcome if , at the next Trump rally, his law abiding adherents show up ready to defend their own position in life against those who would deny them their freedom of speech?
6
Even before Trump showed up, this American felt that our Country is having a nervous break-down; one which has led to a Civil War and divided us far apart. This morning I am expecting an elderly staunch hard-working Republican at the door, and it will be the first time that I plan not to ask him for his views on what is happening.
Friends are being more cautious in tone and politics are no longer discussed in the open air, but behind closed doors. Perhaps I envied the young man, a gifted landscape artist in the garden earlier this week, looking slightly puzzled because he was not sure whether he was going to vote for Trump, Clinton or Ben Carson.
It is craven to report that I am beginning to have doubts about Americans. What I can report is that hopefully we will never have presidential elections like this one again. 'Ditto!' replied a friend, her family, victims of the Holocaust. I am just praying that this is not 'The Real America'.
Friends are being more cautious in tone and politics are no longer discussed in the open air, but behind closed doors. Perhaps I envied the young man, a gifted landscape artist in the garden earlier this week, looking slightly puzzled because he was not sure whether he was going to vote for Trump, Clinton or Ben Carson.
It is craven to report that I am beginning to have doubts about Americans. What I can report is that hopefully we will never have presidential elections like this one again. 'Ditto!' replied a friend, her family, victims of the Holocaust. I am just praying that this is not 'The Real America'.
Trump's brand of fascism will only benefit from violence. Look for special uniforms and armbands, next.
3
Madness Charles, is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. That applies to our failed 60s social programs.
Time for a new tack.
Time for a new tack.
3
And what is the "new tack?" Substituting one madness for another?
What do you mean "failed 60s social programs"? So nothing has worked? Food stamps have not helped the poor? Head Start has not helped young children? Obamacare has not helped people get health care?
I'm sorry, Ryan, but you sound like you're white and middle class and privileged, and this whole discussion is simply a ivory tower debate to you. You can't imagine how tough life really is for anyone else. Explain your "new tack" to people who are hungry and sick and unemployed, and see what they think of it.
I'm sorry, Ryan, but you sound like you're white and middle class and privileged, and this whole discussion is simply a ivory tower debate to you. You can't imagine how tough life really is for anyone else. Explain your "new tack" to people who are hungry and sick and unemployed, and see what they think of it.
Hypocrites and rogues like Ryan, McConnell, Corker et al, lend credence to Trump's views through their support of him. The greater tragedy is not Trump's candidacy. It is the support of it by these self-serving men and women at the top of the heap who have sold their souls in their quest for power. Totally disgraceful.
1
It might help to consider that perhaps Trumpism is a predictable reaction to what has happened over the past years, as much as one might disagree.
Entire and large groups of people have found their sexual and religious mores overruled now for a few decades. The disappearance of (Christian) prayer from school, the acceptance and legal rights of gay persons; these things are shocking to these people. And now, we are talking about something that, in that world, is close to science fiction: transgenderism and beyond.
I don't judge that future shock, I just note it. And there are other affronts and changes, real or imagined, these Trump supporters see.
I do not see how we can blame people for being caught behind history. But I can blame the Party which exploited and husbanded that lag. The Republican Party and its outlets have fostered this shock, indeed, has made a lot of money off of it. Now it is erupting into a pure, angry, alienated form. Can we blame Trump, the market man, from seeing a ripe mob to pimp?
Entire and large groups of people have found their sexual and religious mores overruled now for a few decades. The disappearance of (Christian) prayer from school, the acceptance and legal rights of gay persons; these things are shocking to these people. And now, we are talking about something that, in that world, is close to science fiction: transgenderism and beyond.
I don't judge that future shock, I just note it. And there are other affronts and changes, real or imagined, these Trump supporters see.
I do not see how we can blame people for being caught behind history. But I can blame the Party which exploited and husbanded that lag. The Republican Party and its outlets have fostered this shock, indeed, has made a lot of money off of it. Now it is erupting into a pure, angry, alienated form. Can we blame Trump, the market man, from seeing a ripe mob to pimp?
1
Not only must Trump lose this November, he must lose HUGE. It can't be close. And Trump's loss must take the Republican Party along into the dustbin of history.
That is the only way to send a message to the rest of the world that the United States is not a confederacy of racist dunces. SpongeBob SquarePants has more legitimacy running for POTUS.
That is the only way to send a message to the rest of the world that the United States is not a confederacy of racist dunces. SpongeBob SquarePants has more legitimacy running for POTUS.
6
I believe that political passion is only a symptom of what is going on in this country. When we talk about unrest in the middle east, we often point to factors that include no job opportunities, great disparity of wealth, and tribal affiliations. Those factors are at play here also. The entire world is looking at rising populations and a concurrent rise in technology that results in making so many people obsolete. The rage we are seeing is a fight to stay relevant in a system that doesn't need you and doesn't want to support you.
2
Such bias. Trump supporters did not incite the protestors in Chicago or San Jose; they were attacked. To imply that that Trump supporters were equally as violent or wrong is false.
9
This column is exactly correct.
Beyond the toll to society of the escalating cycle of hate, remember Nixon actually paid people to incite violent demonstrations as part of his "dirty tricks" knowing that they helped his campaign.
If you are thinking of organizing or attending an anti-Trump rally, spend the time organizing a voter registration drive instead, and work to help those who Republicans have disinfranchised by the ID law to get an appropriate ID, even if it means hours to help one person without a car to go to the offices and get the forms needed,
In fact, instead of a rally outside of every Trump event, let's have a well-publicized Democratic voter registration drive at the same time somewhere else in each town where Trump speak so
Beyond the toll to society of the escalating cycle of hate, remember Nixon actually paid people to incite violent demonstrations as part of his "dirty tricks" knowing that they helped his campaign.
If you are thinking of organizing or attending an anti-Trump rally, spend the time organizing a voter registration drive instead, and work to help those who Republicans have disinfranchised by the ID law to get an appropriate ID, even if it means hours to help one person without a car to go to the offices and get the forms needed,
In fact, instead of a rally outside of every Trump event, let's have a well-publicized Democratic voter registration drive at the same time somewhere else in each town where Trump speak so
30
Funny, people are being paid to "demonstrate" at Trump rallies. Paid thugs.
2
Spot on, Charles, spot on. Those of us who oppose Trump must not descend into the hog wallow from which he spews his messages of racism, isolation, and exclusion. The mud is deeper than it looks, fouler even than it smells.
Stridency does not help HIllary. The quickest way for her to lose votes from the undecided is to display personal irritation by taking Trump's bait and responding from instinct rather than from calm strength. Her mantra should be: softly...big stick...softly...big stick.
Charles, you write: "The best way to direct passions is not only with the bullhorn, but also at the ballot box. In a democracy, the vote is the voice." But that last sentence, for many of us in this nation, be we Republican or Democrat, is a lie, every 4 years, in the selection of the President of the United States. Depending on the redness or blueness of our states of residence, we are essentially disenfranchised. As long as campaigns pay more attention to the Electoral College than to the individual voter, we will continue to taste the venom that began as a trickle in the 1960's but flows in torrents today.
"In a democracy, the vote is the voice." If only that were true in this country this year.
Stridency does not help HIllary. The quickest way for her to lose votes from the undecided is to display personal irritation by taking Trump's bait and responding from instinct rather than from calm strength. Her mantra should be: softly...big stick...softly...big stick.
Charles, you write: "The best way to direct passions is not only with the bullhorn, but also at the ballot box. In a democracy, the vote is the voice." But that last sentence, for many of us in this nation, be we Republican or Democrat, is a lie, every 4 years, in the selection of the President of the United States. Depending on the redness or blueness of our states of residence, we are essentially disenfranchised. As long as campaigns pay more attention to the Electoral College than to the individual voter, we will continue to taste the venom that began as a trickle in the 1960's but flows in torrents today.
"In a democracy, the vote is the voice." If only that were true in this country this year.
10
Risk adverse politicians do not do anything for the people until the people rise up in large numbers and take to the streets. Look behind the propaganda that FDR created the New Deal, or LBJ created Civil Rights Legislation, or Nixon ended the Vietnam War, and you will find millions of people on the street.
Without protests, you get business as usual, the super rich creating all policy.
Yes protestor violence is wrong, and counter productive, since it is used against them politically. But the idea that we should just vote every four years and shut up is anti-democratic propaganda.
Without protests, you get business as usual, the super rich creating all policy.
Yes protestor violence is wrong, and counter productive, since it is used against them politically. But the idea that we should just vote every four years and shut up is anti-democratic propaganda.
It was truly admirable how the MLK movement was able to instill a disciplined response to all the indignities people were suffering. At the time, I felt that violence would doom their efforts and yet I was surprised that they were able to resist all the provocations.
Remembering that non-violence was successful, it has been surprising how quickly people rallied to the violent overthrow of the Assad regime. Bad as it was, the regime was not reported as applying the pervasive, continuous oppression experienced by African-Americans in the South, where even the ballot box was not available for redress. Hundreds of thousands have died and millions displaced in Syria. Surely, the MLK type of non-violence would have been preferable.
One can wonder whether a Trump President would be n Assad or a George Wallace.
Remembering that non-violence was successful, it has been surprising how quickly people rallied to the violent overthrow of the Assad regime. Bad as it was, the regime was not reported as applying the pervasive, continuous oppression experienced by African-Americans in the South, where even the ballot box was not available for redress. Hundreds of thousands have died and millions displaced in Syria. Surely, the MLK type of non-violence would have been preferable.
One can wonder whether a Trump President would be n Assad or a George Wallace.
2
There was non-violent protest in Syria. Assad responded with an artillery attack on the town. (That means lobbing inaccurate bombs at a town from miles away.)
There was six months of nonviolent protest against assad. Then he followed the lead of the Chinese in Tiananmen Square and unleashed the dogs of war on peaceful civilians. That massacre of peaceful protestors in China is citied by trump as the way he feels dissent should be handled. He points to putin murdering journalists as how to deal with dissenting journalists, and kim or North Korea murdering his political opponents including family members as the way to deal with political dissent. THAT is why people are freaking out that trump is a candidate of one of our political parties. The party of Lincoln is now the party of a petty narcissistic wannabe tyrant.
Violence isn't caused by Trump. Violence isn't caused by Bernie. A small percentage of angry people on all sides of political conflict cause violence. This is nothing new, and is deemed unacceptable in a society built on the law, with arrest and indictment for those who are caught. This type of violence is inherently unpreventable, however, legal sanction tends to mitigate this violence from spreading out of control. Even the worst politically charged violence, such as the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, fizzles and the aftermath disappears after a few months. More seriously is the continued and increasing violence within our inner cities, Chicago especially. Mr. Blow....start worrying about that, and while you are doing so, work on solutions within the affected communities. The social fabric within these communities is broken. It's time to fix it. Depending on government to do so is folly.
12
Trump did ask his crowd to attack protestors numerous times. Sanders would not even consider such a thing.
One of the few social experiments that has worked has been the rise in the prison population. From 1960 to 1970 the prison population declined. The crime rate doubled. Since 1980 the prison population has tripled. The crime rate has declined by one third.
http://www.jacksonprogressive.com/issues/lawenforcement/punishment.pdf
http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm
Currently the Black Lives Matter movement has pressured police officers in black neighborhoods to go easy on the black criminals who are raising the murder rates of blacks. The Black Lives Matter Movement should convey their message to those black criminals.
http://www.jacksonprogressive.com/issues/lawenforcement/punishment.pdf
http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm
Currently the Black Lives Matter movement has pressured police officers in black neighborhoods to go easy on the black criminals who are raising the murder rates of blacks. The Black Lives Matter Movement should convey their message to those black criminals.
Sorry, but individuals can and do incite violence and any number of other things, good and bad. Props and blame are meted out accordingly.
It's also clear Mr. Blow has and does worry about inner city violence, he has offered solutions and alternatives through his writing.
A single op-ed piece can't have everything in it all at once. Here he talks about the fact that Trump brings out the worst in people. Bad inspiration. It's worth writing about.
It's also clear Mr. Blow has and does worry about inner city violence, he has offered solutions and alternatives through his writing.
A single op-ed piece can't have everything in it all at once. Here he talks about the fact that Trump brings out the worst in people. Bad inspiration. It's worth writing about.
Globalization has seriously decreased the value of labor in the United States, and excessive regulation and taxation have only exacerbated the situation. Irrationally, we are divided over the two worst possible remedies, protectionism and ever more obsessive/compulsive regulatory strangulation of our economy. We are repeating the pattern of the 1930's and are probably on our way to a cataclysmic world war.
1
"We are the new America — more diverse, more inclusive, more than our ancestors could ever have imagined."
I understand. But the new America's diversity is disagreeable, and its inclusiveness is increasingly intolerant, but not more than our ancestors could have imagined.
"Our" ancestors were never a monolithic whole. Some of them were slaves while some of them owned slaves. Some of them were Japanese, while some of them were their internment camp guards. Some of them worked In sweat shops while others abused their workers. Some of them were Native Americans, while some of them did their best to extinguish them from their native land.
We have a selective memory when it comes to "our" own divisiveness. Intolerance of diversity is part of our culture. Have we made progress? Sure. But the madness of Trump appeals not to the better angels in America but to the ugliness of "our" history,
Yes, we may have made progress, but we shouldn't underestimate the power of the hatred which still looms not so far beneath "our" surface. Neither does Donald Trump. In fact, he seems to be taking advantage of it. We'd better understand that, before it's too late. Trump certainly does.
I understand. But the new America's diversity is disagreeable, and its inclusiveness is increasingly intolerant, but not more than our ancestors could have imagined.
"Our" ancestors were never a monolithic whole. Some of them were slaves while some of them owned slaves. Some of them were Japanese, while some of them were their internment camp guards. Some of them worked In sweat shops while others abused their workers. Some of them were Native Americans, while some of them did their best to extinguish them from their native land.
We have a selective memory when it comes to "our" own divisiveness. Intolerance of diversity is part of our culture. Have we made progress? Sure. But the madness of Trump appeals not to the better angels in America but to the ugliness of "our" history,
Yes, we may have made progress, but we shouldn't underestimate the power of the hatred which still looms not so far beneath "our" surface. Neither does Donald Trump. In fact, he seems to be taking advantage of it. We'd better understand that, before it's too late. Trump certainly does.
4
By all means register voters. I know that's what I'll be doing this summer. Like many, I'll work as hard as I can to get Hillary elected. Just the same, the question I fear we could all soon be facing is similar to that the German people once faced: what to do in the face of evil. I'm not sure MLK's movement could have achieved what it did without the fires lit by Malcolm X and the principled rudeness of people like Muhammed Ali. Peace and prayers and singing only move those who are inclined to be peaceful, pray, and sing. Such people are rarely the problem and rarely the answer. We have a responsibility to our children and our neighbors to remember that not all men are impeded by conscience. Such men must be impeded by us. The tragic truth is that the violent of heart and mind hear violence alone. Will we be peaceful and polite in the face of what Mr. Trump would do to our brothers and sisters? I hope not.
4
It is true that in democracy the vote is the voice. And it is true that America's bearing as a democracy is ultimately toward the better. This is the American promise. But when vast numbers of people disbelieve in democracy or government, and when a powerful political party makes disbelief in government its very philosophy, democracy fails.
Since Reagan, and still more since Gingrich, the Republican party has refused to respect the vote unless Republicans win it, and they have fought against any success of the Democratic party at the ballot box with the sound and fury of radical propaganda, the politicization of the courts, relentless congressional inquisitions, and the promotion of fraudulent policy that favors the rich. To obtain and maintain power, they have promoted and encouraged hatred of government. Trump is the embodiment of Republican hatred, in its most undisguised form.
So it is hardly surprising that today, right-wing hatred might beget "the very thing it seeks to destroy." Anti-Trump forces are not simply provoked by political differences. They are provoked by hatred against all that is good. Let us hope that Trump is destroyed at the ballot box. And let us hope that Republicans' hatred will finally be chastened, and that democracy, good government, and progress will prevail. But I suspect that the Republicans' paranoid politics will continue instead even if they lose, and it will be up to Clinton to fight.
Since Reagan, and still more since Gingrich, the Republican party has refused to respect the vote unless Republicans win it, and they have fought against any success of the Democratic party at the ballot box with the sound and fury of radical propaganda, the politicization of the courts, relentless congressional inquisitions, and the promotion of fraudulent policy that favors the rich. To obtain and maintain power, they have promoted and encouraged hatred of government. Trump is the embodiment of Republican hatred, in its most undisguised form.
So it is hardly surprising that today, right-wing hatred might beget "the very thing it seeks to destroy." Anti-Trump forces are not simply provoked by political differences. They are provoked by hatred against all that is good. Let us hope that Trump is destroyed at the ballot box. And let us hope that Republicans' hatred will finally be chastened, and that democracy, good government, and progress will prevail. But I suspect that the Republicans' paranoid politics will continue instead even if they lose, and it will be up to Clinton to fight.
5
Your post reads like one of those B movie scripts, Jeb: It begins with a clear setting and a believable scenario and the actors within it make perfect sense and respond believably to their circumstances. But then when the climax approaches, the story becomes totally maudlin and ridiculous, as if the screenwriter was told by the producers, "you can't end it that way or it won't sell at the box office."
"...let us hope that Republicans'... hatred will be chastened and... progress will prevail.. but the Repubicans' paranoid politics will continue.. even if they lose... and it will be up to Clinton to fight."
To expect or even hope that Clinton (the epitome of bitterness ever since her well-researched and sensible national health care proposal was laughed off of Capitol Hill twenty years ago) to chasten Republican hatred? That's an ending we'd all like to buy into, but it's not a logical or even realistic outcome of the story you've crafted.
"...let us hope that Republicans'... hatred will be chastened and... progress will prevail.. but the Repubicans' paranoid politics will continue.. even if they lose... and it will be up to Clinton to fight."
To expect or even hope that Clinton (the epitome of bitterness ever since her well-researched and sensible national health care proposal was laughed off of Capitol Hill twenty years ago) to chasten Republican hatred? That's an ending we'd all like to buy into, but it's not a logical or even realistic outcome of the story you've crafted.
Violence and (even) incivility "turn people off" from politics - and aversion to politics is already the norm in our popular culture.
But violence and incivility also have their uses - for some. Remember the Brooks Brothers Riot in Florida when thuggish Republican careerists shut down recounts.
In the short term violence and incivility benefit those with the most resources/firepower (lawyers, guns, and money . . . The Brooks Brothers Brigade had the Supreme freaking Court at its back.)
The Democratic Party is run by lawyers, consultants, professionals, "techies", and managers: hardworking, "well educated" people with lots of "soft skills" and technical training. The professionals include teachers, nurses, and human service workers who come in regular contact with the poor as clients. Violence and incivility shut these people down.
It's agonizing that violence is fundamentally wrong, while also fundamental. The US is literally built on the broken, burnt, and wasted bodies of American Indians and Black Slaves. In Social Media, the passing of Muhammad Ali is an occasion to "refight" the Vietnam War where millennial minorities "virtually" confront grizzled vets who tell what they did when they were approximately 19: burned crops & villages, and killed men, woman, and children - anyone who was a threat to them or their buddies. Current recruits and recent vets chime in with the realities of wars still raging.
We have such a long way to go and so much to learn.
But violence and incivility also have their uses - for some. Remember the Brooks Brothers Riot in Florida when thuggish Republican careerists shut down recounts.
In the short term violence and incivility benefit those with the most resources/firepower (lawyers, guns, and money . . . The Brooks Brothers Brigade had the Supreme freaking Court at its back.)
The Democratic Party is run by lawyers, consultants, professionals, "techies", and managers: hardworking, "well educated" people with lots of "soft skills" and technical training. The professionals include teachers, nurses, and human service workers who come in regular contact with the poor as clients. Violence and incivility shut these people down.
It's agonizing that violence is fundamentally wrong, while also fundamental. The US is literally built on the broken, burnt, and wasted bodies of American Indians and Black Slaves. In Social Media, the passing of Muhammad Ali is an occasion to "refight" the Vietnam War where millennial minorities "virtually" confront grizzled vets who tell what they did when they were approximately 19: burned crops & villages, and killed men, woman, and children - anyone who was a threat to them or their buddies. Current recruits and recent vets chime in with the realities of wars still raging.
We have such a long way to go and so much to learn.
1
Even as I agree with you, Mr. Blow, I must observe that we need to understand the roots of the violence on the part of the Trump supporters, and that great violence has been done to them over the last twenty to thirty years. We must stop condemning just the physical violence and condoning economic violence. The latter is far more insidious, happens out of sight and is easy to ignore. Read the NYT piece today on the money hidden overseas by banks like Mossack Fonseca, and the tens of billions dollars the Treasury loses every year to tax evaders. How does this happen? Aren't the mega thieves and the legislators who aid and abet them through pressuring the IRS and SEC to look the other way, far greater criminals than the rude shovers and pushers at the Trump rallies? Why don't we see Op-Eds calling for their heads?
Yes, the racists and xenophobes who cheer Trump on are not an easy bunch to love. Yes, many of their abhorrent beliefs and ideas are probably deeply held and ingrained. Yes, they shoot themselves in the foot by electing the very people who are the most responsible for their economic plight. But they are still our problem, our country's problem, and if we want to want their violence to cease, we must act decisively to end the violence against them. This responsibility falls squarely on those of us with greater education, greater opportunity, and greater economic wherewithal. And that is why econo-criminals must be hunted down and shown no leniency.
Yes, the racists and xenophobes who cheer Trump on are not an easy bunch to love. Yes, many of their abhorrent beliefs and ideas are probably deeply held and ingrained. Yes, they shoot themselves in the foot by electing the very people who are the most responsible for their economic plight. But they are still our problem, our country's problem, and if we want to want their violence to cease, we must act decisively to end the violence against them. This responsibility falls squarely on those of us with greater education, greater opportunity, and greater economic wherewithal. And that is why econo-criminals must be hunted down and shown no leniency.
6
Republicans keep cutting the IRS budget. Do you wonder why?
Also, look at the year better disclosure requirements were passed: 2010, when Democrats controlled the Congress and the White House.
Also, look at the year better disclosure requirements were passed: 2010, when Democrats controlled the Congress and the White House.
Trump supporters include white men who make over 72 thousand a year. I leave it to you to understand their motives.
1
Charles your message of non-violence to advocate change and progress cannot be said enough.
Trump's projects his own sense of personal failure on America.
He uses ethnic and religious scape goats to put his supporters sense of loss and enmity squarely on the feet of other groups of people in a nonsensical blizzard of pejorative negative rants.
He is the first presidential candidate running from a major party to encourage his supporters to use violence to silence peaceful protestors at his rallies and offer to pay for their legal defenses if charged.
People may over use the Hitler comparison, but only because that little man stirred up so much hate and destruction in the world that he became the epitome of the damage that an unstable, ill tempered demagogue can unleash in otherwise reasonable people when given immense power.
Hitler is a benchmark to judge others to ensure the horrors of his age are not repeated.
When Trump announced his run for President by denouncing Mexicans as criminals and rapists with some - he supposes - good people, I was horrified.
When he deemed his federal judge unfit to adjudicate his fraud cases because of his Mexican heritage I was outraged.
But I have stopped.
You can't blame a scorpion for what he is.
Now I now denounce and rebuke all leaders of the Republican parties who publicly back a man with values so inconsistent with America and any political party.
They will wear their support for Trump through history in infamy.
Trump's projects his own sense of personal failure on America.
He uses ethnic and religious scape goats to put his supporters sense of loss and enmity squarely on the feet of other groups of people in a nonsensical blizzard of pejorative negative rants.
He is the first presidential candidate running from a major party to encourage his supporters to use violence to silence peaceful protestors at his rallies and offer to pay for their legal defenses if charged.
People may over use the Hitler comparison, but only because that little man stirred up so much hate and destruction in the world that he became the epitome of the damage that an unstable, ill tempered demagogue can unleash in otherwise reasonable people when given immense power.
Hitler is a benchmark to judge others to ensure the horrors of his age are not repeated.
When Trump announced his run for President by denouncing Mexicans as criminals and rapists with some - he supposes - good people, I was horrified.
When he deemed his federal judge unfit to adjudicate his fraud cases because of his Mexican heritage I was outraged.
But I have stopped.
You can't blame a scorpion for what he is.
Now I now denounce and rebuke all leaders of the Republican parties who publicly back a man with values so inconsistent with America and any political party.
They will wear their support for Trump through history in infamy.
10
The hardheadedness of Donald Trump and his followers, supporters, and enablers is reflected in Trump's refusal to answer questions, then he takes over an interview with a sales pitch. If Trump's opinions and stated changes and solutions to problems, domestic and foreign that he would make as President are legitimate, why the all-the-time failure to provide adult, professional answers? The madness of the Trump phenomenon is that his people apparently do not see clearly what a danger Trump is, the most visible, Republicans and their elected public servants falling behind one another in support of Trump after he used the most foul words and tactics against them. If I had been physically removed from a Trump rally, at the same time insulted and lambasted by Trump on his unfair advantage, the microphone, there would be violence in my thoughts, too. With the surplus of some of the dirtiest tricks that can be played on political opponents, and their 'leader' encouraging violence, and now, Trump is using the dirtiest language.... Those who do not pay attention to the past are doomed to repeat it. View the classic speech by Mussolini, then view Trump's speeches. One can hardly tell them apart.
1
The madness of those who think Trump is potentially a great leader needs more analysis than just blaming our education system. We evolved in small groups. We evolved in wild settings.
In 1800, 3% of us lived in cities. By 2008, that became 50%, and in 2070, it’s expected to be 70%. Abnormal, unnatural—call it what we will, it is not what we adapted to millions of years ago. We were hunter-gatherers; all had a niche of some kind. We had roles and responsibilities--and leaders. Now, too many are relegated to work that feeds comedians. Too many have no work at all, and are told that they should get off their rear ends and seek work that is clearly disrespected.
The world was always dangerous. Wild animals, weather, earthquakes, and marauding neighbors were our threats. Now, the range of variables in the world overpowers the best thinkers in economics and psychology. Peoples (nations) who now seem settled and relatively happy have been working on their relations with one another and with the world for a very long time. We are still young, and can still refer to first-generation and second-generation Americans. Simply copying what works for others may not be enough: we have to adapt to our own circumstances. Many instinctively refuse to adapt to their current conditions, being relegated to irrelevancy, or worse, to the garbage heap. The economy of greed must be rejected.
In 1800, 3% of us lived in cities. By 2008, that became 50%, and in 2070, it’s expected to be 70%. Abnormal, unnatural—call it what we will, it is not what we adapted to millions of years ago. We were hunter-gatherers; all had a niche of some kind. We had roles and responsibilities--and leaders. Now, too many are relegated to work that feeds comedians. Too many have no work at all, and are told that they should get off their rear ends and seek work that is clearly disrespected.
The world was always dangerous. Wild animals, weather, earthquakes, and marauding neighbors were our threats. Now, the range of variables in the world overpowers the best thinkers in economics and psychology. Peoples (nations) who now seem settled and relatively happy have been working on their relations with one another and with the world for a very long time. We are still young, and can still refer to first-generation and second-generation Americans. Simply copying what works for others may not be enough: we have to adapt to our own circumstances. Many instinctively refuse to adapt to their current conditions, being relegated to irrelevancy, or worse, to the garbage heap. The economy of greed must be rejected.
3
Once again, Charles Blow, writes with uncommon brilliance and insight about the issues facing America. Responding to the clear danger of Donald Trump by matching violence with violence is morally wrong and politically stupid. It is precisely the reaction Trump and his supporters want.
Democrats, even the Sanders supporters who are amazingly ambivalent about Trump, should be doing everything to prepare for the Republican suppression of the black and Hispanic vote.
Registration efforts need to be intensified, periodic visits to the homes of the newly registered folks need to be made, arrangements for babysitters and for shuttle buses to and from the correct precincts must be in place, polling place watchdogs need to be firmed up, liaison with state and local police has to be worked out, and teams of lawyers must be ready to march into federal court in the blink of an eye.
There is much to be done, but violence is not on the list.
Democrats, even the Sanders supporters who are amazingly ambivalent about Trump, should be doing everything to prepare for the Republican suppression of the black and Hispanic vote.
Registration efforts need to be intensified, periodic visits to the homes of the newly registered folks need to be made, arrangements for babysitters and for shuttle buses to and from the correct precincts must be in place, polling place watchdogs need to be firmed up, liaison with state and local police has to be worked out, and teams of lawyers must be ready to march into federal court in the blink of an eye.
There is much to be done, but violence is not on the list.
6
Funny, I fail to see any Trump supporters acting violent at Hillary! and Bernie! rallies.
3
It's becoming clearer by the day that many Sanders supporters share the same sense of aggrieved white entitlement that has fueled Trump's campaign. Sure, there are few stone-cold racists among the Bernista ranks, but Sanders, like Trump, evokes an idealized past, only his recalls the regime of strong entitlement programs and regulatory statutes that once buoyed middle and working classes Americans—though largely white ones. That minority voters get this is made evident by Sanders's poor showing among them, even as he insists that he alone knows what's best for them. He's dismissed their turnout in Southern states and is now furiously lobbying to overturn the popular will in order to secure the nomination, a demand that exposes an authoritarian streak not dissimilar to Trump's. None of which gets into the sexism that animates the Bernie Bros who are among his fiercest partisans, and most vocal in threatening to defect to Trump. How else to explain the level of demonizing directed at a candidate whose policy differences with Sanders amounts to nil, and whose track record as a progressive is indisputable; is it really because Clinton is a war-mongering tool of Wall Street or a because she's a woman? Increasingly, it would seem that what separates Trump and Sanders supporters is less a matter of difference than of degree.
10
The Democrat Party lost its dominance in the United States when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was followed by five years of black ghetto rioting and more enduring increases in black social pathology.
Because of this white racial moderates felt betrayed. Segregationists felt vindicated.
Bernie Sanders does not say that. He knows it is true.
Because of this white racial moderates felt betrayed. Segregationists felt vindicated.
Bernie Sanders does not say that. He knows it is true.
MLK also said this:
"It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me…"
Tragically, the logic of this pronouncement by MLK would, in short order, be refuted by reality of his own lynching. King's hope was misplaced & his reasoning was circular. The resultant rule of law relied on by King presumed an adherence to the rule of law in first instance.
Adherence to the rule of law is not something associated w/ the Clintons. Moreover, racial/ethnic disrespect, intimidation, exploitation & hate have always been a Clinton tactic & the reflexive use the "N"-word & other racial/ethnic slurs, part of Clinton lexicon. When the "first black pres" & his wife ran AR, NAACP sued them for intimidating blacks at the polls.
When deconstructing reflexive black support for Clintons, Randall Robinson asked: "For God's sake, why?"
Harriet Tubman on insidious nature of entrenched subservience: "I freed 1000 slaves. I could have freed 1000 more if only they knew they were slaves."
Some black intellectuals argue blacks opposed crime bill/blame its passage on the "selective hearing" of whites. "Selective hearing" sure sounds like "black lives do not matter"
How else can one possibly explain Rwanda?
The Clinton role in Rwandan genocide/Haitian refugee repatriation to certain death/Ricky Ray Rector execution/expansion of mass incarceration, should have long ago disabused all of us of Clinton nostalgia.
The existential threat—deeds, not rhetoric…
5
Superb points which remind me why I cringe when I hear the Clinton's espousing ever more rhetoric, only adjusted over time to suit the polls.
Wasn't too long ago they were against gay marriage and begs the question what their true colors really are.
Wasn't too long ago they were against gay marriage and begs the question what their true colors really are.
2
This is absurd - the Clinton role in the Rwandan genocide? Please explain exactly what that was. Do you have any documentation for anything you've said, other than rants from the lunatic fringe?
A very nice sentiment. But I'm not convinced. In his dying gasp, Ted Cruz finally said something true and honest, "Trump is playing you for chumps." And so they are. I don't have to respect these low information, emotion freighted, reactionary zealots who are doing their best to drag the rest of us over the edge into oblivion. And I don't.
While I admire and respect President Obama, he made one critical error. He tried to reason with the Republican scorpions who did have done their best to drag him down even though ... as Trump now shows ... their oncompromising hatred is sinking their own cause too. When someone tells you -- as Trump has -- that he has no respect for a civil process, believe him. And act accordingly.
I'm a student of history. At some point, the evil that is Trump -- and his followers -- must be opposed with every tool we have. Hitler rose to power because Hindenburg and other reasonable men thought they could contain his violent, ego-driven, racist madness after he won 31 percent of the vote in the last free election in Germany before WWII. Hitler's first act was to eliminate them and turn that 31 percent into a dictatorship.
We must never compromise with the evil that is Trump. And we must utterly defeat the power mad forces that have allowed him to threaten our nation.
While I admire and respect President Obama, he made one critical error. He tried to reason with the Republican scorpions who did have done their best to drag him down even though ... as Trump now shows ... their oncompromising hatred is sinking their own cause too. When someone tells you -- as Trump has -- that he has no respect for a civil process, believe him. And act accordingly.
I'm a student of history. At some point, the evil that is Trump -- and his followers -- must be opposed with every tool we have. Hitler rose to power because Hindenburg and other reasonable men thought they could contain his violent, ego-driven, racist madness after he won 31 percent of the vote in the last free election in Germany before WWII. Hitler's first act was to eliminate them and turn that 31 percent into a dictatorship.
We must never compromise with the evil that is Trump. And we must utterly defeat the power mad forces that have allowed him to threaten our nation.
60
Except....there are no "power mad sources". There is no Nazi party. This is not Germany in 1932.
The "evil" you wish to defeat is YOUR FELLOW AMERICAN CITIZENS...who have dared to defy your lefty liberalism and political correctness and THINK FOR THEMSELVES.
Essentially, you are calling for violence....against your fellow American citizens, and in defiance of the democratic process.
The "evil" you wish to defeat is YOUR FELLOW AMERICAN CITIZENS...who have dared to defy your lefty liberalism and political correctness and THINK FOR THEMSELVES.
Essentially, you are calling for violence....against your fellow American citizens, and in defiance of the democratic process.
3
"I'm a student of history. At some point, the evil that is Trump -- and his followers -- must be opposed with every tool we have. Hitler rose to power because Hindenburg and other reasonable men..."
It is not clear what you are suggesting with the phrase "every tool we have," but as a student of history, you must know that Communists fought pitched battles with Nazi followers in the streets and beer halls of Germany during the 1920's and 1930's, with many casualties on both sides. Communists in Hamburg in 1923 stormed police stations and were defeated after over 100 people were dead. The Nazis attempted their Beer Hall Putsch that same year, leaving 20 people dead and Hitler in jail. Politically-motivated violence by both right and left reached levels far beyond anything we have had in this country--and how did it end?
Another historical note: Hindenburg and other German conservatives were in the middle of destroying whatever democracy was left in Germany even before Hitler came to power: Hindenburg dissolved the elected Reichstag in 1932--twice. He also signed decrees suspending civil liberties and increasing the government's ability to take whatever measures it deemed necessary. Hindenburg was not "a reasonable" man, except perhaps from Hitler's point of view.
It is not clear what you are suggesting with the phrase "every tool we have," but as a student of history, you must know that Communists fought pitched battles with Nazi followers in the streets and beer halls of Germany during the 1920's and 1930's, with many casualties on both sides. Communists in Hamburg in 1923 stormed police stations and were defeated after over 100 people were dead. The Nazis attempted their Beer Hall Putsch that same year, leaving 20 people dead and Hitler in jail. Politically-motivated violence by both right and left reached levels far beyond anything we have had in this country--and how did it end?
Another historical note: Hindenburg and other German conservatives were in the middle of destroying whatever democracy was left in Germany even before Hitler came to power: Hindenburg dissolved the elected Reichstag in 1932--twice. He also signed decrees suspending civil liberties and increasing the government's ability to take whatever measures it deemed necessary. Hindenburg was not "a reasonable" man, except perhaps from Hitler's point of view.
1
Yes, I agree, violence is not the answer. Now having said that, Trump's campaign strategy, if you want to call it that, is built entirely on provocation. His particular version of provocation, is hurling racial, gender, and religious slurs at whatever group he believes that made America a loser. Unfortunately, the media thus far, has allowed this toxic version of provocation to air 24/7 and in most instances, even invites analysis of this insult versus that insult. The media could act responsibility and 1) call these provocations for what they are and 2) stop giving airtime to this man on the balcony.
9
The best thing to do with Donald Trump is ignore him. He is just too easy a target, and a tedious one at that. I click on maybe one in ten of the constant stream of Trump stories (and about as many Clinton stories). Since the NY Times has done, and continues to do more than its part to undermine the Sanders campaign (as well as to create Donald Trump as a viable presidential candidate), the editors have a heavy responsibility now to step up the standards of the paper several notches and not let Clinton sail through this as the voice of sanity and morality as measured exclusively within a context where it is not an exaggeration to say that almost anyone could fill that role. The call for Democrats to fall in line, or "unite," to use the preferred nicety, rings hollow when those calling for unity are unwilling to reflect or compromise, and on the contrary are dismissive of intraparty dissent as facilitating Trump. The best way to bring Sanders supporters into the fold is to make Clinton reconcile her record and her positions with their priorities. She can't afford not to do this. This will not happen if we end up with a bleak, apocalyptic Trump vs. Clinton/fascism vs. neoliberalism conversation. With or without Sanders in the race, this should continue to be a Clinton/Sanders conversation. Trump is not worth anyone's time, and is a distraction from issues far too important to let fall by the wayside while Clinton and Trump exchange insults.
5
Violence is the logical endpoint for the politics we have been practicing.
Once we succeeded in splitting people into two camps; once we succeeded in assuring that wedge issues would defeat compromise; once we succeeded in making all policy about defeating the other party rather than improving the national welfare; we set the stage for politics to be the showdown at the OK Corral.
Once we divorced fact from communications, we killed all likelihood that we could come together and find ways to improve the national welfare.
This politics of brand has made the GOP particularly powerful; they have been able to stop progress in its tracks, and make oligarchic powers, like ALEC run the governments at the state level.
But they have also closed the door to reconciliation, to a sense of national purpose and national unity. Violence is the next logical step.
Once we succeeded in splitting people into two camps; once we succeeded in assuring that wedge issues would defeat compromise; once we succeeded in making all policy about defeating the other party rather than improving the national welfare; we set the stage for politics to be the showdown at the OK Corral.
Once we divorced fact from communications, we killed all likelihood that we could come together and find ways to improve the national welfare.
This politics of brand has made the GOP particularly powerful; they have been able to stop progress in its tracks, and make oligarchic powers, like ALEC run the governments at the state level.
But they have also closed the door to reconciliation, to a sense of national purpose and national unity. Violence is the next logical step.
7
"It is easy to look at Republicans like Paul Ryan abandoning their principles and selling their souls to fall in line behind this man"
If Ryan ever had a soul, he sold it a long time ago. What principals has he abandoned? Not Ayn Rand's.
The core Republican values are about slashing taxes on the rich, deregulating the banking industry, curtailing or eliminating the EPA and allowing the private sector to plunder the public sector for the profit of a few.
Attacking minorities and women's reproductive rights is something they do to get votes, not a core part of the plan.
It isn't so much the difference in substance between Trump and traditional Republicans -- Trump says a social safety net is important but he also wants to slash the top tax rate to 25%; he can only do one, guess which one -- It's just that traditional Repulicans think Trump's style is too crude and transparent to allow him to win.
If Ryan ever had a soul, he sold it a long time ago. What principals has he abandoned? Not Ayn Rand's.
The core Republican values are about slashing taxes on the rich, deregulating the banking industry, curtailing or eliminating the EPA and allowing the private sector to plunder the public sector for the profit of a few.
Attacking minorities and women's reproductive rights is something they do to get votes, not a core part of the plan.
It isn't so much the difference in substance between Trump and traditional Republicans -- Trump says a social safety net is important but he also wants to slash the top tax rate to 25%; he can only do one, guess which one -- It's just that traditional Repulicans think Trump's style is too crude and transparent to allow him to win.
33
It is safe to say there is a wide gulf between trump and the despicable forces in the GOP he represents, and traditional Republicans. It is why many traditional "Reagan Republicans" are swallowing their partisan pride and pledging to support Clinton.
1
If Blow were really concerned about violence in America, he would focus on black on black violence.
Even the Times ran an article about the extreme black violence in Chicago this past Memorial Day weekend.
Even the Times ran an article about the extreme black violence in Chicago this past Memorial Day weekend.
23
What makes you think he isn't ?
1
Non sequitur.
1
Really?
You evidently don't read Mr. Blow's columns on a regular basis. He has written frequently about that topic as well, and just as well.
You evidently don't read Mr. Blow's columns on a regular basis. He has written frequently about that topic as well, and just as well.
2
If these acts of violence continue, we will undoubtedly wring our hands and deplore the status of our political life and, undoubtedly, will blame society for their occurrence. Objectionable as they are, they are the product of that irreducible number of persons whose sole mode of expression is through violence. Much like the hooligans at a soccer match. You can have a hundred thousand peaceful spectators tainted by a few dozen hooligans. By all means, let us condemn their behavior and make every effort to prevent it, but also let us recognize the existence of the unthinking mind among us, as well as the need of political leaders to avoid awakening their passions.
26
''We are the new America — more diverse, more inclusive, more than our ancestors could ever have imagined.''
Trump is the price the GOP must pay for decades of misleading and misinforming its now angry ''base.'' What goes around come around.
Trump also represents many who believe something (or everything) has been taken away from them by the relative rise of people of color, poor people, and immigrants. This belief is self-deluding and anti-American.
Trump succeeded because none of his Republican adversaries could match or survive his entertaining insults, but he is now alone on stage. He faces long overdue scrutiny of what he says and what he has done and does not have the strength to endure.
Traditional Republicans, like Paul Ryan, are both moral cowards and Supporters In Name Only (SINOs,) really positioning themselves for the aftermath of the Trump collapse. They will collect campaign cash, win re-election, plot their obstruction to the next President Clinton, and continue their struggle to stop government from working.
Trump will not prevail, but Republicans may well continue to control the Congress. If they do, we will continue to tread water as a nation while the rest of the world moves on.
Trump is the price the GOP must pay for decades of misleading and misinforming its now angry ''base.'' What goes around come around.
Trump also represents many who believe something (or everything) has been taken away from them by the relative rise of people of color, poor people, and immigrants. This belief is self-deluding and anti-American.
Trump succeeded because none of his Republican adversaries could match or survive his entertaining insults, but he is now alone on stage. He faces long overdue scrutiny of what he says and what he has done and does not have the strength to endure.
Traditional Republicans, like Paul Ryan, are both moral cowards and Supporters In Name Only (SINOs,) really positioning themselves for the aftermath of the Trump collapse. They will collect campaign cash, win re-election, plot their obstruction to the next President Clinton, and continue their struggle to stop government from working.
Trump will not prevail, but Republicans may well continue to control the Congress. If they do, we will continue to tread water as a nation while the rest of the world moves on.
207
Conservative Republican Times columnist David Brooks has written that this is a "Joe McCarthy moment". "People will be judged by where they stood at this time. Those who walked with Trump will be tainted forever after for the degradation of standards and the general election slaughter."
Those moral cowards in the Republican Party who are now supporting Trump will learn that the only thing worse than not supporting Trump is supporting him.
Those moral cowards in the Republican Party who are now supporting Trump will learn that the only thing worse than not supporting Trump is supporting him.
1
@CLEAREYE. Amazing that those who preach diversity are also the first to deny freedom of speech to others. Nowhere in your invective do I see criticism of the "protesters,"of their brutal, savage attacks on Trump supporters who exercised their First Amendment rights and tried to escape alive from the melee. Ironical that those who waved Mexican flags and threw punches at defenseless women would never have engaged in protests in Mexico. Remember the 43 bodies recently unearthed of students who were killed and buried because they dared to defy Mexican authorities?CB as well as Clinton's and Sanders's supporters played down the violence,, did not publicly criticize protestors, and dismissed them vaguely as "just a bunch of anarchists." But the assaults were orchestrated, and came from Mayor Licardo's office whose orders to his chief of police, Edouardo Garcia, were to go easy, allow the aggressors full rein, and unofficially stand down, not intervene when the mob attacked Trump's aficionados.Open secret that attack was supported also by La Raza with financial help from the cartels."Secret de Polichinelle" that UNIVISION is the recipient of funding from Sinaloa group to promote open borders policies.."Oh what tangled webs we weave when we practice to deceive," wrote Shakespeare.Mr. BLOW is a good journalist,but he is averse to doing in depth research, and much of what he writes is malarkey.
2
The violence committed by the demonstrators against the Trump supporters was criminal; it was not free speech.
Sucker punching, intimidating, taunting and assaulting. Blocking news reporters from videoing the events. All in the name of "free speech?" This behavior is brown shirt politics and must be called out for what it is. The perps must be jailed as there exists ample photographic and video evidence of who they are.
There are news reports that at least several of the demonstrators have been at multiple Trump California events, some level of violence occurring at each. Photos of the people at the different events have been published. There are other news reports that Craig's List had published want ads for demonstrators at these events at a rate of $15/hr.
These demonstrators are not acting out their fears.
These demonstrators are acting out their anger.
These demonstrators and especially their supporters are doing their best to get Donald Trump elected.
Sucker punching, intimidating, taunting and assaulting. Blocking news reporters from videoing the events. All in the name of "free speech?" This behavior is brown shirt politics and must be called out for what it is. The perps must be jailed as there exists ample photographic and video evidence of who they are.
There are news reports that at least several of the demonstrators have been at multiple Trump California events, some level of violence occurring at each. Photos of the people at the different events have been published. There are other news reports that Craig's List had published want ads for demonstrators at these events at a rate of $15/hr.
These demonstrators are not acting out their fears.
These demonstrators are acting out their anger.
These demonstrators and especially their supporters are doing their best to get Donald Trump elected.
110
What we are watching before our eyes is the violent, self-radicalization of the Democrats in our country.
1
Well, at least they are paying $15 an hour! the ideal of liberal wages.
2
Careful there Durk. The Brown shirts had much more in common with Trump than with the collection of provoked protesters outside a Trump hate rally. And those "news reports' you refer to were statements made by the Trump campaign with absolutely no evidence to back them up. Have you actually seen a Craig's List ad for a demonstrator?
Why the violence? Why the lack of respect for a different view? Why the mystery? Your side of the spectrum has failed your rhetoric - these protesters are the vast and growing underclass the policies of the left have created, driving some to the socialist camp and others to the camp of the wall-builder. In each case the economic anxieties are the same; only the rhetorical tone differs depending on which phony, hot-button social issue is whipped up by the elite to confuse the masses. You are being gamed fellow citizens. Ignore the smoke and focus on the fire. Vote Green, vote Libertarian, write in The Bern. Any other choice and you vote against yourselves.
27
Yes, but the problem with that theory is to vote Green/Libertarian/Bernie is to lose. The Green Party gets about .75% of the vote. Libertarians, even less. Voting for Bernie might be a very good way to ensure Hillary loses.
So lefty liberals are in conundrum. As usual, they are terribly angry and frustrated that the proletariat just won't accept their "message" of high taxes and political correctness and obedience to lefty dogma ("unisex bathrooms"). Those awful low-class people dare to think for themselves!
So lefty liberals are in conundrum. As usual, they are terribly angry and frustrated that the proletariat just won't accept their "message" of high taxes and political correctness and obedience to lefty dogma ("unisex bathrooms"). Those awful low-class people dare to think for themselves!
Chronus There have been several documented instances of violence by Bernie supporters, both against Clinton supporters and Trump supporters.
Violence is not acceptable.
Leaders like Trump and Bernie who do not loudly condemn and I mean loudly with no "buts" are at fault.
Violence is not acceptable.
Leaders like Trump and Bernie who do not loudly condemn and I mean loudly with no "buts" are at fault.
1
Vote libertarian? That's as bad as voting republican. Both are the parties of "me". Away with your selfish politics chronus.
1
Great article! I fear that protesters only make Trump's supporters more loyal to him. Martin Luther King knew that it is necessary to confront hatred with civil disobedience and not with violence. Today we don't even need civil disobedience to fight against Trump. We just need a united front of all people, no matter which party we belong to, who abhor Trump's message.
72
TRUMP 2016....time for the left to take their medicine. Heir Chief in Charge Obama has brought this to the forefront! He created more poor people then ever before! Bringing in more poor people will only bring on the misery of more violence and more taxes!!
2
trump supporters not the ones engaging in violence, are they?
we want America great again
we want America great again
2
And who vote. A Clinton landslide will do much to show that the majority of voters are against Trumpism.
2
I'm appalled at Trump's casual racial invectives. There has to be an answer, a program of reaching out to people who hear and feel isolated, violated and disenfranchised. Violence will make things so much worse, particularly for minorities. Instead something needs to help people feel that Trump doesn't represent America, and in a weird way, I think it's better to not
always be repeating his every comment. It encourages him. It's a continued assault. Just a blanket: he's wrong on race, as a nation, we've made other choices, let's go forward. Don't repeat what he said. Just: he's wrong, whatever it was, let's talk about better things, make better plans.
always be repeating his every comment. It encourages him. It's a continued assault. Just a blanket: he's wrong on race, as a nation, we've made other choices, let's go forward. Don't repeat what he said. Just: he's wrong, whatever it was, let's talk about better things, make better plans.
32
In order to inspire the self-radicalization and violence in today's Democrats, their media allies have to do everything possible to incite people to violence. It also sells papers and drives up ad revenue for these leftist media outlets.
1
Except he has spoken no racial invectives. He is coarse and he doesn't censor every word out of mouth like lefty liberals do, couched in political correctness. But racism? No.
If you mean "he opposes illegal immigration, 70% of which is from one country: Mexico".....well, hispanic & latino ARE NOT RACES. Mexicans are not a "race". Most hispanics self-identify as WHITE.
You can be black, asian, mestizo indian or white and be "hispanic"....because it is a language and a culture. Hispanics as a group are no more another race than Italians, Greeks or Jews (*many of whom are equally "darker complected").
So Trump is not a racist. Period. He is the only candidate who will deport illegal aliens. If you care about jobs -- if you care about poor Americans -- then he is the ONLY CANDIDATE will do what must be done, and what the other candidates are too weak and craven to talk about.
If you mean "he opposes illegal immigration, 70% of which is from one country: Mexico".....well, hispanic & latino ARE NOT RACES. Mexicans are not a "race". Most hispanics self-identify as WHITE.
You can be black, asian, mestizo indian or white and be "hispanic"....because it is a language and a culture. Hispanics as a group are no more another race than Italians, Greeks or Jews (*many of whom are equally "darker complected").
So Trump is not a racist. Period. He is the only candidate who will deport illegal aliens. If you care about jobs -- if you care about poor Americans -- then he is the ONLY CANDIDATE will do what must be done, and what the other candidates are too weak and craven to talk about.
5
Karen be appaled at the double standard for your party!!! They bring in all these people and promise prosperity with a $400 welfare check! They don't teach hard work, they don't teach self support and they don't teach that if you want to move up you better have command of the English language like Hillary and Bernie does! More free money isn't the answer....otherwise this kind of poverty would of been wiped out 50 years ago! The democrats are keeping the poor right where they belong....dependent! This is no different then any other addiction! Keep it going just enough for a quick high and they lose all sight of trying to overcome it!!! And the thing is you bleeding hearts think you have helped!!!! What a crock! TRUMP 2016
3
The capacity of America the Stupid to enable psychopaths is apparently limitless.
119
Your use of "America the Stupid" is unfortunately apropos. In a conversation yesterday, family and friends discussed this very concept; that as a nation we've become more interested in reality television, celebrity news, social media, and whatever others (cable news) tell us. Additionally, the rumor mill has kicked into overdrive since 2008. The notion of reading and thinking for oneself has become anathema.
Paul Ryan? Abandoning principles?
You can't abandon what you never possessed in the first place.
Every one of these Republican politicians that lines up behind this dangerous man prove conclusively that they are without principles. They would throw the Country under the bus to save their own positions of power.
We are presently witnessing the most vulgar episode in American political history
You can't abandon what you never possessed in the first place.
Every one of these Republican politicians that lines up behind this dangerous man prove conclusively that they are without principles. They would throw the Country under the bus to save their own positions of power.
We are presently witnessing the most vulgar episode in American political history
560
All politican that go along with Trump should henceforth be knowm as collaborators.
1
Trump is the progeny of 8 years of profligate spending and lack of leadership from Mr. Obama. This will be Mr. Obama's legacy. He has hoisted Trump upon us.
25
Trump is the progeny of bitterness over the Civil War and equal voting rights laws, the mechanization of farming and manufacturing, pathetic funding for education, whipped up by Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. Trump is the heir to Strom Thurmond, George Wallace, David Duke. The hatred Trump taps is very old in this country.
248
You've drunk the Kool-Aid, Steve. I pity you. If you want to see "profligate spending," take a closer look at the W. Bush administration. If you want to talk about a "lack of leadership," talk long and hard about Congressional Republicans who have gone out of their way for the last 7-1/2 years to stymie Mr. President at every term. And if you really want to know who "hoisted" Trump upon us, I would suggest you look in the mirror.
15
WOW! You really are delusional.
9
I'm not sure who these violent anti-Trump people are but they can hardly be Clinton supporters. I have my hopes we will see less of them after the uninspiring candidate gets the nomination.
4
they are violent liberals who WILL vote Clinton in the fall if they are not busy trying to burn down polling places.
3
I think at this point, Blue, most are angry Sanders supporters. It was supposed to be Sanders who was the dark horse, who would come from behind and represent the new left wing -- the young people, the hard-left liberals, the wannabe socialists -- and would sweep away the old Democratic Party and impose new reforms.
Of course, we all know now that went down in flames. So they are very angry & frustrated right now, unsure of what to do. They hate Hillary almost as much as conservatives do, so just to tell them "hey, vote for Hillary!" is not a solution.
Later on, when Hillary starts polling behind Trump....when she goes on to act shrill and angry and entitled....when she puts her foot in her mouth.....her supporters will be angry at Trump, too. After all, the lefty media is hard at work (here, 5 times daily!) to present articles claiming that Trump is a Nazi, White Racist, dictator, Hitler, Mussolini, and probably eventually that he is a Satan worshipping cannibal who will start a nuclear war.
So people are frightened, beyond all reason or logic. Scared people do stupid things, and among them, are attacking candidates (duly elected, nominated candidates) from the other party -- thinking they can "rule" or gain votes, with violence. In short: they have become the very thing they claim to despise.
Of course, we all know now that went down in flames. So they are very angry & frustrated right now, unsure of what to do. They hate Hillary almost as much as conservatives do, so just to tell them "hey, vote for Hillary!" is not a solution.
Later on, when Hillary starts polling behind Trump....when she goes on to act shrill and angry and entitled....when she puts her foot in her mouth.....her supporters will be angry at Trump, too. After all, the lefty media is hard at work (here, 5 times daily!) to present articles claiming that Trump is a Nazi, White Racist, dictator, Hitler, Mussolini, and probably eventually that he is a Satan worshipping cannibal who will start a nuclear war.
So people are frightened, beyond all reason or logic. Scared people do stupid things, and among them, are attacking candidates (duly elected, nominated candidates) from the other party -- thinking they can "rule" or gain votes, with violence. In short: they have become the very thing they claim to despise.
3
You will see more of them. They are the children of fascism which is everywhere.
1
You do realize that after hundreds of hours of investigation by multiple agencies almost every case of "Trump supporter" violence has turned out to be media fiction, don't you?
Meanwhile, Hillary continues to incite her followers to ever increasing level of violence. Her brown shirts, waving Mexican Flags, attack women, horses, and individual men with impunity. A recent TV interview showed a man with a bandana over his face telling the reporter that Hillary would issue pardons to everyone when she was elected.
The violence must stop and it must stop at the top. Hillary must go. Hillary must be held accountable for her crimes, all of her crimes, and the crimes she has overtly and covertly incited.
Meanwhile, Hillary continues to incite her followers to ever increasing level of violence. Her brown shirts, waving Mexican Flags, attack women, horses, and individual men with impunity. A recent TV interview showed a man with a bandana over his face telling the reporter that Hillary would issue pardons to everyone when she was elected.
The violence must stop and it must stop at the top. Hillary must go. Hillary must be held accountable for her crimes, all of her crimes, and the crimes she has overtly and covertly incited.
37
Hillary has no brown shirts. But people have been reacting to Trump's tirades but showing their support for their causes. Egg throwing is pretty pointless.
9
Hahahahaha. What 'hundreds of hours'?
Apparently you have not actually watched Trump rallies.
"One of the most disturbing displays of this madness is the violence that Trump has incited in his supporters, and the violent ways in which opposition forces have responded"
So the violent mobs against Trump are just a reaction? So that makes them justified? Maybe the article should be about how liberal Americans respond violently when they do not like what you say publicly. I do not see many Trump supporters crashing Bernie or Hillary rallies and inciting violence. Do you?
So the violent mobs against Trump are just a reaction? So that makes them justified? Maybe the article should be about how liberal Americans respond violently when they do not like what you say publicly. I do not see many Trump supporters crashing Bernie or Hillary rallies and inciting violence. Do you?
54
"Take them out in body bags. Punch him in the face. I'll pay your legal fees"
Donald Trump addressing his followers.
Donald Trump addressing his followers.
In short, what Blow wants to say here is that the violence AGAINST Trump supporters (mostly at this point, from Sanders supporters) is Donald Trump's FAULT....because he wasn't PC enough, ergo he made people mad at him. So it is HIS fault that he is being attacked.
Funny, if it was Trump supporters attacking Sander's rallies or Hillary's rallies....you better believe it would be the other way 'round! Blow and his lefty cohort would NEVER blame Bernie or Hillary for inciting violence in the opposition! They would be blameless saints.
Funny, if it was Trump supporters attacking Sander's rallies or Hillary's rallies....you better believe it would be the other way 'round! Blow and his lefty cohort would NEVER blame Bernie or Hillary for inciting violence in the opposition! They would be blameless saints.
5
Straw man argument. Nobody has said the violence was justified. Understandable, but not justified.
Again, what great writing!
And a comment...
"Trump and his millions of minions have replaced what they call “political correctness” with “ambient viciousness.”" Elsewhere this election cycle, another commentator has suggesting a disarming strategy. To wit: when the bullies hide behind the rubric "political correctness" suggest that they substitute the appropriate form of the word "respect" in its place, and listen to the truth of that. Republicans in general are choked by the notion that they should have to respect other humans unlike themselves, or even the earth in all its facets. This exercise may not persuade the bully, but it will at least lay bare the intent of their argument. Bottomline: The presidency of Barrack Obama made America safe for bigotry. T-Rump's candidacy has sharpened that sword, and revealed that this is the true face of the Republican party.
And a comment...
"Trump and his millions of minions have replaced what they call “political correctness” with “ambient viciousness.”" Elsewhere this election cycle, another commentator has suggesting a disarming strategy. To wit: when the bullies hide behind the rubric "political correctness" suggest that they substitute the appropriate form of the word "respect" in its place, and listen to the truth of that. Republicans in general are choked by the notion that they should have to respect other humans unlike themselves, or even the earth in all its facets. This exercise may not persuade the bully, but it will at least lay bare the intent of their argument. Bottomline: The presidency of Barrack Obama made America safe for bigotry. T-Rump's candidacy has sharpened that sword, and revealed that this is the true face of the Republican party.
15
T-Rump! Love it!
Let's see.
Have any Trump supporters shown up to disrupt campaign appearances by either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. No.
So, the "madness" is coming from the Left. Plain and simple.
Have any Trump supporters shown up to disrupt campaign appearances by either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. No.
So, the "madness" is coming from the Left. Plain and simple.
61
The negative rhetoric and assaults began by Trump and his supporters. There is no excuse or reason for either side to behave this way. Let's be fair and honest and perhaps we can move forward.
Or it is bought and paid for by the Trump campaign to foster sentiments such as yours.
Thank you for saying this. The violence on both sides is wrong.
13
Show me the violence on the Trump side. I'll wait.
6
Violence is always wrong.
But there is not "violence on both sides". The only documented violence is coming from liberals disrupting Trump rallies, and trying to deny him the right to run as the presumptive nominee of his party.
But there is not "violence on both sides". The only documented violence is coming from liberals disrupting Trump rallies, and trying to deny him the right to run as the presumptive nominee of his party.
3
show me the violence from the right
3
A sobering interaction: Yesterday evening we were at a local cafeteria style restaurant and the waitress came over to see if we needed anything. She was African American and I am white and very middle aged. Within two or three minutes of exchanging pleasantries, she said something about Trump and how she would be voting for Hillary. Yes we will be voting for her also, I said. But later I thought, it is pretty unusual to be sharing political views with a stranger, especially in the very, very conservative area where we live. Why did she do that, apart from being friendly, self-assured, and probably close in age?
I realized that it is because, however deeply distressed I am about Trump, it must be worse for her. Trump is making it acceptable to terrorize everyone who is not in his favored categories.
I can avoid anxiety by turning off the TV and fantasizing about moving to Canada. She is probably scared about walking to her car, going to the store, driving on the interstate, going to the gas station and randomly encountering one of the Trump crazies--those who have yard signs and bumperstickers and those who are just looking for an opportunity to be bad. Since the crazies already have a presumptive leader giving them permission..... and, now I realize, since it is only an eye blink of time to return to the terror of the early 60's, especially where we live, because some people have never left, Trump's new best friends..
I realized that it is because, however deeply distressed I am about Trump, it must be worse for her. Trump is making it acceptable to terrorize everyone who is not in his favored categories.
I can avoid anxiety by turning off the TV and fantasizing about moving to Canada. She is probably scared about walking to her car, going to the store, driving on the interstate, going to the gas station and randomly encountering one of the Trump crazies--those who have yard signs and bumperstickers and those who are just looking for an opportunity to be bad. Since the crazies already have a presumptive leader giving them permission..... and, now I realize, since it is only an eye blink of time to return to the terror of the early 60's, especially where we live, because some people have never left, Trump's new best friends..
910
Why would she be scared of going anywhere? Nobody assaulted Obama supporters, nobody is assaulting Hillary supportes (except for Bernie supporters).
The only people who now live in fear of walking the streets are Trump supporters, as the liberal left devolved into violence as it doesn't know how to use it's words.
The only people who now live in fear of walking the streets are Trump supporters, as the liberal left devolved into violence as it doesn't know how to use it's words.
4
Trust me, in Canada we have the same percentage of people who follow and prefer Trump in his quest to make "America great again" in the hope that it will happen here and we can remove the much maligned concept of "sunny ways" (an election catch phrase by our current PM used to persuade voters not to return our exPM, who proudly postulated that he was prepared to define/design immigration policy that suited "old stock Canadians"), socialism, political correctness and whatever whatever sets them apart form the "left' or 'liberals". If Trump wins it will reverberate negatively here and elsewhere.
1
Interestingly, I've often noticed that Black Americans are theologically sound in their understanding of the Gospel, compared to others.
Disrupt! Disrupt! Disrupt! Mr. Blow, for all of your understanding, you fail to understand the fundamental point, a Trump presidency undermines the constitutional framework America rests upon. If this is not the time for extreme civil disobedience, when? I abhor violence too, but when the threat of losing basic civil rights is real, and is being endorsed by a major political party, this is what you get. Understand that!
13
Dennis: right now, violence attributed to the Left energizes the Right, and boosts Trump's chances of election.
3
Which civil right specifically do you fear losing under a Trump presidency?
The right to physically attack people with differing opinions?
These melodramatic predictions of what Trump would do are amusing if not sad to see how gullible many Liberals are.
The right to physically attack people with differing opinions?
These melodramatic predictions of what Trump would do are amusing if not sad to see how gullible many Liberals are.
2
Except none of the things you accuse Trump of, have ever happened (nor would happen).
The President is not a king nor a dictator. He has limits to his power.
No, this is not the time for "civil disobedience". If you oppose Mr. Trump or his party or his platform -- then work to elect a candidate whose platform & party you prefer.
THAT Is democracy. You don't seem to even understand the concept.
The President is not a king nor a dictator. He has limits to his power.
No, this is not the time for "civil disobedience". If you oppose Mr. Trump or his party or his platform -- then work to elect a candidate whose platform & party you prefer.
THAT Is democracy. You don't seem to even understand the concept.
5
"It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard." MLK
27
Once again, the powerful words of MLK, Jr. reach across generations to remind us of the why behind the violence. Thank you.
...you may murder the liar, but you can't murder the lie...
Were that it was that easy. Unfortunately our presidential electoral system at both the primary level and during the general election is the lie. We, the "voters" do not get to vote for a candidate. We may assent to a particular candidate, but for all our trouble weighing the issues and researching his/her campaign platform, we only get an elector who will theoretically represent our vote at either the party convention or during the electoral college.
The media can fan the flames as much as they like, it is very good for rating after all, but the conflagration we see is merely a smoke screen meant to distract the unwashed rabble from focusing on the truth. We, the "voters" don't get to decide who the president will be. That is left up to people far more important than us.
Were that it was that easy. Unfortunately our presidential electoral system at both the primary level and during the general election is the lie. We, the "voters" do not get to vote for a candidate. We may assent to a particular candidate, but for all our trouble weighing the issues and researching his/her campaign platform, we only get an elector who will theoretically represent our vote at either the party convention or during the electoral college.
The media can fan the flames as much as they like, it is very good for rating after all, but the conflagration we see is merely a smoke screen meant to distract the unwashed rabble from focusing on the truth. We, the "voters" don't get to decide who the president will be. That is left up to people far more important than us.
13
This is because the two US political partiy shells belong to the states, not to their dues-paying members.
1
With more $$$$$$$$$$'
1
That is true for Democrats. They get the candidate that the "machine" gives them.
It is NOT TRUE for Republicans -- not this year. The establishment hates Donald Trump. Former Presidents Bush (41 and 43) have spoke out against Trump (though frankly it sounds like poor sportsmanship to me, given that Trump trounced their son/brother Jeb!). Ryan's "support" is late and lukewarm. Many in the establish detest Trump. NYT "conservatives" Douthat and Brooks are ready to jump parties and support Hillary.
So why is Trump the presumptive nominee then? THE PEOPLE VOTED FOR HIM. It was as pure democracy as you are ever going to see in a nation this large & complex, Sue.
And funny. Lefty liberals just hate that. Democracy, after all, is not what they want, because it doesn't always return the results YOU like.
It is NOT TRUE for Republicans -- not this year. The establishment hates Donald Trump. Former Presidents Bush (41 and 43) have spoke out against Trump (though frankly it sounds like poor sportsmanship to me, given that Trump trounced their son/brother Jeb!). Ryan's "support" is late and lukewarm. Many in the establish detest Trump. NYT "conservatives" Douthat and Brooks are ready to jump parties and support Hillary.
So why is Trump the presumptive nominee then? THE PEOPLE VOTED FOR HIM. It was as pure democracy as you are ever going to see in a nation this large & complex, Sue.
And funny. Lefty liberals just hate that. Democracy, after all, is not what they want, because it doesn't always return the results YOU like.
4
Nice thoughts but irrelevant: the forces in play reflect the opposing directions of our society. The difference is that one side and one side only has descended into real violence; attacking unarmed and nonthreatening rally attendees and the police and destroying property. The primary component of these aggressors are young thugs attacking in groups. Blaming Trump's rhetoric for gang violence is familiarly like blaming rape victims for wearing "provocative clothing".
You should be denouncing the violence without qualifications and the Democrat Party should rein in any element they control.
The truth is that real coordinated acts of violence are far more dangerous than a few stray offensive phrases at a rally. This violence is an active and dangerous suppression of free speech - why aren't leaders confronting this reality?
BTW; what the devil is "gish-gallop"?
You should be denouncing the violence without qualifications and the Democrat Party should rein in any element they control.
The truth is that real coordinated acts of violence are far more dangerous than a few stray offensive phrases at a rally. This violence is an active and dangerous suppression of free speech - why aren't leaders confronting this reality?
BTW; what the devil is "gish-gallop"?
36
"Take them out in body bags. Punch him in the face. I'll pay your legal fees"
Donald Trump addressing his followers
Donald Trump addressing his followers
Honestly, I have no idea what "gish gallop" is. I googled it and got nothing.
It must be from the same encyclopedia of made-up nonsense words that the late Antonin Scalia used when he came up with "jiggery pokery".
It must be from the same encyclopedia of made-up nonsense words that the late Antonin Scalia used when he came up with "jiggery pokery".
1
In a gish-gallop you drown your debating opponent is a torrent of content irrelevant minutiae and trivia so fast and furious there is no time or opportunity to reply.
Put another way: If you can't impress them with the facts, baffle with BS.
Put another way: If you can't impress them with the facts, baffle with BS.
1
Trump complains about violence at his rallies. Apparently, forgetting he incited violence from the podium saying:
Take them out in body bags
Punch him in the face
I'll pay your legal fees
He must have forgotten!
Take them out in body bags
Punch him in the face
I'll pay your legal fees
He must have forgotten!
51
He didn't 'forget'.
He's simply downgraded that to: "It's only a suggestion."
He's simply downgraded that to: "It's only a suggestion."
1
This is all very disturbing. Trump's oratory reminds me of Germany in the thirties. Do y'all remember who was elected and why?
1
FIrst place, that is out of context. Trump said he'd pay the legal fees of supporters who responded to ATTACKS.
Furthermore, there are no documented cases of Trump supporters attacking nor breaking up Sanders or Clinton rallies. The cases are ALL of Sanders/Clinton supporters attacking TRUMP rallies.
So in fact, his rhetoric -- good or bad -- has not incited anyone. It is the lefty media which has incited violence, with totally whacko claims that Trump is "Hitler" and will put hispanics into concentration camps, or start a nuclear war.
Furthermore, there are no documented cases of Trump supporters attacking nor breaking up Sanders or Clinton rallies. The cases are ALL of Sanders/Clinton supporters attacking TRUMP rallies.
So in fact, his rhetoric -- good or bad -- has not incited anyone. It is the lefty media which has incited violence, with totally whacko claims that Trump is "Hitler" and will put hispanics into concentration camps, or start a nuclear war.
5
I condemn Bernie Sanders for not denouncing EARLIER the puerile violence of his followers.
The story then became the violence rather than the insipid ideas of Trump. This HELPED Trump avoid scrutiny.
The story then became the violence rather than the insipid ideas of Trump. This HELPED Trump avoid scrutiny.
21
And what violence was that? The stuff they made in in Nevada?
Get a grip, research the facts.
Get a grip, research the facts.
Please be clear: The initiators of violence have been basically Democrats from the very beginning. Anything Trump has said was *in response to* threats of violence by Democrats from the very beginning.
33
"They did it first!"
Saul Alinski
Saul Alinski
1
@ Paul, Please be clear, Who was the one that egged on his supporters to beat the sh.. out of non-violent protesters at his rally from the very beginning, while at the same time declaring that he would pay for their legal fees.
Who was the one that kicked a Hispanic news caster out of one of his supposed 'news conferences' because he treated him 'unfairly'?
Who has said in the good old times non-violent protesters at his rally would be taken out on a stretcher?
And the list goes on and on.
Et tu, Paul, are obviously so enthralled by this vulgar, racist, misogynist, fascist, gaudy frat boy rich man that you conveniently oversee his threats against all the "Others" and think that denial is indeed a river in Egypt.
Who was the one that kicked a Hispanic news caster out of one of his supposed 'news conferences' because he treated him 'unfairly'?
Who has said in the good old times non-violent protesters at his rally would be taken out on a stretcher?
And the list goes on and on.
Et tu, Paul, are obviously so enthralled by this vulgar, racist, misogynist, fascist, gaudy frat boy rich man that you conveniently oversee his threats against all the "Others" and think that denial is indeed a river in Egypt.
2
Paul: are anarchists "Democrats." Are registered "Independents" Democrats? Rain clouds have misted your vision.
2
"The best way to direct passions is not only with the bullhorn, but also at the ballot box."
As I am sure Mr. Blow realizes, the party that wants to distance itself from its Presidential candidate is also systematically striving to make it increasingly difficult for people to use the ballot box. The long lines in AZ, the lost votes in Brooklyn, and the laws passed in countless states to "ensure against voter fraud" are all reasons voters feel disenfranchised. It will be interesting to see how Republicans react when non-white, non-native, and non-resident college voters show up to register in the coming months. If those groups are blocked from voting the ballot box solution may not be as defensible in the future.
As I am sure Mr. Blow realizes, the party that wants to distance itself from its Presidential candidate is also systematically striving to make it increasingly difficult for people to use the ballot box. The long lines in AZ, the lost votes in Brooklyn, and the laws passed in countless states to "ensure against voter fraud" are all reasons voters feel disenfranchised. It will be interesting to see how Republicans react when non-white, non-native, and non-resident college voters show up to register in the coming months. If those groups are blocked from voting the ballot box solution may not be as defensible in the future.
15
There are no cases of anyone anywhere being prevented from registering to vote.
SOME areas have had problems with insufficient polling places, but it is incompetence -- not racism.
ANYONE of any race can vote by mail in any state. I do so. It is easy and no lines, and no waiting.
SOME areas have had problems with insufficient polling places, but it is incompetence -- not racism.
ANYONE of any race can vote by mail in any state. I do so. It is easy and no lines, and no waiting.
4
non whites are also GOP, are the natives you speak about US Citizens> college kid should vote where they are registered, in their home states
2
Those opposed to Trump are not all one thing. If they are violent, it is not all the same motive.
Hillary and Bernie supporters both oppose Trump, including a majority of Bernie supporters who are also intensely against Hillary.
But contra another author on today's page, Hillary supporters do not "feel our pain." That Clintonism is offensive.
Obama was an acceptable choice for Hillary supporters who preferred her. It is not a comparison to the situation faced by Bernie supporters.
To them, Hillary is not an acceptable second choice. She is a neocon-hawk who is will enlarge the wars. She is Wall Street and corporate friendly, arriving on their money, and cannot be expected to deal with the basic economic problems that drive so many Bernie supporters. She is trade agreements, and now lies about that, which makes us distrust her even more on trade policy that has done so much damage in flyover America. She is the problem as much as Trump.
Bernie supporters resorting to violence are doing so in part out of lack of other alternatives. It is frustration that Hillary is not an acceptable choice, not even minimally acceptable. In many ways she is as bad or even worse than Trump.
The nuclear button? She crossed that line. The Court? She'd defend abortion, but she'd nominate those friendly to Wall Street and corporate interests, also a huge problem with the Court today.
Some violence is not just anti-Trump, but lack of any alternatives. That is dangerous.
Hillary and Bernie supporters both oppose Trump, including a majority of Bernie supporters who are also intensely against Hillary.
But contra another author on today's page, Hillary supporters do not "feel our pain." That Clintonism is offensive.
Obama was an acceptable choice for Hillary supporters who preferred her. It is not a comparison to the situation faced by Bernie supporters.
To them, Hillary is not an acceptable second choice. She is a neocon-hawk who is will enlarge the wars. She is Wall Street and corporate friendly, arriving on their money, and cannot be expected to deal with the basic economic problems that drive so many Bernie supporters. She is trade agreements, and now lies about that, which makes us distrust her even more on trade policy that has done so much damage in flyover America. She is the problem as much as Trump.
Bernie supporters resorting to violence are doing so in part out of lack of other alternatives. It is frustration that Hillary is not an acceptable choice, not even minimally acceptable. In many ways she is as bad or even worse than Trump.
The nuclear button? She crossed that line. The Court? She'd defend abortion, but she'd nominate those friendly to Wall Street and corporate interests, also a huge problem with the Court today.
Some violence is not just anti-Trump, but lack of any alternatives. That is dangerous.
24
Bernie is clearly not bringing out the best in people. He may claim to be a pacifist but he is not a peacemaker.
20
N B -- You are not getting the message.
Hillary is proven by her actions as Sec of State and her speeches as candidate to be a neocon war monger who has never met a war she didn't want to start or make bigger.
Hillary is proven by her whole history since the Senate to be a bought and paid for creature of wealth and privilege, who will defend them, not regulate them, and expand the abuses of current trade and economic policies.
Making peace with her would be evil. It would be just like supporting Trump. Maybe worse.
THAT is what the Democratic super delegates either will or will not deal with at the Convention.
Yes, I agree they probably will fail the US, in the bag for all the Clinton abuses. But at least you've been told. It will be your fault.
Hillary is proven by her actions as Sec of State and her speeches as candidate to be a neocon war monger who has never met a war she didn't want to start or make bigger.
Hillary is proven by her whole history since the Senate to be a bought and paid for creature of wealth and privilege, who will defend them, not regulate them, and expand the abuses of current trade and economic policies.
Making peace with her would be evil. It would be just like supporting Trump. Maybe worse.
THAT is what the Democratic super delegates either will or will not deal with at the Convention.
Yes, I agree they probably will fail the US, in the bag for all the Clinton abuses. But at least you've been told. It will be your fault.
1
Bernie is just the flip side of the coin of nihilism.
Thank you, Charles, for reminding us what the wisdom of ages has long taught us and yet we still need to learn, that we can only combat hatred in others by first defeating it in ourselves.
8
The hatred is rooted in the nonstop efforts of people to exercise powers over others that they don't really have.
Trump has decided to exploit our greatest weakness from within - the hidden desire to hate an "Other", to blame that Other for all our life's failings. To focus our fear and our anxiety and our pain and "If it wasn't for them....". While it's hidden away in all societies. We saw it show the ugliness when Hitler rose in Germany. We saw it in the Killing Fields of Cambodia, Ethnic Cleansing in the Balkans, or Rwanda. Politicians in this country used to have a kind of ethical circuit breaker that kept that kept that rhetoric away. Trump does not. Beyond that, the mob feeds this by responding exactly as he hoped it would. Trump doesn't focus aspirations, dreams or hope. He's focusing entirely on hate, fear and ignorance. I remember after 9/11 and watching people most were terrified in ways they couldn't really express, it came out sometimes in just anger, but mostly it was fear. The funny thing was that at the time of 9/11 and even today there's not a single nation on this planet that can match our power or economy - yet. But if we let fear, hate and ignorance rule us, as Trump wants to do, we are past our prime and on an inexorable slide down. We need to remember that "Other" is becoming a larger list too. Progressives, LGBT, Atheists & Agnostics, Muslims, Scientists, Environmentalists, Mexicans are all now on that "list". Even if Trump loses, where will the hate go that he has fed and cultivated so expertly through his campaign. This will take a long, long time to fix.
610
I have never seen a more stupid spectacle than all these people flocking to support a casino operator they believe to be an altruist.
3
If ever.
2
Yes, and don't forget women on that Other list!
2
After over thirty years of abuse by the political class is it any wonder that it is all bubbling over this cycle. When Americans are this pissed off it is natural and predictable that some will turn to violence. Especially when one of the major party candidates daily talks of "punching someone out"
It would be nice if non-violence appealed to the few who advocate otherwise but it is not so. Sadly we will have to endure more of this in the coming months.
It would be nice if non-violence appealed to the few who advocate otherwise but it is not so. Sadly we will have to endure more of this in the coming months.
7
Don't fight with them; laugh at them. Mock them, ridicule them. Point out what an empty suit Trump is. Violence works against your cause and will alienate those you want on your side. True story: when CT was debating having an income tax, I was undecided (who wants to pay more taxes, after all). But the anti-tax crowd was so hostile, violent in word and deed, that it pushed me into the pro-tax group. I voted for it and the number one reason was the obvious behavior of the anti-tax supporters.
9
Congratulations. Now CT has one of the highest overall tax burdens in the country and the worst economy.
"You don't need the bullet if you got the ballot." ~George Clinton
6
Unless the ballot is restricted by the republicans who fear true democracy.
2
"All political power comes from the barrel of a gun."
– Chairman Mao
– Chairman Mao
Have I seen this before? Possibly. It strongly reminds me of Richard Nixon's dirty tricks crew. The list is to long to go through what the dirty tricks crew did to disrupted campaign rallies and discredit candidates but it got Nixon elected. The dirty tricks campaign finally came out during the Watergate hearings and Richard Segretti was exposed and Nixon was driven from office. Is it possible that the Trump campaign are using the play book of Nixon's dirty tricks? The comparison may have some validity since neither respect the rule of law.
13
Saul Alinski wrote the Bible these operators play by.
Americans are scared and angry because for most of us the economy has been bad throughout the twenty first century, and because conventional Republicans and conventional Democrats do not seem to have any plan to fix it that works.
In a situation like this people circle the wagons and ally themselves with those who look and sound like themselves.
Unless the economy gets much better for most whites very soon most of us will think next November, "Let's give Trump a chance. Nothing else has worked."
Diversity only works when people are prosperous and optimistic. Otherwise it leads to polarization and violence.
Social Democracy, which I prefer, has only worked in counties where nearly everyone is white.
I say after Jack London, "I am a white man first, and a socialist second."
In a situation like this people circle the wagons and ally themselves with those who look and sound like themselves.
Unless the economy gets much better for most whites very soon most of us will think next November, "Let's give Trump a chance. Nothing else has worked."
Diversity only works when people are prosperous and optimistic. Otherwise it leads to polarization and violence.
Social Democracy, which I prefer, has only worked in counties where nearly everyone is white.
I say after Jack London, "I am a white man first, and a socialist second."
12
to John ENgelman,
Your statement that "conventional Republicans and conventional Democrats do not seem to have any plan..." is very wrong. The Democrats have a clear plan to respond to put in place, if needed, a stimulus package on infrastructure repair. The Republicans, who suggest no plan other than, "NO", will not allow this for reasons that continue to mystify the column's author and many others.
The notion that the determining factor is the economy getting better for whites in the next six months will lead to a Trump win is simply wrong. It passes on the myth that hispanics, African-americans, and other minorities have no concerns about a Trump presidency, and aren't themselves concerned about the economy. Your points on diversity and social democracy are culture traits and values. "You are a white man first"?????
Your statement that "conventional Republicans and conventional Democrats do not seem to have any plan..." is very wrong. The Democrats have a clear plan to respond to put in place, if needed, a stimulus package on infrastructure repair. The Republicans, who suggest no plan other than, "NO", will not allow this for reasons that continue to mystify the column's author and many others.
The notion that the determining factor is the economy getting better for whites in the next six months will lead to a Trump win is simply wrong. It passes on the myth that hispanics, African-americans, and other minorities have no concerns about a Trump presidency, and aren't themselves concerned about the economy. Your points on diversity and social democracy are culture traits and values. "You are a white man first"?????
2
You do know that most American companies are run by white men, right?
You must have graduated from a Magic Academy, since you propose waving a wand and making every American disappear who does not have your complexion, your chromasomes, or the words to your prayers.
I hope the NY Times gives you a gold badge so readers can see the writings of white bigotry close up.
If you are in a car accident, I guess you will decline the diversity of the 911 operator, the EMT's, the police, your orthopedic surgeon, your neurosurgeon, your nurses, the insurance people, your visiting nurse. Even your nice neighbor who will probably bring you some cookies while you are laid up- even though you don't deserve them. After all, you are a white man first-- but pal-- you are in a tiny- minded sub group of white men. Have a nice day, you and Jack London.
You must have graduated from a Magic Academy, since you propose waving a wand and making every American disappear who does not have your complexion, your chromasomes, or the words to your prayers.
I hope the NY Times gives you a gold badge so readers can see the writings of white bigotry close up.
If you are in a car accident, I guess you will decline the diversity of the 911 operator, the EMT's, the police, your orthopedic surgeon, your neurosurgeon, your nurses, the insurance people, your visiting nurse. Even your nice neighbor who will probably bring you some cookies while you are laid up- even though you don't deserve them. After all, you are a white man first-- but pal-- you are in a tiny- minded sub group of white men. Have a nice day, you and Jack London.
1
But the Democrats and NYT columnists are telling us DAILY that the economy is humming....more jobs than ever....unemployment lower than ever....no inflation!...and everything is just hunky-dory.
Unfortunately, most Americans see that as a brazen lie.
Unfortunately, most Americans see that as a brazen lie.
2
Amidst the soaring eloquence of Dr. King is the eminently practical. The best way to reject the hate and bigotry of this man Trump is to beat him soundly - at the ballot box on November 8. This will not be done by convincing the poorly educated they need to switch their allegiance, but by appealing to those who discouraged might stay home. We always hear how consequential the election de jour is, but this election truly has consequences and requires mass engagement and that people stand up for common sense on November 8 and be counted.
9
G.JAMES: I agree totally with your comment. This is an election that does not compare with any other. Trump must be stopped at the election box. To have a sociopath as President is unthinkable. I still have my hopes with Bernie, he has grit, compassion and focus which I admire greatly. Give it your best shot Bernie, save the world from Trump. He is better than Trump, any day of the year. Trump would be an embarrassment for America and lead America down not up.
Ryan, McConnell, McCann, have all passed their own small Enabling Acts, shaking their heads and claiming that once Trump is President, he will be under their control. The Republican Party has done the country a monsterous disservice and are closing their eyes and ears to anything that presents them with the true picture of what this man is saying and intends to do.
28
Before this all devolves into a long, hot, violent summer, perhaps all the candidates - present and former - from this presidential election cycle should stand side by side and denounce this behavior and disavow the perpetrators as supporters. The rejection of repugnant, thuggish behavior should not be a partisan issue; it should be a bipartisan demand. Such an action on the part of the major players might help to elevate the tenor of the conversations moving forward. It is something they could easily do without compromising their campaigns or messages in any way.
Sadly, I am not holding my breath.
Sadly, I am not holding my breath.
8
The violence against Trump aids Trump because violence trumps violent rhetoric every time. It takes the focus off of Trump and makes the folks that are against him seem worse than Trump himself. And the Democrats have selected a nominee that is almost as unfavorable as Trump making the general election one solely decided by dislike. Both parties could have or should have given us better options. How can Trump have a chance? He has a chance because the Democrat's offering is Hillary, the only person on the planet who's in the same league of dislike as Trump. I usually don't vote holding my nose but this year I have no choice. The election based on hate awaits.
6
As we've noted again and again here in the NY Times, Trump represents a very logical progression in GOP political and social values. For me the McConnells, Ryans, McCains and Boehners are fitting stepping stones to all that Trump represents. The only difference is that these GOP leaders use coded language to speak to their adherents, while Trump throws aside such niceties and "says it like it is". This is precisely what Trump's followers want and like in him. If Muslims and the flood of Latino immigrants are a threat to the fabric of this country, then don't play around with "political correctness".
The problem is we know that Trump's world view is in its essence fundamentally wrong, the way he approaches life and reality is brutally egotistical and amoral. He's a mutant version of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, and this, unfortunately, possesses a strong appeal to lesser educated white Americans who believe that true reality is nothing more than a vicious game of survival of the fittest. Such deeply held beliefs have a strong sway when the destabilizing effects of over-population dominate, which is precisely what was behind Hitler's rise to power. Trump is not Hitler, but the historical parallels cannot be denied.
The problem is we know that Trump's world view is in its essence fundamentally wrong, the way he approaches life and reality is brutally egotistical and amoral. He's a mutant version of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, and this, unfortunately, possesses a strong appeal to lesser educated white Americans who believe that true reality is nothing more than a vicious game of survival of the fittest. Such deeply held beliefs have a strong sway when the destabilizing effects of over-population dominate, which is precisely what was behind Hitler's rise to power. Trump is not Hitler, but the historical parallels cannot be denied.
10
@ Renaldo.
You are spot on in your assessment of the rise of Il Trumpolini and the party that made him possible.
The exception, though, is that "the destabilizing effects of over-population" was behind Hitler's rise to power. There was no-overpopulation in the Weimar Republic of Germany.
You are spot on in your assessment of the rise of Il Trumpolini and the party that made him possible.
The exception, though, is that "the destabilizing effects of over-population" was behind Hitler's rise to power. There was no-overpopulation in the Weimar Republic of Germany.
1
There are no historical parallels at all. It's just hate speech. Liberals hate Trump, and Adolf Hitler was the worst human being in all of history, so ergo -- Trump = Hitler.
It's simple name-calling with no basis in fact. Was Hitler a former reality TV show host? A real estate developer? A billionaire? Is the US in a Great Depression? saddled with WWI reparations? or uncontrolled inflation (i.e., a wheelbarrow of dollars to buy a loaf of bread)? No. So there are no parallels at all.
BTW: Boehner, Ryan, McCain are NOT real supporters...they have sighed and given in because Trump WON, in a fair & square way that cannot be denied. But their support and that of McConnell is luke warm and about a inch deep. If Trump loses, they will back off like he was nuclear waste and deny ever supporting him.
Liberals don't get it. Trump is a TRUE grassroots politician, who only WON because the PEOPLE overwhelming choose him. The party hates Trump. Trump is not a genuine Republicans, nor even a real conservative. But he won, and they have had to face reality.
It's simple name-calling with no basis in fact. Was Hitler a former reality TV show host? A real estate developer? A billionaire? Is the US in a Great Depression? saddled with WWI reparations? or uncontrolled inflation (i.e., a wheelbarrow of dollars to buy a loaf of bread)? No. So there are no parallels at all.
BTW: Boehner, Ryan, McCain are NOT real supporters...they have sighed and given in because Trump WON, in a fair & square way that cannot be denied. But their support and that of McConnell is luke warm and about a inch deep. If Trump loses, they will back off like he was nuclear waste and deny ever supporting him.
Liberals don't get it. Trump is a TRUE grassroots politician, who only WON because the PEOPLE overwhelming choose him. The party hates Trump. Trump is not a genuine Republicans, nor even a real conservative. But he won, and they have had to face reality.
5
Sarah: one of Hitler's major themes was the German need for "Lebensraum", because there was a general feeling that Germany was bursting at the seams with so many people. This was a primary motive in the Austrian annexation and the move east into Poland. You have to remember that extreme poverty and large families in Germany was the reason why so many millions of Germans had migrated to North and South America over the past 100 years before Hitler. Weimar Germany was desperately over-populated.
You say, "In a democracy, the vote is the voice."
The vote is also supposed to be the voice of the people, but, alas, that has not been the case for years. When the people's interests are supplanted by the interested of the campaign contributors, madness ensues. That is essentially what you are seeing now. Both parties are beholden to their contributors and the people are mad as hell. The sooner the politicians realize this, the better off they--and we--will be.
The vote is also supposed to be the voice of the people, but, alas, that has not been the case for years. When the people's interests are supplanted by the interested of the campaign contributors, madness ensues. That is essentially what you are seeing now. Both parties are beholden to their contributors and the people are mad as hell. The sooner the politicians realize this, the better off they--and we--will be.
10
Who are the perpetrators of violence at the Trump rallies? Could there be operatives of right-wing dark money super pacs posing as protesters and inciting both sides to violence? It's possible.
Perhaps the NYTimes could do a little beat reporting and give us the who-what-when-where-how-why of specific incidents of violence at political rallies.
These are criminal acts of violence but the perpetrators are written off as "Bernie supporters" or "Trump supporters." Names please? Investigate these people. Is it really just spontaneous anger? Or more dirty tricks in the dirtiest of games?
Perhaps the NYTimes could do a little beat reporting and give us the who-what-when-where-how-why of specific incidents of violence at political rallies.
These are criminal acts of violence but the perpetrators are written off as "Bernie supporters" or "Trump supporters." Names please? Investigate these people. Is it really just spontaneous anger? Or more dirty tricks in the dirtiest of games?
8
This certainly is a necessary corrective to the NYT news article
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/04/us/politics/donald-trump-protest.html
which seemed to take a positive view of the anti-Trump violence.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/04/us/politics/donald-trump-protest.html
which seemed to take a positive view of the anti-Trump violence.
8
@abo, the weakest element of that article was its speculative characterization of who the "protestors" were, seemingly without any legitimate effort at verifying the claim. "Seemed to be?" Not nearly good enough, New York Times.
4
Madness. Madness is a rotting infrastructure in the land of Billionaires. Madness is denying climate change even as the years grow hotter, and hotter. Madness is considering eight dollars an hour a living wage. Madness is drone strikes with unreported 'collateral' damage. Madness is having more people in prison than any other country on Earth. Madness is stigmatizing people for their sexual identity. Madness is emailing death threats to political opponents. Madness is an unarmed black man being shot sixteen times by a police officer. Madness is the death of twenty children by gunfire. Madness is the Second Amendment.
Madness is believing Donald Trump, as President of the United States, is a good idea. Madness. The madness of America. What did you expect?
Madness is believing Donald Trump, as President of the United States, is a good idea. Madness. The madness of America. What did you expect?
27
'Madness is believing Donald Trump as President..." The madness of America.
As a Canadian who grew up near the US border, believing that Americans were smart, innovative, and a nation that was a force for good, I now fear for your country.
Decades after you saved Berlin with the magnificent airlift and sent out your idealist young Peacecorps to minister to the woes of underdeveloped countries, is there no one left to uphold those ideals?
As a Canadian who grew up near the US border, believing that Americans were smart, innovative, and a nation that was a force for good, I now fear for your country.
Decades after you saved Berlin with the magnificent airlift and sent out your idealist young Peacecorps to minister to the woes of underdeveloped countries, is there no one left to uphold those ideals?
You were right on until you threw in the 2nd Amendment.
May I dare to suggest what many people might believe is "unthinkable"?
Such as paid infiltrators and/or agent provocateurs?
Yes, I know, it's unlikely. But then again, the donald as presidential candidate seemed unlikely too, only a few short months ago.
And now that some of those who have created the monster can no longer control it and feel that they are against the ropes, what do they have to lose?
And it's only June. Oy!
Allow me to invite you to listen to Dan Carlin's "Disengaging the Lizard"
http://www.dancarlin.com/common-sense-home-landing-page/
There is a reason we got this far. There are also ways to get out of it, if we really want to.
Such as paid infiltrators and/or agent provocateurs?
Yes, I know, it's unlikely. But then again, the donald as presidential candidate seemed unlikely too, only a few short months ago.
And now that some of those who have created the monster can no longer control it and feel that they are against the ropes, what do they have to lose?
And it's only June. Oy!
Allow me to invite you to listen to Dan Carlin's "Disengaging the Lizard"
http://www.dancarlin.com/common-sense-home-landing-page/
There is a reason we got this far. There are also ways to get out of it, if we really want to.
4
I wish that everyone who is tempted to protest violently against Trump would watch the movie "Selma."It takes courage not to lash out at people hurling epithets at you but it is a much more effective way to attain your goals. Remember the Westboro Baptist Church, the hate group who showed up at so many military funerals? They have pretty much gone to ground because of the effective non-violent protests against them. Don't make it easier for Trump to inflame his supporters.
11
Mr Blow in so many words is saying stop violent protests against Trump.. Why? The more of these type of protests,the more likely Mr. trump will be elected.
8
The continuous images of people who "vanquish" their enemies, from violent sports to movies, to newsreels and live random gun violence in city streets, have made America a dangerous environment. These messages have sealed our mutual fate.
5
Eloquently stated, Mr. Blow, and if The Donald's candidacy is provoking so much violence between Americans now (and just wait until the convention takes place!) imagine how Americans will be treated around the world- and especially in the Middle East- if this tinhorn Fuhrer makes it all the way to the White House. The race is, indeed, tight between Herr Drumph and Mrs. Clinton although current polls show Bernie Sanders way outperforming him. Can there be so many people who are so mistrusting of HRC that they're willing to turn the fate of the nation over to a vile ignoramus? Do we need to keep reminding our fellow citizens that the last Clinton administration was not so irredeemably awful even despite the impeachment follies?
10
And of course, when you call the duly elected nominee of the opposition party "a vile ignoramus"....that is NOT hate speech.
If I hit you in the face, then it is YOUR fault that "you made me so angry I had to punch you"?????
If I hit you in the face, then it is YOUR fault that "you made me so angry I had to punch you"?????
3
Violence may not be the answer, but when the insiders control the game until the outsiders no longer trust the system people have been known to take things into their own hands. That may not be very comforting or politically correct, but is what history shows us.
Away from the corridors of power, the parties of the elites and the monied enclaves of the overclass, there is a deep and dark funk and skepticism among a very wide swath of Americans and it cuts across demographic, political and geographic lines. Many see government, business, media and other institutions as corrupt, complicit, feckless and self-entitled. They see a less bright future for themselves and their children, are uneasy, have lost faith in our system and see it as rigged.
If things play out by the current formula Americans will have a choice between two 1%ers- a Billionaire developer and the ultimate insider who likes to masquerade as a Progressive Democrat. Either way, you get someone completely corrupt, out of touch with the lives of ordinary Americans and closely tied to the financial and social elites of this country.
We live in a very different age when just about anybody can watch a live stream of an event and then see the slanted official story our commercial media pushes on the public and it distresses people who want to believe in America but are left shaking their heads in disgust.
Away from the corridors of power, the parties of the elites and the monied enclaves of the overclass, there is a deep and dark funk and skepticism among a very wide swath of Americans and it cuts across demographic, political and geographic lines. Many see government, business, media and other institutions as corrupt, complicit, feckless and self-entitled. They see a less bright future for themselves and their children, are uneasy, have lost faith in our system and see it as rigged.
If things play out by the current formula Americans will have a choice between two 1%ers- a Billionaire developer and the ultimate insider who likes to masquerade as a Progressive Democrat. Either way, you get someone completely corrupt, out of touch with the lives of ordinary Americans and closely tied to the financial and social elites of this country.
We live in a very different age when just about anybody can watch a live stream of an event and then see the slanted official story our commercial media pushes on the public and it distresses people who want to believe in America but are left shaking their heads in disgust.
19
Yes, but it doesn't explain why Bernie supporters are attacking TRUMP....rather than ultimate insider Hillary who is the one who is preventing their candidate from winning.
1
Blaming the system is a fool's errand. The idea that "many" have lost faith in our system paints with too broad a brush; I and "many" others ("most" of whom aren't in the 1% or even close) have not lost faith. We have not given in to all is woe, we live in a vast, diverse, & beautiful country & understand that no lover is perfect. We're tired of being vilified because we aren't angry enough. We're tired of being bullied because we aren't self righteous enough. It's just one long, excruciating off key serenade of self serving complaints.
Hillary is right, we live in a country that is great, a country that includes Wall Street & Black Lives Matter; extreme poverty and wealth, melting glaciers & burning forests; stocked grocery shelves and deadly streets; we're all faced with the ambiguity of the future.
To those who prefer to drown themselves in negativity I say try on Syria, Spain, or Somalia for size and don't open your door to politicians bearing silver spoons. Perspective might not give you what you want, but my hope is that "many" will agree that our sometimes, oftentimes very imperfect system has possibilities you won't find anywhere else on earth.
Hillary is right, we live in a country that is great, a country that includes Wall Street & Black Lives Matter; extreme poverty and wealth, melting glaciers & burning forests; stocked grocery shelves and deadly streets; we're all faced with the ambiguity of the future.
To those who prefer to drown themselves in negativity I say try on Syria, Spain, or Somalia for size and don't open your door to politicians bearing silver spoons. Perspective might not give you what you want, but my hope is that "many" will agree that our sometimes, oftentimes very imperfect system has possibilities you won't find anywhere else on earth.
Eloquent and correct - I have never advocated violence at any level - from personal to national - unless in a clear case of self defense, which could be argued is getting nearer as Trump Presidency becomes more of a possibility.
But what I do advocate is taking it to the streets, in large numbers, a March on Washington the likes of which has never been seen. The mall crammed with sanity. Bernie and Hillary and Obama and Biden and every Democratic luminary orating on the stage - and maybe a huge split screen of examples of Trump's split personality - or maybe not.
But we all need a big, visual display of fervor for America - positive, and heartfelt, and chest swelling to get the momentum back, to allay the fear, to say - yes - there are a lot of us, too. And we will win America in November.
But what I do advocate is taking it to the streets, in large numbers, a March on Washington the likes of which has never been seen. The mall crammed with sanity. Bernie and Hillary and Obama and Biden and every Democratic luminary orating on the stage - and maybe a huge split screen of examples of Trump's split personality - or maybe not.
But we all need a big, visual display of fervor for America - positive, and heartfelt, and chest swelling to get the momentum back, to allay the fear, to say - yes - there are a lot of us, too. And we will win America in November.
5
Yes! This a contest between the Old America and the New America. And as Charles Blow writes, "We are the new America — more diverse, more inclusive, more than our ancestors could ever have imagined." The real America that always triumphs in the end.
2
When the New America starts functioning as well as Mexico, El Salvador, or Baltimore, we will all be yearning for the Old America.
It is not "diverse" or inclusive to have no borders, massive illegal immigration -- flout the laws of this nation -- steal jobs from US citizens -- go on welfare with your anchor babies.
2
Charles Blow writing about the violent riots in Ferguson: 'And yet the reaction was also about more than Wilson and Brown. It was about faith in fundamental fairness.'
Trump's appeal and Trump vs Clinton is about far more than the candidates themselves and by not recognizing, let alone focusing on, the root causes, you will continue to be disbelieving and deluded.
The political establishment in this country, which Clinton very much represents, has willfully and wantonly abdicated their responsibility to those who elected them to advocate for their best interests.
They have been far more invested in catering to international interests and refuse to acknowledge that those policies and agreements have come at the expense of now a majority of citizens. Job losses to trade agreements and illegal migrants, stagnant wages and all the associated social costs have finally reached a tipping point.
This is civil disobedience born out of a lack of faith in the system and 'civil' is not always polite.
Trump's appeal and Trump vs Clinton is about far more than the candidates themselves and by not recognizing, let alone focusing on, the root causes, you will continue to be disbelieving and deluded.
The political establishment in this country, which Clinton very much represents, has willfully and wantonly abdicated their responsibility to those who elected them to advocate for their best interests.
They have been far more invested in catering to international interests and refuse to acknowledge that those policies and agreements have come at the expense of now a majority of citizens. Job losses to trade agreements and illegal migrants, stagnant wages and all the associated social costs have finally reached a tipping point.
This is civil disobedience born out of a lack of faith in the system and 'civil' is not always polite.
14
Excellent point.
In an age prior to electronic media, the vote was the voice, but hate unfortunately travels at light speed today and is amplified and echoes daily. If not countered constantly and loudly, hate spreads and takes deeper root. The vote does not come until November. That is too long to wait. We must all speak up loudly now and often that this hate will not stand. That America will not tolerate it. When the vote comes, it will be the crescendo in a symphony so loud that will declare it finally defeated.
1
This is a handsome essay, anchored by a strong quote from Martin Luther King.
It tells us that we should be hopeful, and implies that America will never elect hateful Donald Trump. We're too strong. We're too good.
I believe that occasionally. Now and then.
But then I don't believe. I become afraid.
And remember that all the prognosticators in this election have been wrong for months and months, that nobody gauged the power of the resentments and sporty hatreds now driving Trump's supporters, and that I actually don't know very much about the heart of the heart of this country.
Except that it scares me to the marrow of my bones.
I'm kinda surprised that Charles Blow, given his knowledge of our history, isn't more frightened.
It tells us that we should be hopeful, and implies that America will never elect hateful Donald Trump. We're too strong. We're too good.
I believe that occasionally. Now and then.
But then I don't believe. I become afraid.
And remember that all the prognosticators in this election have been wrong for months and months, that nobody gauged the power of the resentments and sporty hatreds now driving Trump's supporters, and that I actually don't know very much about the heart of the heart of this country.
Except that it scares me to the marrow of my bones.
I'm kinda surprised that Charles Blow, given his knowledge of our history, isn't more frightened.
12
Something about the violence in California is troubling.
Why hasn't Donald Trump or any of his surrogates screamed about what allegedly happened to the woman who had an egg thrown at her?
The silence about this optic is so, ah, "un-Trumpian."
Who is she? Where is she?
Why hasn't she been identified, either by the media or the Trump campaign?
Moments before the egg was thrown CNN and other media described her as extremely provocative, confrontational, screaming obscene language and racial epithets at protestors.
Suddenly, when she was visually attacked, she smiled and retreated inside with not so much a parting verbal assault.
Instead of becoming a Trump campaign victim or a media cause celebre - poof! She's vanished.
Is it possible - and I am just postulating here - she was part of a script; that the whole event was staged to deflect attention from Trump's most recent faux pas about Judge Curiel?
To optically validate Trump's claim that a judge of Mexican heritage can't rule impartially on the Trump University scam?
"Look at what a Mexican did to my supporter! See, I was right!"
Months ago, when a man at a Trump rally sucker-punched a protestor, within hours the media told us who threw the punch and who was punched. They were interviewed, their backgrounds revealed.
This time - nothing.
Just like the incident when Trump's son allegedly received threatening letters containing "white powder."
"Look! Look what 'they' did to 'us!'
Then nothing.
Now nothing.
Nothing?
Really?
Why hasn't Donald Trump or any of his surrogates screamed about what allegedly happened to the woman who had an egg thrown at her?
The silence about this optic is so, ah, "un-Trumpian."
Who is she? Where is she?
Why hasn't she been identified, either by the media or the Trump campaign?
Moments before the egg was thrown CNN and other media described her as extremely provocative, confrontational, screaming obscene language and racial epithets at protestors.
Suddenly, when she was visually attacked, she smiled and retreated inside with not so much a parting verbal assault.
Instead of becoming a Trump campaign victim or a media cause celebre - poof! She's vanished.
Is it possible - and I am just postulating here - she was part of a script; that the whole event was staged to deflect attention from Trump's most recent faux pas about Judge Curiel?
To optically validate Trump's claim that a judge of Mexican heritage can't rule impartially on the Trump University scam?
"Look at what a Mexican did to my supporter! See, I was right!"
Months ago, when a man at a Trump rally sucker-punched a protestor, within hours the media told us who threw the punch and who was punched. They were interviewed, their backgrounds revealed.
This time - nothing.
Just like the incident when Trump's son allegedly received threatening letters containing "white powder."
"Look! Look what 'they' did to 'us!'
Then nothing.
Now nothing.
Nothing?
Really?
14
yes, its all part of the "vast right wing conspiracy", just ask Hillary Clinton.
1
Actually it is part of the vast Donald Trump scam on America.
I suspect even the Right Wing-nuts dislike Trump.
Sadly, they are stuck with him.
Do I sound like I am gloating?
That's cause I am!
I suspect even the Right Wing-nuts dislike Trump.
Sadly, they are stuck with him.
Do I sound like I am gloating?
That's cause I am!
This is one of the best articles Mr. Blow has written. Anyone who reads it should take to heart the words of MKL that he quoted, because all of us who are adamantly opposed to Trump and all that he represents can often, just by the comments we write, show that we could easily slip into becoming what we despise.
5
Thus far, the violence has been one-sided. Trying to lay blame at the feet of Donald Trump only further reinforces his narrative of persecution.
12
No matter how many times you say this it still isn't true.
Just as one example, perhaps you've forgotten the black man who was punched in the face as he was hauled out of a rally for protesting. He had done nothing violent but a Trump supporter stepped up and punched him so hard he was in the hospital while security held his arms.
And all the while Trump egged them on and said he'd pay the man's legal bills if he was prosecuted.
The violence at Trump rallies has been well reported. You might try looking at some of it.
Just as one example, perhaps you've forgotten the black man who was punched in the face as he was hauled out of a rally for protesting. He had done nothing violent but a Trump supporter stepped up and punched him so hard he was in the hospital while security held his arms.
And all the while Trump egged them on and said he'd pay the man's legal bills if he was prosecuted.
The violence at Trump rallies has been well reported. You might try looking at some of it.
171
Reminder: the man who punched him was black as well.
1
Nicely put. The hallmark of our time is the deafening silence of the religious leadership on their flock on the most important issues of our time: climate change, war, drones, secret state, American Neo-racism, wealth disparity to name a few. No, the most important issue for them is to protest a woman's health clinic, oppose healthcare reform, and block loving couples from cementing their love for one another with the marriage vows. Is there any wonder we are at the doors of the most inauspicious moment.
13
It is so easy to be goaded by the hateful millions of the trumpeteers. Political rallies by trump are khan meetings and are fascist, hate filled and essentially dumbed down to common sense, as donny calls it. But all know from lands near and afar that common sense here means first or second grade school mentality. And I apologize for those 99% of 1st and 2nd graders who are well behaved, for that comparison. But they know the picture is of the bully and the sneak and liar who often gets suspended and expelled from their midst; to their great relief. Mr. Blow so eloquently states the American adult solution is in the voting booth in a sound rejection of politics of hate; but American are not exceptional as the column seems to imply. For many of us, we know that their are people all over
'MERICAa who want an environment of negative anarchy fostered by the police state and well, probably the better response might be documenting who they are and punishing them appropriately with civil action of the non-system type. For instance a trump yard sign should have a nazi symbol placed in it voluntarily or not. That is a good outlet for one's stresses and fears we are witnessing this political season. B ut by no means should they be removed, your neighbor should know who these people are and in the great exceptional spirit that is America trumpeters should be proud of their ignorance and hate. Only then will we know who amongst us should be shunned.
'MERICAa who want an environment of negative anarchy fostered by the police state and well, probably the better response might be documenting who they are and punishing them appropriately with civil action of the non-system type. For instance a trump yard sign should have a nazi symbol placed in it voluntarily or not. That is a good outlet for one's stresses and fears we are witnessing this political season. B ut by no means should they be removed, your neighbor should know who these people are and in the great exceptional spirit that is America trumpeters should be proud of their ignorance and hate. Only then will we know who amongst us should be shunned.
1
"It is easy to see the media fail miserably to counter Trump and his surrogates’ Gish-gallop and be discouraged, but don’t be."
Charles, the tide may be turning on the media, who seem to have awakened to how derelict and complicit they have been in elevating this neo-Fascist, as he's been called. Not only the New York Times, but a growing chorus of reporters, social media, and pundits are finally beginning to assess the truth of this man: that he hasn't really accomplished a single thing in his long career of deal making.
The violence at Trump events must, of course, be condemned. By every candidate and campaign. But even more, the violence of Trump's speech must be universally condemned instead of wondered at. The slumbering press eager for ratings and treating Trump as a clown blinded them to the truth of what he says and believes. Nothing is new here--he has left decades of quotes, interviews, and splashy actions.
What 's new is the violence, which seems to be erupting in proportion to growing voter anger in this campaign. Trump first stoked this anger, and now is reaping its results as the people he needs most--GOP leaders--are appalled at what they have allowed to happen.
My hope for America is that voters gradually wake up to what faces them in this election, and vote based on their heads, not those dark places of their hearts dominated by rage at the "system" and the inciting words of a demagogue.
Charles, the tide may be turning on the media, who seem to have awakened to how derelict and complicit they have been in elevating this neo-Fascist, as he's been called. Not only the New York Times, but a growing chorus of reporters, social media, and pundits are finally beginning to assess the truth of this man: that he hasn't really accomplished a single thing in his long career of deal making.
The violence at Trump events must, of course, be condemned. By every candidate and campaign. But even more, the violence of Trump's speech must be universally condemned instead of wondered at. The slumbering press eager for ratings and treating Trump as a clown blinded them to the truth of what he says and believes. Nothing is new here--he has left decades of quotes, interviews, and splashy actions.
What 's new is the violence, which seems to be erupting in proportion to growing voter anger in this campaign. Trump first stoked this anger, and now is reaping its results as the people he needs most--GOP leaders--are appalled at what they have allowed to happen.
My hope for America is that voters gradually wake up to what faces them in this election, and vote based on their heads, not those dark places of their hearts dominated by rage at the "system" and the inciting words of a demagogue.
9
Seems to me that the media started 'waking up to the Donald' when he started verbally abusing them, when he started saying that when he was President, he'd start strengthening the libel laws against them. Now maybe the ratings from their incessant coverage aren't quite so important??
1
Time has finally caught up and exposed the insanity that this nation has functioned under for years. After decades of oppressive measures against groups of people, that process can no longer be viable because the reasons don't add up and are insane just on merit alone. The Ponzi and Pyramid scheme called Capitalism has cleaned out the last group available to use, which was the middle--class, and so the denial is setting in with them and they're ready to blame whoever you give them. Now we're trying to rationalize dysfunction, which is what addicts do. Look up "addictive behavior" and compare the irrational thinking and behavior to what's going on in our society, and how the addict tries to convince himself and those around him that nothing's wrong, all the way until he hits "bottom", and the damage that comes with it. It's ironic that there's a Heroin "epidemic" in this nation now because it seems to fit right into the attitudes and thinking that this political process has exposed. We've had candidates try to convince us of how bad the other candidate is, consideration and respect out the window, and then turn around and tell us that same candidate is the best person for the job, and on top of that have the "intellects" tell the common people that "this is how the system works", that this insanity is normal. I can just about guess what the rest of the world is thinking.
3
With Trump getting this far in the presidential polls, the US has already lost, I am afraid! It is somewhat embarrassing for a non-American citizen (perhaps, American in heart), and even sad, to make such a statement. But, as I pointed out in a comment I wrote, early in the campaign, the analogies with our self-anointed, disastrous country-saviour, by the name of Silvio Berlusconi, were frightening. However, following through with the campaign, I have realised that, at variance with Berlusconi, Trump can be a real danger far beyond the US. American freedom and democracy are like a gigantic oak that grew beautiful and strong over two and a half centuries: it could be cut into pieces in less than a day!
8
Blow has inadvertently put his finger on the reason for the violence in San Jose and the lousy state of our politics. And it is the fault of Liberals as well as conservatives.
"I understand that he is elevating and normalizing a particular stance of racism and sexism that many view as a spiritual attack, a kind of psychic violence from which they cannot escape."
Seeing political differences this way, exaggerating differences of opinion about the direction society should take into spiritual attacks and psychic violence is a problem. The nonsense on college campuses about safe spaces and micro-aggressions is spilling out of those liberal enclaves into this election. The overemotional even hysterical response to people who disagree with you is leading to violence and it is a little too late for Blow who has helped create this atmosphere to come out against it. Just as the Right created Trump, the Left has created the irrational over-the-top reaction to him. Trump is a buffoon and a phony and would make a rotten President, but he is not the devil incarnate.
"I understand that he is elevating and normalizing a particular stance of racism and sexism that many view as a spiritual attack, a kind of psychic violence from which they cannot escape."
Seeing political differences this way, exaggerating differences of opinion about the direction society should take into spiritual attacks and psychic violence is a problem. The nonsense on college campuses about safe spaces and micro-aggressions is spilling out of those liberal enclaves into this election. The overemotional even hysterical response to people who disagree with you is leading to violence and it is a little too late for Blow who has helped create this atmosphere to come out against it. Just as the Right created Trump, the Left has created the irrational over-the-top reaction to him. Trump is a buffoon and a phony and would make a rotten President, but he is not the devil incarnate.
8
Demonizing Donald Trump overly simplifies his ability to appeal to voters, and draw crowds to his appearances.
I don't support Donald Trump, but I do think the US should end 'birth-right-citizenship'.
If politics as usual were not so plain and abject a failure as it is apparent today, there would be no room in the public debate space for a non-serious candidate like Trump.
Trump is not an answer to any problems we face as a country. But he is a bullhorn that amplifies the problems in our awareness, and forces people to take notice. How each responds, says something about us as people, not about Trump or his supporters.
I don't support Donald Trump, but I do think the US should end 'birth-right-citizenship'.
If politics as usual were not so plain and abject a failure as it is apparent today, there would be no room in the public debate space for a non-serious candidate like Trump.
Trump is not an answer to any problems we face as a country. But he is a bullhorn that amplifies the problems in our awareness, and forces people to take notice. How each responds, says something about us as people, not about Trump or his supporters.
8
Mr. Blow:
Who in the world do you think you're addressing in this column?
Do any of those who are meeting Trump's avowals of violence with their own violence at his rallies actually read your column?
I doubt it.
Fancy arguments for no audience.
And BTW, I agree with you on all counts.
Perhaps you're spent many months supporting the wrong candidate.
Who in the world do you think you're addressing in this column?
Do any of those who are meeting Trump's avowals of violence with their own violence at his rallies actually read your column?
I doubt it.
Fancy arguments for no audience.
And BTW, I agree with you on all counts.
Perhaps you're spent many months supporting the wrong candidate.
4
Mr. Blow's piece gave me peace from yesterday's panic of watching the Sunday talking heads. Well written and Thank you !
The violence is coming from one side. Of course, right on cue, Charles and his liberal minions place equal or more blame on so-called rhetoric. I have a right to free speech Charles, you don't have a right to put me in a coma because you disagree.
You still don't get it.
You still don't get it.
16
Blame where blame is due. Start by condemning the inaction, of the San Jose chief of police and mayor for ALLOWING and CONDONING attacks on those attending Trump's recent rally in their town.
17
San Jose is in California -- is one of the most costly parts, as it is home to big tech giants.
California is now -- by law -- an all-blue, all Democrat state with no Republicans holding even one single political office.
California is now 60% hispanic, and the highest level of illegal aliens. It is also the poorest state, with a 24% poverty rate.
So of course it is A-OK in California to attack a conservative GOP candidate. Of course officials will turn away and do nothing.
It is the lefty liberal way.
California is now -- by law -- an all-blue, all Democrat state with no Republicans holding even one single political office.
California is now 60% hispanic, and the highest level of illegal aliens. It is also the poorest state, with a 24% poverty rate.
So of course it is A-OK in California to attack a conservative GOP candidate. Of course officials will turn away and do nothing.
It is the lefty liberal way.
2
This is a great article, Mr. Blow! Thank you for your voice (crying in the wilderness) seeking sanity and peace.
5
When one studies the rise of Hitler and also more recent politicians who used violence one sees that it works. It makes the established order and the adversaries look weak and the violent politician look strong.
Counterviolence by protesters doesn't work very well - as it also offers an opportunity to show strength in battle. The only thing that really helps is a government that maintains order and guards its monopoly on violence. But that can only work when that government has a credible concept of what is acceptable behavior.
Counterviolence by protesters doesn't work very well - as it also offers an opportunity to show strength in battle. The only thing that really helps is a government that maintains order and guards its monopoly on violence. But that can only work when that government has a credible concept of what is acceptable behavior.
I am a Hispanic American woman with a graduate degree and I support Trump who I do not consider to be racist or sexist, notwithstanding knee-jerk prejudgments from Mr. Blow and his followers.
“Make America Great Again” does not mean making America all-white again, it means making bridges, roads, subways and airports great again, bringing great jobs and manufacturing back again, and calling a threat, a threat again.
For heaven’s sake, President Obama and Hillary Clinton cannot even utter the words Islamic terrorism.
I do agree, however, there’s no place for “ambient viciousness” so please, Mr. Blow, stop calling me a “minion”, synonyms for which include flunky, stooge and toady.
“Make America Great Again” does not mean making America all-white again, it means making bridges, roads, subways and airports great again, bringing great jobs and manufacturing back again, and calling a threat, a threat again.
For heaven’s sake, President Obama and Hillary Clinton cannot even utter the words Islamic terrorism.
I do agree, however, there’s no place for “ambient viciousness” so please, Mr. Blow, stop calling me a “minion”, synonyms for which include flunky, stooge and toady.
31
There are enough Trump supporters like you to have gotten him the nomination. Please keep writing in these forums. Democrats need to hear your voice. Why have the Dems abandoned infrastructure development? Why have they abandoned working people, except illegal immigrants? Why have they abandoned common sense sovereignty? Why do they leave these positions open for the taking?
4
Those unanswered questions you pose are the very reason I have decided for the first time in my life to vote for a Republican, something I would not have imagined 8 years ago when I was still naively hopeful that Obama would make a difference.
4
Yes, violence against violence is wrong. But still, there where not that many "violent" anti Trump aktivists where there? Tv kept on zooming in onto them on and on and on. There were more police agents. A bit out of proportion. The focus needs to be on peaceful protesting. Millions are doing that.
So if you stand behind those powerfull, true words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:
a) Why does the USA still have the deathpenalty then? Why do you vote for someone who wants the deathpenalty, even though there are many cases where innocent people where killed and even though the government then does the same thing as the criminals did: taking lives?!
b) So why is america's prisonsystem still hell on earth? Why didn't that change with the Clintons? Why can there be gangs there, weapons, rape... and even murder inside prisons? How do you expect those criminals to come out, when they do?
Not educated intellectually, not educated socially and not educated ethically. Why are there so many people behind bars because they don't like alcohol but weed? Why aren't the coke sniffing wall street bros and banker bros behind bars?
c) What about the international violence by the USA (also under the Clintons)?
d) Bernie Sanders will win with independents votes of Donald Trump. Polls show that he is better than Hillary Clinton in doing that. His ideas work in the richest, happiest, greenest european countries.
e) Etc.
Who do you vote for Charles, if you mean what you say?
So if you stand behind those powerfull, true words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:
a) Why does the USA still have the deathpenalty then? Why do you vote for someone who wants the deathpenalty, even though there are many cases where innocent people where killed and even though the government then does the same thing as the criminals did: taking lives?!
b) So why is america's prisonsystem still hell on earth? Why didn't that change with the Clintons? Why can there be gangs there, weapons, rape... and even murder inside prisons? How do you expect those criminals to come out, when they do?
Not educated intellectually, not educated socially and not educated ethically. Why are there so many people behind bars because they don't like alcohol but weed? Why aren't the coke sniffing wall street bros and banker bros behind bars?
c) What about the international violence by the USA (also under the Clintons)?
d) Bernie Sanders will win with independents votes of Donald Trump. Polls show that he is better than Hillary Clinton in doing that. His ideas work in the richest, happiest, greenest european countries.
e) Etc.
Who do you vote for Charles, if you mean what you say?
1
Brutishness, ambient viciousness, and putrescence are not words MLK would have used to convince his fellow Americans. Please go back and reread the definition of inclusive.
8
Are you suggesting King wanted to hold hands with the Klan? That, really, the Klan and the Southern Christian Leadership Council were basically the same? The fact that you don't meet evil with violence is a tactical decision. It does not mean there is no evil, nor that evil should not be acknowledged.
It's revealing, isn't it, how nearly every op-ed writer on the NYT (and many commenters as well) try to convince others by telling them how stupid they are. What happened to actually trying to persuade others to your viewpoint in an inclusive and respectful manner? Instead, it's just, "oh my god, if you could vote for [anyone but Hillary] you're just an idiot...."
2
What most Americans still do not understand is that the War of Secession never ended. Secession made traitors of the ancestors of many Republicans that sit in the halls of power in Houses and Senates of Red states.
Their aim is to pretend to defend a Union in which neither they nor their forefathers ever believed, while actively working as insiders to destroy it. They want WHITE SUPREMACY. Well, they are not going to get it. If it takes violence, so be it.
Their aim is to pretend to defend a Union in which neither they nor their forefathers ever believed, while actively working as insiders to destroy it. They want WHITE SUPREMACY. Well, they are not going to get it. If it takes violence, so be it.
4
So it is OK to attack peaceful Trump supporters at peaceful Trump rallies -- because you blame their ENTIRE PARTY for the Civil War -- which ended 150 years ago!!! And people today are guilty for their forebearers (dead for 100 years at least), even if they are descended from immigrants after 1900.
Yeah, that makes sense.
(NOT.)
Yeah, that makes sense.
(NOT.)
2
Dear Mr. Blow,
And the Reverend King himself became a victim of violence. Despite his passionate words and studied distaste of violence, look where this country stands on the issues of race even after a Civil War and after numerous attempts to legislate "fairness"; a candidate from a major party advocating xenophobia, racism and hatred.
One might think the election of a black president would have proven the end to racism in the United States. Instead, it seems to have stoked the embers into a raging fire of bigotry and hatred which Mr. Trump has used to it's fullest extent.
If the poll numbers are even moderately accurate, close to 40% of the people in this country are not only "fine" with this viewpoint but are willing to vote for a candidate who espouses such a twisted stand.
In essence, the country hasn't traveled very far from 1860 and whichever candidate wins this November, he/she will have a terribly divided constituency to deal with and, if a Democrat, a Congress ready to serve against the president's best wishes no matter what the issue.
Democracy can be messy but should, minimally, work with some types of compromise. The last few years shows just how "ignored" this concept is when the legislative branch is run by "my way or the highway" ideologues.
And the Reverend King himself became a victim of violence. Despite his passionate words and studied distaste of violence, look where this country stands on the issues of race even after a Civil War and after numerous attempts to legislate "fairness"; a candidate from a major party advocating xenophobia, racism and hatred.
One might think the election of a black president would have proven the end to racism in the United States. Instead, it seems to have stoked the embers into a raging fire of bigotry and hatred which Mr. Trump has used to it's fullest extent.
If the poll numbers are even moderately accurate, close to 40% of the people in this country are not only "fine" with this viewpoint but are willing to vote for a candidate who espouses such a twisted stand.
In essence, the country hasn't traveled very far from 1860 and whichever candidate wins this November, he/she will have a terribly divided constituency to deal with and, if a Democrat, a Congress ready to serve against the president's best wishes no matter what the issue.
Democracy can be messy but should, minimally, work with some types of compromise. The last few years shows just how "ignored" this concept is when the legislative branch is run by "my way or the highway" ideologues.
16
Thank you, Charles Blow. I've been watching our political season unfold from Japan. And it has left me with a scummy feeling that must be the feel of watching (or having watched) bad porn. And with a broken heart. To help my Tokyo conversations and explain my country, I've read brilliant pieces on how we got here, but I am grateful now that some of you--James Fallows with his careful catalogue of Trump's lies and you with with your caution not to be discouraged--are beginning to imagine what to do next. Perhaps a steady kind of patient journalism can actually help here. Not shouts, not tweets, but the record of a rational analysis. But do we have time and patience?
24
"It is easy to look at Republicans like Paul Ryan abandoning their principles..."
Their only principle is that they want republicans to be in power, by whatever means.
Their only principle is that they want republicans to be in power, by whatever means.
145
M,
"Their only principle is that they want republicans to be in power, by whatever means."
Please explain how this is any different then on the other side of the aisle?
"Their only principle is that they want republicans to be in power, by whatever means."
Please explain how this is any different then on the other side of the aisle?
1
I'm sure Gandhi, MLK, Jesus, and Pollyanna would all approve of Mr. Blow's hackneyed thoughts and similes ("stench of rotting flesh") regarding violence begetting more violence. I approve too. But I think a writer for the NYT should be able to find a way to make the controversy surrounding Donald Trump into amore interesting topic of discussion.
4
I entirely agree with Mr. Blow's remarks. Part of the problem is that few the perpetrators of the bad behavior referred to read the opinion pages of The New York Times.
10
A man's character is his fate. This does not end well for Mr Trump.
12
My vision is of 70 million voters (more than for Obama in 2012) just waiting --waiting impatiently! -- for their fingers to be finally poised to vote this distasteful phenomenon out of our news, out of our lives forever. That faith sustains -- but the patience erodes.
28
Good column -- good quote from MLK. The "Make America Great Again" crowd harkens back to the Happy Days of the 1950's -- days which were not so happy for those suffering under Jim Crow laws, or attending poorly equipped segregated schools, or wishing to marry someone of the wrong race or gender identity, or wanting a job in a field closed off to those of their race or gender, or trapped in an abusive marriage, or ready to say, "we've had enough children," or . . . .
My memories of growing up in the '50's and '60's was listening to male relatives outside my nuclear family trying to tell me what I couldn't do based on my gender: study math, or earn a graduate degree, or set up my own household, or get a credit card, or (and here's my favorite!) be an FBI agent and capture criminals. Well, I've done most of those things, but out grew my desire to be an FBI agent.
The "good old days" were much better for middle calss white men than for the rest of us.
My memories of growing up in the '50's and '60's was listening to male relatives outside my nuclear family trying to tell me what I couldn't do based on my gender: study math, or earn a graduate degree, or set up my own household, or get a credit card, or (and here's my favorite!) be an FBI agent and capture criminals. Well, I've done most of those things, but out grew my desire to be an FBI agent.
The "good old days" were much better for middle calss white men than for the rest of us.
27
Nevertheless, those middle class white men are not disposable either. America ought to work for all its citizens.
1
Political acts always benefit one side. They may tear down both, but they tear down one more than the other, and that is still a benefit in a zero-sum two-party race.
Violence has been used as a political tool before. It was powerful and effective, more so because it inspired violence in response.
"One of the most disturbing displays of this madness is the violence that Trump has incited in his supporters, and the violent ways in which opposition forces have responded, like the exchange we saw last week in San Jose."
That is exactly what happened before. Each begins to incite the other. Blame is apportioned then by the bias of the observer. The question to those observers then becomes who can restore order and justice.
I lived through the race riots of the middle '60's, which was political violence. I lived through the anti-war protests about Vietnam, and that was also political violence. The rash of assassinations in that time was seen to be part of the violence problem, even if it was certainly a separate thing.
From that, we got Nixon. Then in short order we got Reagan. To those who were not there, that may seem disconnected, but I was there, and I'm telling you it was all one thing. It was reaction to violence.
Sure, it was the National Guard that did the shooting at Kent State, likely set off by an undercover government agent. All the same for who was violence, and it produced Nixon, not McGovern.
Violence has been used as a political tool before. It was powerful and effective, more so because it inspired violence in response.
"One of the most disturbing displays of this madness is the violence that Trump has incited in his supporters, and the violent ways in which opposition forces have responded, like the exchange we saw last week in San Jose."
That is exactly what happened before. Each begins to incite the other. Blame is apportioned then by the bias of the observer. The question to those observers then becomes who can restore order and justice.
I lived through the race riots of the middle '60's, which was political violence. I lived through the anti-war protests about Vietnam, and that was also political violence. The rash of assassinations in that time was seen to be part of the violence problem, even if it was certainly a separate thing.
From that, we got Nixon. Then in short order we got Reagan. To those who were not there, that may seem disconnected, but I was there, and I'm telling you it was all one thing. It was reaction to violence.
Sure, it was the National Guard that did the shooting at Kent State, likely set off by an undercover government agent. All the same for who was violence, and it produced Nixon, not McGovern.
93
All these people have read Saul Alinski, who recommends staging conflicts such as those we have seen outside Trump rallies.
2
Steve -- Yes, and Gov. Scott Walker was caught live on radio saying he would send in provocateurs to incite violence. He was saying he'd do that for right wing Republicans seeking to destroy the labor movement. His own state police chief directly responded to that by publicly warning him off.
It is more than just some lefties who have read Alinsky.
It is more than just some lefties who have read Alinsky.
3
Reviewing this history adds nothing to the current situation. We already know the past, and it offers no insight into the disaster of Trump.
Following in Mr. Blow's vein, the energies used to commit violence would be better suited to using our legal voice in the ballot box, making sure the disenfranchised voters are enfranchised, blockades to voting removed, and those who are disgusted by Trump and support Bernie (myself included here) vote for the Democratic nominee whomever she (or he)is.
The aftermath of physical violence often reduces ones ability to vote whether a result of incarceration, ennui, or misdirected energies. This election is too important to allow the insanity, the hate, the divisiveness of the megalomaniacal harbinger of unabated cronyism who would undoubtedly become a kleptocrat which would further exacerbate disparities of wealth by keeping throngs of (young) voters at each other's throats.
The aftermath of physical violence often reduces ones ability to vote whether a result of incarceration, ennui, or misdirected energies. This election is too important to allow the insanity, the hate, the divisiveness of the megalomaniacal harbinger of unabated cronyism who would undoubtedly become a kleptocrat which would further exacerbate disparities of wealth by keeping throngs of (young) voters at each other's throats.
21
Here is the extent of the violence:
1) Trump supporters: one shove,
2) Protesters: hundreds, if not thousands, of threats and physical abuse, combined with destruction of property.
When you consider that Bernie Sanders supporters have been more violent that any Trump supporters, you realize quickly that Blow is distorting the facts to slander Trump.
In the end, this is just like Blow's attempt to slander the Tea Party, despite no evidence of racism on their part, and Blow's effort to minimize the lies and violence of Black Lives Matter.
The bottom line is that we should all use critical thinking and learn the facts, instead of falling back on tired narratives and falsehoods based on ignorance and prejudice.
1) Trump supporters: one shove,
2) Protesters: hundreds, if not thousands, of threats and physical abuse, combined with destruction of property.
When you consider that Bernie Sanders supporters have been more violent that any Trump supporters, you realize quickly that Blow is distorting the facts to slander Trump.
In the end, this is just like Blow's attempt to slander the Tea Party, despite no evidence of racism on their part, and Blow's effort to minimize the lies and violence of Black Lives Matter.
The bottom line is that we should all use critical thinking and learn the facts, instead of falling back on tired narratives and falsehoods based on ignorance and prejudice.
42
My dear sir:
To the best of my knowledge, Bernie Sanders has not explicitly called on his supporters to engage in violence. D***** T**** has.
Do you understand now?
To the best of my knowledge, Bernie Sanders has not explicitly called on his supporters to engage in violence. D***** T**** has.
Do you understand now?
4
"The bottom line is that we should all use critical thinking and learn the facts, instead of falling back on tired narratives and falsehoods based on ignorance and prejudice."
Trump and the GOP's positions are the epitome of tired narratives and falsehoods based on ignorance and prejudice.
Trump and the GOP's positions are the epitome of tired narratives and falsehoods based on ignorance and prejudice.
2
If Trump were capable of even an iota of critical thinking we wouldn't be in this mess. By the way Texas has removed "critical thinking" from it curriculum, just sayin'
3
"Look at My African-American over here!" The Trump crowd believes ALL African Americans should be proud that one of their own was granted this public moment in the bright spotlight of Trump's acknowledgment. The man, who was praised for his role in punching a protestor, is a "perfect" African American for Trump and his minions - they should all be like this! With unwavering loyalty to The Donald in the face of a physical threat to him and not shrinking from violence to protect The Donald, in other words: a devoted bodyguard! The greatest achievement possible in Donald Trump's racial book of African Americans. Donald's own African American later said he was "proud," to have been, err, profiled, because it earned him two autograph requests from other Trump supporters, presumably white. What else is there to add?
17
Is using the term "African American" now an insult? Or is it a "micro aggression"?
1
"Ambient viciousness"
Very well said.
Very well said.
15
I hope you're right Mr. Blow. I hope America can rise above the ugliness we've
seen in this campaign, and that a creature like Trump will dissolve into our
darkest page of history, to be forgotten, dismissed and perhaps forgiven. We,
as Americans are better than this- it will soon be time to show it.
seen in this campaign, and that a creature like Trump will dissolve into our
darkest page of history, to be forgotten, dismissed and perhaps forgiven. We,
as Americans are better than this- it will soon be time to show it.
21
Here is what happened to America. We are no longer “One nation, with liberty and justice for all.” We are less focused on competing with the rest of the world than we are focused on competing with our fellow countrymen. We are losing our stature on the world stage. This has provided an opening for the remainder of the world to catch up and take more of a leadership role. This in turn has led to our present frustration.
This country and its people are changing. The country is more politically divided than it has been for generations. The wrestling match within the country revolves around how do we keep our world dominance. The GOP, believes we can bully our way back to dominance and implement an austerity program geared towards the working class and poor. The Democrats are not addressing the problem at all but rather want to buy their popularity with programs and no means of paying for them.
No one is thinking long term. The rest of the world is catching up.
The United States was not considered a world power at the beginning of the 1900’s. It was a nation mostly made up of people with roots in Europe. It was still a struggling nation. The 1918 flu pandemic infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide. It killed more people than all the wars of the twentieth century combined, It ravaged families. In my Dad’s family alone more than half of his brothers and sisters were killed by this influenza before he was a teen. ... http://lstrn.us/23EWaKx
This country and its people are changing. The country is more politically divided than it has been for generations. The wrestling match within the country revolves around how do we keep our world dominance. The GOP, believes we can bully our way back to dominance and implement an austerity program geared towards the working class and poor. The Democrats are not addressing the problem at all but rather want to buy their popularity with programs and no means of paying for them.
No one is thinking long term. The rest of the world is catching up.
The United States was not considered a world power at the beginning of the 1900’s. It was a nation mostly made up of people with roots in Europe. It was still a struggling nation. The 1918 flu pandemic infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide. It killed more people than all the wars of the twentieth century combined, It ravaged families. In my Dad’s family alone more than half of his brothers and sisters were killed by this influenza before he was a teen. ... http://lstrn.us/23EWaKx
7
If you are concerned about sudden deadly epidemics such as influenza, you should tell Republicans to stop blocking funding for an effective international public health infrastructure, and in particular, right now, free up adequate funding to anticipate the devastating threat of the Zika virus in the US .
1
Why do Americans not think "long term"? Because American intellectuals and politicians don't give us any reason to.
JM Keynes told politicians: Don't worry about the long term, because in the long term we're all dead. When this is held up as "genius" - a la Krugman - thinking long term becomes laughable. Krugman also believes that consumer debt is bad, but government debt is good. Somehow.
Hillary Clinton cannot think long term - as evidenced by the Benghazi deaths - and Bernie Sanders can't think past the next chance to make some stuff free for some people - leaving everyone else with the government freely taking stuff from them.
Politicians and their appointed bureaucrats aren't held accountable in the long term for their short term actions. Who at DOE lost their job for the Solyndra debacle? Who in R.I. lost their position as a result of the Schilling/38Studios failure?
JM Keynes told politicians: Don't worry about the long term, because in the long term we're all dead. When this is held up as "genius" - a la Krugman - thinking long term becomes laughable. Krugman also believes that consumer debt is bad, but government debt is good. Somehow.
Hillary Clinton cannot think long term - as evidenced by the Benghazi deaths - and Bernie Sanders can't think past the next chance to make some stuff free for some people - leaving everyone else with the government freely taking stuff from them.
Politicians and their appointed bureaucrats aren't held accountable in the long term for their short term actions. Who at DOE lost their job for the Solyndra debacle? Who in R.I. lost their position as a result of the Schilling/38Studios failure?
2
"The Democrats are not addressing the problem at all but rather want to buy their popularity with programs and no means of paying for them. "
Actually, all democratic proposals come with a "pay for" that offsets the cost.
For example, Democrats voted to allow students to refinance their student loans, like refinancing a mortgage, at lower interest rates and to pay for it by cutting certain tax breaks for oil companies. The Republicans voted it down, favoring tax breaks for oil companies over hard working people burdened with student debt.
Actually, all democratic proposals come with a "pay for" that offsets the cost.
For example, Democrats voted to allow students to refinance their student loans, like refinancing a mortgage, at lower interest rates and to pay for it by cutting certain tax breaks for oil companies. The Republicans voted it down, favoring tax breaks for oil companies over hard working people burdened with student debt.
2
I had to stop reading after the first paragraph where Blow believes looney, left wing radicals are Trumps' fault.
40
Read Saul Alinski. All the Republican political operatives have.
Are these loony left wing radicals? Are they illegals? Are they union members? Are they plants by somebody? Who? I don't think we know the whole story here.
I have a strong suspicion that many of the protestors and demonstrators at the Trump rallies have been recruited by the Trump campaign itself. Roger Stone, people.
22
Mr. Blow, I always enjoy reading your articles!
Last night, I was watching a nice documentary ("The World At War") about WW2, how Hitler rose to power, and how Germans were controlled and brainwashed by Hitler.
It was a scary reminder of what could happen if Mr. Trump is elected as President.
Last night, I was watching a nice documentary ("The World At War") about WW2, how Hitler rose to power, and how Germans were controlled and brainwashed by Hitler.
It was a scary reminder of what could happen if Mr. Trump is elected as President.
17
There is not one shred of evidence that Donald Trump -- a 70 year old real estate developer and reality show host -- has anything in common with ADOLF HITLER.
The more the left devolves to this absolute made-up nonsense, the harder you will lose.
The more the left devolves to this absolute made-up nonsense, the harder you will lose.
2
We need to start facing the fact that, among Trump’s disgruntled voters, there are a considerable number who are fully aware that he is a danger to the country and are supporting him out of pique and resentment towards the rest of us. These people are not going to mollified by improvements in economic conditions or major concessions to their political beliefs. They feel they are being severely slighted by the world and want to get even. There is no simple way of appealing to people who just want things their way. True conservatives and reasonable liberals, regardless of their party affiliations, have no choice now other than to turn out in massive numbers in November and utterly reject the massive assault against American values that is now taking place.
275
Sadly, this hands a mandate to the second worst candidate. So a lot of people will throw the dice for Green or Libertarian.
You are wrong he is a danger to this country. He will deport all illegal aliens, which will be the biggest gift imaginable to the poor, African Americans, the working class -- the economy -- the environment.
But you are correct that many feel pique and resentment. Why wouldn't we, after decades of political correctness, and assaults on our religions, our marriages, even our GENDER? Now we can't even go to the bathroom without being accused of "hate crimes".
So you are darn right we are angry. And the more you refuse to listen to our voices, the more you will lose.
But you are correct that many feel pique and resentment. Why wouldn't we, after decades of political correctness, and assaults on our religions, our marriages, even our GENDER? Now we can't even go to the bathroom without being accused of "hate crimes".
So you are darn right we are angry. And the more you refuse to listen to our voices, the more you will lose.
1
The "putrescent" Trump cannot be discredited or reasoned with, less so his supporters who at times seem as rabid as a lynch mob. Clinton or Sanders would demolish him in a debate, but his supporters wouldn't notice. The Republican party created this Frankenstein monster that now presents the worst existential threat to America since the Cuban Missile Crisis.
151
Surges, If that is what Charles is doing, then Trump is getting a dose of his own tactics.
I blame the media for the violence--you included, Mr. Blow. The media has whipped up these passions by hanging on Trump's every word and then feigning outrage after every statement.
Imagine if the media acted the same way when Ed Rendell called Hillary supporters, "ugly women," instead of giggling, or better yet imagine if the media hadn't minimizad and explained away all of Hillary's racist statements.
Imagine if the media acted the same way when Ed Rendell called Hillary supporters, "ugly women," instead of giggling, or better yet imagine if the media hadn't minimizad and explained away all of Hillary's racist statements.
36
Trump's candidacy exposes one of the core vulnerabilities of a democratic political system. An open society thrives when a sense of community transcends the inevitable clash of interests that occur among any free people. Under these conditions, the losers of a political contest accept their defeat because they know the winners won't seek to use their victory to destroy them. Both the constitutional limits on power and the sense that both the victors and the vanquished belong to the same community preclude any resort to vengeance in the wake of an election.
In times of stress and loss of trust, however, this political consensus may fracture under the weight of widespread grievances against the country's elites. The discontent may inspire an FDR or Senator Sanders to mobilize the alienated in a campaign to achieve basic reforms within the democratic system.
Trump represents the other possibility, a demagogue who exploits the volatile situation by promising alienated voters revenge on the alleged sources of their problems. His campaign, rooted in the thirst for vengeance, inspires violence by its very nature. Trump's opponents, on the other hand, may resort to disruptive tactics out of frustration, but their largely peaceful goals lack the explosive potential of his objectives to damage the sense of community essential to a free society.
Violence may infect the behavior of both groups, but in only one case does that tendency originate in the group's reform mission.
In times of stress and loss of trust, however, this political consensus may fracture under the weight of widespread grievances against the country's elites. The discontent may inspire an FDR or Senator Sanders to mobilize the alienated in a campaign to achieve basic reforms within the democratic system.
Trump represents the other possibility, a demagogue who exploits the volatile situation by promising alienated voters revenge on the alleged sources of their problems. His campaign, rooted in the thirst for vengeance, inspires violence by its very nature. Trump's opponents, on the other hand, may resort to disruptive tactics out of frustration, but their largely peaceful goals lack the explosive potential of his objectives to damage the sense of community essential to a free society.
Violence may infect the behavior of both groups, but in only one case does that tendency originate in the group's reform mission.
7
Well said. I think it has to start with opposition candidates talking in a positive frame about love rather than in a negative farme against violence. In life and certainly this extends to politics, it's what you are for more than what you're against that counts.
3
One of the biggest engines of violence is our political beliefs becoming a part of our identity. When we allow that, an attack on our belief system becomes an attack on our character - a direct assault on who we are. We fiercely and violently oppose any suggestion that our beliefs might be wrong.
When we gather together into tribes of similar passions, we give legitimacy to this dynamic. Our politics become our defining characteristic, and so it becomes even more essential to vigorously defend our tribe.
We are all guilty to some extent; some much more than others. The solution, of course, is to have enough confidence in one's beliefs that it is not necessary to even defend your beliefs, much less do so violently. Few of us have that level of confidence.
Moreover, we must redefine our tribal bonds. We are all Americans, and when we see our American citizenship as our primary identity and our political beliefs as secondary, we will be much better able to abandon these violent tendencies.
When we gather together into tribes of similar passions, we give legitimacy to this dynamic. Our politics become our defining characteristic, and so it becomes even more essential to vigorously defend our tribe.
We are all guilty to some extent; some much more than others. The solution, of course, is to have enough confidence in one's beliefs that it is not necessary to even defend your beliefs, much less do so violently. Few of us have that level of confidence.
Moreover, we must redefine our tribal bonds. We are all Americans, and when we see our American citizenship as our primary identity and our political beliefs as secondary, we will be much better able to abandon these violent tendencies.
4
'when we see our American citizenship as our primary identity'
What does American citizenship even mean anymore if the federal government openly allows (and now wants to reward) the lawless opportunism of 11+ million illegal migrants living and working here enjoying many of the rights and social benefits of citizens and yet having none of the collective responsibility! With no end in sight.
There is no country to be a citizen of if you have de facto open borders and have no accountability for those who are 'unauthorized'.
What does American citizenship even mean anymore if the federal government openly allows (and now wants to reward) the lawless opportunism of 11+ million illegal migrants living and working here enjoying many of the rights and social benefits of citizens and yet having none of the collective responsibility! With no end in sight.
There is no country to be a citizen of if you have de facto open borders and have no accountability for those who are 'unauthorized'.
3
Agreed. Our two party system and the candidates representing them thrive on division. Political leadership is lacking. Political careerism and personal enrichment are the goals of our " leaders". Where are our e pluribus enum candidates?
1
Quite right Mr. Blow.
One small quibble... since when has Paul Ryan had any principles?
One small quibble... since when has Paul Ryan had any principles?
182
Since at least before his marathon lying. Wasn't he raised by a single parent? Tsk...
Well said. Unfortunately, I think it is unlikely that many of those moved to violence are likely to read the NYTimes opinion pages.
262
Gut feeling is that CB, in his "fors interieur," approves of the violent mobs and its brutality and savagery against Trump's supporters for exercising First Amendment rights. In his tacit approval of the ferocity and bloodthirstiness of the disrupters,in condoning their actions by pointing to DT's heated rhetoric, Mr. Blow implies that provocative words should be met by truculent acts. There is a difference between words and actions. What happens next time well organized mobs show up, but are met by law abiding folks from the other side ready to defend themselves?Would DT be the subject of Mr. Blow's violent editorial were he not a wasp who speaks the truth,not always but often? I sense bigotry. In his failure to condemn the violence, CB is joined by Clinton's and Sanders's supporters who dismissed the mob as "just a bunch of anarchists," without mentioning the authors of the chaos, La RAZA and like minded pro open borders groups and perhaps drug cartels. Viciousness of those who provoked the clash does not excuse the petulance of Mr. Trump, who should apologize to Judge Curiel, refrain from further attacks, and focus on issues and HRC's vulnerabilities. Mr. Blow's violent words add fuel to the fire, and informs us more about his personal resentments than about Mr. Trump and his supporters.CB is a fine writer, but he should not allow rancor to influence his judgement.
9
Wow! I think you need to read this article again. This time, read the entire article! His reference to Martin Luther King, who rejected violence, indicates his belief on the matter.
3
You forget: As CB pointed out, Trump has committed the crime of "psychic violence". One wonders which psychic CB visits for details on this.
3
Are the people whom Blow is addressing reading this? I am not sure that his words will find their way into the internet network that is propelling the anti-Trump fervor and demonstrations and violence.
Actually these anti-Trump violence provocateurs are no different than some of Trump's supporters. They thrive on the same wellspring of prejudices and disenchantment and self-righteousness.
That the nation can produce such a large outpouring of hate, after years of alleged progress in social, human and civil rights, is depressing. I am also personally depressed by the lack of moral commentary from the institutional churches of the nation.
Actually these anti-Trump violence provocateurs are no different than some of Trump's supporters. They thrive on the same wellspring of prejudices and disenchantment and self-righteousness.
That the nation can produce such a large outpouring of hate, after years of alleged progress in social, human and civil rights, is depressing. I am also personally depressed by the lack of moral commentary from the institutional churches of the nation.
6
Thank you for this reminder Charles. You captured my thoughts on this horrorshow exactly, "I understand the frightful, mind-numbing, hair-raising disbelief that can descend when one realizes that this is indeed plausible."
I only feel an inclination towards violence against one person but the words of Rev. King show me that even this is wrong.
I only feel an inclination towards violence against one person but the words of Rev. King show me that even this is wrong.
5
Mr Blow, I think you have said some very good things here. The African-American community and Native-Americans continue to overcome means to keep them suppressed. Progress which instils hope, has occurred.
But I remain ambivalent. History also teaches us that an elected demagogue receives a mandate. We have seen the good of MLK and Gandhi. We also know the terror of Hitler and Mussolini. Demagogues can take us down roads we can't always imagine but often end up very badly for minorities - the scapegoats of a nation's anger.
And for us Americans, demagogues like Trump have the dark, looming figure of Andrew Jackson as precedent, the slaveholder and Indian-hater who created the Trail of Tears.
Trump is a regressive move with more and more support coming from Republicans. This regression counteracts hope. Take away hope you undermine the reasons for non-violence.
I empathize with a Latino's fear and anger. Trump wants to build a wall funded by Mexico. He wants to deport 13 to 15 million illegal aliens. If elected, he will attempt to make these his policies.
If I were Mexican I would be scared. If I were Mexican-American, I would understand that Trump's followers clearly have malevolent designs on me and people of my culture and heritage as well.
The deportation of millions will create its own momentum and it will be a bloody business.
I won't be 'baited into brutishness' but will keep my eyes very clear and open.
But I remain ambivalent. History also teaches us that an elected demagogue receives a mandate. We have seen the good of MLK and Gandhi. We also know the terror of Hitler and Mussolini. Demagogues can take us down roads we can't always imagine but often end up very badly for minorities - the scapegoats of a nation's anger.
And for us Americans, demagogues like Trump have the dark, looming figure of Andrew Jackson as precedent, the slaveholder and Indian-hater who created the Trail of Tears.
Trump is a regressive move with more and more support coming from Republicans. This regression counteracts hope. Take away hope you undermine the reasons for non-violence.
I empathize with a Latino's fear and anger. Trump wants to build a wall funded by Mexico. He wants to deport 13 to 15 million illegal aliens. If elected, he will attempt to make these his policies.
If I were Mexican I would be scared. If I were Mexican-American, I would understand that Trump's followers clearly have malevolent designs on me and people of my culture and heritage as well.
The deportation of millions will create its own momentum and it will be a bloody business.
I won't be 'baited into brutishness' but will keep my eyes very clear and open.
6
BTW: it is probably over 20 million illegals, especially if you count relatives and anchor babies (who are citizens, but minors, so they must go with their parents until age 18).
Why would they be afraid of returning to THEIR NATIVE HOMELAND? Mexico is a Democracy. Mexico is the 14th largest economy in the world. Mexico has National Health Care.
Most illegal aliens speak little or no English anyways. They should be happy, or at least resigned, to going back to their native homelands.
Why would they be afraid of returning to THEIR NATIVE HOMELAND? Mexico is a Democracy. Mexico is the 14th largest economy in the world. Mexico has National Health Care.
Most illegal aliens speak little or no English anyways. They should be happy, or at least resigned, to going back to their native homelands.
1
After the tragedy in South Carolina, we sold our home in North Carolina and abandoned plans to build a cut and sew factory in a NC county that had lost most of their industry. Driving around that small county, in western North Carolina, you'd constantly see large pickup trucks flying the confederate battle flag. At the store you'd see men with automatic weapons slung over their shoulders. We realized there are dark times coming. That's what it feels like in places like rural North Carolina. There is a resurgence of hate, even before Trump, was reaching a dangerous crescendo. We moved back North and took our investments and our family to safer ground. The darkness was there. Trump only draws it out and emboldens it. Dangerous times to come, no matter who is elected. If Trump wins, his throngs will be further emboldened. If he loses, they will lash out. This is probably the most dangerous time in American history. You feel it in your bones.
422
You are correct about many things, Dave, but you forget that the USA almost experienced a revolution back in the 1960s and early 1970s. The Vietnam War, reaction to the struggle for civil rights and political chicanery brought us right to the brink.
There were violent groups like the Weathermen operating on the fringes. The National Guard shot and killed students at Kent State. The Democrat's national convention in 1968 was notable for battles between protestors and the Chicago police and between delegates on the convention floor.
When the dust settled, the conservatives of Richard Nixon's silent majority had won. I deplore what they have done in the years since, but I think we should learn from that experience that violence and acrimony is not the way to move the US forward.
There were violent groups like the Weathermen operating on the fringes. The National Guard shot and killed students at Kent State. The Democrat's national convention in 1968 was notable for battles between protestors and the Chicago police and between delegates on the convention floor.
When the dust settled, the conservatives of Richard Nixon's silent majority had won. I deplore what they have done in the years since, but I think we should learn from that experience that violence and acrimony is not the way to move the US forward.
2
So, what is to be done in an area that has lost most of its industry? Why did you intend to start you business there? What did your research into the area tell you about social mores, political beliefs and labor costs, etc.? Was your experience so profoundly different from your research that you did not feel safe? Where is the political leadership for that area of North Carolina? And, I don't mean only local and state leaders. Will Hillary campaign there? Will Trump? Is this area different from Detroit? Why in a rich country, do we allow this to go on? I think an excerpt from another commenter, Mark Thomason, says it all, " Political acts always benefit one side. They may tear down both, but they tear down one side more than another, and that is still a benefit in a zero-sum two-party system".
There is no 'side' with 'honor' even. Slavery was clearly wrong; what are we fighting for here? When in the course of human events it became necessary to separate from England, we knew what we fought for - the overthrow of a faraway tyranny. What are we fighting for here? Recognition that the US is worth defending against a global sovereignty? We fight greed and its political minions, but so do all the world's people. We are merely animals in pain, biting off our own leg to get out of a trap. There is no side, no lofty goals in that, and that is dangerous.
I agree that violence is not the answer to bigoted hate speech. People are acting out their fears. Fears of dictatorship. Fears of oppression. Donald Trump legitimately triggers such fears, but as a civilized society we have to continue to believe in our democracy.
6
Actual violence must be condemned, but what about the violence of GOP ideas?
You say that a man like Ryan has abandoned principles, but this is incorrect. He has agreed with every odious notion of the GOP: ending Social Security, eliminating taxes for the 1%, depriving Americans of health care, propounding racism.
Trump is the GOP, from Nixon, Reagan, and the Bush family. He is no accident.
You say that a man like Ryan has abandoned principles, but this is incorrect. He has agreed with every odious notion of the GOP: ending Social Security, eliminating taxes for the 1%, depriving Americans of health care, propounding racism.
Trump is the GOP, from Nixon, Reagan, and the Bush family. He is no accident.
641
Why this is not the top pick is beyond me. Violence in words and laws are worse, in ways, than throwing punches. The black-eye heals in a few days. The laws they enact and the smears they publish last for decades. We have been living under economic violence for long time, it is a wonder it hasn't broken out before.
The 1% should pay attention. The Trump followers you think you can corral and suppress when they have done your dirty work in the ghettos and it becomes inconvenient to support them are your firefighters and cops. Once they understand that even they have nothing to loose, something far uglier will follow.
You don't want Bernie. You don't want a progressive future where everyone has a place at the table. You get Trump and his followers instead. They are not your friends.
The 1% should pay attention. The Trump followers you think you can corral and suppress when they have done your dirty work in the ghettos and it becomes inconvenient to support them are your firefighters and cops. Once they understand that even they have nothing to loose, something far uglier will follow.
You don't want Bernie. You don't want a progressive future where everyone has a place at the table. You get Trump and his followers instead. They are not your friends.
Oh, David, this is not really true. I remember when Bush suggested that a young worker should have the option to invest ONE SIXTH of his/her social security contributions to a private fund. But Democrats shouted that Bush was trying to privatize social security and so the young workers lost this rather mild opportunity.
I myself am a professor and put half of my retirement savings into TIAA which is like a savings account and half into CREF which is stock market based. Over the years, CREF has done better.
Bush had a good idea, but no one trusts Republicans, and the voices against him were louder. And he was not exactly the most articulate person on the planet.
So a sensible idea was killed.
Not to say that Republicans are a "good" party. They are not. But they do have some good ideas, at times, and Democrats use the general distrust of Republicans to kill these ideas. This benefits Democrats at the polls and harms the nation.
I myself am a professor and put half of my retirement savings into TIAA which is like a savings account and half into CREF which is stock market based. Over the years, CREF has done better.
Bush had a good idea, but no one trusts Republicans, and the voices against him were louder. And he was not exactly the most articulate person on the planet.
So a sensible idea was killed.
Not to say that Republicans are a "good" party. They are not. But they do have some good ideas, at times, and Democrats use the general distrust of Republicans to kill these ideas. This benefits Democrats at the polls and harms the nation.
2
If Trump is so terrible why was Hillary the guess of honor at his wedding?
The rhetoric in this column approaches that of MLK and Ali. Glorious and timely.
4
A majestic op ed. Thank you for this and the quote of Dr. King.
11
Thank you....
But fight we must, using the facts, using our knowledge, using our experiences and our perspective.
I agree that violence can NEVER be condoned. God forbid it be utilized by any side. The thought is too terrible to consider.
But fight we must, using the facts, using our knowledge, using our experiences and our perspective.
I agree that violence can NEVER be condoned. God forbid it be utilized by any side. The thought is too terrible to consider.
8
I would say America is more a history of madness punctuated by a few scattered bouts of sanity. The kind of hate feeding anger we have today is the norm and not the exception. If ever we needed a good dose of sanity now is a good time for it.
As one after another of Republican leadership has gotten on the Trump bandwagon its obvious we are not going to get it from the right. The question is can it come from everyone else or as we have seen too often in the past despair and lost hope leads to too many people standing on the sidelines. Its the kind of response people like Trump are counting on.
As one after another of Republican leadership has gotten on the Trump bandwagon its obvious we are not going to get it from the right. The question is can it come from everyone else or as we have seen too often in the past despair and lost hope leads to too many people standing on the sidelines. Its the kind of response people like Trump are counting on.
15
While decrying violence of the anti-Trump rioters, Mr. Blow comes close to verbally legitimizing it.
-- “[Trump] is elevating and normalizing a particular stance of racism that many view as a spiritual attack”
Rubbish. It is intellectually dishonest to attribute to racism any disagreement that involves peoples of different races or ethnicities or religions. Trump spoke of the importation of criminals (among the illegal aliens) from Central America. He was correct. We’re importing violence – as if we didn’t have enough US-based violence. And he was right about temporarily suspending immigration from Muslim countries, all the while some cities in Europe, like Paris, sometimes shut down the stations of METRO (subway) to search for terrorist bombs. Brussels had a city-wide shutdown that lasted days when searching for terrorists (“don’t leave home if you don’t have to”). Do we want this here?
-- “if by some tragic twist of fate Trump is actually elected”
If it’s such a tragedy, then why are you condemning violence of the rioters, who, presumably want to avert this national “tragedy”? You cannot have it both ways.
- “if elected, the threat could move from the rhetoric to the real, wreaking havoc on millions of lives.”
Who are we talking about? The hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens who are currently crossing our borders every year? Is it their lives that will be ruined? Unless this invasion is stopped, you may see real explosion of racism and xenophobia.
-- “[Trump] is elevating and normalizing a particular stance of racism that many view as a spiritual attack”
Rubbish. It is intellectually dishonest to attribute to racism any disagreement that involves peoples of different races or ethnicities or religions. Trump spoke of the importation of criminals (among the illegal aliens) from Central America. He was correct. We’re importing violence – as if we didn’t have enough US-based violence. And he was right about temporarily suspending immigration from Muslim countries, all the while some cities in Europe, like Paris, sometimes shut down the stations of METRO (subway) to search for terrorist bombs. Brussels had a city-wide shutdown that lasted days when searching for terrorists (“don’t leave home if you don’t have to”). Do we want this here?
-- “if by some tragic twist of fate Trump is actually elected”
If it’s such a tragedy, then why are you condemning violence of the rioters, who, presumably want to avert this national “tragedy”? You cannot have it both ways.
- “if elected, the threat could move from the rhetoric to the real, wreaking havoc on millions of lives.”
Who are we talking about? The hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens who are currently crossing our borders every year? Is it their lives that will be ruined? Unless this invasion is stopped, you may see real explosion of racism and xenophobia.
22
If you were worried about the invasion as you put it that they have in Europe only 2500 Syrians have been admitted to the US
3
@Richard Scott: Syrian migrants would be by definition here legally -- as refugees of war -- and are NOT illegal aliens, who sneak into the country and steal our jobs.
2
Our mettle was already tested by Trump getting nomination. You underestimate how bad this is w/ your 'but don't be.' I assume you have a very comfortable, privileged life. Most people in this country do not. You can't speak for them. This is all beyond your imaginative reach.
I've always believed this obnoxious, dishonest, mentally ill jerk will be elected. This country has tipped back & forth on a political fault line for decades. In 2008 toward change & optimism, now toward fascism & darkness.
The GOP's made it their business to systematically destroy confidence in all of our democratic institutions - the presidency through lies & insinuation, the Congress through incivility & obstruction, the Supreme Court w/originalism, the media all but collapsed in a morass of sensationalism/false equivalency/smears because ratings clickbait profit.
Every institution has been under sustained assault by the right since the beginning of Obama's term & Joe Wilson's shout of "You lie!" We've become used to the sludge of FOX & DRUDGE. It's hard to shock us. Yet, Trump is shocking.
The Democratic & Republican Parties & entire media establishment swore for months Trump would never be the nominee. Shows what all of you know! You folks have been so wrong in your privileged bubbles, deaf to the howls of rage for over 20 years. This has been building a long time. Trump's just the outer manifestation of what is in millions of angry hearts.
Keep whistling. It won't help.
I've always believed this obnoxious, dishonest, mentally ill jerk will be elected. This country has tipped back & forth on a political fault line for decades. In 2008 toward change & optimism, now toward fascism & darkness.
The GOP's made it their business to systematically destroy confidence in all of our democratic institutions - the presidency through lies & insinuation, the Congress through incivility & obstruction, the Supreme Court w/originalism, the media all but collapsed in a morass of sensationalism/false equivalency/smears because ratings clickbait profit.
Every institution has been under sustained assault by the right since the beginning of Obama's term & Joe Wilson's shout of "You lie!" We've become used to the sludge of FOX & DRUDGE. It's hard to shock us. Yet, Trump is shocking.
The Democratic & Republican Parties & entire media establishment swore for months Trump would never be the nominee. Shows what all of you know! You folks have been so wrong in your privileged bubbles, deaf to the howls of rage for over 20 years. This has been building a long time. Trump's just the outer manifestation of what is in millions of angry hearts.
Keep whistling. It won't help.
421
Perhaps you are young and don't remember Bill Clinton's Presidency. The soul of the nation has been under assault since Newt Gingrich closed down the government for political gain.
This has been going on much longer than eight years. Today the toxic burn is intolerable. And now this SOP has infected the Left as well.
This has been going on much longer than eight years. Today the toxic burn is intolerable. And now this SOP has infected the Left as well.
4
"I've always believed this obnoxious, dishonest, mentally ill jerk will be elected."
The only folks who have actually voted for Trump are right wing GOP primary voters who do not represent most of the country.
Your gleeful despair is pointless.
The only folks who have actually voted for Trump are right wing GOP primary voters who do not represent most of the country.
Your gleeful despair is pointless.
1
FastFurious-Please explain what the solidly upper middle class are angry about? I'm all ears. Trump overwhelmingly won Massachusetts, one of the wealthiest states in the country. He overwhelmingly won the wealthiest towns in the state. In many he received more votes than Clinton/Sanders combined. My town has a median income of 87K. Warren lost to Scott Brown by double digits. Sanders or Clinton will lose bu similar margins. So if this is about lack of income and opportunity how do you explain the rage of upper, well educated middle class who also support this dangerous candidate? I have several very well to do friends. They all support Trump. One lives in a house valued at around 800K, another recently built a 4500 square foot retirement home worth about 600K, others are as equally well-off.
Trump plays to their basest emotions- hatred of illegals and minorities, irrational fear of ISIS and the absurdity that they really ARE the marginalized and disenfranchised, the persecuted who can't freely express their religious beliefs. The "well educated" ignorant masses who believe all the propaganda, and are so self absorbed that they don't realize how truly manipulated they all are by the fabrications and outright lies. Trump is playing them like a violin and they are all duly mesmerized by this ignorant, dangerous Pied Piper who will lead us to destruction and devastation. Then when it happens they'll all blame Obama, because it's always "Obama's fault."
Trump plays to their basest emotions- hatred of illegals and minorities, irrational fear of ISIS and the absurdity that they really ARE the marginalized and disenfranchised, the persecuted who can't freely express their religious beliefs. The "well educated" ignorant masses who believe all the propaganda, and are so self absorbed that they don't realize how truly manipulated they all are by the fabrications and outright lies. Trump is playing them like a violin and they are all duly mesmerized by this ignorant, dangerous Pied Piper who will lead us to destruction and devastation. Then when it happens they'll all blame Obama, because it's always "Obama's fault."
5