As a 68 year old white woman, I am offended. I was never a feminist but now the statements of Bannon (they are a bunch of dykes) threaten any woman who appears bookish, educated, and desirous of expressing that talent in the workplace and elsewhere. An ugly and false stereotype of "uppity women" is that they are not "fun" for the men in their lives. I am offended on behalf of minorities who will be racially profiled. At the same time I note the article on the front page of NYTimes that the so called Obama coalition did not "come out to vote" (see article about African American barbers in Wisconsin not voting for Hillary). As commenters are saying we now all have a role in resisting the implications of a Trump presidency and indeed dynasty.
161
"Make America a White, Racist, Misogynistic Patriarchy Again."
It's reassuring to see that Charles is not abandoning his Hysterical Histrionics. To his credit, on 11/9/16 Chuck vowed that he would never stop attacking Whatshisname. Bravo, Blow!
It's reassuring to see that Charles is not abandoning his Hysterical Histrionics. To his credit, on 11/9/16 Chuck vowed that he would never stop attacking Whatshisname. Bravo, Blow!
58
Why is anyone surprised. Trump told us all along who he is.
170
I never knew my party had the power to force liberals to keep making the same stupid mistakes over and over. Keep it up Dems, this is working out great.
The Alinsky model has now seeped so far into leftist thought that democrats refuse to open their eyes and see reality, instead they just use identity politics when they lose an argument. If you disagree you are a racist, bigot, homophobe.
Keep it up, it is working out great.... Keep doing it... please.
BTW - I get it, because when your economic model has failed everywhere it is tried, what else can you do but call people names?
The Alinsky model has now seeped so far into leftist thought that democrats refuse to open their eyes and see reality, instead they just use identity politics when they lose an argument. If you disagree you are a racist, bigot, homophobe.
Keep it up, it is working out great.... Keep doing it... please.
BTW - I get it, because when your economic model has failed everywhere it is tried, what else can you do but call people names?
77
I just want to add my "thank you" to the chorus Mr. Blow. I'm already a dedicated reader; your column/voice is more important than ever now.
122
I WANT TO BUILD A WALL, around me. In Ohio I sit in the waiting room of my ophthalmologist while the people seated next to be chortle at the latest insults to President and Mrs Obama. I need a wall but content myself to change my seat. Masochist that I am, I read Trump's tweets. Will he address the hate speech going on in our schools and communities? Of course not. How dare the cast of Hamilton insult his vice-president elect?! How dare SNL paint him in an unfair light.?! Huh? It is going to be a long 4 years. Trump is incapable of walking away from any perceived slight without hitting back twice as hard. Mr Trump, the United States is not your company where people unquestioningly defer to you. It is my country too. We have a right, really an obligation to call you out. Some of your choices thus far are alarming to those of us who value diversity. I am scared to death of you and your followers that espouse hate. I NEED MY WALL.
164
Thank you Charles and so many of the commenters who got it so right. All I will add is to those who didn't vote. Please understand that you gave up the only power you have. Vote!!
61
CB, on thursday, or next week, try writing a different column. We've sort of covered all this ground for weeks if not months. Try something new. Maybe a white person did something did in the world. You wouldn't know by reading the Times, but google 'White guy does something good" then write about whoever pops up. Try that for a bit, then maybe go back to this, but everybody needs a vacation.
62
George Orwell just had the year wrong
112
"White is right and everything else is not". "America for Americans". This new administration suggests so many catchy themes. Anti-minority and anti-immigrant. "A woman's place is in the kitchen". An oldie, but goodie anti-women shot. Try that one on Ms. Sandberg. In fact, Silicon Valley might form a strong defense for talented women and immigrant Chinese and Indian hi-tech talent.
12
In this upside-down new world, we may have to rely on states' rights to protect us from Trump Administration attacks on diverse views and groups.
49
Exactly Right! The founders knew how fragile democracy is. It had a good start 240 years marred mainly by racism and now ended by it and Trumps hateful authoritarianism. The America I knew is dead and gone.
50
The media must repair its insufficient and misleading reporting during the election cycle by doing the following:
• Do not put Trump’s infantile, inane tweets front and center on your homepages. Mostly ignore them. They are meaningless and pretty much the only way Trump can drum up emotional distraction at this point.
• Investigate Trump’s business connections with Russia. Find the truth and report it.
• Hammer Trump on disclosing his taxes. Every day. We are entitled to see those conflicts of interest/ no taxes he is hiding.
• Stop using terms like “alt-right”. Words obfuscate. Use the accurate terms like “white supremacist”.
• Pundits, stop with the “give Trump a chance” meme. He showed his stripes loud and clear in his campaign. Why do you persist in deluding yourself that somehow, some day, a kinder, gentler Trump will magically emerge? I think this is called denial. I understand—the whole thing is still incredible. But get with the program: what you saw, is what you get now.
• Educate the public about the effects of climate denial. Why is it that the NYT article on 11/11/16 about Myron Ebell did not mention that the guy doesn’t even have a science degree? Expose these people for the big oil/ corporate shills they are.
• Every single time a Trump campaign promise is disbanded, or unfulfilled, let us know. Clearly.
• Create a daily “fake news” column that exposes fake news in social media and on right ring radio. Show the facts.
Thank you for taking this on.
• Do not put Trump’s infantile, inane tweets front and center on your homepages. Mostly ignore them. They are meaningless and pretty much the only way Trump can drum up emotional distraction at this point.
• Investigate Trump’s business connections with Russia. Find the truth and report it.
• Hammer Trump on disclosing his taxes. Every day. We are entitled to see those conflicts of interest/ no taxes he is hiding.
• Stop using terms like “alt-right”. Words obfuscate. Use the accurate terms like “white supremacist”.
• Pundits, stop with the “give Trump a chance” meme. He showed his stripes loud and clear in his campaign. Why do you persist in deluding yourself that somehow, some day, a kinder, gentler Trump will magically emerge? I think this is called denial. I understand—the whole thing is still incredible. But get with the program: what you saw, is what you get now.
• Educate the public about the effects of climate denial. Why is it that the NYT article on 11/11/16 about Myron Ebell did not mention that the guy doesn’t even have a science degree? Expose these people for the big oil/ corporate shills they are.
• Every single time a Trump campaign promise is disbanded, or unfulfilled, let us know. Clearly.
• Create a daily “fake news” column that exposes fake news in social media and on right ring radio. Show the facts.
Thank you for taking this on.
292
Is there really much doubt in which direction this country is headed??
Have Americans really lost all perspective?... Even my friends and relatives in Europe are able to see what's happening.
What does that say about us?
Have Americans really lost all perspective?... Even my friends and relatives in Europe are able to see what's happening.
What does that say about us?
34
That first sentence is so poorly written, I thought I was reading Thomas Friedman!
38
Thank you Charles Blow. Your assessment of the dangers of a Trump Presidency is clear and correct. We are in for very scary times. I am sure you will be maligned by some of your readers, particularly those who are white. Indeed, in Trump's America, it is about making America white, racist, misogynistic and patriarchal. Not to mention, a lot more dangerous.
67
Keep it up. Keep freaking out about every decision he makes. Make every single thing about race and minorities. Keep blowing that whistle. With every overdramatic and completely short sighted post your credibility trickles away. There is a reason you lost this election. And you can't even see that it's because of rhetoric like this.
115
American is about 70% white and 13% black.
When the Republicans spend 90% of their attention on whites they are called racist and white supremacists.
When the Democrats spend 90% of their attention on blacks these same people still complain that blacks aren't getting their fair share.
I have to notice that despite the phrase "people of color" being used, despite complaining about a pro-white bias, if all other minorities are being ignored but blacks are the center of attention I do not hear complaints about the absence of other POC. I do not see much advocacy and handing over the spotlight to other POC from blacks when they have power, which is a considerable amount of time. When you have a situation where the racial spit is about 40%white 60% black I don't hear complaints that we need to do more "so it looks like America".
The phrase "white supremacy" just like "privilege" "entitlement" "social justice" and "racism" have lost their meaning. Anytime whites, or non-blacks for the matter, don't center their attention on blacks, their is an uproar.
By the dictionary definition of racism, anti-racist activists are as racist if not more so then Donald Trump, Bannon, Pence, etc.
Obama made America black again, he gave a massivedisproportionate amount of attention to blacks, as did Hillary and Bernie when they were running. I don't see Mr. Blow complaining when the rest of the country is ignored and blacks are obsessed about 24/7, do you?
When the Republicans spend 90% of their attention on whites they are called racist and white supremacists.
When the Democrats spend 90% of their attention on blacks these same people still complain that blacks aren't getting their fair share.
I have to notice that despite the phrase "people of color" being used, despite complaining about a pro-white bias, if all other minorities are being ignored but blacks are the center of attention I do not hear complaints about the absence of other POC. I do not see much advocacy and handing over the spotlight to other POC from blacks when they have power, which is a considerable amount of time. When you have a situation where the racial spit is about 40%white 60% black I don't hear complaints that we need to do more "so it looks like America".
The phrase "white supremacy" just like "privilege" "entitlement" "social justice" and "racism" have lost their meaning. Anytime whites, or non-blacks for the matter, don't center their attention on blacks, their is an uproar.
By the dictionary definition of racism, anti-racist activists are as racist if not more so then Donald Trump, Bannon, Pence, etc.
Obama made America black again, he gave a massivedisproportionate amount of attention to blacks, as did Hillary and Bernie when they were running. I don't see Mr. Blow complaining when the rest of the country is ignored and blacks are obsessed about 24/7, do you?
42
This is what happens when one party and certain groups start disenfranchising others and pointing out how awful they are, stupid, ignorant and BAD.
Doesn't go down well with any group, in this case white men. And this includes their spouses and families too. When you throw stuff at people don't be surprised when they fight back.
This blowback is not limited to America. Look at what's happening in Europe, (France and Germany are good examples), and also with the Brexit. Conservatives and right wing groups are being reinstated with a fervor that somehow surprises liberals. Fasten one's seatbelt.
Doesn't go down well with any group, in this case white men. And this includes their spouses and families too. When you throw stuff at people don't be surprised when they fight back.
This blowback is not limited to America. Look at what's happening in Europe, (France and Germany are good examples), and also with the Brexit. Conservatives and right wing groups are being reinstated with a fervor that somehow surprises liberals. Fasten one's seatbelt.
39
The Democrats have lost 816 state legislative seats since 2009, suffered a net loss on Obama’s watch of 13 governorships, nine U.S. Senate seats, 63 House seats and 29 state legislative chambers. Wow, Chuck, that's a whole lot of racists out there (as in not New York of course)!
56
Mr. Blow paints an ominous view of America now that Trump will be at the helm.
A clear view of what America should look like under Trump can be seen from the cabinet picks thus far: Bannon, Sessions, Flynn, and the specter of Mike Pompeo as the new head of the CIA. There is no diversity in these picks; which signifies that in order to make America great again means that is a feat that can only be manifested by a white man.
This assessment is an analogous to Mr. Blow’s thesis and it is very troubling for what it portends for Hispanics, Muslims, black people and women – the ire of mass deportations, Muslim registries, stop-and-frisk and restrictions of reproductive rights for women.
Fear of the next president does not reside within me, Mr. Blow; and it should not in others, if we are willing to fight the repressive government that is forming under Donald Trump.
A clear view of what America should look like under Trump can be seen from the cabinet picks thus far: Bannon, Sessions, Flynn, and the specter of Mike Pompeo as the new head of the CIA. There is no diversity in these picks; which signifies that in order to make America great again means that is a feat that can only be manifested by a white man.
This assessment is an analogous to Mr. Blow’s thesis and it is very troubling for what it portends for Hispanics, Muslims, black people and women – the ire of mass deportations, Muslim registries, stop-and-frisk and restrictions of reproductive rights for women.
Fear of the next president does not reside within me, Mr. Blow; and it should not in others, if we are willing to fight the repressive government that is forming under Donald Trump.
21
Funny mentioning Orwellianism in regard to Trumps not yet goverment but not a single word about Obama and Merkel speech about the importance of censorship and goverment control of news in the internet ..
This paper made a fool of itself during the election and doesnt seem to strive for geining its credibility back any time soon .
This paper made a fool of itself during the election and doesnt seem to strive for geining its credibility back any time soon .
53
America is not a problem solving country anymore. It tends to whine, complain, argue and attack...while wanting Benz cars, million dollar mansions and super duper life with wealth, respect, power and happiness. As they say in some cultures: Aasai, dossai, doshu and kushu (Lots of desires while making and eating only doughnuts with bad luck and bad farts). Lot of noise and show with no action...like our entertainment industry. Our actors who "act" like teachers and researchers get more money than actual teachers and researchers.
When the intelligent class with values is replaced by a bunch of theoreticians who debate a lot and nothing else, who are in turn replaced by a bunch of business guys who only act for money and wealth...you are on your way to decline and hell.
The American mind is a third rate mind now...and the only guys who win in this system are "military guys who are sent to fight perpetually, security guys who oppress their own people, surveillance guys who spy on innocent people mostly and the terrorists who are itching for another fight with the good ole White boys". The White American (Christians and Jews), the Anglo Christian (Catholics and Protestants) and the Muslims (Middle Eastern and African) are all alike..while fighting each other. Tribal wars, aggressive conflicts, picking fights, fighting for fighting sake is all they know and can do nowadays. Planet earth should not be destroyed by these unevolved human monkeys. You cannot change their nature!
When the intelligent class with values is replaced by a bunch of theoreticians who debate a lot and nothing else, who are in turn replaced by a bunch of business guys who only act for money and wealth...you are on your way to decline and hell.
The American mind is a third rate mind now...and the only guys who win in this system are "military guys who are sent to fight perpetually, security guys who oppress their own people, surveillance guys who spy on innocent people mostly and the terrorists who are itching for another fight with the good ole White boys". The White American (Christians and Jews), the Anglo Christian (Catholics and Protestants) and the Muslims (Middle Eastern and African) are all alike..while fighting each other. Tribal wars, aggressive conflicts, picking fights, fighting for fighting sake is all they know and can do nowadays. Planet earth should not be destroyed by these unevolved human monkeys. You cannot change their nature!
16
A bridge reference is applicable here. I will start the bidding at one No Trump.
7
I could pick any of the dozen anti-Trump articles in the NYT today or any day and make this same comment about it: How can the people of the US keep crying about the outcome of elections when barely half of eligible voters even bother to cast their vote? I would have the same question if Clinton had won and we were swamped with dire predictions of the consequences. There might be many things that are flawed about our system (Electoral College, anyone?) but at bare minimum you have to take the opportunity you are given to throw in your two cents worth.
17
Leftist racial collectivism, ie, multiculturalism, caused the recent increase in conservative racial collectivism. Egalitarian racism and elitist racism are both racism.
The alternative is individualism, ie, America's founding culture and politics, which Leftists reject. For Leftists, black lives matter as cannon fodder for their revolution back to collectivist primitivism.
The alternative is individualism, ie, America's founding culture and politics, which Leftists reject. For Leftists, black lives matter as cannon fodder for their revolution back to collectivist primitivism.
29
Blow suddenly makes a positive noise to Sanders when he is blasting the hateful Bannon. But Blow had rejected him before and never bothered to even discuss his ideas, which would have helped narrow the wide inequality gap that affects blacks the worst. Sanders constantly talked about the higher jobless rates of black youth. But Blow stayed on the Hillary bandwagon, and dismissed Sanders.
The Times columnists pretended Sanders ideas were radical. They never thought Trumpf could win. What could be easier than to be against racism and misogyny and xenophobia? Let’s call it RMX, for short. It’s a piece of cake to be horrified at the gang Trumpf is picking to surround him.
So just list all the objections and look like an enlightened liberal fighting the forces of darkness.
But when it comes to economic and political power of the elites who run and finance our elections and set the limits of policy—then the Times columnists like to stay with the in-crowd, with the powers that be, while they make humanitarian noises about our inequality.
That’s why campaign finance reform, the root of our problems, is never discussed on these pages. Majorities of citizens favor rescuing our politics from elite financing. Most other democracies use public financing. Times columnists never go there, as if money is not poisoning our politics and media coverage. With public financing we might have had a wider range of good candidates to defeat Trumpf. Good topic for a column.
The Times columnists pretended Sanders ideas were radical. They never thought Trumpf could win. What could be easier than to be against racism and misogyny and xenophobia? Let’s call it RMX, for short. It’s a piece of cake to be horrified at the gang Trumpf is picking to surround him.
So just list all the objections and look like an enlightened liberal fighting the forces of darkness.
But when it comes to economic and political power of the elites who run and finance our elections and set the limits of policy—then the Times columnists like to stay with the in-crowd, with the powers that be, while they make humanitarian noises about our inequality.
That’s why campaign finance reform, the root of our problems, is never discussed on these pages. Majorities of citizens favor rescuing our politics from elite financing. Most other democracies use public financing. Times columnists never go there, as if money is not poisoning our politics and media coverage. With public financing we might have had a wider range of good candidates to defeat Trumpf. Good topic for a column.
31
Oh well, my saving grace is that I am a well-off white Anglo-Saxon "Episcopalian" male. I'll should do very well in a upcoming Trumpian nightmare. The only thing that will be lost is my belief in this country and its people.
26
Maybe you should start prepping for the Apocalpyse, Charles.
According to Mr. Blow (and the rest the NYT staff, it seems), half of our country's voting public are terrible people or are completely hoodwinked by Trump. We are also to believe that the democratic establishment is not in any way responsible for Donald Trump's success - and Hillary Clinton's failed candidacy (actually two).
The economic injustice in our society is so widespread that a political revolution is inevitable. Bernie offered one that was rejected through political maneuvering - THIS was the hoodwinking. It's easy to forget that there are more Independents than Democrats or Republicans in our country (and Bernie was their favorite). Who would like to do it over again? We're now left with Trump to lead the political revolution. But better him than nobody. If you don't think so, you're probably in the minority of Americans that earn over $30,000/year. The democratic establishment just have themselves to blame for our situation - and they should be repenting right now.
According to Mr. Blow (and the rest the NYT staff, it seems), half of our country's voting public are terrible people or are completely hoodwinked by Trump. We are also to believe that the democratic establishment is not in any way responsible for Donald Trump's success - and Hillary Clinton's failed candidacy (actually two).
The economic injustice in our society is so widespread that a political revolution is inevitable. Bernie offered one that was rejected through political maneuvering - THIS was the hoodwinking. It's easy to forget that there are more Independents than Democrats or Republicans in our country (and Bernie was their favorite). Who would like to do it over again? We're now left with Trump to lead the political revolution. But better him than nobody. If you don't think so, you're probably in the minority of Americans that earn over $30,000/year. The democratic establishment just have themselves to blame for our situation - and they should be repenting right now.
28
How tragically ironic that the GOP -- which, following Romney's 2012 defeat spoke of a "reckoning" to attract a more diverse, inclusive base -- abandoned said reckoning and a scant four years later won all three branches of government in one of the least diverse, least-inclusive, most hateful, most divisive and most racist of campaigns.
26
Blow should be honest here. His real concern is a deep fear that Trump and Bannon has engineered a center-right realignment of the Republican Party that will leave the Democrats out of power for the next fifty years.
33
It is up to the democrats now, they have to show they finally have had enough of the Clinton era 'reaching across the Aisle" that Obama continued, and stand firm for something critical, a country that isn't dominated by white anger and all the demons that come out with that, what Trump and co are reaching for is apartheid, that will allow whites (and for the record, I am a white male) to maintain power going down the road in a world that is becoming one where no group is the majority.
The were and are members of the GOP who stand for diversity, who as economically conservative as they may be, recognize what liberty and justice for all means (and it is not the right to have a society envisioned by the so called alt-right, that are nothing more than the KKK, white citizens councils and the like rebranded), but they have been pushed aside before this, and now the GOP is ppenly what they have been doing in the shadows, keeping power by using economic insecurity and the fear of it to demonize the other,blaming everyone (except their own policies, of course). The economic horrors of the 1920's and 1930's directly allowed the scapegoating of Jews, union activists, socialists and intellectuals and led to the rise of fascism, and keep in mind that Hitler never had a popular plebiscite, he didn't win as far as I know the popular vote (and no, Trump is not Hitler, and using the term Nazi for him would trivialize the very real horros of the Nazis).
The were and are members of the GOP who stand for diversity, who as economically conservative as they may be, recognize what liberty and justice for all means (and it is not the right to have a society envisioned by the so called alt-right, that are nothing more than the KKK, white citizens councils and the like rebranded), but they have been pushed aside before this, and now the GOP is ppenly what they have been doing in the shadows, keeping power by using economic insecurity and the fear of it to demonize the other,blaming everyone (except their own policies, of course). The economic horrors of the 1920's and 1930's directly allowed the scapegoating of Jews, union activists, socialists and intellectuals and led to the rise of fascism, and keep in mind that Hitler never had a popular plebiscite, he didn't win as far as I know the popular vote (and no, Trump is not Hitler, and using the term Nazi for him would trivialize the very real horros of the Nazis).
8
I found this column thoughtful and carefully written. Then I read the first 30 or so comments and felt that Mr. Blow's warning that "Hard-line Trumpism isn't softening, it's being cemented" might have been an understatement. Thanks to the majority of the comments I read I feel even more surrounded by bigots and white nationalists who threaten much of what I respect about this country. We really are in trouble.
63
The liberal obsession with identity politics ironically bit them back. The one group that Democrats do not appear to support are Caucasian (presumably heterosexual) Americans. This group comprises a large voting bloc that is sick and tired of being stereotyped monolithically by Democrats as hateful, vengeful, privileged, racist, misogynist, nihilistic, homophobic, Islamophobic second class citizens, all in the name of equality for all. As a gay Caucasian Trump supporter, who happens to know others like I as well as open-minded, educated, upper-middle-class voters who believe as I do, the liberal intolerance of anything or anyone who does not join lockstep with them is appalling and frankly, fascist. Do I believe that DT is the Second Coming? Of course not. But, a vote for HRC would have been a vote for the same liberal ideas; ideas that need to be spoken about in classrooms and in person rather than being shut down. The road to hell proverbially is paved with good intentions. Let us dialogue de minimus about those intentions so the road does not fall apart.
52
Sessions’ nomination presents a special problem the others don’t. It’s not a question of whether he’s competent, which no one doubts. It’s not even a question of his policy positions, about some of which I for one have my reservations. It’s a political question, so though it may be unfair, this may be Trump’s “Welcome to Washington” moment. Democrats are in a state of disorientation, and as they plot the party’s future course, they need something to rally around in the meantime to hold things together—and that’s race, and they need to do it in a single, big, public display—and he’s it. Democratic Senators will be under terrific pressure, and media will do their part to peel off a few weak-kneed Republicans.
/Sen. Sessions, our dear colleague, is a decent & honorable man, which we know well from working with him daily. He has served his state with distinction. He is eminently qualified for the position of Attorney General. For any other position, we would confirm him in a heartbeat, but AG is different, & we’re not confident that he could represent *all* of America. Observe that he has a revoltingly thick Southern accent and that Alabama was in rebellion during the Civil War. Therefore, after much & difficult reflection, it is with sorrow & regret that we cannot vote for him. If he is confirmed, we look forward to working with him, & would love nothing more than to be proved wrong, but, alas, we cannot at this time support the nomination./
You choose your battles carefully.
/Sen. Sessions, our dear colleague, is a decent & honorable man, which we know well from working with him daily. He has served his state with distinction. He is eminently qualified for the position of Attorney General. For any other position, we would confirm him in a heartbeat, but AG is different, & we’re not confident that he could represent *all* of America. Observe that he has a revoltingly thick Southern accent and that Alabama was in rebellion during the Civil War. Therefore, after much & difficult reflection, it is with sorrow & regret that we cannot vote for him. If he is confirmed, we look forward to working with him, & would love nothing more than to be proved wrong, but, alas, we cannot at this time support the nomination./
You choose your battles carefully.
4
Poor Mr. Blow clearly has no understanding of why we -- Democrats -- lost the election and seems to have no interest in winning the next one. How exactly he got such a prestigious platform from which to opine to the nation is mystifying. But for those of us who would like to win national elections in the future, the best thing we could do is not listen to Mr. Blow.
53
Please Mr. Blow, don't forget that it was Bill Clinton's crime bill that outrageously incarcerated so many blacks for such terribly long sentences. Bill signed that law. Tens of thousands of blacks were literally ripped out of their lives and placed in prison for tens of years. That crime bill not only ruined the lives of young black men and women, but it also devastated families, neighborhoods and communities. It was devastating and the effect was to remove blacks from the general population. "Making America White Again" began with Bill Clinton. Hillary supported that legislation as well and both did nothing, absolutely nothing to right a terrible wrong to blacks. I don't blame Mr. Trump for that.
I do blame whites for creating a new type of segregation one created by making black people pay for life for minor crimes. I blame great majority white state legislatures and white prosecutors and judges for this injustice. And I blame ordinary white citizens for totally ignoring the catastrophic results of bigoted, biased and prejudiced legislation. Whites made almost all blacks criminals.
And that began long before Donald Trump. The problem now is that we're still sipping the Kool Aid and accepting the immoral argument that most blacks deserve to be in prison forever. That is the tragedy. Donald just jumped on the bandwagon and now is adding his fear mongering and racist ideology and demagoguery to the the potent mix of vileness.
I do blame whites for creating a new type of segregation one created by making black people pay for life for minor crimes. I blame great majority white state legislatures and white prosecutors and judges for this injustice. And I blame ordinary white citizens for totally ignoring the catastrophic results of bigoted, biased and prejudiced legislation. Whites made almost all blacks criminals.
And that began long before Donald Trump. The problem now is that we're still sipping the Kool Aid and accepting the immoral argument that most blacks deserve to be in prison forever. That is the tragedy. Donald just jumped on the bandwagon and now is adding his fear mongering and racist ideology and demagoguery to the the potent mix of vileness.
12
Mr. Blow will be sad to hear, so says the WSJ, advertisers are trying to find ways to connect with Trump voters. That is white-dog-whistle-lash for people in the hinterland. They are mostly white, mostly Christian, mostly nuclear-families. Less blended families, less LBGTQ friendly, but, not quite the racists they are said to be. Transsexual is not considered part of the hero class.
Full sized pickup trucks are for work and frequently double as the family car. Green energy is a fairy tale, when its -30F, with 7 hours of daylight and 4 feet of snow between your front porch and 600 yards to the highway. If it's green and not organic, implements are attached and it is used to generate renewable energy, that is cut, baled and feed to homestead herbivores.
No doubt, it's a scary place for some. And home to others. And, I bet they buy stuff.
Full sized pickup trucks are for work and frequently double as the family car. Green energy is a fairy tale, when its -30F, with 7 hours of daylight and 4 feet of snow between your front porch and 600 yards to the highway. If it's green and not organic, implements are attached and it is used to generate renewable energy, that is cut, baled and feed to homestead herbivores.
No doubt, it's a scary place for some. And home to others. And, I bet they buy stuff.
19
We have been there before and we will return in force. We will be vigilant and we will stand up to Trumpism wherever and however we can. As we have learned from the total empowerment of white men only and to the denigration of others that this country doesn't function well. It doesn't thrive. Anyone who wants to go back to 1958 is welcome to but it will not stand. We have learned and we will not be swayed or fooled again.
So, have faith in those who know a different America of the more recent decades since 1958. We won before and will win again.
Trump may have power for now but he doesn't have the stamina to be President. He doesn't have the means to fulfill his promises to most of his supporters. He will lose interest in his 'prize' and those around him will meet armies of protests and legal challenges wherever and however possible. Trump will not act as president and his surrogates will not be empowered to do so. His administration will be rife with scandals.
This is but a boil on the landscape that in time will be lanced. I have faith in the electorate to not want to ride in the time machine.
So, have faith in those who know a different America of the more recent decades since 1958. We won before and will win again.
Trump may have power for now but he doesn't have the stamina to be President. He doesn't have the means to fulfill his promises to most of his supporters. He will lose interest in his 'prize' and those around him will meet armies of protests and legal challenges wherever and however possible. Trump will not act as president and his surrogates will not be empowered to do so. His administration will be rife with scandals.
This is but a boil on the landscape that in time will be lanced. I have faith in the electorate to not want to ride in the time machine.
20
Christian fanatics, of whom we have a large if fragmented pool, are just as delusional as their Islamic, paranoid psychotic brothers. The difference between the two 'religions' lies in implementing mass murder as an approved act of faith. Even the Christians have only forsworn genocide in the last couple of centuries. It is a start.
The current, 'peaceful' majority of Muslim culture has not actively sought to tone down their history of violent oppression. How much less would this 'majority' interfere if the minority of violent 'believers' starts conquering again?
The current, 'peaceful' majority of Muslim culture has not actively sought to tone down their history of violent oppression. How much less would this 'majority' interfere if the minority of violent 'believers' starts conquering again?
7
In 20 years Trump and his appointees will be a footnote in American history. What we really need to do is come together as a people and have a frank discussion about the pain we are all in.
The real problem is the greed of big industry. I'm sure they love the fact that the focus of the people has been on attacking each another.
The stark reality is that we haven't hit rock bottom. Once we reach that point we can start the rebuilding and healing process, but American society is nowhere near that point. Sadly, we need to destroy each other first. I wish it weren't so.
The real problem is the greed of big industry. I'm sure they love the fact that the focus of the people has been on attacking each another.
The stark reality is that we haven't hit rock bottom. Once we reach that point we can start the rebuilding and healing process, but American society is nowhere near that point. Sadly, we need to destroy each other first. I wish it weren't so.
10
The biggest hate crime by America in American history was committed on 11-8-2016 with the election of Donald Trump as president. Remembering that there is always a time lapse between a leader who used hate as his path to power and say a night of broken glass, the only question remaining is how big a crime will the election of Trump be for both America and the world.
12
It's not a matter of making America "white" again, it's more about encouraging people who believe in the superiority of Western culture to immigrate here. A country built on this foundation became the wealthiest, most free country that has ever existed. We should try to maintain it as such at all costs!
27
Look to the DNC and all the high level Dem operatives who rigged their nominee to be their choice viz a viz the voters, instead of why the winner is so odious as Blow does in this entire column. Not that he is wrong, just counterproductive.
Any martian who came down to earth before the election would have suggested that the DNC make a radically different choice, but instead they insisted on "doing it their way", no matter the obvious.
A Martian might suggest someone personable, outgoing, craftomg a widely attractive message asking for all votes, who enjoyed rapping with the media and speaking to and attracting large crowds.
see Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, etc.
Just saying, Blow's ink could be spent more profitably.
Any martian who came down to earth before the election would have suggested that the DNC make a radically different choice, but instead they insisted on "doing it their way", no matter the obvious.
A Martian might suggest someone personable, outgoing, craftomg a widely attractive message asking for all votes, who enjoyed rapping with the media and speaking to and attracting large crowds.
see Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, etc.
Just saying, Blow's ink could be spent more profitably.
13
Match this commentary with the NYT article today describing the unprecedented power of rural America. It's been baked in since 1787 when those stellar Virginians, Jefferson and Madison, 'trumped' urbanites like Hamilton and Adams by giving rural sates more population with their 3/5ths rule allowing for a percentage of their slave population to count for more House members, and then the added bonus of also giving them additional Electoral College votes to match their two senators. What a deal, as us urbanites would exclaim.
6
what happens to the most basic right of all: being judged by one actions, not one words. Or in this case, should I correct myself, by one interpretation of someone else's words? IT is UNCLEAR TO ME that trump and his group are racists actually.
As an example, if I publicly acknowledge that it is a subgroup of muslim believers that are also terrorists, am I being racist/biased? well, 2+2 = 4. It was so before in a group of catholics in ireland (99% WHITE by the way)... but the truth is that now it is in the muslim community that this extremists are being born.
If I say that druglords and drug related violence is very high in mexico, am I being racist? No, 2+2=4. Before it was mainly in colombia under escobar and el cartel de medellin, now it is under el chapo and other drug cartels in mexico.
Also, President Trump hasn't even started to govern and you already know what america under him will be? You must be even greater than Nostradamus. Give time for actions to start, and by actions I mean specific regulations (or removal of), specific economic policies, specific immigration changes, etc. and then we can judge president Trump. Judging him before is a mere futile exercise, with a strong political agenda, but a very unscientific exercise in nature.
I'd recommned journalists to find more interesting articles to write about since this is becoming a very repetitive and over bias political agenda.
As an example, if I publicly acknowledge that it is a subgroup of muslim believers that are also terrorists, am I being racist/biased? well, 2+2 = 4. It was so before in a group of catholics in ireland (99% WHITE by the way)... but the truth is that now it is in the muslim community that this extremists are being born.
If I say that druglords and drug related violence is very high in mexico, am I being racist? No, 2+2=4. Before it was mainly in colombia under escobar and el cartel de medellin, now it is under el chapo and other drug cartels in mexico.
Also, President Trump hasn't even started to govern and you already know what america under him will be? You must be even greater than Nostradamus. Give time for actions to start, and by actions I mean specific regulations (or removal of), specific economic policies, specific immigration changes, etc. and then we can judge president Trump. Judging him before is a mere futile exercise, with a strong political agenda, but a very unscientific exercise in nature.
I'd recommned journalists to find more interesting articles to write about since this is becoming a very repetitive and over bias political agenda.
11
As Trump chooses his cabinet and sets sights on his various targets, the situation is clear. There is no "smoke on the battlefield" to cloud anyone's perspective. It's time for all of us to pick our side and stand up and be counted.
It is my hope, and so far also my belief, that the Trumpists have come out of the woodwork to quickly and too obviously, with absolutely no thought to the fact that their 'duce" lost the popular vote by 1.5 million and counting. In Washington, DC, the alt-right had a party at which it chanted Nazi propaganda in the original German.
The Democrats simply can't be allowed to pretend that Trump's is going to be just another administration. They must oppose every policy decision and every choice on every front unless and until Trump explicitly disavows the racism, misogyny, and xenophobia that swept him into office.
This must be brought to a halt now. Every day that goes by will make this situation harder to stop.
It is my hope, and so far also my belief, that the Trumpists have come out of the woodwork to quickly and too obviously, with absolutely no thought to the fact that their 'duce" lost the popular vote by 1.5 million and counting. In Washington, DC, the alt-right had a party at which it chanted Nazi propaganda in the original German.
The Democrats simply can't be allowed to pretend that Trump's is going to be just another administration. They must oppose every policy decision and every choice on every front unless and until Trump explicitly disavows the racism, misogyny, and xenophobia that swept him into office.
This must be brought to a halt now. Every day that goes by will make this situation harder to stop.
8
Trump’s disorganized, unethical, wacko, white supremacist, xenophobic, misogynist selections simply reflect his own thinking; no surprises there.
What Donald and his followers don’t get is that it will ultimately hurt their children, grandchildren, or great grandchildren to erode minority rights, as whites are on an irreversible course to one day become just another American minority group.
There is nothing special about being white.
Set-up precedents for trampling upon the rights of others, and see how much effort it takes to undo it when you yourself are in need.
What Donald and his followers don’t get is that it will ultimately hurt their children, grandchildren, or great grandchildren to erode minority rights, as whites are on an irreversible course to one day become just another American minority group.
There is nothing special about being white.
Set-up precedents for trampling upon the rights of others, and see how much effort it takes to undo it when you yourself are in need.
11
It's important that "We, the People" do not let racist, bigoted, and misogynistic ideas and people triumph in America. Perhaps one ironic step forward in this election, although it seems a step backwards, is to recognize how much racism and bigotry has been seething just under the surface of the land of the free.
The Civil War must be fought again--not on the battlefield of Gettysburg where Lincoln delivered his famous address about our union, but in the battlefield of minds and hearts. We must find a way to fulfill Lincoln's commitment to a "more perfect union" and to Martin Luther King's dream. We must, finally, confront the dark beast of white supremacy and Neo-Nazism, and we must prevail.
The Civil War must be fought again--not on the battlefield of Gettysburg where Lincoln delivered his famous address about our union, but in the battlefield of minds and hearts. We must find a way to fulfill Lincoln's commitment to a "more perfect union" and to Martin Luther King's dream. We must, finally, confront the dark beast of white supremacy and Neo-Nazism, and we must prevail.
9
Is it too soon to discuss impeachment for Donald Trump? Yes, it is, as an actual fact, but, no, it isn't, as a potential eventuality.
If Trump and company move rapidly on all fronts, as they appear to be preparing to do with these and coming appointments, then they will not only come into conflict with laws and the Constitution, but the American public will rise up in angry revolt.
While millions of people (mainly white) are tired of hearing about racism and being accused, however indirectly, of participating in it, they are not ready to turn back the pages of time to the 1950s. Millions who voted for Trump are going to be shocked by his actions. They thought it was all just entertainment and a way to stop Hillary, a fun way to get back at "elites".
So, yes, it is likely to be only a few months in when impeachment talk starts to circulate. It will be important to allow people to make up their own minds. It will have to grow organically, on its own. When the Republicans were fomenting for impeachment in the first term of Obama, they got ahead of themselves. They tried to make a case out of thin air and, somehow, the elders in their midst tamped it down and eventually extinguished the flames.
Let the outrages continue because there is little to stop them anyway. In the fullness of time, even many who once cheered for Trump at his rallies will see the light and beg for action. This is an unfortunate future for all, but one we cannot turn away from in fear.
If Trump and company move rapidly on all fronts, as they appear to be preparing to do with these and coming appointments, then they will not only come into conflict with laws and the Constitution, but the American public will rise up in angry revolt.
While millions of people (mainly white) are tired of hearing about racism and being accused, however indirectly, of participating in it, they are not ready to turn back the pages of time to the 1950s. Millions who voted for Trump are going to be shocked by his actions. They thought it was all just entertainment and a way to stop Hillary, a fun way to get back at "elites".
So, yes, it is likely to be only a few months in when impeachment talk starts to circulate. It will be important to allow people to make up their own minds. It will have to grow organically, on its own. When the Republicans were fomenting for impeachment in the first term of Obama, they got ahead of themselves. They tried to make a case out of thin air and, somehow, the elders in their midst tamped it down and eventually extinguished the flames.
Let the outrages continue because there is little to stop them anyway. In the fullness of time, even many who once cheered for Trump at his rallies will see the light and beg for action. This is an unfortunate future for all, but one we cannot turn away from in fear.
7
It is important to continually remind one another that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. There are more people in America who favor diversity and fairness then the ones who don't. People must take this battle to their communities and to their state governments. Trump and his kin cannot triumph without the support of local governments. That's how the democratic system works. Sure, Trump can really mess us up internationally, but he can't destroy America without help from within. Don't give it to him!
18
The American people didn't elect Donald Trump. Swing state voters elected Donald Trump. The votes of about 85% of Americans had no meaningful impact on the outcome of the election. Only in America can winning a presidential election result in losing the office. When we gave Iraq her "democracy" in 2005, curiously it didn't come with an Electoral College; nor an 18th Century constitution for that matter.
It's troubling that half the electorate thought Trump was acceptable. But troubling movements are a part of political life. Our institutions should be strong enough to survive intact until the generation that creates them die off. That's not the case today.
Fact is, Trump would never have been elected under the system we gave Iraq; nor would he have been if at the very least the Electoral College wasn't "winner take all" and everyone's vote really mattered. We might have survived. Instead we are living the irony that the world's oldest democracy ends precisely because its people made a fetish of its constitution and refused to change it. After losing faith in the institutions of self-government, they suffered the un-democratic election of an enemy of the very principles their fetishized constitution was supposed to enshrine.
It's troubling that half the electorate thought Trump was acceptable. But troubling movements are a part of political life. Our institutions should be strong enough to survive intact until the generation that creates them die off. That's not the case today.
Fact is, Trump would never have been elected under the system we gave Iraq; nor would he have been if at the very least the Electoral College wasn't "winner take all" and everyone's vote really mattered. We might have survived. Instead we are living the irony that the world's oldest democracy ends precisely because its people made a fetish of its constitution and refused to change it. After losing faith in the institutions of self-government, they suffered the un-democratic election of an enemy of the very principles their fetishized constitution was supposed to enshrine.
18
The Truth is that America has never been White. America has always been multicultural with various races, religions, beliefs, values, etc. The mainstreaming of the "alt-right" is only the result of the convergence of globalism, negative media, diversity, rise of others, etc. However, there should be no worry. Americans will object to any law or action that impedes upon the rights of others. If Donald Trump wants his 4-year term to be defined by protests, violence, hatred, and tribalism, then Donald Trump and those who voted for him will curtail the alt-right. Whatever road he selects, America will respond accordingly. Remember, we are all Americans. And since the days of the American revolution, Americans will let it burn before they allow others to place them in bondage or servitude. Need I say more?
5
I hope the anti-HFC Bernie Progressives that boycotted voting in this election are satisfied and their conscience clear. The millennuals claim they could endure a Trump presidency. Well, the rubber is about to meet the road.
14
Don't make Trump into something more ominous than he is. He is a buffoon. A smart manipulative buffoon, but a buffoon never the less. He will not rise to the occasion as some have hoped for nor wii he be able to drag this country back into the pre-human rights era of 1950's.
Trump will not be able to govern. He has neither the intelligence or the skills to actually run a country this large, this diverse, and this complex. Once he and his band of throw-backs take the helm of government, it will quickly be apparent that he is in way over his head and that he and his band of small, nasty yes-men are no match for the reservoir of good will that is the heart and life blood of this country.
There may be considerable damage done to the country, and the pain and hurt inflicted on many individuals will be real and deeply sadden us. But his demise will come quickly and we will get back to the difficult task of building a just and humane society.
Trump will not be able to govern. He has neither the intelligence or the skills to actually run a country this large, this diverse, and this complex. Once he and his band of throw-backs take the helm of government, it will quickly be apparent that he is in way over his head and that he and his band of small, nasty yes-men are no match for the reservoir of good will that is the heart and life blood of this country.
There may be considerable damage done to the country, and the pain and hurt inflicted on many individuals will be real and deeply sadden us. But his demise will come quickly and we will get back to the difficult task of building a just and humane society.
8
While I am generally a fan of Blow's columns and insight, sometimes I just have to completely disagree. The idea of "by and for white men" presumes that there is some form of viable alternative. Certainly there are economic and racial differences in our society, yet there is far more that binds us as one than the differences that separate us. Trumpnwont changes those underlying commonalities, even if many of us may be highly skeptical of the man himself. If we continue to focus on identity politics, then those who would use it (mainly democrats and "progressives", will only say things to gain the vote while not actually delivering specific identity solutions. You'll get more of the same. Perhaps (dare I say) that Trump may be the jolt we need whether we wanted or not?
5
This is such a touchy issue. So many letters here seem honest, sensitive, and well intentioned. Yet at the same time opinions appear in conflict.
I believe that feelings are the key here. Both minorities and whites come honestly by feelings of being discriminated against. While its true minorities have historically born 99.5% of the damages, we are talking about "feelings" at this point. Feelings are relevant. Feeling lead to behavior.
Hopefully we call all keep an open mind and hear what the other has to say. We all have friends and acquaintances on both sides of the issue.
We are truly at a crossroads. Maybe we can move forward towards a better world for everyone instead of falling back into conflict.
I believe that feelings are the key here. Both minorities and whites come honestly by feelings of being discriminated against. While its true minorities have historically born 99.5% of the damages, we are talking about "feelings" at this point. Feelings are relevant. Feeling lead to behavior.
Hopefully we call all keep an open mind and hear what the other has to say. We all have friends and acquaintances on both sides of the issue.
We are truly at a crossroads. Maybe we can move forward towards a better world for everyone instead of falling back into conflict.
6
I hope President Obama realizes that when Congress adjourns this time it's a real adjournment as the 114th Congress ends before the 115th Congress begins on January 3. On January 1st, he should recess-appoint Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. All the decisions that happen in 2017 will have 9 Justices, 5 (sort of ) left of center.
Art II, Sec 2 Para 3 reads: "The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session."
I don't know if that's end of 2017, or the end of 2018 when the 115th Congress ends.
Either way, there's no way for Mitch McConnell to repeat his trick to prevent the last recess appointment because ALL of Congress must be in recess before the 115th can meet.
Republicans will shriek bloody murder but many important decision will be made in 2017, and the votes of a recess-appointed justice count just as much. Besides, with all the dirty tricks the GOP House and Senate have pulled over the last 6 years, they are due to be slammed with one on them!
Art II, Sec 2 Para 3 reads: "The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session."
I don't know if that's end of 2017, or the end of 2018 when the 115th Congress ends.
Either way, there's no way for Mitch McConnell to repeat his trick to prevent the last recess appointment because ALL of Congress must be in recess before the 115th can meet.
Republicans will shriek bloody murder but many important decision will be made in 2017, and the votes of a recess-appointed justice count just as much. Besides, with all the dirty tricks the GOP House and Senate have pulled over the last 6 years, they are due to be slammed with one on them!
5
"This may well be the beginning of the end: the early moments of a historical pivot point, when the slide of the republic into something untoward and unrecognizable still feels like a small collection of poor judgments and reversible decisions, rather than the forward edge of an enormous menace inching its way forward"
"May?" Then again, maybe not.
This is Hillary campaign speak, if not her, then the Apocalypse. Maybe.
Blow does express some real concerns, but first he expresses panic and partisan hysteria.
The election is over. Can we be sane again?
"May?" Then again, maybe not.
This is Hillary campaign speak, if not her, then the Apocalypse. Maybe.
Blow does express some real concerns, but first he expresses panic and partisan hysteria.
The election is over. Can we be sane again?
16
The Us has always been white. Trump being elected happened because of an extremely weak Democratic ticket and the appearance of collusion against Bernie Sanders which fractured the party. I say lay the blame at the feet of the tone deaf DNC. This cost both houses, and the Supreme Court. As a black man in the US I have no problem with this being a white country. I was pretty much raised by white people from the age of 4 1/2, and find myself comfortable in any setting, black, white or mixed. I learned at a very early age that there are also very poor and uneducated white people in this country in substantial numbers. I also learned that things are rarely as they appear. I spent quite a bit of time in northern Maine. The people there had no problem with my playing and making friends with their children, we even had sleepovers. There are men from my childhood who I consider to be like uncles who were very protective of me. Seeing them and not knowing them you would swear that these men would burn crosses at night, but that could not be further from the truth. Of course there were a few(very few) who didn't like me due to my race, but I also learned early on that not everyone I encountered in life would like me. Oddly enough here in NYC and California, which are the alleged bastions of liberalism I have encountered racism like nowhere else on the planet. It's a sneaky, closeted kind of racism, which troubles me a lot more than overt racism.
15
Although a soft spoken Donald did gently scold perpetrators of racism in his 60 Minutes interview, with the aggressive way the cabinet is shaping up, Southern Poverty Law Center may have to consider listing the Executive Branch as a hate group.
9
Hillary's disastrous campaign led to this result, and frankly columnists such as this one helped lead to it. Primarily due to black support Hillary was elevated over the much more charismatic Bernie Sanders. Bernie would had undoubtedly attracted legions more of blue collar white collar voters that flocked to Trump. In addition, the democratic party consistently ignores illegal immigration for the benefit of obtaining more latino votes and cheaper labor overall. Hopefully the democratic party can lick its wounds and learn some badly needed lessons.
22
Progressive liberals have not learned a thing after losing control of state governments, and so many seats in congress
and now the White House.
Here it is in black and white. You have worn out the victimization argument. As all those minority constituencies you have swindled for votes look around and find you are all talk and no action, and as the white working class look around and see your policies have devastated them, and your leader has divided our country along racial, gender, and economic class refusing to quell violence inspired by your empty rhetoric; the folks you blame and demonize as the cause of the fabricated victimization have left you.
You all would be wise to take a breath and think very hard on your problems. If Trump turns things around here and abroad you are done. It is obvious where you are now headed. Violence and destruction will only hasten your demise. I advise you grow up face the facts and reinvent your party.
and now the White House.
Here it is in black and white. You have worn out the victimization argument. As all those minority constituencies you have swindled for votes look around and find you are all talk and no action, and as the white working class look around and see your policies have devastated them, and your leader has divided our country along racial, gender, and economic class refusing to quell violence inspired by your empty rhetoric; the folks you blame and demonize as the cause of the fabricated victimization have left you.
You all would be wise to take a breath and think very hard on your problems. If Trump turns things around here and abroad you are done. It is obvious where you are now headed. Violence and destruction will only hasten your demise. I advise you grow up face the facts and reinvent your party.
23
Charles, we just fight it every day. We fight, and we resist this madness. Every single day.
6
What's Blow gonna say if Kanye West is appointed?
4
"he actually meant some version of 'Make America a White, Racist, Misogynistic Patriarchy Again.'"
wow, how intellectually stimulating: repeat every single left-wing buzzword out there. Also, stop trying to make "patriarchy" happen. It's not going to happen!
wow, how intellectually stimulating: repeat every single left-wing buzzword out there. Also, stop trying to make "patriarchy" happen. It's not going to happen!
15
Charles is alarmed. So are many. However, we now need to deal with it. Predictions of disaster tend to decommission vigilance and good sense. We need to report what happens. Not the Times speciality of news that possibly could happen sometime. We need facts, not speculation. And we need to understand what can be done, if anything, not wail over what can no longer be done.
5
trump is the worst figure for race relations since at least David Duke. He sows division and hatred. And I will not stand for his attempts to denigrate and deatroy minorities.
10
Charles Blow provides counterpoint to Amanda Taub’s “Interpreter”: “White Nationalism,’ Explained.” There is no practice of white nationalism not grounded in white supremacist ideology, spoken or unspoken. Expressions of personal discomfort, longing, social anxiety point to the historical success of the theory, once directed at newly freed slaves, American Indians, Chinese; at Jews, Italians, Irish, groups not considered white upon arrival. American whiteness is a social construction, not an ethnicity, a social regulator, rejecting those who cannot due to skin pigment, religious practices that different from Christianity, speak non-English primary languages. Longed for European “heritage” (Taub quotes alt-right Richard Spencer) of self-segregated white Christians draws heavily from music created by or derived from Black musicians, televised sports with Black athletes... Charles Blow’s connecting of “white” and “racist,” coupled with “misogynistic patriarchy” dispels any confusion.
2
In America there has always been an underlying layer of racism. When Donald Trump started talking about building the famous “wall” and send back to Mexico undocumented people, he was sending a silent racist, firm message to the white supremacists to join him on his quest for the presidency. It’s true that many Democrats who had voted for Obama helped him get elected in hopes he would bring jobs back to America. They couldn’t forgive how Democrats polarized the American workers not recognizing that “inequality” is about regular people working harder while the rich receives free prosperity. Like the Republicans, they received campaign contributions from corporate America to get them reelected. They’re the sole responsible for electing Donald Trump, a "white people's"president.
Lessons need to be learned by the Democratic Party. Senator Bernie Sanders together with Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader are working together to bring back the Democratic Party of “hope;” created to fight for the working class of America absent from religion, race or nationality because we’re all equal. They're our only hope.
Lessons need to be learned by the Democratic Party. Senator Bernie Sanders together with Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader are working together to bring back the Democratic Party of “hope;” created to fight for the working class of America absent from religion, race or nationality because we’re all equal. They're our only hope.
4
The real threat is that the morons surrounding Trump will spend four years(and countless lives and dollars) trying to force a square peg(the real world) into a round hole(their twisted world-view). It is frightening to reflect on who will join the cabinet and make decisions for a man so disconnected from real people, the real world, and complexity. Two dimensional thinkers like Sessions, Flynn, Bannon will do great harm to u8s and the rest of humanity--all in the name of enjoying power and getting even.
14
Well done editorial. Racism, xenophobia and misogyny were the rallying cries of the Trump campaign. That is what motivated his voters. This fact shows the true nature of our electorate-those who voted for Trump (the racist xenophobic misogynists (or those whose lacks of morals allowed them to vote for one), those who stayed home because they "hated Hillary(likely misogynist or at the very least sexist ( key word-hated)), and those who voted for Hillary(the majority of voters). But the racist, misogynist xenophobe has the power and is using it to kill the heart of our country.
We are at a dangerous crossroads. Our survival depends on each of us and the press who unequivocally aided in the outcome. From the MSM I heard too much false equivalency, sexism and total lack of preparation by not understanding the core of the email issue and their extremely disappointing indifference to the hatred and sexism motivating the Houe and the FBI.
I implore you going foraward not to become victim again of Trump entertainment antics. And, most of all stay on the sexism, racism and misogyny. It is coming at us at lightning speed with each Trump statement and staff pick. Don't fail us again.
We are at a dangerous crossroads. Our survival depends on each of us and the press who unequivocally aided in the outcome. From the MSM I heard too much false equivalency, sexism and total lack of preparation by not understanding the core of the email issue and their extremely disappointing indifference to the hatred and sexism motivating the Houe and the FBI.
I implore you going foraward not to become victim again of Trump entertainment antics. And, most of all stay on the sexism, racism and misogyny. It is coming at us at lightning speed with each Trump statement and staff pick. Don't fail us again.
8
Don't Democrats ever get embarrassed using the term racist for the umpteenth millionth time for every person they've ever disagreed with? Trump is racist, Romney was racist, McCain was racist, Bush was racist... give me a break. Everybody who's not a Liberal Democrat is racist. Your evidence regarding Trump embracing people who've made dubious statements in the past is no different than Obama embracing Al Sharpton. This is beyond laughable already and the backlash against this kind of constant absurdity is one of the things that helped elect Trump. So keep it up.
30
The future belongs to those who are there. The democrat party cheers when it is pointed out that whites will no longer be a majority by date such and such. Why the cheers? Do fewer whites mean a better society? As the country gets less white is the country getting better? The democrat party is in fact a racist anti white organization. It appears that the democrat party will remain so.
14
A chilling thing to understand about white patriarchy is that the health of the system is completely irrelevant to this ideology as long as white guys are in charge. It does not matter if the nation is actually becoming a flaming pile of excrement, as long as they are on top of the pile. Resistance is the only rational option.
8
The reason Hillary lost is because the underlying principles of identity politics, however well intended, are fundamentally incompatible with our most foundational belief that what makes us a great nation is the same thing that makes us one people...our belief in our common humanity and the self evident and inalienable rights that we all have. We are not a pluralistic society, a composite of different people and cultures, but rather we are substantially a human society with a universal and open culture. This is why we can be both a melting pot and preserve and respect our individual histories. This great society, this great human society is what Kennedy foresaw, what Johnson advanced, what Regan believed in and what identity politics has corrupted. Whether Trump will be a good president is a big question and concern, but it should our collective aspiration to restore this great American dream and collectively build from the richness of our diversity a society that is united in it's respect for our collective humanity.
10
According to Mr. Blow, the fact that Islamic terrorists accounted for the majority of deaths and injuries in mass murders in the past two years (per Mother Jones) does not support a fear of Muslims. But the fact that police account for a few percentage points of all blacks murdered in a given year is strong evidence that blacks need to fear the police. What am I missing here?
18
Charles Blow falsely claimed his son was questioned by a white Yale Police Officer, when in fact the Officer was black. Had Donald Trump said his son was mugged by a black person when in fact the mugger was white, the liberal whining would never end.
23
Charles, please continue to carry the banner of sanity and humanity. We need your writing during this dark time in our nation's history. We can survive Trump and Trumpism only if the light of truth is shined regularly on the cancer that has invaded our body politic.
7
The comments in this section reiterate the facts that liberals don't and won't ever get it. There's another country out there full of patriotic Americans that are sad at what's happening to this country and the left is angry that they finally decided to do something about it.
22
What, exactly, is happening to this country? And what will Trump do about it?
5
I asked a friend who voted for Trump where she got her information. She said she doesn't read the Times or Wall St Journal because they are left wing false news. I was dumb struck....this is a smart woman. I said, so, what do you read or listen to? Not NPR but Savage on the radio and the Drudge Report in print! I could barely contain myself.
Her fears.....open boarders, terrorists, Muslims, Black Lives Matter, jobs, and regulations. This from the daughter of immigrants (and not the blonde kind).
This is who we are up against. Smart people who choose to listen to fake news, know it's fake, but choose it anyway.
Her fears.....open boarders, terrorists, Muslims, Black Lives Matter, jobs, and regulations. This from the daughter of immigrants (and not the blonde kind).
This is who we are up against. Smart people who choose to listen to fake news, know it's fake, but choose it anyway.
11
You told us yourself, Charles . . . Demographics is destiny. You proudly boasted in 2010, in your typical stereotyping and bigoted prose, that "angry" whites would become extinct. Why would any race or culture voluntarily submit to genocide?
21
Draining the swamp? Nope, building BOG (Buncha Old Guys) rule. Will the USA be represented by anyone other than old white males? Nope, not even a token at this rate.
6
Oy, another racist rant by Blow. So predictable and shallow. The level of analyses and conclusions are childish and inane not worthy of a major newspaper.
22
Leading right-wing ideologue Richard Spencer says that the alt-right has "crossed the Rubicon," in a speech welcomed with nazi salutes and "Hail Victory" shouts. It is worth noting that the last time someone crossed the Rubicon, the result was years of violent civil wars and the fall of the Roman Republic. We should be afraid. Very afraid.
7
Every day is going to bring something to be upset about, from appointments to nominations to just his absurd behavior and everything that goes with it. If it's going to be fought against clutching pearls and face-palming every morning over that days news is self defeating.
Trump won because the other side doesn't know how to fight. You can't say you're "scared" as part of your resistance when the other side enjoys and wants you to be scared.
These are things a President should not be able to survive, and they are still alive:
- Full throated endorsement of the KKK and its allies
- A still fresh multi-million dollar settlement to avoid a racketeering conviction
- Unambiguous admittance by Russian officials (quoted!) of tampering in the US election. In this lifetime this alone might have led to a shooting war.
- Grab 'em by the ....
We can keep listmaking but let's think for a moment if any ONE of those things were hanging around the neck of a President not from the GOP where we would be this morning.
Hillary's campaign erred in trying to let Trump immolate himself and it let the party as a whole off the hook for letting him get the nomination. Her campaign shouldn't have been just against Trump but an indictment of his party that allowed his ascension.
As just one example: Where was the spot showing the GOP congress sitting on its hands during the vote on equal pay for women? You don't even need millions to produce such a spot. Some some video of the roll call.
Trump won because the other side doesn't know how to fight. You can't say you're "scared" as part of your resistance when the other side enjoys and wants you to be scared.
These are things a President should not be able to survive, and they are still alive:
- Full throated endorsement of the KKK and its allies
- A still fresh multi-million dollar settlement to avoid a racketeering conviction
- Unambiguous admittance by Russian officials (quoted!) of tampering in the US election. In this lifetime this alone might have led to a shooting war.
- Grab 'em by the ....
We can keep listmaking but let's think for a moment if any ONE of those things were hanging around the neck of a President not from the GOP where we would be this morning.
Hillary's campaign erred in trying to let Trump immolate himself and it let the party as a whole off the hook for letting him get the nomination. Her campaign shouldn't have been just against Trump but an indictment of his party that allowed his ascension.
As just one example: Where was the spot showing the GOP congress sitting on its hands during the vote on equal pay for women? You don't even need millions to produce such a spot. Some some video of the roll call.
7
With all the "Heil Trump" reported in this morning's NYT, how does Donald face his daughter and son-in-law an Orthodox Jew? Does he sit them on his knees and tell them how business is business and don't pay attention to all that nazi noise.
14
I agree. No one is able to answer the question regarding Trump's apparently muddled ideologies. I suppose he would accept moral support from any assorted set of cranks and nuts as long as they are not incarcerated and deprived of their voting rights. So Trump is spared from Charles Manson's thumbs-up, for example.
2
Charles M. Blow, you deserve an award for truth telling, perseverance, for helping us cope, for being true to democracy. Throughout this agonizing saga your words have been by my side. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
14
Blah, blah, blah. Blow in particular and the NYT in general have bashed all things republican for at least a year. They took time out only to bash sanders. Clinton didn't win but neither did many other dem candidates in many places.
21
True, the Republicans won, but as Neil Degrasse Tyson said, "Make America Smart Again."
5
Racism, racism my Kingdom for racism! Mr Blow's perpetual cry of white racism would have real power if it were grounded in objective discussion. Alas, we must dismiss every Trump friend and Cabinet appointee as bigoted, incompetent, you name it....Do prominent black conservatives count among the awful? Surely in Mr Blow's paranoid world view they do. As for General Flynn, I wish President Obama had heeded his warnings about the ISIS threat. If he had there would be thousands of innocents across the Middle East still alive today.
19
Wow another negative article about Donald Trump from the NY Times. Go figure. And they called him a racist for the 1000th time. This literally Blows!
27
One tends to forget our cultural history. We declared ourself a nation having staged a successful rebellion against George III, and this has led to a mindset that glorifies defiance of authority and the overthrow of government by force.
We make movies about outlaws in the old west, and Mafiosi in the 20th Century. And 'cowboys and Indians' stories where the Indians are the marauding bad guys.
We advertise products that are "revolutionary" - that doesn't play in London; they prefer the word "traditional".
The Confederate Battle Flag can still be seen today, and not just in the southern states.
We watch "police procedural" TV shows, like "Blue Bloods" where the police do nothing but serve and protect - except when One Bad Apple is caught and is promptly punished.
Segregation is outlawed, as is discrimination, but rarely identified and less rarely punished.
Paying $25M so that you can avoid being found guilty of fraud? That is, truly, the American Way - the Golden Rule. HE WHO HAS THE MOST GOLD MAKES THE RULES.
Nursery rhymes, all of it. That's our exceptionalism.
We make movies about outlaws in the old west, and Mafiosi in the 20th Century. And 'cowboys and Indians' stories where the Indians are the marauding bad guys.
We advertise products that are "revolutionary" - that doesn't play in London; they prefer the word "traditional".
The Confederate Battle Flag can still be seen today, and not just in the southern states.
We watch "police procedural" TV shows, like "Blue Bloods" where the police do nothing but serve and protect - except when One Bad Apple is caught and is promptly punished.
Segregation is outlawed, as is discrimination, but rarely identified and less rarely punished.
Paying $25M so that you can avoid being found guilty of fraud? That is, truly, the American Way - the Golden Rule. HE WHO HAS THE MOST GOLD MAKES THE RULES.
Nursery rhymes, all of it. That's our exceptionalism.
6
Mr. Blow did not mention the recent neo-Nazi meeting in the Ronald Reagan building - the most frightening celebration to-date of Donald Trump and his Bannon muse. At the close of the 11 hour meeting Spencer "railed against Jews and, with a smile, quoted Nazi propaganda in the original German. America, he said, belonged to white people, whom he called the “children of the sun,” a race of conquerors and creators who had been marginalized but now, in the era of President-elect Donald J. Trump, were “awakening to their own identity."
For all of the stay-at-home and 3rd party voters who wrongly imagine that a Trump election will lead to a 2020 liberal revolution - after supreme court justices have been picked, voting rights laws demolished, and media suppressed - just look at what you've unleashed.
Spencer's "smile" should wake up every last one of us before it's too late.
For all of the stay-at-home and 3rd party voters who wrongly imagine that a Trump election will lead to a 2020 liberal revolution - after supreme court justices have been picked, voting rights laws demolished, and media suppressed - just look at what you've unleashed.
Spencer's "smile" should wake up every last one of us before it's too late.
18
A comment writer who calls himself 'Concerned Citizen' had the cheek to accuse me of abusing the term 'Neo-Nazi' to qualify Spencer and his crew who rejoice in Trump's victory. The complacent should realise that semantics DO count and CAN lead to an unpredictable spiral of violence!
5
Good heavens, Mr. Blow...
Couldn't you at least wait until he starts doing something substantive before you drag on your victim cloak again?
It is you, sir, and people like you, who are continuing the racial divide.
Didn't you learn that from Trump's victory?
Couldn't you at least wait until he starts doing something substantive before you drag on your victim cloak again?
It is you, sir, and people like you, who are continuing the racial divide.
Didn't you learn that from Trump's victory?
27
But he *has* been "doing something substantive." He's been appointing racists to top posts in his administration. And some of us would consider things he said and did during the campaign to be substantive, unless you, like Romney, think that everything said and done before an arbitrary deadline can be etch-a-sketched away. Trump's entire campaign has been based on actively courting the hate vote. That's why the KKK loves him so much. It's why David Duke loves him so much. It's why the center of white nationalism in America, Breitbart, not only love him so much, but actually have their leader a few steps from the oval office.
It's not Blow continuing the racial divide. Observing it and commenting on it is not promoting it. That's journalism. Continuation and promotion of the racial divide is 100% coming from Trump and his henchmen.
It's not Blow continuing the racial divide. Observing it and commenting on it is not promoting it. That's journalism. Continuation and promotion of the racial divide is 100% coming from Trump and his henchmen.
9
I am 79 and have been known for making remarks that came back to haunt me. But here is the most important point. I am NOT a US Senator or a candidate for the office of US President. IF I were I would monitor my remarks more carefully. Trump made MANY statements that were totally off the grid considering what he was aiming for. Sessions , Rudolph, Bannon etc are all WHITE guys who have said stupid things.
12
I find myself ever more angry with the news media. First because they sold Trump as a viable candidate for a year leading up to the election regardless of his unfitness for office. Second because they attacked Clinton along with the republican slime machine for her email mistake. Third because they allowed themselves to fall prey to Wikileaks and the Russians and even published some of the materials that were leaked no matter the truth or lies within. And fourth because they are making Naziism look somehow acceptable by calling it "alt-right" You need to take a good long hard look at yourselves and take responsibility for your massive failure that brought Trump to the Whitehouse. SHAME ON YOU NYTimes!
10
Bernie Sanders would have won, if politics weren't so corrupt.
No pass for the media including NYTIMES.
No pass for the media including NYTIMES.
9
What this racism rant is really about is "The Wreckage of Obama’s Legacy" (NYT yesterday)
The Princeton conference described therein is reminiscent of a legacy confab held 11 yrs ago at Hofstra. It, too, was fixated on a legacy that was incidentally a presidency. There are many parallels.
SoS Albright captured the essence of that dysfunctional presidency best when she explained why Clinton couldn't go after bin Laden.
According to Miniter, ("Losing Bin Laden: How BC's Failures Unleashed Global Terror"), her revelation occurred at the cabinet meeting that would decide the disposition of the USS Cole bombing by al Qaeda. Only Clarke wanted to retaliate militarily for this unambiguous act of war
Albright explained that a [sham] ME accord would yield [if not peace for principals, surely] a Nobel Peace Prize for Clinton. Kill or capture OBL & Clinton could kiss the 'accord' & Peace Prize good-bye
Today, perversely, the problem is a president's preemptive Peace Prize looking for a rationale.
"Bin Laden is alive today because Clinton refused to kill him. He had 8-10 chances & refused to try"
—MScheuer, Chief–CIA OBL Tracking Unit 96–99, spec. advisor 9/11/01–04
"Bruce Lindsey said to me on the phone, 'My God, a 2nd plane has hit the tower.' & I said, 'Bin Laden did this.' That's the 1st thing I said"
–BClinton—LKL
"You know, the job which we should have done, which should have been our primary focus, to find bin Laden & eliminate al Qaeda"
–HClinton to J Pauley—SF
8
A neighbor of mine, about ten blocks away, still has an old political yard sign in place. It has a BOLD crossed-out line, still visible to be read underneath the cross-out: "'Make America Hate Again --NOT' - Vote Hillary." "Vote Hilary" is not crossed-out. The sign needs to stay there as long as we need it to be there, reminding us every day, for as long as we need to be reminded, that the U.S. Civil War has not yet ended ...... It's still 1861 in the American mindset.
As Martin Luther King said: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
As Martin Luther King said: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
4
"Senator Bernie Sanders responded to the Bannon announcement with a blistering statement:
I voted for Bernie in the primaries, Mr. Blow. Did you?
I voted for Bernie in the primaries, Mr. Blow. Did you?
13
Come on. You know Charles prays at the altar of Hillary.
4
Once again, Blow's spiel: "White man bad, all others good"! How very simplistic oh him, as usual. If one doesn't agree with open borders, non-assimilation, bathrooms open to anyone, you are a white male supremist or a white male ignoramus in the eyes of the NYT and its Democratic Operatives staff.
29
Democrats now believe in diversity of color, not diversity of thought. MLK may be turning over in his grave. In today's Democratic Party, MLK would be referred to as an "Uncle Tom".
7
Richard Spencer was the creator of the term "alt-right".
That's central to right-wing groups: to claim the right to "re-name" and "re-define".
"Alt-right" sounds so innocent, doesn't it?
Much better than "right-wing whack-jobs out to gun down anyone who is not with them".
This all reminds me of those days of yesteryear when a cute new movement appeared that called themselves "The Tea-Party". They had funny hats and loud flag-clothes and, gosh, didn't the press just LOVE them!
At the time there were millions across this country who were in the streets protesting the new war that Bush and PNAC had just started. Not a peep from the press, but the 20 or so "Teapartiers"? The press couldn't get enough of them, lotsa pictures and NO examination as to what they were or who was financing them (It was the Koch Brothers, the sons of the man who had created the John Birch Society).
Those amusing people became the New Republican Party.
Now we have another "new" bunch with a new name, one that they chose for themselves: "The Alt-Right".
Well, I have a new name for them.
Re-Defining and Re-Naming shouldn't only be the pleasure of the righties.
My new name is the "ALT-Kult".
I feel this describes them better.
It points out that they are for an "alternate government".
It keeps the K of the KKK.
It points out that they are a cult.
And it sounds like "occult" for they believe in many things that are not real, that exist only between their ears.
Feel free to think up your own!
It's fun!
That's central to right-wing groups: to claim the right to "re-name" and "re-define".
"Alt-right" sounds so innocent, doesn't it?
Much better than "right-wing whack-jobs out to gun down anyone who is not with them".
This all reminds me of those days of yesteryear when a cute new movement appeared that called themselves "The Tea-Party". They had funny hats and loud flag-clothes and, gosh, didn't the press just LOVE them!
At the time there were millions across this country who were in the streets protesting the new war that Bush and PNAC had just started. Not a peep from the press, but the 20 or so "Teapartiers"? The press couldn't get enough of them, lotsa pictures and NO examination as to what they were or who was financing them (It was the Koch Brothers, the sons of the man who had created the John Birch Society).
Those amusing people became the New Republican Party.
Now we have another "new" bunch with a new name, one that they chose for themselves: "The Alt-Right".
Well, I have a new name for them.
Re-Defining and Re-Naming shouldn't only be the pleasure of the righties.
My new name is the "ALT-Kult".
I feel this describes them better.
It points out that they are for an "alternate government".
It keeps the K of the KKK.
It points out that they are a cult.
And it sounds like "occult" for they believe in many things that are not real, that exist only between their ears.
Feel free to think up your own!
It's fun!
5
I truly feel sorry for people who believe as you do. Donald Trump is a businessman who sees restoring America to greatness as a building project, of which he has successfully accomplished many. He is not a political animal; he is not a racist; he is not any of the things you're suggesting. He WILL make America great again, and "making America white again" is and was never his intention. Your conclusions are unfounded, and your opinion unjustified. It is too bad that you are in a position to write these things for the public to read. What IS encouraging is that with every warped article such as this, the New York Times will soon be obsolete and rejected as a journalistic forum.
20
Your assumptions have no ground in reality. Trump has a well documented history of racist actions and comments, just as he has a history of bankruptcies and swindles of contractors who worked for him. He is already blurring the lines between the interests of the country and his own business interests. We may be witnessing the inception of one of the most corrupt administrations of all time. Dream on.
7
I have never seen so many hateful responses. This is one of the worst.
1
Highly unlikely Martha, remember, you don't have to be literate to vote. 86% of all illiterate white lower class who cast a ballot voted for Trump. Enjoying a good read and educating yourself are not on their priority lists.
6
Hey Charles!! I am glad you are finally back at work! Keep grinding out these columns where everything revolves around race and all the poor black victims who would be successful but for the white devil!! I guess this is why so many blacks did not vote this time. Go read the article on Milwaukee and take a look at the real reason they did not vote. Blacks have no faith in either candidate!! Why don't you write about the continued decline of the black family and see if this has any bearing on their current condition. No, just keep telling them they are victims, that is the mentality your handlers want instilled in them to keep them in line!!
18
Give it up, Charles. The election is OVER and all of your one-trick-pony, hackneyed huffing and puffing at the Narrative Times didn't amount to a hill of beans at the polling booth! Its addressable market and readership is extremely limited. Didn't the Narrative Times just write a letter to its dwindling subscriber base that it was going to stop this non-stop nonsense?
21
For your info the subscriber base has expanded,sorry to burst your bubble.
2
Can't think of any anti-Black statements or actions by Trump.
Anybody?
Anybody?
17
What do you think Trump's 'birtherism' campaign was all about? Maybe you're one of the people that still believes that Obama was born in Kenya.
4
No, but I can think of a lot of racist comments made by Al Sharpton and Jerimiah Wright. Both were very tight with Obama. Sharpton is also tight with Eric Holder and Bill Deblasio. I don't remember Mr. Blow objecting.
9
What this racism rant is really about is "The Wreckage of Obama’s Legacy" (NYT yesterday)
The Princeton conference described therein is reminiscent of a legacy confab held 11 yrs ago at Hofstra. It, too, was fixated on a legacy that was incidentally a presidency. There are many parallels.
SoS Albright captured the essence of that dysfunctional presidency best when she explained why Clinton couldn't go after bin Laden.
According to Miniter, ("Losing Bin Laden: How BC's Failures Unleashed Global Terror"), her revelation occurred at the cabinet meeting that would decide the disposition of the USS Cole bombing by al Qaeda. Only Clarke wanted to retaliate militarily for this unambiguous act of war
Albright explained that a [sham] ME accord would yield [if not peace for principals, surely] a Nobel Peace Prize for Clinton. Kill or capture OBL & Clinton could kiss the 'accord' & Peace Prize good-bye
Today, perversely, the problem is a president's unmerited Peace Prize looking for a rationale.
10
Gosh, Charles. So NOW you want to listen to Bernie? A little late to the parade, I think. Where were you when we needed you?
Better be careful throwing around words like "eugenicists." Planned Parenthood was founded by one of those.
Many of the institutions we now regard as flagships of liberalism were founded by those you'd now consider abysmal exemplars of Trumpism.
I voted--as my state gives me the option to do--my write-in candidate, " none of the above," and in the primary I voted for Sanders. But I'd have preferred the Beast from Revelations over Hillary Clinton, who as a warmonger has actual blood on her hands. Trump is a loudmouth lout who so far hasn't caused the death of anyone.
But keep writing, Charles. I enjoy seeing your kishkes in a twist.
Better be careful throwing around words like "eugenicists." Planned Parenthood was founded by one of those.
Many of the institutions we now regard as flagships of liberalism were founded by those you'd now consider abysmal exemplars of Trumpism.
I voted--as my state gives me the option to do--my write-in candidate, " none of the above," and in the primary I voted for Sanders. But I'd have preferred the Beast from Revelations over Hillary Clinton, who as a warmonger has actual blood on her hands. Trump is a loudmouth lout who so far hasn't caused the death of anyone.
But keep writing, Charles. I enjoy seeing your kishkes in a twist.
10
His Majesty Donald the Magnificent told you what He was all about over the past couple of years, and He is now showing how very, very, little He knows about Government, and the history of the USA. But, but, but . . .
"When they came for the Gypsies, I didn't say anything, because I wasn't a Gypsy.
When they came for . . ."
We are back to 1776, and it is like the last 240 years never happened. The tribal majority will always act against the minority. May the gods help us !
"When they came for the Gypsies, I didn't say anything, because I wasn't a Gypsy.
When they came for . . ."
We are back to 1776, and it is like the last 240 years never happened. The tribal majority will always act against the minority. May the gods help us !
2
Stop peddling fear and racist paranoia Mr.Blow. You have no idea what you are talking about from your ivory tower.
I was sworn in as a US citizen in Manhattan in 2004, in full Bush and Republican era. You would say Republicans were or are racists? Against whom? And by what standards?
Most of the legal immigration has been NON WHITE in the last few decades of both R and D regimes, and the illegal immigration is 100 non white. The number of whites has been steadily declining because of an immigration policy that made it very hard for someone from a poor white country to come to USA or Canada. Even the UE is more open to immigration of Muslims from Africa and Middle East than they are to people from Ukraine, although they are the same race and of the same religion and culture.
I was sworn in a large room full of about 800 immigrants in Manhattan, in which there were just 6 white people. The rest where from India, Bangladesh, Africa, and South America. There were mostly old, haggard people, many old and in wheel chairs, most couldn't speak English for their dear life, or where able to say a few sentences, although there was a compulsory test for both language and US history, which I had prepared for months. The test turned out to be a formality, and all those people who didn't know anything were allowed to pass. The Immigration officer was happy to meet someone who finally spoke English.
So you are crying wolf, afraid of loosing the PREFERENTIAL treatment!
I was sworn in as a US citizen in Manhattan in 2004, in full Bush and Republican era. You would say Republicans were or are racists? Against whom? And by what standards?
Most of the legal immigration has been NON WHITE in the last few decades of both R and D regimes, and the illegal immigration is 100 non white. The number of whites has been steadily declining because of an immigration policy that made it very hard for someone from a poor white country to come to USA or Canada. Even the UE is more open to immigration of Muslims from Africa and Middle East than they are to people from Ukraine, although they are the same race and of the same religion and culture.
I was sworn in a large room full of about 800 immigrants in Manhattan, in which there were just 6 white people. The rest where from India, Bangladesh, Africa, and South America. There were mostly old, haggard people, many old and in wheel chairs, most couldn't speak English for their dear life, or where able to say a few sentences, although there was a compulsory test for both language and US history, which I had prepared for months. The test turned out to be a formality, and all those people who didn't know anything were allowed to pass. The Immigration officer was happy to meet someone who finally spoke English.
So you are crying wolf, afraid of loosing the PREFERENTIAL treatment!
22
You are so wrong, and so offensive, and so bizarre on so many different levels MYTWOCENTS, it's hard to know where to start.
But first, try re - reading the article. Take a breath. Try to engage the brain. Analyze without your baggage. Read it again.
Think. Do think.
But first, try re - reading the article. Take a breath. Try to engage the brain. Analyze without your baggage. Read it again.
Think. Do think.
2
Race-baiter Charles Blow awoke on November 9th SHOCKED to discover that there are 190 million white people in America. (p.s. - identity politics are no longer effective. Get a job.)
20
Oh my. Paranoia will destroy ya. This column reads best with a little Twilight Zone music in the background.
What is going on at the Times? Mass hysteria?
What is going on at the Times? Mass hysteria?
18
Mr Blow I wonder how you view the current charge to appoint Mr Ellison to the head of the DNC. He was an active member of the NOI and pledged allegiance to Farrakhan who has a documented hatred of Jews, Western Women and White People. He gave a speech at a 9/11 memorial comparing the USA's reaction to 9/11 with the Nazi's burning of the Reichstag. The black glow emanating from Ellison spawns a total eclipse of the sun.
16
jeez i havent heard such democrat butthurt since the republicans freed the slaves... breathe deeply Chuck... its all gonna be alright
14
So many republicans love to be the party of Lincoln but not in the modern era. And tell me why so many white supremacists are jumping for joy? Certainly not going to be ok for all.
3
....it has been two weeks since the election...in all the post election I have heard one person say that the main reason Mr Trump was elected was the Clintons....
many have said Mrs Clinton won the majority vote...yes, but notice it was New York State +1,000,000 and California +3,000,000...any surprise there...The New York Times coverage has left much to be desired...
many have said Mrs Clinton won the majority vote...yes, but notice it was New York State +1,000,000 and California +3,000,000...any surprise there...The New York Times coverage has left much to be desired...
8
Charles,
What rights or freedoms has Trump trampled on so far? Can you list them please? Also, can you define "sensible, comprehensive immigration reform" in your next column? Come on man, let's get serious, if we want to get serious. You are yourself hiding behind hyperbole. List out what you want to be part of the immigration reform and then let's argue it point by point. For starters, can you agree that laws were broken by folks who walked across our borders?
What rights or freedoms has Trump trampled on so far? Can you list them please? Also, can you define "sensible, comprehensive immigration reform" in your next column? Come on man, let's get serious, if we want to get serious. You are yourself hiding behind hyperbole. List out what you want to be part of the immigration reform and then let's argue it point by point. For starters, can you agree that laws were broken by folks who walked across our borders?
19
Human Rights Vigilance Committees, A Lesson from America’s Past – Alan Singer’s Latest Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-singer/human-rights-vigilance-co_b_13...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-singer/human-rights-vigilance-co_b_13...
Thank you, Charles, for not being a NYT "normalizer." Thank you from the bottom of my heart for not trying to spin this into just another election, just another president. History will respect you for it. I truly shudder to think about why that will be.
8
Another hate filled diatribe from BLOW.
This man has the ear of the NY Times but does not speak for honest hard working Americans. Tour the slums of any city of America, who do you see, Black Americans, stuck in a purgatory of poverty.
Blow is a die hard radical with no sense of how to produce anything but hate and division. Obama's tenure was filled with unfulfilled promises, take a look at those slums folks, his people, for whom he did nothing ( and with whom he has nothing in common), still reside there. Their jobs shipped to other countries.
The addiction of welfare will keep them there unless there are good paying jobs and oppourtunities at advancement. Do you really think the Democrats would have elevated their cause, they had eight years under Obama, eight years under Clinton and they are still stuck in a "Twilight Zone".
Wake up and smell the coffee, Blow does not have any sense in his head, only anger and frustration. He may sell papers for "the man" but his logic has been proven faulty.
This man has the ear of the NY Times but does not speak for honest hard working Americans. Tour the slums of any city of America, who do you see, Black Americans, stuck in a purgatory of poverty.
Blow is a die hard radical with no sense of how to produce anything but hate and division. Obama's tenure was filled with unfulfilled promises, take a look at those slums folks, his people, for whom he did nothing ( and with whom he has nothing in common), still reside there. Their jobs shipped to other countries.
The addiction of welfare will keep them there unless there are good paying jobs and oppourtunities at advancement. Do you really think the Democrats would have elevated their cause, they had eight years under Obama, eight years under Clinton and they are still stuck in a "Twilight Zone".
Wake up and smell the coffee, Blow does not have any sense in his head, only anger and frustration. He may sell papers for "the man" but his logic has been proven faulty.
17
Dear Tom,
I respect your freedom to express yourself, but you will also find poor Whites in rural areas. Please research the poverty statistics by race in each state. While I don't disagree in certain urban areas the poverty rates are higher among African Americans, they remain under 25% poverty indicating that the majority of African-Americans are hard working and extremely well educated like yourself.
While I totally disagree with the title of Mr. Blow's article, his frustrations regarding certain cabinet picks are based on indisputable facts. If Mr. Trump desires to bring unity among Americans, his selections should reflect that.
In closing, let's work on bringing ALL Americans out of poverty. Have you toured some of our rural White areas in our country?? It is depressing. Whites, Blacks, Hispanics in poverty it is all distressing. Let's work to refrain from minimizing poverty to one race.
I respect your freedom to express yourself, but you will also find poor Whites in rural areas. Please research the poverty statistics by race in each state. While I don't disagree in certain urban areas the poverty rates are higher among African Americans, they remain under 25% poverty indicating that the majority of African-Americans are hard working and extremely well educated like yourself.
While I totally disagree with the title of Mr. Blow's article, his frustrations regarding certain cabinet picks are based on indisputable facts. If Mr. Trump desires to bring unity among Americans, his selections should reflect that.
In closing, let's work on bringing ALL Americans out of poverty. Have you toured some of our rural White areas in our country?? It is depressing. Whites, Blacks, Hispanics in poverty it is all distressing. Let's work to refrain from minimizing poverty to one race.
5
President Obama's "unfulfilled promises" are largely due to Republican Congress that swore to obstruct him since Day 1 of his administration.
Or, did you forget that part?
Or, did you forget that part?
4
As I continue to think about it, I don't get this fear that is paralyzing Black America with the election of Donald Trump. As a Black Man, I look back at history and see time over time how the Black community has triumphed successfully in overcoming racism.
Black people have fought in every major war to liberate this country. We have systematicly taken down Jim Crow laws and took the right to vote as true American citizens. I could go on about all of the accomplishments my Black ancestors did for future generations. I just don't get this fear gripping Black America.
On the other hand, if you are an illegal immigrant or have stayed in America past your Visa expiration; you should be very afraid!
Black people have fought in every major war to liberate this country. We have systematicly taken down Jim Crow laws and took the right to vote as true American citizens. I could go on about all of the accomplishments my Black ancestors did for future generations. I just don't get this fear gripping Black America.
On the other hand, if you are an illegal immigrant or have stayed in America past your Visa expiration; you should be very afraid!
16
Wasn't Melania Trump an illegal alien at one time during her early residence in the United States? Well, that's irrelevant to the discussion because it belongs to the past which no longer exists in the present. How convenient it is to possess a disposable conscience....
2
As a "Black man", you should take a closer look past Trump and see who else he's putting into his cabinet.
Do you know who Jeff Sessions is?? --That's right, the one who called the NAACP "unAmerican".
Do you know who Jeff Sessions is?? --That's right, the one who called the NAACP "unAmerican".
2
Another irresponsible piece of yellow journalism. This is the reason why this paper has lost ALL credibility with the general public. This is truly a mirror into the soul of the writer whose see's in others what he truly possesses. To denigrate true patriots and public servants like General Flynn, or Senator Sessions (who as AG of Alabama, sought and got the Death Penalty against a member of the Klan, and who sued segregated school districts throughout the State) is beyond shameful. Mr. Blow, do you have, at long last, any conscious whatsoever beyond your own political objectives. Is your attempt to destroy reputations really worth it? Who else would you destroy to impose your worldview on others. We all get the fact that you don't like those whose worldview is consistent with Biblical Christianity, but at what costs are you will to strive in order to impose on others your truly intolerant views on others. The true irony is that the most intolerant people in the world are the first to declare others to be racists. It is beyond old, and the American people are aware of the game. The word has lost its power. Being called a racists by the likes of Mr. Blow is now a badge of honor!
22
'Biblical Christianity' is an anachronistic mindset like other forms of quasi-theocracies ruining lives notably in the Middle East. I have always viewed the perpetuation of Christianity on the American continent to be a great mystery and a tremendous lost chance for a young civilisation originally based upon the ideas of the Enlightenment. Instead, générations of Americans' critical faculties are stultified by self-proclaimed preachers and Bible interpreters as rational as tea leaf readers.
1
"We all get the fact that you don't like the fact that your worldview is consistent with Biblical Christianity". Please don't discuss Biblical Christianity as it relates to this article because anyone that knows the Bible line by line precept by precept from Genesis to Revelations would definitely not state that being called a racist is now a "badge of honor". While I will not negate your point that some of the cabinet picks have had some successes, they have also maintained discriminatory stances that are not Christ Like. Mr. Blow's frustrations are understandable as some of his facts are not hallucinations or stretches of the truth but documented facts. If Americans are going to be unified irrespective of race, please do not minimize the disrespect that some of these picks have shown in the past. I find your post to be one sided just as you accuse Mr. Blow as being. Let's embrace differences indeed, but not extreme views that are painful towards those who were targeted by some of these picks past words.
2
It's called an opinion piece. Every newspaper in the world has them.
1
Mr. Blow,
Lt Gen Mike Flynn has spent 30+ years wearing a uniform and operating within the intelligence apparatus. He's forgotten more about the threats to this country than you will ever know.....please do us subscribers (who actually pay for this publication) a favor and write about things you have some expertise with. While you may not like him, fact is he attained a star on his uniform. What that means is that he had to be pretty darn good at his job and can't always be speaking "Flynn facts" as you so objectively wrote.
The problem with the NYT and intellectuals like yourself is you always seem to blur the line between your opinion and real world functionality.
I will restate what I've said in these comments many times, I subscribe to the NYT because I want non-partisan, thought leadership .....I am still looking for those articles. I really don't know why I subject myself to the Blow's, Krugman's, Firedman's and Kristoff's of the world. They don't write anything objective that provokes an " ah ha" moment, it's all recycled partisan hit pieces.
Lt Gen Mike Flynn has spent 30+ years wearing a uniform and operating within the intelligence apparatus. He's forgotten more about the threats to this country than you will ever know.....please do us subscribers (who actually pay for this publication) a favor and write about things you have some expertise with. While you may not like him, fact is he attained a star on his uniform. What that means is that he had to be pretty darn good at his job and can't always be speaking "Flynn facts" as you so objectively wrote.
The problem with the NYT and intellectuals like yourself is you always seem to blur the line between your opinion and real world functionality.
I will restate what I've said in these comments many times, I subscribe to the NYT because I want non-partisan, thought leadership .....I am still looking for those articles. I really don't know why I subject myself to the Blow's, Krugman's, Firedman's and Kristoff's of the world. They don't write anything objective that provokes an " ah ha" moment, it's all recycled partisan hit pieces.
22
Headlines like this, and elitist snobbery espoused in the article itself, are why much of America tunes out the NYT in particular, and disregards the left and its media handmaidens in particular. More simply put: Your schtick isn't working anymore.
27
Great column. And now to figure out how to resist the new Jim Crow--
2
You are such a cry baby.
10
But what if Trump really isn't racist? All we have in the NYT is their propaganda.
15
And the fact that he began his business career by marking housing applications "C" for "colored" and keeping middle class hard working American blacks out of homes.
7
Did he do that? I read that is was property managers and leasing agents who did it, not Trump himself.
6
Don't be so hard on The Donald -- he was just a chip off the old block, espousing his own father's unabashed racist rental policies.
If I wrote this piece the NYT wouldn't publish it.
16
"This may well be the beginning of the end: the early moments of a historical pivot point, when the slide of the republic into something untoward and unrecognizable..."
Take that far, what you have written is on the right track. But to state the matter fully and correctly, a revision is needed. It should read "...when the slide of the republic into something untoward and unrecognizable reversed..."
Take that far, what you have written is on the right track. But to state the matter fully and correctly, a revision is needed. It should read "...when the slide of the republic into something untoward and unrecognizable reversed..."
2
But wouldn't you rather have Trump than Sanders? We can't have a Democratic Socialist as President!
1
If religions were political philosophies we would not treat them as sacrosanct. There is nothing wrong in saying that you fear communism and communists or capitalism and capitalists, provided you can provide a rationale. There should be nothing wrong in saying that you fear Christianity and Christians or Islam and Muslims either, provided you can provide a rationale. Many U.S. soldiers like Michael Flynn fear Islam and Muslims because they have seen first-hand the type of societies that adherence to Islamic doctrine has created. Many Americans fear Muslims because of terror attacks that have killed thousands of Americans.
9
Charles, don't listen to these white folks in the comments. Keep doing your thing. Keep minorities warned and on our toes.
3
Let them know that the time may be ending when they get preferences over white American males. All that means is that they will have to compete on a level playing field
11
Don't listen to racists, whomever they may be.
4
Mr. Blow's accusations are a study in paranoia and unhinged racism. Looking at everything through the racial lens is the absurdity which created the intellectual vacuum Trump had to fill. We didn't want him, but we needed him, like a spoonful of disgusting orange medicine...
16
Odd you can associate 'intellectual' with 'Donald Trump'. Please elaborate on how his election helps to fill this void you evoke.
2
Just remember that nearly 50% of the eligible electorate did not vote. The silent majority will do nothing for themselves but complain or not care. A fertile field to be sown by the demagogues among us.
JFK said to ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for (not to) your country. Mitt Romney said that 47% of the nation were moochers. Both men were right in their own way.
Your preaching to the choir Mr. Blow. You need to find a way to communicate to the down trodden, the lazy, the ignorant and the fallen.
JFK said to ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for (not to) your country. Mitt Romney said that 47% of the nation were moochers. Both men were right in their own way.
Your preaching to the choir Mr. Blow. You need to find a way to communicate to the down trodden, the lazy, the ignorant and the fallen.
2
He's paid to preach to the choir. They are the only remaining subscribers.
6
You're the racist!
"White nationalist" - lie, slander, libel - despicable. Has Bannon called for less LEGAL immigration from Mexico? Never. It's not discrimination to insist the law created by democracy be enforced just like tax laws are. There is not substance to this at all. He might be a nationalist ... who isn't?
"White nationalist" - lie, slander, libel - despicable. Has Bannon called for less LEGAL immigration from Mexico? Never. It's not discrimination to insist the law created by democracy be enforced just like tax laws are. There is not substance to this at all. He might be a nationalist ... who isn't?
17
Has anyone told them that Whites will be a minority by 2043......no matter who's president?
3
When change was at hand, you turned your back on it. You belittled, mocked and dismissed it. There was a group in your midst, who warned you, most infamously actress Susan Sarandon, who stated and was mocked for her statement that there were those who would vote for Trump over Clinton, if the promise of Senator Sanders was not given its due chance of victory. Why do you think you can engage in undermining editorials of Sanders supporters (as “Bernie Bros”) and then expect pity when those same tactics are used to defeat you is hard to grasp. You besmirch Trump as a misogynist, while you asked us to embrace a candidate who blamed her husband’s philandering on a “right wing conspiracy” and who allowed the smearing of a young female intern who gave into temptation of engaging in a relationship with the POTUS,… and you expect what - sorrow? Had Sanders LOST on a fair playing or at least a seemingly fair playground, his supporters may have been able to heed his endorsement of Clinton. It would have been with a sense of…betrayal on the part of the DNC, but, it would have been…tolerable. Your horror at the Electoral College is “trumped” by our horror at the Super Delegates who committed to the HRC “machine” and doomed the Sanders campaign. Fix the DNC primary system first, before you blame the Electoral College. When change was at hand and a platform was there to build upon Obama’s progress, you turned your back.
8
"When change was at hand and a platform was there to build upon Obama’s progress, you turned your back."
Hear, hear. Bernie: The once in a lifetime candidate Blow failed to recognize.
Hear, hear. Bernie: The once in a lifetime candidate Blow failed to recognize.
2
Well I for one am glad that DJT was elected and that AmeriKa will be great again. You see, for the two months before that apocalyptic day in November, I drove around the Vermont's Champlain Valley , where I live, and only saw Trump / Pence signs. The signs were in yards filled with plastic garbage junk imported from China, abandoned appliances, cars-on-blocks, plastic sheeting on windows, large blue tarps covering half the trailers-as-affordable housing rooves (thank-you Australia), no grass....you get the point. Now, since all those jobs are coming back, people will be able to afford to fix-up, clean-up, get over their opioid painkiller addictions and yes, make Amerika great again. Looking forward to it. I AM.
2
Yep! Condescension from Middlebury is just what we Dems need. I began to think Trump might win when I saw nothing but Trump signs on the ride to hike the Catoctins. Nice, neat houses in towns and in the country sporting Trump signs. In prior years I had seen Obama signs. No HRC this time.
11
Great example of the arrogant, elitist, insensitive, attitude of progressive liberals. Go back to your luxurious accommodations and stuff your mouth with some crow. You should be eating it for every meal.
11
Mr Blow--I believe you should change your name to Blowhard. You make many "racist, alt-right, white supremacist" assertions without reliable references. You present one facet of an argument as though IT is the only one in existence.
I would assert that YOU are a spokesman for the ALT-LEFT, those who damage, loot, and make unreasonable demands. I would further assert, that one picks the best person available for a position, regardless of race, creed, or religion. IF they fail to measure up, you replace them. IF you bothered to look into Trump's business interests, you would find that proportionally he has more female than male executives. I could go on, but I believe that YOU are either too biased, or too lazy to seek and present a "whole truth" as opposed to one comprised solely upon your own biased opinion.
I would assert that YOU are a spokesman for the ALT-LEFT, those who damage, loot, and make unreasonable demands. I would further assert, that one picks the best person available for a position, regardless of race, creed, or religion. IF they fail to measure up, you replace them. IF you bothered to look into Trump's business interests, you would find that proportionally he has more female than male executives. I could go on, but I believe that YOU are either too biased, or too lazy to seek and present a "whole truth" as opposed to one comprised solely upon your own biased opinion.
14
Charles did not seem that upset when a charlatan like Sharpton visited the white house on a regular basis. You did not seem to mind that Farrakhan endorsed Obama or that Obama attended Farrakhans million man march . You did not mind when BLM was invited to the white house. So In your world black nationalism is good and white nationalism is bad . Liberals like Blow have no credibility when they cherry pick which nationalism they like and which they don't. Trump is no more nationalistic than Obama is ,to say otherwise is down right disingenuous.
18
Thanks for the article, Mr Blow. Very well done. I only hope the Trump voters who supported him b/c of Obamacare, jobs, ISIS etc realize how many others are offended by their support of a candidate cheered by the KKK. People who support Trump, are either fans of racism or are *OKAY with racism.* That I cannot get past. Ever.
3
Blow, you are a one trick pony in other words, nothing of value except what you and your candidate (Hillary ) had to offer, which was what ? Free Trade,, endless wars, a deficit, no reform of entitlements, and of course a new form of racism as expressed by you ... "White America" in your mind we are all racists even when, we elected a Black president.
17
To those who understand the bone chilling seriousness of this issue: donate to the new African American Museum at the Smithsonian, donate to the US Holocaust Museum and esp.their educational programs, ask your Jewish friends how you can help, attend your local NAACP meetings, ask your Muslim friends how you can help them, be polite to everyone...(more honey than vinegar as the saying goes), go to your City Council meetings, talk to your legislators, shop at traditional minority stores, write letters to the editor, stay informed, hold each other up, and vote!!
6
Clemence:
Did you read the article on Milwaukee voters? Perhaps you could start there.
Did you read the article on Milwaukee voters? Perhaps you could start there.
3
Speaking of "Fake News" Steve Bannon was the CEO of the Breitbart PARENT Co Mr Blow... he is NOT a White Nationalist, a racist, or a bigot!
He is, unlike you sir, a patriot (serving 10 yrs in the navy closing out his service as Special Advisor toe The Head of Navy Ops. He has a PhD in National Security (Georgetown), and an MBA in Business from Harvard (Honors)! He was a successful WS trader, made millions as a movie producer and bought into a little sitcom you may remember (some show about "nothing" that made him a few million)!
Oh, and he was the CEO of the most successful presidential campaign in history and is now the right hand man of the next POTUS... and YOU have the gall to smear him with vicious lies based on petty sour grapes!
You certainly seem to be doing your best to prove what half the population already know about the nefarious nature of the captured corporate media... well done sir.
And you wonder why the critical thinking in this country have had enough of being told what to think by coddled, entitled corporate 'bots' who believe the self aggrandizing bubble they surround themselves with is real life.
It is not... give it a shot some time because after all, "WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE' said the deplorable, rhetorically!
He is, unlike you sir, a patriot (serving 10 yrs in the navy closing out his service as Special Advisor toe The Head of Navy Ops. He has a PhD in National Security (Georgetown), and an MBA in Business from Harvard (Honors)! He was a successful WS trader, made millions as a movie producer and bought into a little sitcom you may remember (some show about "nothing" that made him a few million)!
Oh, and he was the CEO of the most successful presidential campaign in history and is now the right hand man of the next POTUS... and YOU have the gall to smear him with vicious lies based on petty sour grapes!
You certainly seem to be doing your best to prove what half the population already know about the nefarious nature of the captured corporate media... well done sir.
And you wonder why the critical thinking in this country have had enough of being told what to think by coddled, entitled corporate 'bots' who believe the self aggrandizing bubble they surround themselves with is real life.
It is not... give it a shot some time because after all, "WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE' said the deplorable, rhetorically!
9
The truth about Jeff Sessions:
"Michael Donald, a 19-y-o black, was kidnapped by 2 KKK, who beat him, slit his throat & hung him from a tree.
KKK member Henry Hays committed the vicious murder at the order of his father, Klan leader Bennie Hays, 'to show Klan strength in AL.'
Sessions was so disgusted he allowed AL, rather than the US, try the case, because AL had death penalty.
AL AG Sessions oversaw the execution. Hays was the 1st white person to be executed in AL for the murder of a black since 1913. Hays is also the only known member of the KKK to be executed in the US in 20th c for murdering a black. A $7 M judgment bankrupted the KKK in AL.
Former US Deputy AG Larry Thompson, a colleague of Sessions at DOJ, said…Sessions “does not have a racist bone in his body. I have been an African American for 71 years and I think I know a racist when I experience one. Jeff Sessions is simply a good & decent man.'
Wm Smith, who Sessions tapped to be the 1st African American ever to serve as Chief Counsel to the Sen. Judiciary Committee, called Sessions 'a man of high character & great integrity' who always 'treated me like family.'
Civil rights atty/founder of Black American Leadership Alliance Leah Durant said Sessions 'has been a leader in fight for preserving American jobs & ensuring opportunities for African American workers.'
US Attorney Kenyen Brown, Obama appointee, called Sessions 'a man of outstanding character with an impeccable reputation for integrity.'"
23
Propaganda, the specialty of American liberal news outlets.
3
Identity politics at its finest. What a perfect illustration of exactly what America rejected on 11/8. A large - and growing - percentage of our country is simply fed up with race and identity hustlers like Mr. Blow, endeavoring to shape, spin and toxify every policy debate through the lens of race, gender, sexuality, whatever..
THIS type of piece, written by this sort of radical, is what is dividing our nation today.
THIS type of piece, written by this sort of radical, is what is dividing our nation today.
12
C'mon, Charles, give him a chance! It's not even Thanksgiving and you are already giving up on him. Tsk. Tsk. Listen to your colleague Nicholas K and learn some good Democratic tolerance and decorum and propriety.
10
"Make America a white, racist, misogynistic, patriarchy again." Why would anyone be surprised? That is the motto of the G.O.P. and Trump was their candidate. For those who hold out hope for anything different from our next President, Congress, Supreme Court, Attorney General, FBI, etc. I suggest you wake up and stop dreaming.
1
Republicans now have controlling majority of:
White House
US Senate
House of Representatives
Governors
State Legislatures
Got the message yet Mr. Blow?
White House
US Senate
House of Representatives
Governors
State Legislatures
Got the message yet Mr. Blow?
16
What message would that be? That Americans are too stupid to think for themselves and often believe the lies told on the right? Perhaps the message would be Trump didn't win the election? And about him not winning the election, if we put the person in office who actually did win, well, there goes the supreme court. And how about gerrymandering? Voter suppression? Comey's horrendous behavior, what about that? Could that be the message?
5
Is there a anything we can do to stop this before the riots come?
Okay, stay angry but don't you dare for one moment give up on us.
2
Enough of these racist articles from Mr. Blow. Every single article he writes is about race. How can the NYT justify paying him a salary when all his articles are the same? Does he not remember that Trump ran against a white woman? And that she would have appointed mostly white men to her cabinet too?
20
As Trump said himself, repeatedly, to blacks: "What do you have to lose?"
Everything, it turns out.
Everything, it turns out.
4
Maybe I missed it, but have you ever written a column protesting the misogynistic lyrics and attitudes in hip-hop and rap? Is it OK if the home boys say it but not OK if Trump says it? Excuse me please for acting "white". I should be ashamed of myself.
16
No. You should be ashamed of the racist nature of your comment.
3
You know, go to the WSJ and actually read real news on Mr. Bannon, so NYT...it's obvious that you don't actually want to report news, just more hate rhetoric. Sessions and Bannon are not even close to being racist or the like. What you won't here is about how Sessions succesfully prosecuted a member of the kkk AND had that member get the death penalty.
You won't here about Mr. Bannon and how pro-Israel he really is, and how most of the cultural things going on he doesn't care about on the same level as these extreme liberal biased media sites are. Mr. Bannon is actually FOR imporving the conditions of the working class, which is not just white, but black and hispanic. He is actually FOR getting money funneled into the inner city to bring people-mostly minorities-out of poverty..but please, continue to read up on the MSM and continue to be truly ignorant on who people are...is so disgusting how much hate, yes hate, there is for the conservative right. And isn't hate and intolerance of ones beliefs technically some sort of bigotry(if I might use that word liberally, no pun intended).
Fascism is where you aren't tolerant of how others believe, and that is exactly what the far left is doing...so STOP calling us fascists...unless you want to decide wether you are the pot or the kettle today...
You won't here about Mr. Bannon and how pro-Israel he really is, and how most of the cultural things going on he doesn't care about on the same level as these extreme liberal biased media sites are. Mr. Bannon is actually FOR imporving the conditions of the working class, which is not just white, but black and hispanic. He is actually FOR getting money funneled into the inner city to bring people-mostly minorities-out of poverty..but please, continue to read up on the MSM and continue to be truly ignorant on who people are...is so disgusting how much hate, yes hate, there is for the conservative right. And isn't hate and intolerance of ones beliefs technically some sort of bigotry(if I might use that word liberally, no pun intended).
Fascism is where you aren't tolerant of how others believe, and that is exactly what the far left is doing...so STOP calling us fascists...unless you want to decide wether you are the pot or the kettle today...
14
Mr. Blow fails to acknowledge the following:
1st US Census, 1790(?).......75% "white"(ie american citizen), 25% "non-white" (ie...foreigner, slave, or indian/native american).
Recent US Census, 2010......75% "white"(same definition as in 1790), 25% "non-white"(ie...foreigner, black american, asian, latino, indian/native american).
In other words.... America is no more or less "white" then it ever was!!
What has changed is that the Census has become MORE racist.
Latino, of course, is a false classification...as every single so-called "latino" is also white, black, indian/native american......the very construct of "latino" is to force spanish speaking catholics to follow restrictive political groupthink.
Asian....is also a false classification...and pretty much racist to the core. If you're from Asia, then you're either american or .... you're a foreigner.
Another very important change.......all those "non-white" americans are now CITIZENS.
Dick Gregory quote for the day:
"I look forward to the time when I am seen as an american......not a black-american"/.
1st US Census, 1790(?).......75% "white"(ie american citizen), 25% "non-white" (ie...foreigner, slave, or indian/native american).
Recent US Census, 2010......75% "white"(same definition as in 1790), 25% "non-white"(ie...foreigner, black american, asian, latino, indian/native american).
In other words.... America is no more or less "white" then it ever was!!
What has changed is that the Census has become MORE racist.
Latino, of course, is a false classification...as every single so-called "latino" is also white, black, indian/native american......the very construct of "latino" is to force spanish speaking catholics to follow restrictive political groupthink.
Asian....is also a false classification...and pretty much racist to the core. If you're from Asia, then you're either american or .... you're a foreigner.
Another very important change.......all those "non-white" americans are now CITIZENS.
Dick Gregory quote for the day:
"I look forward to the time when I am seen as an american......not a black-american"/.
11
Donald Trump - President of white America.
1
White people elected your hero Mr. Obama. Why carry all this hate inside now?
18
Trump's job posting:
Want a job with the most marvelous me? Basic rule : Only whites need apply. Just ask Ben, he finally figured that out. Any races around me, other than white, are for show because I'm all about showy deception.
Here is what's required: Adore me, praise me, tell me I'm the best in the history of the universe, don't tell me tell me what to do or say, show me your loyalty at all costs even to point if losing your own honor and credibility, I will claim your ideas as my own, don't ever cross me. Got it? Ok, you're hired. But challenge me, show up my weaknesses, disobey me .... and I will destroy you. As I have said, I do believe in water boarding.
Doesn't this sound like an organization well known in NY history with which he, (and his father), have had dealings? That's how he learned.
Want a job with the most marvelous me? Basic rule : Only whites need apply. Just ask Ben, he finally figured that out. Any races around me, other than white, are for show because I'm all about showy deception.
Here is what's required: Adore me, praise me, tell me I'm the best in the history of the universe, don't tell me tell me what to do or say, show me your loyalty at all costs even to point if losing your own honor and credibility, I will claim your ideas as my own, don't ever cross me. Got it? Ok, you're hired. But challenge me, show up my weaknesses, disobey me .... and I will destroy you. As I have said, I do believe in water boarding.
Doesn't this sound like an organization well known in NY history with which he, (and his father), have had dealings? That's how he learned.
2
Where to begin?
How about amending the title to 'Trump: Making America Heterosexual White Male Again.'
I've been thinking about this for the past week and can't find a good place to post it, so:
In the days subsequent to the election, DT received a number of phone calls from foreign heads of state. Another commenter mentioned it, but I'll reiterate...are these calls conducted on a secure line? Are there transcripts made and preserved as a matter of public record? Where is DT's server? After making such a point about Sec. Clinton's alleged 'carelessness,' what's the story with DT's devices? Is he using separate email accounts for his private, business and government enterprises?
Say the NYT wants to know what's up with an ostensible business meeting with a group of partners from South Asia. Can they file a FOIA request for a 'business' meeting transcript? Would we know if politics had been discussed?
What about meeting logs? From what I've read, we wouldn't have known his daughter attended a meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan had the Japanese had not published a photograph in which she was included.
Full disclosure - I'm not surprised DT and pals are hypocrites. The aphrodisiac lure of alpha male power; gets you the money, gets you sexual control; gets you a big sigh of satisfaction. Admit it, DT, the whimpering and crying of those under your thumb is a turn-on to guys like you. Of course, there are no other guys like you. You're the big dog. Or a dog, anyway.
How about amending the title to 'Trump: Making America Heterosexual White Male Again.'
I've been thinking about this for the past week and can't find a good place to post it, so:
In the days subsequent to the election, DT received a number of phone calls from foreign heads of state. Another commenter mentioned it, but I'll reiterate...are these calls conducted on a secure line? Are there transcripts made and preserved as a matter of public record? Where is DT's server? After making such a point about Sec. Clinton's alleged 'carelessness,' what's the story with DT's devices? Is he using separate email accounts for his private, business and government enterprises?
Say the NYT wants to know what's up with an ostensible business meeting with a group of partners from South Asia. Can they file a FOIA request for a 'business' meeting transcript? Would we know if politics had been discussed?
What about meeting logs? From what I've read, we wouldn't have known his daughter attended a meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan had the Japanese had not published a photograph in which she was included.
Full disclosure - I'm not surprised DT and pals are hypocrites. The aphrodisiac lure of alpha male power; gets you the money, gets you sexual control; gets you a big sigh of satisfaction. Admit it, DT, the whimpering and crying of those under your thumb is a turn-on to guys like you. Of course, there are no other guys like you. You're the big dog. Or a dog, anyway.
2
Would you like to be called a dog?
3
It requires an Irish Member of Parliament to call it like it is:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/irish-lawmaker-stand-up-to-donald-tr...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/irish-lawmaker-stand-up-to-donald-tr...
2
Alarm is merited. Submission is not.
1
Funny how Mr. Blow seems to exclude rural white folks in his definition of an "inclusive America." Indeed, this election was all about people in middle America saying, "Hey, our communities count too."
Or as one meme put it, "Flyover states to coastal America: Can you hear us now?" Stop accusing, Mr. Blow, and really listen...
Or as one meme put it, "Flyover states to coastal America: Can you hear us now?" Stop accusing, Mr. Blow, and really listen...
13
If Mr. Trump is getting folks like Charles this upset, I know he's doing the right thing. Keep it up President Elect Trump, America is behind you!
21
"folks like Charles..."
Like Black Folk?
Like Black Folk?
2
I hadn't thought of it that way. Doesn't surprise me that a reader in this forum would, considering the obsession with race on the left.
7
Citizen:
Like bigots no matter their color.
Like bigots no matter their color.
3
The first paragraph of your column aptly describes where eight years of Obama had taken us.
11
Check polling for how divided the country appears to the average American. That and a doubling of the debt is ''the Obama legacy.''
5
Charles Blow is a one trick pony. That trick is old and tired.
21
Yup, the crazy young man that beat his sister on his front lawn as a child in my neighborhood voted for Trump. Now, he rails and rails about Hilary Clinton is a crook while his president-elect settles the first of four lawsuits on his Face Book account. He posts fake news. The story of our election reads like a bad Tom Clancy novel.
2
Trump got more votes from Blacks and Latinos than Romney or McCain. He's pledged to address the plight of the inner cities that have gotten nothing but worse during eight years of Obama.
16
He may have pledged to help minorities and gotten a higher percentage of their support, but that doesn't mean that he will follow through on his pledge. Why should we take Trump's word on anything? He's constantly backtracking and changing his opinions on a lot of issues, and his history has proven that he's generally not trustworthy.
Oh boy a chance to use the racism and racist words again, come on give this theme a break.
17
Mr.Blow seems to have become the Steve Bannon of the NYTimes.
Doomsday scenarios used to reinforce the hysteria of his readers.
This is getting rather tiresome.
I suggest he write a column about the epic failure of the Obama administration for a change.
Doomsday scenarios used to reinforce the hysteria of his readers.
This is getting rather tiresome.
I suggest he write a column about the epic failure of the Obama administration for a change.
15
Do a little reading on the S.P.L.C. It might be an eye-opener. Read how its founder, Morris Dees, spends its money.
IMO, the S.L.P.C wanted Trump as president. It will enable it to fund-raise. That's something it excels at.
IMO, the S.L.P.C wanted Trump as president. It will enable it to fund-raise. That's something it excels at.
3
The fear I have, in addition to threats against people who do not have white skin, is what the ultimate definition of what it means to be white will be. I am about as white as you get, but in Hitler's Germany I could very well have been determined to be a Jew. This is a slippery slope!
3
What's Orwellian is calling criminals who illegally immigrate "undocumented." They are criminals. What's Orwellian is calling people who want immigration justice racist; it reminds me how you called Welfare Reform racist. What's Orwellian is Obama running the government with "pen and phone," i.e., enforcing the law aggressively against one's opponents and ignoring it with Democrats (Holder, Clinton, Lehrer, criminal and felony illegal immigrants, all illegal immigrants).
18
While we're at it, why not label industries and consumers who benefit from the low costs of goods due to the use of illegal immigrants as criminal's too? Your glad to demonize them, but your not holding accountable those who gladly employ illegal immigrants, or considering the benefits you enjoy from their labor. Also, it's not as if unskilled laborers who cross the border are getting white collar jobs. They're taking the same jobs at lower pay and without benefits because it still represents a better opportunity than what they left behind. The issue is more nuanced than your making it out to be.
Also, how about some examples of Obama running the government with a "pen and a phone" in a way that's any worse than any previous administration?
Also, how about some examples of Obama running the government with a "pen and a phone" in a way that's any worse than any previous administration?
1
I love how people don't comment on the meat of the article:that is Trump turning the country where only white people matter and Mr Blow is showing that by Trump's appointments. The commentator shows his bias when he mentions President Obama who not even mention in the article. I have a question for commentator, do you believe only white people matter? It seems from your letter you do believe that.
Ah. Identity politics. Very tiresome. I thought that the Trump bashing by the NYT might subside after Hillary lost. I fear now that it might only get worse! Keep stirring the pot. Don't give the guy a chance. Very fair.
11
You are unbelievable. Trump was not elected by rasists and for rasists. He was elected because people (not just uneducated white men) want to see real change. Why don't you give Trump s chance and then rip his policies?
13
Mr. Blow writes that, when Trump urged voters to “Make America Great Again,” he actually meant some version of “Make America a White, Racist, Misogynistic Patriarchy Again.” Being white is a fact of birth, and many good Americans happen to be white. By lumping whiteness with the "deplorable" characteristics "racist, misogynistic, and patriarchal", Mr. Blow makes the same racist assertion that drove many white voters who are not necessarily racist, misogynistic, or patriarchal to vote for Trump. Good job, Chuck.
15
I wonder if Trump's National Golf Club permits Black membership. I'll have to do some research on that.
Meanwhile, White-America-lover Trump has scored nothing but bogeys in his bogus Cabinet selections so far: Flynn, Pompeo, and Sessions.
Meanwhile, White-America-lover Trump has scored nothing but bogeys in his bogus Cabinet selections so far: Flynn, Pompeo, and Sessions.
2
Regarding de-Trumping, phony solutions & hypocrisy run amok are nothing new along Riverside Drive. Principled de-Trumping demands decamping, not de-lettering…but that would require giving up the river views.
4
Typical Charles Blow article, designed to sow as much division, hatred, ad racism as possible.
14
What would life be like without hearing from the NYT Racist in Chief, Mr. Blow. It is quite stunning to hear from these so called intellectual black elites like Mr. Blow and Von Miller who have been such stunning failures in the real world, but have found a cozy home at lefty publications and broadcasters. How did we do without such deep insight before these two genius' came along?
Please keep up your racially tinged insults wrapped in personal opinion. You have actually become what you fear so deeply.
Please keep up your racially tinged insults wrapped in personal opinion. You have actually become what you fear so deeply.
14
Yeah, being an Op-Ed writer for the NY Times and a 20-something millionaire and reigning superbowl MVP are "stunning failures in the real world."
1
The candidate lives on as if we could expect anything else. Dark years ahead.
1
The USA never stopped being white.. from the get-do. See: English colonists, early 17th century.
3
Excellent. No turning a blind eye. No acting like this is normal. Never accept this under some spin that the "left must be tolerant" or the left "should not be rude." Or as Trump tweets: "Apologize!" Never: revolt against this offensive -- dare I say evil -- leadership. Now watch the the right try to gaslight dissension with absurd claims about manners and tolerance and respect -- watch them try to gaslight dissension into guilt after Trump hires blatant bigots to positions of power. Not going to happen. Not on Mr. Blows watch.
4
An excellent opinion piece Mr. Blow and one I agree with. Unfortunately, the very people you need to reach tuned you out after the first sentence. These people, who have been fed by fake news sites and alt right "issues", KNOW that this turmoil was caused by Obama and his promotion of "tribalism" and political correctness.
We need to communicate to these disaffected white people in a way they can understand. We need to take their concerns seriously and with patient logic make them understand who, how and what has fed them the "news" that makes them susceptible to this belief. This belief usually so at odds with reality.
We need to communicate to these disaffected white people in a way they can understand. We need to take their concerns seriously and with patient logic make them understand who, how and what has fed them the "news" that makes them susceptible to this belief. This belief usually so at odds with reality.
3
What a powerful column, Charles, thank you. If this continues, I fear it is indeed the beginning of the end of our republic. Hello banana republic. Chilling.
2
Katie Tur said today that Trump is avoiding the press and that maybe he will be using the Breitbart News and Twitter to speak to the public. She said this could be problematic. Problematic? Frightening. Headlines matter NYTimes. Or you might be replaced. Keep these articles coming. So he and his policies aren't "cemented".
3
Jeff Sessions was instrumental in the effort to charge, convict and execute a member of the KKK for the murder of a random black man. The subsequent civil award for damages against the Klan effectively bankrupted the national organization. Additionally, Sessions was one of the 19 GOPers to support Eric Holder (22 refused to do so) and co-sponsored the Fair Sentencing Act.
Does any of that PRECLUDE Sessions from being racist? Of course not.
But it's interesting how these stone-cold facts never make it into hit pieces written by ideologues pushing agendas rather than trying to suss out truth.
Does any of that PRECLUDE Sessions from being racist? Of course not.
But it's interesting how these stone-cold facts never make it into hit pieces written by ideologues pushing agendas rather than trying to suss out truth.
8
Trump tweets twaddle and nothing more. His superficial approach to his new job is disturbing as is his apparent disregard of some of his campaign promises. It's great that many voices are rising to challenge the move afoot to destabilize and divide society with the appointment of various individuals of dubious character whose chief aim is to drive us backwards to a time so terrible; apparently we haven't learned important lessons from the past.
1
Projection...It is obvious to those possessing common sense and experience in life, that those pointing fingers and throwing accusations, are the guilty. There is nothing wrong with a little universal benefit for all, and refusal to become mired in rhetoric and bias.
1
I don't think Trump's election says all that much about America, except that voters were unwilling to come out for a candidate who has obviously and repeatedly broken the law and enriched herself with sketchy endeavors, all while claiming to be concerned about the downtrodden. People are really sick of hypocrisy. No one was fooled by Hillary's denials. She showed by her actions who she was. We believed her.
5
Sorry, but many African-Americans did not vote and now will be dealtwith simply ignoring them. As a result of the low turn out of African-American voters the Supreme Cpurt will naturally be more sonservative and much of the civil rights advancement will be overrules. The fault of all this is onto the majority of African Americans who did not vote. Now they will have to pay the consequwnces., . I suspect there will be a rarity of senior Affrican Americans appointments at sll levels. Obviously it willl be in favoor of white conserevatives. Why? Because they won, Period.
3
I am a white, middle class white woman. I don't understand the idea that the U.S. is somehow a 'white' country. Demographics change. The people who were living here when a handful of Northern Europeans arrived weren't Caucasian. If the majority population of the U.S. becomes people of color, I just don't have a problem with that.
3
Don't give up hope, Mr. Blow. We'll just keep fighting. The collapse of our Republic is not inevitable. I for one intend to have a big fat Rhode Island attitude for the next four years.
2
This is simply demonization based on skin color. Trump and his proposed appointees are bad for everyone.
Personally, I like clean air and clean water. I'm fond of national parks and forest reserves. I'd like to see that homeless guy on the street given something more of a helping hand. I thought that the invasion of Iraq was a really, really bad idea.
There's a racial dimension to this, of course. Pollution is dumped onto poor people and many of them happen to be black. It's mainly poor people that enlist and re-enlist in the armed services. Intelligent people are not blind to this.
Advocating for the environment is inherently advocating for fairness and social justice. It crosses racial boundaries. It's not like rich white people can somehow pick up their atmosphere and go home. New York lies downwind of the coal plants and it's built at the former sea level.
Yet all we hear from writers like Charles Blow is an endless "blacks good, whites bad" type of rhetoric, which divides us where the need for unity ought to be clear. The Times can do better than this.
Personally, I like clean air and clean water. I'm fond of national parks and forest reserves. I'd like to see that homeless guy on the street given something more of a helping hand. I thought that the invasion of Iraq was a really, really bad idea.
There's a racial dimension to this, of course. Pollution is dumped onto poor people and many of them happen to be black. It's mainly poor people that enlist and re-enlist in the armed services. Intelligent people are not blind to this.
Advocating for the environment is inherently advocating for fairness and social justice. It crosses racial boundaries. It's not like rich white people can somehow pick up their atmosphere and go home. New York lies downwind of the coal plants and it's built at the former sea level.
Yet all we hear from writers like Charles Blow is an endless "blacks good, whites bad" type of rhetoric, which divides us where the need for unity ought to be clear. The Times can do better than this.
4
this columnist is at the forefront of why we hate the media, its columnists and "journalists" and why we distrust the NY Times and see it as a biased tabloid that should be positioned behind "the sun" at the newsstand for people to read when they finish the disturbing story of how martians are breeding with sasquatches to create a super-monster that can take over the earth.
8
Just because Charles Blow, or Bernie Sanders, or the NYT doesn't like a cabinet pick does not make that pick objectionable. Flynn will be great. Stop and frisk works. Keeping out Muslims is a great idea. It's like skittles. One might kill you. Would you eat one? Sanctuary cities are undermining federal immigration law. Their funding should be cut. It was OK for the feds to cut off highway money to a state if that state didn't lower its speed limit to 55 years ago. Why is this different? Criminal proclivities of certain ethnic groups? Look at the populations in our prisons. Enough said there. And what's wrong with America remaining a majority white nation? That's the way it's been for 250 years. Why should we change it?
8
Are you joking?
3
The racism and bigotry that drips from every word of Mr. Blow's pen is stunning. Just another example of the utter disconnect between the liberal elitist media and reality. Don't they ever get tired of being wrong?
14
The racism and bigotry is dripping from this country, and any cursory glance at American History will testify to that.
You are a sniveling, sore loser Charles. Even as the US climbs out of the hole created by bumbling gov't, even as stability and prosperity grow, you will scrape and tear and find something to be against. The country will survive, even thrive, because there will be competent and efficient people working in gov't, something that has been missing for many years. Public policy will be to advance quality of life for all Americans, not the nonsense we have been force fed for years like Obamacare, failed foreign entanglements and stagnant economic growth. You had 25 years to show Americans that you could lead and make the country prosper but you failed and your failures were glaringly obvious - and the people, on Nov 8, told you so with a resounding but clear "Get Lost". It's over Charles, you blew it. The times they are a'changin...don't ya know!
7
Redolent of the rise of National Socialism (without the socialism).
Andrew Johnson tried to obstruct the reconstruction efforts for African-Americans and he was impeached. Judging by Trump's predilection for choosing white men who have histories of anti-black and/or anti-Muslim sentiments, this may be an omen.
3
I am no fan of Donald Trump, and yes, he has racist tendencies, but left seems to see racism from a minority position. Mr. Blow constantly derides and rails against White America. As a White American, I certainly wouldn't welcome a Blow presidency as a chance for fairness and equality among races in America. While the left thinks that hating White Middle America is okay, I assure that it is not okay. Mr. Blow, your hypocrisy is showing.
8
As another white American i do not feel at all besieged by Mr. Blow and your assessment of hatred towards middle America by the left is quite off base as well. Many leftists ARE middle Americans! Remember the lefty singer song writer traveler Woody Guthrie? His most famous song stats... "This land is your land..this land is my land...."
Stop using the term al-right, call them what they are American Fascists. Allowing these American Fascists to rebrand themselves only plays into their hands, the NYT should not be part of the campaign to rebrand and rename Fascists.
4
Three appointments in and they're already "facists," and "racists." One actually is a registered Democrat, initially an Obama appointee.
You Lefty's are nothing if not predictable.
You Lefty's are nothing if not predictable.
4
Everything you write is about race. Not about the condition of our country or the fact that millions of Americans are out of work, the inner cities are much worse than when Obama took office, healthcare is a disaster, but all you can write about is race.
12
He can write what he wants as he is an op ed writer. That is its description. I am so discouraged by writing on both sides that does not show a modicum of knowledge about the nature of media and the free press.
1
Oh gosh Patricia, he could write about the issues facing all of the citizens. If people would ever wise up they would band together on common issues and really drain the swamp. Mr. Blow cannot see that and apparently neither can you.
2
On his sadly discontinued Comedy Channel TV show, Larry Wilmore called it "The Unblackening."
2
Charles, you now turn your attention to predicting racist grievances that may occur in the future.
Spotting racism in every aspect of daily life is not enough to keep you busy or is that making stuff up is just easier?
How useful that must be to the readership who were subjected to your and your NYT colleagues' prognosticating brilliance in this recent election.
Spotting racism in every aspect of daily life is not enough to keep you busy or is that making stuff up is just easier?
How useful that must be to the readership who were subjected to your and your NYT colleagues' prognosticating brilliance in this recent election.
10
If Mr. Blow were a white American writing these words about Barack Obama and his policies of division, he'd be fired.
I am no supporter of Donald Trump, but Mr. Blow's relentless insistence on racial division is no less off-putting than Mr. Trump's.
I am no supporter of Donald Trump, but Mr. Blow's relentless insistence on racial division is no less off-putting than Mr. Trump's.
13
Trump has issued a cattle call to all the racists and kooks with a resume. There are plenty of them. Institutional racism just got a huge boost. It's a bad as many of us thought--worse. Anyone who is not sickened and repulsed is in denial, callously indifferent or smugly pleased to see this frightening takeover. Please keep speaking out, Mr. Blow. You and others l like you may be our only hope.
2
I too fear that we are on the cusp of a huge, maybe irreversible slide away from our best human and constitutional values and toward the "loyalty", violence and lies people pick up as weapons to preserve their worthless privilege, power and celebrity.
1
Such as those burning down property and throwing heavy objects in Portland?
The only folks that resort to violence are progressive liberals who financially support groups of anarchists for the purpose of destruction of the republic. Mr. Soros, the despicable money changer and Jew murderer at the forefront.
The only folks that resort to violence are progressive liberals who financially support groups of anarchists for the purpose of destruction of the republic. Mr. Soros, the despicable money changer and Jew murderer at the forefront.
1
Citing the Southern Poverty Law Center as some sort of authority demonstrates how out of touch with reality Mr. Blow and the New York Times really are. It considers the Family Research Council to be a hate group, and has placed Dr. Ben Carson on it's extremist watch list. Yet, Mr. Blow considers this group to be his authority. And no, I did not vote for Mr. Trump.
11
Ben Carson is an extremist. His views are extreme, as are most of Trump's cabinet picks. Going back in time to views that are deeply discriminatory and inflammatory does nothing to make America great again.
The Trump people and his voters seems to have missed basic facts. Most undocumented aliens are not from Mexico or Latin America but from Europe. Trump may enshrine some efforts to empower Whites, how that would be Constitutional is unclear, but the country will continue to diversify. While Latinos, not just Hispanics, may arrive not speaking English many are just as European as anyone who started in the United States. This is going to cause all manner of confusion for the bigots.
2
If the left hadn't spent the last few decades belittling and attacking whites, especially white guys, maybe it could have avoided the "whitelash." You can't insult millions of people, a big fraction of the population, and expect them just to hang their heads in shame and mumble apologies. Actually, most will just get mad. You reap what you sow, and I expect you're in for a great crop of disdain, contempt, and fury.
Understand this, Left: self-righteousness doesn't guarantee everyone will agree with you or will be intimidated into silence. What you arrogantly proclaim as "progress" is, to many, loss.
I sure can't predict the future, but it looks too me like you've baited the (white) bear one time too many.
Understand this, Left: self-righteousness doesn't guarantee everyone will agree with you or will be intimidated into silence. What you arrogantly proclaim as "progress" is, to many, loss.
I sure can't predict the future, but it looks too me like you've baited the (white) bear one time too many.
4
"The president-elect aims for a country by and for white men.” Agreed. So why didn’t Blacks and Latinos turn out for Hillary in greater numbers?
2
Identity politics?
Just as it is wrong to ignore the voices of minorities, neither are Liberals going to get anywhere by telling "white" people that their voices no longer matter.
Just as it is wrong to ignore the voices of minorities, neither are Liberals going to get anywhere by telling "white" people that their voices no longer matter.
3
Charles Blow really, really, really needs to get over his bizarre racial obsession. If it rains, racism is to blame. If the sun shines, racism is at fault. If it's partly cloudy, the racists win again!!
10
And all the while he is making good moolah at the NYT and his son is at Yale. Poor Charles.
4
Thank you, Mr. Blow. Yours are the kinds of clarion calls we need to keep us fueled and focused. Please keep it up and don't be cowed by people saying your predictions are extreme. Two weeks into the transition we see that they are frighteningly on target.
1
I’ve heard too many references to ill-defined terms like “change election” and “shakeup” to just accept them, and have them form a basis for the depravity we’re sailing into. I’d like to know what it was about the direction the country was heading under Obama that necessitated a “change election”. Exactly what needed shaking up? If it was the Republican gridlock in Congress that people were upset with, then NICE GOING AMERICA! We have just rewarded the “party of NO” for their 8 years of obstructionism.
Was it the social progress that we made regarding the LBGTQ community? Certainly, there were some that were upset with this, but polls showed that a great majority of Americans welcomed this change, so that wouldn’t explain it. Perhaps it is in the foreign policy arena, where we can’t just throw our weight around like we could before. But then nobody can come up with a plausible alternative policy. All Trump seems to have is a vague bomb-the-sh*t-out-of-them approach that only works in video games.
So exactly what was it, America, that put us in the mood to throw away whatever hope we had of averting climate change? Could our longing for a bigger slice of the pie really have caused us to trust the devil to deliver it to us? I need some plausible story to tell my grandchildren when they ask me what we could have been thinking.
Was it the social progress that we made regarding the LBGTQ community? Certainly, there were some that were upset with this, but polls showed that a great majority of Americans welcomed this change, so that wouldn’t explain it. Perhaps it is in the foreign policy arena, where we can’t just throw our weight around like we could before. But then nobody can come up with a plausible alternative policy. All Trump seems to have is a vague bomb-the-sh*t-out-of-them approach that only works in video games.
So exactly what was it, America, that put us in the mood to throw away whatever hope we had of averting climate change? Could our longing for a bigger slice of the pie really have caused us to trust the devil to deliver it to us? I need some plausible story to tell my grandchildren when they ask me what we could have been thinking.
4
Maybe we should take inspiration from the Hamilton cast and "rise up" to defend our freedoms.
3
One more policeman assassinated in San Antonio TX by a African-American in a hoodie. Officer shot threw window then the suspect reached into the car a shot the officer once more. Nice job Charles you and the media should be very proud of yourselves.
10
That's just the kind of news Charles and the rest of his ilk claim to be "fake news".
6
KB, Brian Keith Stalans, Jessie Hanes are just two of many White males that have killed police. For God sakes, please do not negate the fact that there are bad actors in every race. This is how negative news and inaccurate perceptions are started. The majority of mass school shootings were done by White males. Please don't be so myopic. I respect your right to express your views, but please be fair. Whites, Latinos, African-Americans, Christians, Muslims etc all have bad actors. When individuals fail to walk in love, it doesn't matter the color of their skin or religion, point, blank, period!
2
I wonder if that murderer was inspired by Charles Blow's false story of his son being questioned by a white Yale Police Officer when in fact the officer was black
5
Last year, on June 17, Dylan Roof, a self proclaimed white supremacist, murdered 9 members of a church in Charleston, South Carolina.
A few days later, our good and gracious president sang “Amazing Grace” to honor the slain and uplift the mourners.
On June 27, Republican Governor Nikki Haley ordered the removal of the confederate flag from the SC Statehouse. Roof was a frequent visitor to “alt-right” websites and proudly displayed the confederate flag.
On November 20, 2016 the New York Times reported that the “Alt-right” was celebrating the election of Donald Trump and that the confederate flag has been appearing in support of his presidency.
It is amazing that grace has left the White House. It is beyond comprehension that Dylan Roof slouches toward Bethlehem.
A few days later, our good and gracious president sang “Amazing Grace” to honor the slain and uplift the mourners.
On June 27, Republican Governor Nikki Haley ordered the removal of the confederate flag from the SC Statehouse. Roof was a frequent visitor to “alt-right” websites and proudly displayed the confederate flag.
On November 20, 2016 the New York Times reported that the “Alt-right” was celebrating the election of Donald Trump and that the confederate flag has been appearing in support of his presidency.
It is amazing that grace has left the White House. It is beyond comprehension that Dylan Roof slouches toward Bethlehem.
7
Hate will never win!
America has made its choice. Maybe Blow should honestly attempt to understand the Trump phenomenon instead of engaging in predictable diatribe. Then again the Democratic party which he loves so much seems incapable of understanding why it failed so badly.
7
Democrats love hyperbole. It's all they have left. They're decimated and shouting at the top of their lungs helps no one.
4
I agree in regard to the appointments of people who have a clear racist agenda but you lose me(and I think a lot of other people) when you believe that you are right about the issues. Why aren't sanctuary cities a topic that should be discussed? Why isn't reasonable for someone to believe they are bad for our country? It is 100% true that when discussing violence in America, gun control and police brutality, it is taboo to talk about the role the african-american community plays in all of it. Every study I have ever come across is clear that while poverty can be an aggravating factor, it does not explain why the african-american community has such egregious levels of violent crime. How can we talk about subtle instances of institutionalized racism when none want so talk about the harrowing statistic that 12% our nation commits fully 38% of all violent crime. It's staggering to read no less tackle yet it is strictly off limits. There is no real discussion being had without it.
5
Love the race baiting title!
Another perfect example of the "Change" that we voted for - I assume you mean that the white voters that voted for Obama as dems now voting for tump means they are racist as well now just because they voted trump. I also couldnt help but notice the convenient fact that you left out about Sessions.
You might want to also offer your readers a little more information such as:
"Sessions's actual track record certainly doesn't suggest he's a racist. Quite the opposite, in fact. As a U.S. Attorney he filed several cases to desegregate schools in Alabama. And he also prosecuted Klansman Henry Francis Hays, son of Alabama Klan leader Bennie Hays, for abducting and killing Michael Donald, a black teenager selected at random. Sessions insisted on the death penalty for Hays. When he was later elected the state Attorney General, Sessions followed through and made sure Hays was executed. The successful prosecution of Hays also led to a $7 million civil judgment against the Klan, effectively breaking the back of the KKK in Alabama."
Another perfect example of the "Change" that we voted for - I assume you mean that the white voters that voted for Obama as dems now voting for tump means they are racist as well now just because they voted trump. I also couldnt help but notice the convenient fact that you left out about Sessions.
You might want to also offer your readers a little more information such as:
"Sessions's actual track record certainly doesn't suggest he's a racist. Quite the opposite, in fact. As a U.S. Attorney he filed several cases to desegregate schools in Alabama. And he also prosecuted Klansman Henry Francis Hays, son of Alabama Klan leader Bennie Hays, for abducting and killing Michael Donald, a black teenager selected at random. Sessions insisted on the death penalty for Hays. When he was later elected the state Attorney General, Sessions followed through and made sure Hays was executed. The successful prosecution of Hays also led to a $7 million civil judgment against the Klan, effectively breaking the back of the KKK in Alabama."
7
Oops. You might just have canceled Sessions' chance to be the next U.S. Attorney.
If the sun rose today, and indeed it did, then there must be some new strain of racism for Mr. Blow to invent -- sorry, discover -- and exploit -- sorry, expose.
It's the only possible explanation for all things.
It's the only possible explanation for all things.
9
You've obviously ignored the fact that Trump has installed a Nazi sympathizer as his Chief of Staff.
1
Yes, yes, yes, Mr. Blow.
Securing our border is xenophobic.
Deploying the police on high-violent-crime areas like Chicago South Side is racist.
Being vigilant against the one religion in the world who is inspiring daily acts of terrorism agains the US and our allies is un-American.
Thankfully, voters have installed in office people who know these are just sound policies.
Rant along.
Securing our border is xenophobic.
Deploying the police on high-violent-crime areas like Chicago South Side is racist.
Being vigilant against the one religion in the world who is inspiring daily acts of terrorism agains the US and our allies is un-American.
Thankfully, voters have installed in office people who know these are just sound policies.
Rant along.
10
The feeling of disempowerment among white folks is the most important reason why Donald Duck became president elect. I mostly hang out with middle income white folks at a local pub in South Bend where almost everyone voted for Mr. Trump.
Being on the left, I am trying to understand their behavior and issues. My guess is that it is an economic and intellectual bankruptcy that they are facing. For generations they taught to believe that they are better than everyone else because of the color of their skin. Now they see people of other colors: asian, mexican, etc. who are doing much better than them and they are at a complete loss. I think that they are dismayed to see that the world is slipping under their foot. The only escape from this situation is good education and hard work. But I think that it is too late for them. So they want a savior and can see one in Mr. Trump.
Being on the left, I am trying to understand their behavior and issues. My guess is that it is an economic and intellectual bankruptcy that they are facing. For generations they taught to believe that they are better than everyone else because of the color of their skin. Now they see people of other colors: asian, mexican, etc. who are doing much better than them and they are at a complete loss. I think that they are dismayed to see that the world is slipping under their foot. The only escape from this situation is good education and hard work. But I think that it is too late for them. So they want a savior and can see one in Mr. Trump.
7
If Hillary Clinton got 1,000 votes for every time you and the NY Times slammed her for emails, Clinton Foundation, Benghazi, and not being honest or trustworthy, she would be president elect. I'm sure your self-indulgent criticisms helped sell newspapers, but it also helped elect Trump. Journalists should have a good look in the mirror at how they have contributed to the consequences of this election. The two million people who voted for Obama but didn't vote for Clinton were at least partially discouraged by all the constant witch hunts.
1
Why are white males the only ones begin called out. White women went big for Mr. Trump too.
3
Trump said he was going to "drain the swamp" in DC. Now I understand what he really meant. He's going to hire the inhabitants of said swamp. Donald Trump - making America stupid again.
1
The country as we know it is in process of getting frucked and trucked away to some cave.
Seems that liberals are horrified that we are finally getting a AG that will actually follow and enforce the laws. The liberal drivel continues to spew fore. But when we elected a President tat had actual terrorist friends, a racist preacher that was great!
5
Give him a chance. He got elected and he deserves some latitude in selecting the people he thinks will make for an effective administration.
I think the NYT is overly obsessed with skin color. If the people chosen are ineffective, the administration will get voted out at the next election. Reserve your criticism for the policies that get enacted. This constant drip drip criticism just poisons the atmosphere. NYT : Please dont become FOX news
I think the NYT is overly obsessed with skin color. If the people chosen are ineffective, the administration will get voted out at the next election. Reserve your criticism for the policies that get enacted. This constant drip drip criticism just poisons the atmosphere. NYT : Please dont become FOX news
6
1933 "Give him a chance."
1
Charles, most of your arguments are fear mongering. Wouldn't it be better to deal with some real problems we have right now, like the killing of police? What about the horrid state of race relations? The unbelievable cost of health care? These all took place under the current administration and I don't see much about them in your columns. I'm always troubled by your labeling of people, usually something to do with White.
7
I weep for our nation. We are better tha this.
4
And whose fault is that partly Mr.Blow? Definitely the stupid, manipulative, elitist or arrogant, but incompetent, media! And a disorganized, highly emotional or reactive, but not very thoughtful or intelligently organized, Progressive electorate. And a Democratic party without any clear understanding of its own base, with an establishment politics that looks no different than the good ole boys of yore (with few token women and colored people thrown in)...you got yourself a perfect defeat by the organized White boys' killer systems.
I will give it to the old, rich and power-seeking White boys: they are organized, much more astute and shrewd, they are a lot more cunning and careful...and they are good at striking when you least expect it. They are good at short term aggressive play to win. Long term planning, long term organizational management and long term thinking...not so much. Why? Because long term thinking and planning requires an intelligent and accurate understanding of diversity, democracy, global issues, globalization, science, development, change and deep values of global justice, fairness and true improvements and mobility. White boys are no longer good at that. Calm organized thinking for the next five hundred years is no longer part of their psychology, neurology or culture.
The rest of the world has to get out of its colonized mentality, give up its sexism, misogyny and learn to organize better...Then they'll fight the bad boys successfully in all systems.
I will give it to the old, rich and power-seeking White boys: they are organized, much more astute and shrewd, they are a lot more cunning and careful...and they are good at striking when you least expect it. They are good at short term aggressive play to win. Long term planning, long term organizational management and long term thinking...not so much. Why? Because long term thinking and planning requires an intelligent and accurate understanding of diversity, democracy, global issues, globalization, science, development, change and deep values of global justice, fairness and true improvements and mobility. White boys are no longer good at that. Calm organized thinking for the next five hundred years is no longer part of their psychology, neurology or culture.
The rest of the world has to get out of its colonized mentality, give up its sexism, misogyny and learn to organize better...Then they'll fight the bad boys successfully in all systems.
Why not wait to see what actually happens rather than start screaming "the sky is falling"?
You have attacked him for 18 months and it did not work. Why not have a temporary cease fire?
Trump is a mix of good and bad. We all know that he was a moderate who said that PP had done some good things, who supported Hillary in 2008, who strongly attacked the Iraq war (in 2004).
But relentless attacks from the liberals and the moderate Republicans have left him with only the Republican right wing as his base.
I am encouraged by his friendly interview with Obama and his promise to look to Obama for counsel (Trump's word). May the civilized behavior of Obama (and Clinton) prevail.
You have attacked him for 18 months and it did not work. Why not have a temporary cease fire?
Trump is a mix of good and bad. We all know that he was a moderate who said that PP had done some good things, who supported Hillary in 2008, who strongly attacked the Iraq war (in 2004).
But relentless attacks from the liberals and the moderate Republicans have left him with only the Republican right wing as his base.
I am encouraged by his friendly interview with Obama and his promise to look to Obama for counsel (Trump's word). May the civilized behavior of Obama (and Clinton) prevail.
4
And thus begins the hardening of public perception -- that certain media outlets are truly no more than propagandists.
7
"Making America White Again"? Really? Perhaps Mr. Blow needs some schooling on the values that conservatives embrace... such as the notion that life will improve for ALL of us if our racial minority citizens can avail themselves of employment opportunities that our democratic leaders have deprived them of for decades.
Mr. Blow, what exactly is the definition of "Trumpism", other than electing someone who has exposed the inequities of the non-solutions that have been nonchalantly rammed down the throat of the electorate since 2008?
Mr. Blow, how do you figure that Trump is "actively constructing" a non-inclusive America... when Trump has effectively place a spot light on the current so-called "unemployment" data that excludes the count of over 90,000,000 who are unemployed or underemployed? Was Mr. Trump being "non-inclusive" when he highlighted the plight of black Americans in mismanaged cities like Chicago?
Mr. Blow, how does it feel to belong to a "movement" that was expecting a landslide victory... only to find on election night that your "constituency" was more imagined than real?
That "orange glow", it seems, is coming from the flames of burning pants worn by desperate liberals who know that their only fallback is to mischaracterize the values of conservatives. With any luck, Nov. 8 will be the "beginning of the end" of a false ideology that has only served the elected, and will hopefully and finally land on the scrap heap of American history.
Mr. Blow, what exactly is the definition of "Trumpism", other than electing someone who has exposed the inequities of the non-solutions that have been nonchalantly rammed down the throat of the electorate since 2008?
Mr. Blow, how do you figure that Trump is "actively constructing" a non-inclusive America... when Trump has effectively place a spot light on the current so-called "unemployment" data that excludes the count of over 90,000,000 who are unemployed or underemployed? Was Mr. Trump being "non-inclusive" when he highlighted the plight of black Americans in mismanaged cities like Chicago?
Mr. Blow, how does it feel to belong to a "movement" that was expecting a landslide victory... only to find on election night that your "constituency" was more imagined than real?
That "orange glow", it seems, is coming from the flames of burning pants worn by desperate liberals who know that their only fallback is to mischaracterize the values of conservatives. With any luck, Nov. 8 will be the "beginning of the end" of a false ideology that has only served the elected, and will hopefully and finally land on the scrap heap of American history.
4
As the reality of Trumpism begins to set in, a greater concern may be that over 61 million American voted it
1
To my Fellow Americans,
Thank you for all who voted in this year’s election. While the final popular vote total is not yet in, Hillary Clinton has received 1.3+million more votes than Donald Trump.
For those who were too busy, couldn’t take the time, knew their votes wouldn’t make a difference, or believed that both candidates were the same, you have forfeited your right to complain about any government failures for the next four years.
For those of you who believed the lies about Hillary Clinton on Fox News, AM Hate Radio, or social media, you are due for a reality check over the next four years.
For those of you who have given the obstructionist Congress a dismal 9% approval rating, why have you continued to elect Republicans who have made or Federal and State governments so dysfunctional?
For Republicans and Independents who refused to vote for the unqualified Mr. Trump, but also refused to vote for the better candidate by leaving the Presidential ballot choice blank, you bear responsibility for the narrow Trump victories in so-called “battleground” states and Trump’s resulting Electoral College victory.
For Evangelical Christians, who have turned their backs on Christ’s teachings of love and charity and embraced Trump and his racist followers, may God have mercy on your souls.
Thank you for all who voted in this year’s election. While the final popular vote total is not yet in, Hillary Clinton has received 1.3+million more votes than Donald Trump.
For those who were too busy, couldn’t take the time, knew their votes wouldn’t make a difference, or believed that both candidates were the same, you have forfeited your right to complain about any government failures for the next four years.
For those of you who believed the lies about Hillary Clinton on Fox News, AM Hate Radio, or social media, you are due for a reality check over the next four years.
For those of you who have given the obstructionist Congress a dismal 9% approval rating, why have you continued to elect Republicans who have made or Federal and State governments so dysfunctional?
For Republicans and Independents who refused to vote for the unqualified Mr. Trump, but also refused to vote for the better candidate by leaving the Presidential ballot choice blank, you bear responsibility for the narrow Trump victories in so-called “battleground” states and Trump’s resulting Electoral College victory.
For Evangelical Christians, who have turned their backs on Christ’s teachings of love and charity and embraced Trump and his racist followers, may God have mercy on your souls.
8
After the death of the Roman Emperor Tiberius, many Roman Senators held out hope that the reign of his successor, Gaius Caesar, would be glorious, rationalizing that hope on the notion that Caligula "would surround himself with good people."
Although that hope proved to be false, we do not even have that shred of false hope for the administration of Donald Trump. He shows no intention of listening to, or even going anywhere near, any "good people."
Although that hope proved to be false, we do not even have that shred of false hope for the administration of Donald Trump. He shows no intention of listening to, or even going anywhere near, any "good people."
Your comments are repugnant.
Sessions is a good man.
The reaction to Trump's victory, by folks like you has me questioning my core values.
Yes, there have been racist incidents perpetrated by whites in the name of Trump's election. (and racist incidents by blacks) Consider carefully the cause. I maintain that it is not Trump's actions, but the false narrative by the media that is the cause. Be very careful of what sentiments you stir up by your false rhetorical, the results you are inspiring are quite dangerous. It's no longer just about blacks attacking innocent white people in Baltimore or other cities, you are now waking up a larger and uglier instinct in many white people. Something I do not want to see.
Sessions is a good man.
The reaction to Trump's victory, by folks like you has me questioning my core values.
Yes, there have been racist incidents perpetrated by whites in the name of Trump's election. (and racist incidents by blacks) Consider carefully the cause. I maintain that it is not Trump's actions, but the false narrative by the media that is the cause. Be very careful of what sentiments you stir up by your false rhetorical, the results you are inspiring are quite dangerous. It's no longer just about blacks attacking innocent white people in Baltimore or other cities, you are now waking up a larger and uglier instinct in many white people. Something I do not want to see.
7
Never fear Charles, the East and West coast will still remain the hodgepodge of people you like. It will still be diverse, chaotic and run by looney-tunes like DiBlasio and Jerry Brown. I really find that both the East and West coast are disgusting and dangerous. They are totally without law and order. But if that's what you like you still have it.
But remember not everyone thinks that the coastal cities are wonderful and prefer not to live anywhere near them much less have the whole country turned into clones of the two worst states in the Union.
But remember not everyone thinks that the coastal cities are wonderful and prefer not to live anywhere near them much less have the whole country turned into clones of the two worst states in the Union.
3
Wow, it's staggering the number of people who fail to understand what the Opinion section is all about. Given the proliferation of laughably fake "news" stories during this election, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.
Let me spell it out in simple terms. If you're commenting on an opinion article to tell the author he's wrong, then you are a fool. It's the author's personal opinion, which should be blatantly obvious given that it is in the Opinion section and is not being represented as factual reporting. Even if it differs from your opinion, that doesn't make it incorrect, it only makes it different.
Let me spell it out in simple terms. If you're commenting on an opinion article to tell the author he's wrong, then you are a fool. It's the author's personal opinion, which should be blatantly obvious given that it is in the Opinion section and is not being represented as factual reporting. Even if it differs from your opinion, that doesn't make it incorrect, it only makes it different.
5
the author is a lying, violent, hate-filled racist
3
Goody! Another lecture. Some folks never learn.
1
I was challenged to justify the following stats that are not discussed at all in any media - even though they are shocking:
*62% of ALL white males voted for Trump
*53% of ALL white females voted for Trump
*45% of Trump voters had a college degree (NOT poor, uneducated, white trash as promoted by the pundits)
*Median income of Trump supporters was $72,000
Here is the link (CBS news) and the specific para :
"More telling is the gender breakdown among white voters: Trump beat Clinton among white women 53 percent to 43 percent. This was close to Romney’s margin in 2012. While Mr. Obama won 35 percent of white, male voters in 2012, Clinton lost to Trump among this group by 63 percent to 31 percent. "
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-exit-polls-how-donald-trump-won-the...
*62% of ALL white males voted for Trump
*53% of ALL white females voted for Trump
*45% of Trump voters had a college degree (NOT poor, uneducated, white trash as promoted by the pundits)
*Median income of Trump supporters was $72,000
Here is the link (CBS news) and the specific para :
"More telling is the gender breakdown among white voters: Trump beat Clinton among white women 53 percent to 43 percent. This was close to Romney’s margin in 2012. While Mr. Obama won 35 percent of white, male voters in 2012, Clinton lost to Trump among this group by 63 percent to 31 percent. "
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-exit-polls-how-donald-trump-won-the...
1
Trump nominations show that the he has put the bottom feeders back in the swamp. What people don't get is that Trump is using the presidency to enrich himself and his family. It will be a kleptocracy. He is walking a thin line between being Trump the president, and Trump the businessman. Give him time and he will cross it.
While I detest Trump and what he stands for, I'm really upset with Hillary's team. How could they be so blind and naive to let this poor excuse of a man win and appoint these miscreants. And they were so confident Hillary would win. So was I, but I wasn't running her campaign. They blew it for all of us.
While I detest Trump and what he stands for, I'm really upset with Hillary's team. How could they be so blind and naive to let this poor excuse of a man win and appoint these miscreants. And they were so confident Hillary would win. So was I, but I wasn't running her campaign. They blew it for all of us.
2
Unlike many of those writing comments here in various states of defense, and angry denial, there has never been any doubt in my mind that this would be the final outcome of any presidency involving Donald Trump.
The signs were too clear...and ominous. And anybody who didn't get the picture as soon as Steve Bannon of Breitbart news entered it, must have surely caught on with the appointment of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General.
It's more than a coincidence that the alt-right have come to the surface, and are trooping their colors in full daylight -- and in of all places, Washington D.C.
And yet everybody is still tiptoeing around what to actually call these 'White Nationalists'.
Let me help.
They're racists.
Evidently this country is still entangled in its own inability to deal righteoosly with its sordid past when it comes to race.
Still in denial. Still making excuses, when America, and the future of America hangs on the line.
James Baldwin was right.
The Fire Next Time.
The signs were too clear...and ominous. And anybody who didn't get the picture as soon as Steve Bannon of Breitbart news entered it, must have surely caught on with the appointment of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General.
It's more than a coincidence that the alt-right have come to the surface, and are trooping their colors in full daylight -- and in of all places, Washington D.C.
And yet everybody is still tiptoeing around what to actually call these 'White Nationalists'.
Let me help.
They're racists.
Evidently this country is still entangled in its own inability to deal righteoosly with its sordid past when it comes to race.
Still in denial. Still making excuses, when America, and the future of America hangs on the line.
James Baldwin was right.
The Fire Next Time.
3
Trump's campaign manager is a woman. What could be more important?
Oh, wait! A woman (Barbara Res) was the construction manager for Trump Tower back in the 80s. Maybe that was more important to him.
Oh, wait! A woman (Barbara Res) was the construction manager for Trump Tower back in the 80s. Maybe that was more important to him.
3
Meanwhile, the Democrats purged Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Donna Barzile, and are now trying to depose Nancy Pelosi; all after sending Hillary down in flames.
The Democrat mysogeny has to stop. Women I know are terrified. they are scared that the Democrats will come after them next, taking their jobs, homes, and lives!!
The Democrat mysogeny has to stop. Women I know are terrified. they are scared that the Democrats will come after them next, taking their jobs, homes, and lives!!
3
"Making America White Male Again" would be a more apt headline. President-elect Trump could care less about the equal rights of any and all women, whatever their race or ethnicity.
1
So, the sun is setting on America's progress. Not sure about you, but according to the statistics I've read there is more racial division today that there was 8 years ago. Incomes have not kept pace with inflation over the past 8 years, and there is greater inequality today than there was 8 years ago. So much for Obama's legacy.
And you want another run at it by a progressive liberal? Give me a break. Not only have you been reading that fake news, but you've been reading, and believing, the fake promises by the Democratic Party.
And you want another run at it by a progressive liberal? Give me a break. Not only have you been reading that fake news, but you've been reading, and believing, the fake promises by the Democratic Party.
5
I believe that Trump got elected partially due to the misguided efforts of Charles Blow, NY Times, WAPO and television media. After having voted Obama into office for the second time four years ago a change became noticeable. The first thing that caught my attention was a series of articles on "whiteness" in the Times written by George Yancy. Presented under the guise of "philosophy" these articles were an all-out attack on Western culture and white men, reminding me of the racist resentful filth Nazi's wrote about Jews. I could not believe I was reading this is a mainstream publication.
Next came BLM. At first this seemed like a worthwhile cause. But as the media fanned the flames it became apparent that the full truth was not being told, that the incidents were being misrepresented by a biased media. I watched as the media built this into such a frenzy that people started rioting, burning down their cities and eventually assassinating innocent cops. All this while Al Sharpton of Tawana Brawley fame has essentially set up an office at the White House.
I cried tears of joy when Obama was first elected. I was so hopeful that America would take a huge step forward and that minorities would see that, for the most part, America would judge you on your content and character and not your race. What happened to America over the past 3-4 years dashed my hopes. What happened to America over the past 3-4 years helped bring us Trump.
Next came BLM. At first this seemed like a worthwhile cause. But as the media fanned the flames it became apparent that the full truth was not being told, that the incidents were being misrepresented by a biased media. I watched as the media built this into such a frenzy that people started rioting, burning down their cities and eventually assassinating innocent cops. All this while Al Sharpton of Tawana Brawley fame has essentially set up an office at the White House.
I cried tears of joy when Obama was first elected. I was so hopeful that America would take a huge step forward and that minorities would see that, for the most part, America would judge you on your content and character and not your race. What happened to America over the past 3-4 years dashed my hopes. What happened to America over the past 3-4 years helped bring us Trump.
6
No one should be surprised by the results . We accept the Straight , White Male as the default setting in media , and the hate and paranoia are alive and well.
The only ray of hope could be in the very nature of the movement that resulted in Trump being elected .
The driving force is anti - government .
The last thing a movement like this can handle is governing .
Yes , the next four years will be awful , and we can only hope there will be enough of the U.S.A to rebuild , but maybe this lesson had to be learned the hard way.
Stay strong, and good luck.
The only ray of hope could be in the very nature of the movement that resulted in Trump being elected .
The driving force is anti - government .
The last thing a movement like this can handle is governing .
Yes , the next four years will be awful , and we can only hope there will be enough of the U.S.A to rebuild , but maybe this lesson had to be learned the hard way.
Stay strong, and good luck.
3
George W Bush installed the most diverse cabinet in history. You can Google it. Men, women, white, black, Hispanic. So what? Where did it get him in the eyes of people like Charles? Probably one of the most despised and ridiculed Presidents ever. Because it's not the color or gender, or even social views of those people that matter. It's what they accomplish, or don't, with the time they serve. But race/gender baiters like Charles will never see it that way. As long as they are the right "mix", outcomes don't really matter.
6
"I won, elections have consequences" said Barack Obama to Republicans. Why does Mr Blow and NYT headline a blatant racial statement? Is there something wrong with eminently successful and accomplished leaders in their field if they happen to be Caucasian or is it white privilege? Were Holder, Rice, Johnson and Lynch really the best qualified for their jobs or where they chosen as a reflection of the first African-American president?
Should we not have the best qualified in cabinet and WH positions regardless of skin color? Trump ran on an anti PC agenda. Trump won, elections have consequences Charles.
Should we not have the best qualified in cabinet and WH positions regardless of skin color? Trump ran on an anti PC agenda. Trump won, elections have consequences Charles.
7
Mr Blow, I do not believe that the majority of Trump voters are racist. I believe the gridlock of Washington, incredible dislike of Hillary, impact of globalization and automation on jobs drove his election. Mass hysteria didn't help. Obviously, he is a racist bigot and is surrounding himself with fellow wing nuts. I am praying that the many sane Trump voters quickly wake up and join the majority of Americans who did not vote for Trump and fight to assure we keep our freedoms.
3
"Making America White Again", as Mr. Blow titled his article is a racist view, prejudice and elitist. Racism is the meme-hallmark of progressive, liberals and democrats since day one to stay in power. Simple, people got tire of the lies, political elitism and economic disenfranchisement affecting the middle class and working people... In linguistic we're told that any statement, word, or sentence to be be validated as true or false by an audience must have a contested binary opposition. Take this next one for example: “Make America a White, Racist, Misogynistic Patriarchy Again.” How Mr. Blow validate this sentence and the whole argument of his narrative? First, by stating the Donald Trump is all of that because it represent the winning and opposite party of Mr. Blow's ideological biased argument. By stating that Donald Trump want to “Make America a White, Racist, Misogynistic Patriarchy Again”, Mr. Blow is symptomatically, by the very value of the sentence a racist man. Unacceptable behavior for a free press journalism, and I believe I will never going to read him again.
8
i read some comments to the contrary of Mr. Blow's opinion here but i must say the proof is the non-existent reaction by Trump and his cabinet to racist groups rejoicing his election and being their voice in America. What elections of the past have ever elicited such joyful cheer from so many racist groups?
5
"That orange glow emanating from the man is the sun setting on America’s progress, however slow and halting, on race and gender inclusion and equity."
Wrong, Mr Blow. It is you, the likes of you and the media that is spreading fear. And it has been fueled by 8 years of an Obama administration.
If you believe there was progress on race and gender inclusion and equity you forget about black on black murders, the BLM movement, white cop shooting unarmed black thugs, women receiving smaller salary for same work a man does, etc. Obama did nothing to change any of it even though the laws have always been in place to fix the problems
Trump will because he sends a good-feel throughout the country.
Wrong, Mr Blow. It is you, the likes of you and the media that is spreading fear. And it has been fueled by 8 years of an Obama administration.
If you believe there was progress on race and gender inclusion and equity you forget about black on black murders, the BLM movement, white cop shooting unarmed black thugs, women receiving smaller salary for same work a man does, etc. Obama did nothing to change any of it even though the laws have always been in place to fix the problems
Trump will because he sends a good-feel throughout the country.
5
"he sends a good-feel throughout the country"
Whoah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha (gasps for air) whoah ho ha he he he he
Whoah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha (gasps for air) whoah ho ha he he he he
1
During the campaign I was content just to read other readers comments. I thought they were more articulate than I could ever be and for the most part I agreed with all of them. And I thought that there was no way that that man could be elected. I thought Americans were smarter and could see through all his cons. So I didn't worry too much. Now that he's elected I feel compelled to write my first ever comment to this newspaper.
This is a question I would put to anyone who voted for that man: When the people who mow your lawn and trim your hedges get deported, when your neighbor who is black finds KKK literature on his front porch, when your friends who are Jewish find swastikas painted on their front doors, when your coworker who wears a head scarf is put in an internment camp, when your brother and his partner are screamed at by schoolchildren because they are gay, when your cousin who is paralyzed loses hope that she will ever walk again because stem cell research is stopped, when your friend's daughter who was raped is denied an abortion, when your dementia addled mother loses her Medicaid benefits, when your nephew who has epilepsy loses his insurance and can't get new insurance because he has a pre-existing condition...what in the world did you think was going to happen if he was elected?
This is a question I would put to anyone who voted for that man: When the people who mow your lawn and trim your hedges get deported, when your neighbor who is black finds KKK literature on his front porch, when your friends who are Jewish find swastikas painted on their front doors, when your coworker who wears a head scarf is put in an internment camp, when your brother and his partner are screamed at by schoolchildren because they are gay, when your cousin who is paralyzed loses hope that she will ever walk again because stem cell research is stopped, when your friend's daughter who was raped is denied an abortion, when your dementia addled mother loses her Medicaid benefits, when your nephew who has epilepsy loses his insurance and can't get new insurance because he has a pre-existing condition...what in the world did you think was going to happen if he was elected?
10
I agree that Trump is trying to re-institute white supremacy and make supremacy. However, my guess is that in the long run, over the course of the next couple of decades, this will probably fail. However, what's scary is that I only believe the plan will PROBABLY fail. It has a chance of working.
Churchill once said: " You can always count on the Americans to do things right, after they are tried everything else." Perhaps, now we can say this about Donald Trump.
Oscar Wilde put it this way:" Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes."
Hopefully, we can quickly turn things right, without doing too much damage.
Oscar Wilde put it this way:" Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes."
Hopefully, we can quickly turn things right, without doing too much damage.
I didn't want Donald Trump to win the election. I never supported him, never supported his views and I don't support his selection of cabinet members. He is a racist, bigoted, opinionated, rude, and angry man. I dread what he will bring. Having said that I want to add that I do not believe that Trump is "Making America White Again." That is equally racist and bigoted.
There are differences between white and black that you Mr. Blow, sincerely believe and have written, is caused by racist whites. You believe that whites have collectively conspired to bring about misery, poverty, imprisonment and segregation of blacks. That sir is not the way it is. Whites, including myself, have worked unselfishly for years to reach out to blacks. The reward for doing so has been castigation through your writings. I marched for civil rights in the late 60s and supported black groups on campus while in college.
Over the years though, I have not seen reciprocity by blacks. I haven't even seen any appreciation for our efforts. What we all see is black families disintegrating, more than 72% of black children born out of wedlock, blacks failing in schools and continued black on black violence,
Fix that Mr. Blow.
There are differences between white and black that you Mr. Blow, sincerely believe and have written, is caused by racist whites. You believe that whites have collectively conspired to bring about misery, poverty, imprisonment and segregation of blacks. That sir is not the way it is. Whites, including myself, have worked unselfishly for years to reach out to blacks. The reward for doing so has been castigation through your writings. I marched for civil rights in the late 60s and supported black groups on campus while in college.
Over the years though, I have not seen reciprocity by blacks. I haven't even seen any appreciation for our efforts. What we all see is black families disintegrating, more than 72% of black children born out of wedlock, blacks failing in schools and continued black on black violence,
Fix that Mr. Blow.
3
I keep hearing from the liberals that Bannon is a white supremacist, but haven't seen any of them give even a single example. Typical liberals, making accusations without any evidence. Why's that? Because none exist and all they have left is the race card that has failed every time.
4
This commentary would be far better without all the syrupy, poetic hyperbole. I'm concerned with Donald Trump's cabinet picks too, but this is much more of a gag-inducing yes-bubble piece than a motivational argument.
1
I have little doubt that the election of Donald Trump will accelerate our nation's transformation from land of the free to either chaos or facism.
3
How can anyone who has listened to Trump or watched one of his rallies maintain that bigotry and racism were not the driving forces behind his support? What do such apologists assume is the nature of the "change" Trump supporters who want to take back "their" country are looking for?
Liberals and progressives should read two books that are even more relevant today than when they were first published:
"Chain Reaction: The Impact of Race, Rights and Taxes on American Politics" by Thomas Byrne Edall and What's the Matter With Kansas: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank.
Liberals and progressives should read two books that are even more relevant today than when they were first published:
"Chain Reaction: The Impact of Race, Rights and Taxes on American Politics" by Thomas Byrne Edall and What's the Matter With Kansas: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank.
Nope most people, the majority of Trump supporters gave race a thought until the msm and liberal elites began its crusade of perceived grievances, dividing by race gender religion wealth etc.
Right from beergate it became obvious that division and fomenting division was a central component of liberal identity politics. 2010, you mocked the protesters who correctly saw elites raid the treasury at our expense all the while blaming capitalism and greedy Wall Street. As we now know, there is no difference between political greed and economic.
2014 once again the left mocked. All the while flaming racial and ideological differences.
Wikileaks confirmed what we thought in 2012. That the media not only colluded but covered up the systematic politicization
Of the IRS DOJ EPA .
Ny times , WP and MSNBC and CNN. All caught colluding
Right from beergate it became obvious that division and fomenting division was a central component of liberal identity politics. 2010, you mocked the protesters who correctly saw elites raid the treasury at our expense all the while blaming capitalism and greedy Wall Street. As we now know, there is no difference between political greed and economic.
2014 once again the left mocked. All the while flaming racial and ideological differences.
Wikileaks confirmed what we thought in 2012. That the media not only colluded but covered up the systematic politicization
Of the IRS DOJ EPA .
Ny times , WP and MSNBC and CNN. All caught colluding
1
Those of us who have been involved longer than the year ago when Sanders started promised a bunch of worshipping kids free stuff he had no way to deliver, knew this was going to happen. That Sanders was able to take these newly involved, both black and white, and somehow convince them that there was no sense in voting, since both parties are the same, is the story of the election year. Despite his tepid support after the primaries.
We saw Trump for what he was. A one of a kind evil. And despite what we might wish to see as far as more progressive programs, we also saw the vast difference between the two parties. However, with Sanders demonizing Hillary from the left (Wall Street speeches rather than deeds) and the press going after the e-mails with their false equivalency Clinton's way was nearly insurmountable.
And now you have the Bernie children and Black Lives Matter, many of whom did not vote for president, shocked, SHOCKED that this could be so bad. Well, you enabled it. And if you think you will change anything by marching, (it CAN be a lot of fun) forget about it.
I found it unseemly that Bernie after the election, almost with glee, got up and started making the rounds again. His revolution finally would come to fruition. Relevant again! So much easier with a well defined target. Well, after a couple of days we have handfuls here and there, but nothing will change that Bernie and his gang of children gave the election to Trump. They will suffer for it.
We saw Trump for what he was. A one of a kind evil. And despite what we might wish to see as far as more progressive programs, we also saw the vast difference between the two parties. However, with Sanders demonizing Hillary from the left (Wall Street speeches rather than deeds) and the press going after the e-mails with their false equivalency Clinton's way was nearly insurmountable.
And now you have the Bernie children and Black Lives Matter, many of whom did not vote for president, shocked, SHOCKED that this could be so bad. Well, you enabled it. And if you think you will change anything by marching, (it CAN be a lot of fun) forget about it.
I found it unseemly that Bernie after the election, almost with glee, got up and started making the rounds again. His revolution finally would come to fruition. Relevant again! So much easier with a well defined target. Well, after a couple of days we have handfuls here and there, but nothing will change that Bernie and his gang of children gave the election to Trump. They will suffer for it.
Mr. Bannon has actually been very careful in his statements. None are actually racist, though he seemingly has gone to the border numerous times. He has given a voice to racists on his web magazine, but with our second amendment those people have a right to speak. That is still happening, and if you take away that right, in the future, BLM, the Black Panthers, and even the average citizen could have their rights taken away. Mr. Bannon, and Breitbart before him recognized an under served market of jerks and has made money off them. Those people, as disgusting as they are, are also US citizens. They will lose every vote. But they deserve to have a vote.
Look, if the choices didn't make dems uncomfortable, then they wouldn't be doing it right. This is nothing but name calling and race baiting.
5
This proud self-proclaimed racist, sexist and xenophobe should have never been within the remotest ambit of his party's nomination. Any one of those is a non-starter, a deal-breaker -- no matter what other assets he was thought to have. As an African-American it is jaw-dropping -- breathtaking -- that any such form of hatred can be shrugged off as, "well yes, but..." No. Perhaps, perhaps you could overlook (as his supporters did) his boorishness, his coarse diction, or even his deliberate cruelty. But I had come to assume that as a country we had evolved to the point that bigotry -- unquestionably so -- was an immeditate and non-negotiable disqualifier. How wrong I was. I have wept over my foolishness.
3
The same people who are concerned about Steve Bannon having Trump's ear are the same people who had no problem with Al Sharpton advising Obama on race relations.
4
FYI Mr. Blow: There are millions of us white folk who are not at all interested in "making America great (read "white") again!" We are not racists in the least and see all ethnic groups, including whites, as equal. We are truly liberal with regard to freedom and equality! We need to be given credit for discrediting the Trump cabal. And we will work diligently to make sure America remains the great nation it is!
A Warning from History, adapted from Pastor Martin Niemoller:
First they came for Planned Parenthood, but I did not speak up, because I was not a woman in need of safe reproductive health services. .
Then they came for the anti-voter-suppression groups, but I did not speak up, because I was not African-American.
Then they came for journalists who would not self-censor, but I did not speak up, because I was not a journalist.
Then they came for the Mexican immigrants, but I did not speak up, because I was not a Mexican immigrant.
Then they came for the Muslims, but I did not speak up, because I was not a Muslim.
Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak up for me.
First they came for Planned Parenthood, but I did not speak up, because I was not a woman in need of safe reproductive health services. .
Then they came for the anti-voter-suppression groups, but I did not speak up, because I was not African-American.
Then they came for journalists who would not self-censor, but I did not speak up, because I was not a journalist.
Then they came for the Mexican immigrants, but I did not speak up, because I was not a Mexican immigrant.
Then they came for the Muslims, but I did not speak up, because I was not a Muslim.
Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak up for me.
2
Mr. Blow is being his usual, hysterical self again. Mr. Trump, he says, is appointing loyalists and those who helped him win the election. Wow. Like that's never happened before. Of course, there are few blacks being considered at this point. But how many blacks supported him? One of the only ones who did was Dr. Carson, and he's turned down consideration for a position. Maybe Trump could ask Mr. Blow if he would consider a spot? Would he? Maybe! If he could put his hysterical fear mongering aside long enough to fill out the application.
And BTW: Some blacks did support Mr. Trump, along with a considerable number of Latinos. Did they want to make America white again? Or does that part of the story not fit with your "they" hate "us" narrative?
And BTW: Some blacks did support Mr. Trump, along with a considerable number of Latinos. Did they want to make America white again? Or does that part of the story not fit with your "they" hate "us" narrative?
6
Mr. Blow, as the only op-ed columnist in American history to be brought in from the graphics design department of a newspaper (hmm... wonder why?) is ill placed to be talking about race influencing job appointments.
Mr. Blow has consistently committed the one great crime for a great newspaper -- he is completely predictable. He is obsessed with race and class to the point where he is truly vulnerable to charges that he is the racist, not those whom he accuses.
Mr. Blow has consistently committed the one great crime for a great newspaper -- he is completely predictable. He is obsessed with race and class to the point where he is truly vulnerable to charges that he is the racist, not those whom he accuses.
5
Like much of what Donald Trump does, "making America white again" is just payback to those who put him where he now is.
It is also insurance, so when his "policies" don't yield his supporters' desired changes to improve their economic lives, they can be distracted by the privilege they have as whites to denigrate and put down all "others" - smoke and mirrors, that's what this is.
It is also insurance, so when his "policies" don't yield his supporters' desired changes to improve their economic lives, they can be distracted by the privilege they have as whites to denigrate and put down all "others" - smoke and mirrors, that's what this is.
So here's Charles, Blow-splainin the alt-Right to us, and even quoting Bernie at length to do so.
You should have thought this through more carefully during the Democratic primaries, Charles, when you were a vicious sycophant for the Clinton's soon-to-be-losing tone-deaf identity politics message and a dumb Bernie hater.
Cheer up, the upside of it is that you'll have plenty of material to be outraged about for the next four years.
You should have thought this through more carefully during the Democratic primaries, Charles, when you were a vicious sycophant for the Clinton's soon-to-be-losing tone-deaf identity politics message and a dumb Bernie hater.
Cheer up, the upside of it is that you'll have plenty of material to be outraged about for the next four years.
3
Here's a thought. Maybe " identity politics " results in ... " identity politics ". I mean the incessant attention to transgenders, Muslims, gays, Hispanic immigrants, African - Americans, etc along with the implication that all the problems of the foregoing are causerd by white men eventually gave rise to ... you guesses it, " white identity politics ". Perhaps liberal pandering to every identifiable microscopic minority group has loosened the electoral forces resulting in a Trump presidency.
3
My comment: Thank you Charles for solid investigative work and exposing a trend that upsets many caucasians, too, like me.
I am so tired of seeing trump and every single supporter of trump being labeled a racist. Every day, the media declares a new person (a republican of course) a racist. I was glad to see last week that finally a trump non- supporter - Phil Jackson - was declared that day's new rascist for using the term "posse". Of course mr Jackson should be fired from his current job and prevented from working for the next 30 years. I only ask you one thing - when you label someone else a rascist tomorrow, please include all of your evidence. To me and tens of millions others, a stupid joke 30 years ago does not mean you are a rascist. And yes, I know many commentators will label me a rascist for writing this.
3
It's incredible to me that Trump's daughter and son-in-law, both observant Jews, are going along with this. All white supremacist organization's have some level of antisemitism, even if they don't advertise it heavily. And American Jews, partly because of our history of being discriminated for millennia in Europe, have always been supportive of civil rights.
1
After he tanks the economy a la Bush, doesn't fulfill any of his "promises" because he's too Busy with Indian businessmen and twitter, it will be interesting to see the pie in the sky reaction of his supporters. As Michael Bloomberg said, it's a con.
The alt-right, in other words Nazis, has lots of guns. We must be prepared for them with guns of our own. Minorities, the Trump government will not protect us. Be armed and be ready!
Mr. Blow nails it. Omitted, however, from his analysis is how women and racial minorities, particularly African-Americans, perceived no difference between Secretary Clinton (who worked her entire life for civil rights) and Mr. Trump. Many were apparently led down the primrose path of not voting or, voting for third party candidates, by the nihilist philosophy of Ta Nahisi Coates, the Marxist inflected rhetoric of Cornel West and/or the stupefyingly shallow tweets of Susan Sarandon. Now that we know there is, in Blow's terms, "the beginning of the end" with the ascendant White Nationalist Trump, perhaps those three and their cohorts might actually show up in the streets and lead the revolution. No one is holding their breaths. It's comfortable in Paris, Princeton and Connecticut.
To me it seems suspicious that inspite of all the polls pointing to Clinton's win Trump won the election. It seems very suspicous to me. We need a independent UN based investigation. News media seems to be in cohots with Trump it seems. People get on streets and take back your win.
P.S: I don't believe what i am saying. But just playing the card played by Republicans.
P.S: I don't believe what i am saying. But just playing the card played by Republicans.
I would be pleased with "make America a country of legal residents again".
2
At this point it almost doesn't matter what the voters for Trump thought he would do. He is doing what he sounded like he might do and now it would be a good idea for a lot of people to figure out a way to not allow him to go any farther.
1
This is an opinion page. A sour loser, for yeas the Democrats have been pandering to the minorities and the country has gone no where except backward.
2
As a descendant of a Holocaust family (I'm named after Polish rabbi who perished in the camps), the choice of Bannon, Flynn, and Sessions is a frightening reversion to the racial superiority that was at the black heart of that tragic era. Three of my uncles fought against fascism, and one, a Jewish refugee from Germany, died on the beach at Anzio. It's hard to believe that we have forgotten the bloody lessons of such recent history, and that the very home of the beacon of liberty appears to be about to descend into darkness from which it may, given all the Republican enablers, be hard to recover.
3
It's a big country, with a rising upper class and a declining middle class. Expectations are bigger than reality, and, no suprirse, it's probably reality television helps to define those larger-than-life expectations.
Trump and Bannon want to reset American society, true, but they represent a counter-movement, not the historic trend.
Democrats have any number of lessons to learn, not least of which is that progress can be reversed and our lives can turn much darker, very quickly.
Hillary was the quintessential candidate of the progressive moment. As a woman, she represented so much to all progressive women. As an arrogant elitist, she stayed focused on her high-dollar donors. When she visited my red state, I couldn't afford her dinner, even though I gave thousands to her campaign. Indeed, for my contributions, I got the wonderful prize of never-ending robo-calls from Unknown numbers. #thankshillary
Progressive politics have maintained peace in the West, while the west uses foreign wars to profit it's way out of it's own financial stupidity. Trump is going to be the wrong kind of change, but maybe he will be the catalyst for a smarter, more humane progressive effort.
Trump and Bannon want to reset American society, true, but they represent a counter-movement, not the historic trend.
Democrats have any number of lessons to learn, not least of which is that progress can be reversed and our lives can turn much darker, very quickly.
Hillary was the quintessential candidate of the progressive moment. As a woman, she represented so much to all progressive women. As an arrogant elitist, she stayed focused on her high-dollar donors. When she visited my red state, I couldn't afford her dinner, even though I gave thousands to her campaign. Indeed, for my contributions, I got the wonderful prize of never-ending robo-calls from Unknown numbers. #thankshillary
Progressive politics have maintained peace in the West, while the west uses foreign wars to profit it's way out of it's own financial stupidity. Trump is going to be the wrong kind of change, but maybe he will be the catalyst for a smarter, more humane progressive effort.
The press, the Democratic Party, the remaining decent members of the Republican Party and the American public should be keep a close eye and a tight rein on Trump and his cronies. Trump may only be interested in enriching himself, but those with whom he is associating seem to have much more sinister motivations.
Be careful and watchful.
Remember that after Hitler was voted chancellor in Jan. 1933, he profited from the burning of Reichstag, arrested opposing members and had them shot in Mar. 1933, eliminated the presidency and took power in Aug.1934 and became the dictator of Germany.
By 1938 Hitler controlled the military and Kristallnacht happened.
In 1938 marked the start of the inevitable steps toward war along with the beginning of the final solution.
In 1945 the Germans lost the war and Germany was devastated. It only took 12 years. It resulted in the death of 6 million jews and 5 million non-jews in the concentration camps plus the death of millions of soldiers and civilians.
As I said be watchful and careful once the hatred is released anyone can be its victim.
Be careful and watchful.
Remember that after Hitler was voted chancellor in Jan. 1933, he profited from the burning of Reichstag, arrested opposing members and had them shot in Mar. 1933, eliminated the presidency and took power in Aug.1934 and became the dictator of Germany.
By 1938 Hitler controlled the military and Kristallnacht happened.
In 1938 marked the start of the inevitable steps toward war along with the beginning of the final solution.
In 1945 the Germans lost the war and Germany was devastated. It only took 12 years. It resulted in the death of 6 million jews and 5 million non-jews in the concentration camps plus the death of millions of soldiers and civilians.
As I said be watchful and careful once the hatred is released anyone can be its victim.
2
I think you wandered off into liberal talking points land. It is these kind of absurd comments and observations that is creating a divide in this country.
1
It must be odd, living in the enlightened glass bubble of Manhattan, knowing little or nothing about the people who actually live between the parentheses of the two coasts. You'd be surprised (shocked) at just how inclusive the great majority of us are, white, brown, black, whatever. We go about our lives together and are quite communal and decent and even chummy in the process. Unlike many, we have no need to promote racism because a)we aren't racists and b)we don't make our livings fanning flames from ivory towers. Come visit sometime, we'd be pleased to have you and show you around and cap things off with a beer or glass of wine in one of our happily and unself-consciously diverse restaurants and bars. Gracious, we even live next door to one another.
3
Do we think democracy will survive Trump? Perhaps, but in what form? What will survive and what will not? Are we strong enough to fight for democratic principles or will we put our collective heads down and continue slogging through our lives, saying "there's nothing I can do"? This may be the greatest test of American democracy since the Civil War, so keep your heads up and fight for it. We all know it's worth it. Don't let this be the historical tipping point when democracy went into a permanent slide.
Thanks so much for keeping this in the forefront of discussion. White Americans are not collectively represented by Trump and his cronies. I am tired of hearing how half of America feels this way. Half of Americans did not vote. The other half was not split down the center as Clinton received the popular vote. We have allowed less than a quarter of our population to make this horrible decision. We need our free speech and writers like you to keep us stable as we fight to minimize this disaster.
Thank you Charles. Please continue to speak the truth about where Trump's presidency is leading this country.
I have never felt so despondent and ashamed of this country as I have since Trump's election. The speed with which many are willing to normalize him and his administration astounds me.
I have never felt so despondent and ashamed of this country as I have since Trump's election. The speed with which many are willing to normalize him and his administration astounds me.
1
I got to give credit to Howard Hughes, I mean Donald Trump. Here's four things about Donald Trump I admire:
1. Turning down the $400,000.00 a year presidential salary, obviously the job is not about the money. Would you turn that much down?
2. Trump is always business never personal and everybody else tends to take it personal, including racism, sexism and fascism. Trump could be like "It's just business"
3. One of his rules to Think like a billionaire is to be paranoid.
4. Making America great again by having the first lady be an immigrant, that's love.
Racism was here before Trump, homophobia was here before Trump and police were killing black men while the president of the "free world" was a black man. Blaming Trump for all this is like a diabetic trying to stop C&H from manufactoring more sugar.
I'd rather be in America right now than in the following 5 places in history:
1. Dishwashing for Henry the VIII (that includes cleaning up decapitated heads)
2. Begging Idi Amin not to shoot my German Shepard
3. Hanging out at Jonestown for the Kool Aide
4. Eating ice cream in the middle of the Holocost
5. Walking out of Tibet because Mao Tse Tung is the new boss
1. Turning down the $400,000.00 a year presidential salary, obviously the job is not about the money. Would you turn that much down?
2. Trump is always business never personal and everybody else tends to take it personal, including racism, sexism and fascism. Trump could be like "It's just business"
3. One of his rules to Think like a billionaire is to be paranoid.
4. Making America great again by having the first lady be an immigrant, that's love.
Racism was here before Trump, homophobia was here before Trump and police were killing black men while the president of the "free world" was a black man. Blaming Trump for all this is like a diabetic trying to stop C&H from manufactoring more sugar.
I'd rather be in America right now than in the following 5 places in history:
1. Dishwashing for Henry the VIII (that includes cleaning up decapitated heads)
2. Begging Idi Amin not to shoot my German Shepard
3. Hanging out at Jonestown for the Kool Aide
4. Eating ice cream in the middle of the Holocost
5. Walking out of Tibet because Mao Tse Tung is the new boss
2
Trump was elected by people who are very tired of being airily and automatically dismissed as racist, misogynist, Islamophobic, ignorant churls who are clearly both stupid and evil and probably against LBGTQEA rights also. And go to Church too. Ugh.
Sort of like Charles Blow did in this article.
Mischaracterizing the positions of Trump supporters and dismissing them an unworthy is not a good strategy for the left.
Trump never said he would stop all Islamic immigration.
To shore up our borders against illegal immigration is not racist.
And how did it become racist to ask the President where he was born? I never did get that connection.
There are good reasons for many of Trump's ideas, and lots of people who understand them. Enough to elect him.
Please lighten up, left wing. And listen a little. Maybe even give him a week or two to see how he does before the pitchforks and torch parade starts.....
It won't hurt.
Sort of like Charles Blow did in this article.
Mischaracterizing the positions of Trump supporters and dismissing them an unworthy is not a good strategy for the left.
Trump never said he would stop all Islamic immigration.
To shore up our borders against illegal immigration is not racist.
And how did it become racist to ask the President where he was born? I never did get that connection.
There are good reasons for many of Trump's ideas, and lots of people who understand them. Enough to elect him.
Please lighten up, left wing. And listen a little. Maybe even give him a week or two to see how he does before the pitchforks and torch parade starts.....
It won't hurt.
3
With few exceptions, the House and the Senate are not known to be men (and a few women) of great courage, so I predict that they will either get on the Trump Bus or fall under it and get squashed. The Supreme Court will do the same, and Trump will get precisely what he wants- absolute power with no one to say to him "Nay." The deck is stacked, the cards are marked, the bullies have taken over the bar, and there ain't no sheriff riding into town.
3
How convenient is it that Trump and Pence are standing in front of a limo with their driver and the door open. This tells me that they are inviting us all for a rocky ride on the highway to hell.
1
Elections have consequences. Mr. Trump won. His initial appointments from the right and little different then Mr. Obama's choices from the left eight years ago. That is what elections are all about.
6
@Donna Gray: Wrong.
Obama's appointees weren't denying equal rights to some citizens. They weren't trying to deny women control over their own bodies. They weren't spouting off about evolution being "only a theory". They weren't trying to register adherents to a particular religion - in direct opposition to our Constitution.
Trump and his hateful cronies want an America designed just for their own amusement and power. There is a HUGE difference between the morality and ethics of the people in Obama's Cabinet and those being proposed for Trump's.
And don't forget, this election may have made Trump the president-elect, but about 1.5 million more people voted for HRC than who voted for Trump.
If Muslim Americans are feeling unsafe, then we should all be feeling unsafe.
Obama's appointees weren't denying equal rights to some citizens. They weren't trying to deny women control over their own bodies. They weren't spouting off about evolution being "only a theory". They weren't trying to register adherents to a particular religion - in direct opposition to our Constitution.
Trump and his hateful cronies want an America designed just for their own amusement and power. There is a HUGE difference between the morality and ethics of the people in Obama's Cabinet and those being proposed for Trump's.
And don't forget, this election may have made Trump the president-elect, but about 1.5 million more people voted for HRC than who voted for Trump.
If Muslim Americans are feeling unsafe, then we should all be feeling unsafe.
So many questionable allegations, so little time.
Mr. Blow hasn't slowed down on the rabid anti-Trump articles. Reading this collection of the most hysterical, most nasty conclusions of Trump's cabinet is a waste of time, especially given the concluding words:
"That orange glow emanating from the man is the sun setting on America’s progress, however slow and halting, on race and gender inclusion and equity."
The nation spoke and thought that the illegal immigration, bad trade deals, overreach by many Obama social policies, and the threat of more of the same from Hillary Clinton was an "inclusive" policy that wasn't inclusive at all, or fair. And Mr. Blow's attempt to demonize the cabinet is going to be as successful as the rest of the angry ranting of his previous columns, and will fail, deservedly.
And America will try something new, focused on American citizens and jobs. Maybe that inclusive policy, which includes all races, religions and regions is what scares the pants off Mr. Blow. It just might succeed and the narrative won't return to useless and divisive identity politics which is Mr. Blow's gravy train.
Mr. Blow hasn't slowed down on the rabid anti-Trump articles. Reading this collection of the most hysterical, most nasty conclusions of Trump's cabinet is a waste of time, especially given the concluding words:
"That orange glow emanating from the man is the sun setting on America’s progress, however slow and halting, on race and gender inclusion and equity."
The nation spoke and thought that the illegal immigration, bad trade deals, overreach by many Obama social policies, and the threat of more of the same from Hillary Clinton was an "inclusive" policy that wasn't inclusive at all, or fair. And Mr. Blow's attempt to demonize the cabinet is going to be as successful as the rest of the angry ranting of his previous columns, and will fail, deservedly.
And America will try something new, focused on American citizens and jobs. Maybe that inclusive policy, which includes all races, religions and regions is what scares the pants off Mr. Blow. It just might succeed and the narrative won't return to useless and divisive identity politics which is Mr. Blow's gravy train.
6
You are very gullible if you think Trump is about jobs. Let's check back in 4 years and see how many manufacturing, coal and steel jobs cone back.
1
for all those tlking about how Bernie was sidelined he wasnt he lost fair and square. Hilary was clearly winning and had the delegate and ground support to win. Bernie was just prolonging the infighting. Comie was the one that swung the election in Trumps favour. after that during the crucial moment all that was being tlked about was how Hilary was a liar.
Such bitter vitriol. While all Americans join together to celebrate another peaceful transition of the reins of government, once again confirming the august majesty of the men who drafted our constitution, Mr. Blow rocks alone in a corner, clinging to his religion of skin color. According to Mr. Blow, he has had a lifetime of being on the losing side. One would think that with all that practice, he would at least learn to be a graceful loser.
If Mr. Blow ever wrote a positive column, I have never read it. But, since life is apparently one big disappointment for him, beginning and ending with the color of his skin, we can look forward to more irrelevant and implacably childish rants.
If Mr. Blow ever wrote a positive column, I have never read it. But, since life is apparently one big disappointment for him, beginning and ending with the color of his skin, we can look forward to more irrelevant and implacably childish rants.
4
Diogenes fails to mention FDR's America in his anti-socialist rant. The 1950's and 60's were one of America's most prosperous times due to socialist policies.
Well even though you've been pushing Hillary against all odds, when it was clear that Sanders was doing better against Trump in naional polls, we now have to be unified in fighting these people and get them out by 2020, by making the Democratic party a real progressive party represents the interests of working people and not just Wall Street.
1
Well said. However, can we dispense with using the term "alt-right", and just call it what it is, white supremacists, white nationalists, and Neo-nazis. Alt-right is the re-branding attempt by Steve Bannon to make all those groups seem more palatable as if it's just another music genre. They are not, and should always be called out for the hatred they espouse. Reject the term in speech and in print.
I don't often agree with Charles Blow, or maybe, more specifically, I often agree with his general premise but am turned off by the spin, sensationalism, and willful omission of relevant facts. But he couldn't be more on point with this column. And I'm not sure hyperbole is possible when discussing the horrific nature of some of Trump's advisor and cabinet picks.
1
Sure, fifty years of social progress and the legal abolishment of racial, gender and sexual orientation discrimination are being torn asunder, but at least Trump didn't have a private email server.
2
No. Trump had worse. Trump had HATE -- and he didn't need an email server, with so many willing supporters to spread it around.
With such thugs in power, for the first time I see the value of the 2nd amendment of the Constitution. This is not Germany 1930. This is the most powerful country on the planet turning to neo-nazi.
1
WOW!!! Charles Blow incites, and the NY Times publishes, yet another leftist call for violence and murder of all opponents!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do Blow and the Times think they aren't morally and legally culpable when one of their unhinged supporters takes a shot at Trump or one of his countless supporters?!?!?!?!
3
Trump is attempting to make hate/white supremacy acceptable by bringing suit and tie wearing bigots.
Remember, slavery was legal, the holocaust was legal, apartheid was legal. It's simply a matter of enforcement; enter Jeff Sessions. They hope to put a smiley face on hate while rolling back the clock.
Remember, slavery was legal, the holocaust was legal, apartheid was legal. It's simply a matter of enforcement; enter Jeff Sessions. They hope to put a smiley face on hate while rolling back the clock.
2
Thanks, Charles, for speaking truth about what's going on with the Trump transition. I'm looking forward to the next election, and in the meantime we have to point out every day exactly what Trump and the Republicans are doing (and what they're doing to us).
More at:
http://richardsubber.com/
More at:
http://richardsubber.com/
1
Wouldn't look forward too much. Unfortunately, lots more battleground Democratic seats up for re-election than Republican.
2
It is pointless to lament about the choice that the electoral college wrought, and it's a slippery slope to banana republic status until we take back the basic ingredient of democracy. Our vote should be the only means of electing our president!
3
Obviously, Blow hasn't learned anything from the election. The idea that voters think that everything (including whether the sun comes up tomorrow) is all about race was simply rejected.
According to Pew Research, the top priorities for voters is consistently the economy (meaning jobs) and their safety (both here and abroad).
So how does Blow make his case ? By finding a 30-yr old statement by Sessions about the NAACP being out of touch. Well, maybe the fact that the NAACP just rejected the idea of charters which have become a ray of hope for so many poor and minority students attests to how out of touch they are more than some 30-yr old quote.
I agree that no one should be discriminated against because of their race. But this idea of a race-neutral country that judges "on the content of your character not the color of your skin" (as MLK said) isn't what liberals want. Instead, they want to exalt our differences to the absurd extent of making a federal case out of allowing people to choose which bathroom to use based on the gender they think they are when they wake up that morning.
Step out of your liberal echo chamber for a minute. I don't see any lynchings. Do you ? Try becoming Americans first and worry about whatever tribe you are part of second.
According to Pew Research, the top priorities for voters is consistently the economy (meaning jobs) and their safety (both here and abroad).
So how does Blow make his case ? By finding a 30-yr old statement by Sessions about the NAACP being out of touch. Well, maybe the fact that the NAACP just rejected the idea of charters which have become a ray of hope for so many poor and minority students attests to how out of touch they are more than some 30-yr old quote.
I agree that no one should be discriminated against because of their race. But this idea of a race-neutral country that judges "on the content of your character not the color of your skin" (as MLK said) isn't what liberals want. Instead, they want to exalt our differences to the absurd extent of making a federal case out of allowing people to choose which bathroom to use based on the gender they think they are when they wake up that morning.
Step out of your liberal echo chamber for a minute. I don't see any lynchings. Do you ? Try becoming Americans first and worry about whatever tribe you are part of second.
8
Don't see any lynchings (yet), but a major spikein racists attacks on people. I'm guessing you're not a minority, otherwise you wouldn't downplay the psychological impact of getting egged and then called a slur, which has actually happened to several people in my network, blacks and Asians. Not to mention the swastikas that two of my friends sighted ( in separate locations).
97
A person of you education then merely passes off as trivial the 5 year campaign of Trump to delegitimize the Presidency with a required revelation of the long form birth certificate of the President of the United States. Thats how it started and with the rise of the Alt-right that is how it ended. Waving your hand across the proverbial table and sweeping Bigotry off the table as so many crumbs only allows it to fall from sight. Voting for a (broad spectrum) Bigot make you a Bigot. Simple.
2
Are you seriously suggesting that America has to see a new round of lynchings before coming to see the looming danger of racist ideologies? -- And then speak of echo chambers??
No offense, but it appears as though you just might be in one yourself.
Another thing.
As Americans, we all belong to the same tribe.
That is what it means to be an American.
No offense, but it appears as though you just might be in one yourself.
Another thing.
As Americans, we all belong to the same tribe.
That is what it means to be an American.
4
Truer words were never spoken when HRC said that half of his supporters were deplorables. I would add to that another piece of her wisdom, that some are implicitly racist, sexist, homophobic, islamaphobic, others explicitly so. A majority of voters agreed with her, not him. That fact gives me hope that this backlash or resistance will continue. People, keep your angry fire lit! Use that as fuel. We are going to need it.
3
Charles - Excellent piece. Do not let up, keep the harsh light of decency shining on these people. Catalogue their terrible decisions for the national record, and dig deep into their reprehensible backgrounds for all to see.
8
Until the left adopts public humiliation, scorn, disdain and the bullying so successfully employed by the right in proving that outright intransigence at every turn works, they will continue to suffer. Yes, I know: "that's lowering ourselves to their level." So what, it clearly worked for them.
We cannot go down the road of hitting the racism button every time Trump nominates an alt right politician. We are going to turn race into, a pro choice or pro life argument, which will have devastating consequences moving forward. Right now that approach lost us the election and pushing the race button is favoring Donald Trump, not making him less desirable. The Black Lives Matter movement is a perfect example; both candidates never address it, when BLM is a compelling social movement.
Racism is a sickness of the soul; we have to show those white supporters that Trump is taking the country in the wrong path. If we continue with the lecture them, those winnable Trump supporters will tu e us out.
The white vote elected Donald Trump because they believed that he was not a racist. Those of us on the left know that Trump is everything, he says, he is. But to win the country back we have to focus on public policy that wonkish term, which was swept under the rug during the election.
Trump's cabinet choices will shape his presidency, and I can see the issues with his choices, but the matter here is that we need worry about our side. Sessions and Bannon will make mistakes. Being in the spotlight will expose them and that will take time. Remember John Ashcroft?
We have no leadership or message in the Democratic party; we need a leadership makeover, and that should be our focus.
Trump's cabinet will self destruct. The country will be fine.
Racism is a sickness of the soul; we have to show those white supporters that Trump is taking the country in the wrong path. If we continue with the lecture them, those winnable Trump supporters will tu e us out.
The white vote elected Donald Trump because they believed that he was not a racist. Those of us on the left know that Trump is everything, he says, he is. But to win the country back we have to focus on public policy that wonkish term, which was swept under the rug during the election.
Trump's cabinet choices will shape his presidency, and I can see the issues with his choices, but the matter here is that we need worry about our side. Sessions and Bannon will make mistakes. Being in the spotlight will expose them and that will take time. Remember John Ashcroft?
We have no leadership or message in the Democratic party; we need a leadership makeover, and that should be our focus.
Trump's cabinet will self destruct. The country will be fine.
3
Not going to tone down calling Trump out for racism. I'm done trying to convince racists by sugarcoating the message. It doesn't work. Such people will continue to support the racist no matter what policies the racist claims to support. What we need to focus is getting more minorities and young people out of their chairs to vote.
1
A megalomaniac can never stop. Nothing is enough. A man of Destiny has to see where his star leads. 1) A vision of doing unexpectedly well in the primaries, where maybe 20% of voters, would promote his concerns about Mexicans, Muslims and the criminal corruption of the Clinton camp. So even if he lost the nomination he would have a huge impact on the platform and the fervour of his followers perhaps channeled to a new alt-right tv channel .
2) The vision expanded to include the possibility that he might actually win
the nomination. The rallies revealed that. Then with the formal nomination
the vision expanded again, to see himself emerging from the election as President. He has, despite the NYT projection that he had only an 8% chance.
It can't and won't end there. Slowly it will dawn on him that if he follows his instincts he will be one of the greatest Presidents in history. His statue will tower over Mt Rushmore. Now not gaining the presidency will be his vision but a new one of what he might do on the presidential level. A megalomaniac never stops.
2) The vision expanded to include the possibility that he might actually win
the nomination. The rallies revealed that. Then with the formal nomination
the vision expanded again, to see himself emerging from the election as President. He has, despite the NYT projection that he had only an 8% chance.
It can't and won't end there. Slowly it will dawn on him that if he follows his instincts he will be one of the greatest Presidents in history. His statue will tower over Mt Rushmore. Now not gaining the presidency will be his vision but a new one of what he might do on the presidential level. A megalomaniac never stops.
2
Perhaps the Trump phenomenon is a temporary - although certainly painful - retrograde interruption in an inevitable future of cooperative diversity and international ties. In the long run, moves backward ultimately play themselves out. At least, so I hope.
1
The Trump presidency is going to be the ultimate challenge for Blow. Is he up to the challenge of writing twice a week editorials for 4 years on the same topic? That's around 400 editorials. That would definitely sap the creative energies of most of us.
2
The Trump presidency is going to be the ultimate challenge for more than Mr. Blow --- it's going to be the ultimate challenge for this entire country, and its impact will have an effect on the rest of the world.
Racism is all he ever writes about, so he's up for it. Apparently he doesn't see the subtler racism in being hired by a liberal white family's newspaper to write solely about racism, and only in black and white (or black vs white) terms.
2
I am so tired of hearing Trump's propaganda unintentionally reinforced via snappy headline writers. One of the lessons of the campaign is the peril of lack of precision, and adopting the Trumpisms for entertainment value. Here it is again in the headline of this opinion. As others pointed out, the label, white, is not always usefully employed as a damning pejorative by those claiming inclusiveness. But, more importantly, this headline accepts and reinforces Trump's promise of return to earlier, better, time for majority white Americans. Why buy into this? Where is there any evidence of this previous sweet spot in history or any evidence that the majority of white folks would want to turn back domestic social progress? Has anyone asked them anyone under the age of 70 this question? The rise of the far right fringe racist organizations should be properly reported as something new and threatening. How about a headline that says "Reinventing America on a Racist Model?" That would be honest.
2
The president-elect has an a key advisor a leader of the for-profit, analytics-responsive, hate media in Steve Bannon. The privatization of propaganda and its weaponizaton on the web will add accelerant to the fire.
2
Mr. Blow exacerbates the Balkanization of America by only seeing this election only through the prism of race. The divisions were fosteed by Democrats who excluded the interests of white working class men in the rust belt and elsewhere. These men were traditionally democrats, but there was no home for them in the Democratic party. The canard that this election was driven by racism is refuted by the fact that counties that tipped theelction for Trump in the midwest voted for Obama in the last two presidential elections.
6
Picking battles with unity will be the challenge now, and fights over the consolidation of more power to the office of the presidency or any hint of immunizing the office from scrutiny or investigation will be the most important.
What can the press do? I hope they will get AHEAD of the issues. With all the talk of "conflict of interest" that took hold only 6 months ago for our "deal-maker" President elect, (way too late), we seemed to hear only this week that no conflicts of interest laws will apply to his new office. Interesting that the most powerful position, with the possibility of inflicting the most harm is exempt. So so much on the most corrupt human to ever run for President--Hillary Clinton, and all those horrible horrible, harmful emails....
What can the press do? I hope they will get AHEAD of the issues. With all the talk of "conflict of interest" that took hold only 6 months ago for our "deal-maker" President elect, (way too late), we seemed to hear only this week that no conflicts of interest laws will apply to his new office. Interesting that the most powerful position, with the possibility of inflicting the most harm is exempt. So so much on the most corrupt human to ever run for President--Hillary Clinton, and all those horrible horrible, harmful emails....
2
Before you start yelling at me, I am an independent that did not like either of our choices. I don't understand this article and the comments attached to it. This horrible and blatant name calling. When I look up the definition of fascist it would appear to me that the Democrats are just as guilty as the Republicans and nothing is getting done for the people who most need it. I think most of us want the same things....a job to provide for our families, a better education for our children and a good future for them as well. Equal oportunity and a helping hand for those of us who are finding it difficult to crawl out of our hole. We want to be allowed to live the life we chose as long as that life doesn't take away someone else's right to live as they choose. However when I read this article and others by this other, his tolerance seems to only extend to those who agree with him and he engages in what I believe to be baseless attacks. How do we come together as a nation and solve our problems together when we seem to be taught that our discourse should consists not in a sharing of solutions but in venomous attacks? There seems to be a supposition that if you don't agree with me on policy then I am an evil person. There may be bad leaders on both sides but I do not think the majority of us are evil. We just have different ideas on how to fix problems.
6
Democrats tend not to paraphrase Leni Riefenstahl titles at rallies.
1
Face it; The Man in the High Tower is ignorant, impulsive, and easily manipulated (see Howard Stern interviews, for example). There is no there there. He is an empty vessel, waiting to be filled with whatever poisonous ideology comes his way.
2
Trump will be president for one simple reason: the Democratic Party and the media engineered the nomination of a manifestly unpopular candidate who could not motivate its base to vote. They blocked out everyone else. Sanders got no respect at this paper. No one else was given the air to compete by fund raisers and grandees. Blow can blame this on white racism, if he likes. The fact is, Trump won white people who voted for Obama in 08 and 12. And it was Clinton who lost these voters to Trump. But for Blow the answer, no matter the question, is always white racism. Trump Democrats, like Reagan Democrats, are up for grabs. Calling them racists isn't likely to win them back. And it looks like the NYT is going to spend the next four years making sure that Trump Democrats get that message. Don't be surprised if Trump or another Republican populist wins again in 2020.
6
You conveniently forget that Sanders didn't win the Black and minority vote.
It is counter-productive to merely blame the NYT and Democrats for that, when far more soul-searching is required.
It is counter-productive to merely blame the NYT and Democrats for that, when far more soul-searching is required.
I don't believe that the sun is setting on American progress on race and gender equity. This is a big step back and we have to work, not just talk but work, to ensure bigger steps forward in the future. Martin Luther King Jr. famously said "The moral arc of the universe is long but bends towards justice." Sometimes we forget about the "is long" part of the quote. Now is an is-long time, but the arc is still bending towards justice.
3
I find it hard to share your optimism, as Justice will become an altered state with Jeff Sessions in the role of Attorney General.
The byword in this and most presidential campaigns is change. I never quite got the sense of what it looks like -- this "change" that voters say they wanted. President Obama may have offered the answered when he said that sometimes people want something new -- a new flavor perhaps -- to shake things up in their lives. So far the change seems to be on the Trump train heading toward the White House with a basket of bigots. I want Trump to fail without the country failing -- a tall order even for a dream. I'm counting on a line from the song "Just One Of Those Things." This electoral nightmare and its aftermath are just "too hot not to cool down."
2
Seems that 240 years on we are re-litigating the roots of the American Revolution and 155 years on we are re-fighting the American Civil Way. This time, however, I will start calling it "The War of Southern Regression." History repeats -- first as tragedy, then as farce.
Ignorance is -- ignorance.
Ignorance is -- ignorance.
1
Demographics is destiny. If we can get through this, progress in diversity awaits on the other side. Trump is the last gasp of 1960's America. Ugly, ugly as it is, I have faith that America will correct again in the near future. President Obama was not an aberration.
1
It's been interesting to watch and read (even in some of the comments here) the Trump voters trying to justify their vote for this very unfit President-elect. One even saying she couldn't justify that Hillary Clinton made so much money while having a lifetime of "public service". I think "normalizing" this person is not possible, but keep trying Trump voters. I for one, will never be able to do that -- the nasty, divisive rhetoric during this election and even after -- by these terrible cabinet picks and continuing terrible, disheartening tweets -- imagine a President-Elect who turned the Hamilton incident around and used the opportunity to speak to people in a meaningful way -- but, no, he used his tweet pulpit to do what he has consistently done -- abusive to anyone who doesn't do what he likes. We are in for some terrible times when another world leader does something Mr. Trump doesn't like, so Mr. Blow thank you again for pointing out the obvious and the truth -- keep it coming.
3
To portray Democrat identity politics pushed/programmed by Democrat plutocrats as simple benign electoral ineffectuality misses the point.
Democrat identity politics is most of all about intolerance and power. Its historical precursor is not classical liberalism but segregation.
It "advocates" social and economic equality as it quashes dissenters and exploits the vulnerable.
The new Lennonist utopians (Douthat's pun) are Lenin's useful idiots re-Imagined: easily deluded willing accomplices in their own destruction.
4
Probably 99 percent of leaders in all the history of Western civilization have been white men. To expect that to change significantly over a period of a generation or two is unrealistic.
3
This may well be the beginning of the end - I agree wholeheartedly with this sentiment. Given the spreading of White nationalist movements in the UK and other European countries, this may herald the end of White domination.
2
I never know what people mean by "the wrong direction" when they say we have been headed that way. A poor friend who lives on SSI in an urban hovel took me on a tour of homeless city park dwellers the other day. I came away with a strong sense of identity as a well-off, old, socialist white guy who thinks we should stop rewarding people for fake disabilities and, instead, establish a minimum guaranteed income without penalties for earning more. That may be the only way to deal with the coming tsunami of automation. Just as food stamps keep people alive who, if just given money, would spend it on drugs, housing stamps could be deducted from the guaranteed income for those without a hovel. Then we could forget about the non-voting, idiot poor and just acknowledge our "identity" as fortunate, disciplined, tolerant, non-violent geezers more than willing to pay our share.
The rise of Donald Trump has opened my eyes to biases against people of color which had not been so apparent to me before. In Comments sections of newspapers, I have seen where a mass shooter who is white suffers from mental illness whereas any other ethnicity is considered a terrorist. Black drug addicts are seen as criminals, while the white opioid addiction needs compassion and a cure. Black Lives Matter is blamed for police shootings inflicted by black people. Police shootings by whites are not given the same scrutiny or air time.
I have also found that I do not need to choose sides as the media and others tell me to do. I can respect law enforcement and still understand a black mother's concern for her college age son driving cross country.
I agree that we have taken some steps backwards. I feel betrayed by my countrymen who excuse and overlook abhorrent behaviors exhibited by our President Elect. The people I know who are Republican and did not vote for Trump, are also those that do not rely on Facebook for their news. They give me hope that common decency will survive.
I have also found that I do not need to choose sides as the media and others tell me to do. I can respect law enforcement and still understand a black mother's concern for her college age son driving cross country.
I agree that we have taken some steps backwards. I feel betrayed by my countrymen who excuse and overlook abhorrent behaviors exhibited by our President Elect. The people I know who are Republican and did not vote for Trump, are also those that do not rely on Facebook for their news. They give me hope that common decency will survive.
1
No Charles, what we are looking for is an America that will not put special interest and minorities above white Americans as has been the case for many years. The notion and value of "diversity" has been grossly overplayed. Even the chief justice of the United states said that the value of diversity cannot be quantified. Minorities will actually have to make it on merit now.
5
To those who think that what drives Donald Trump is a racist mysoginist view of the World you are only partially right What drives him more than anything is his hunger to be accepted by society the same society that has viewed him as a clown for so many years He wants revenge He wants his ring kissed and he wants his family to be the equivalent of what the Russians call Oligarchs only here in America What will be his undoing however is his failure to recognize that his business conflicts are so enormous from the get gonthat he either has to divest completely or put them in a blind Trust to satisfy the minimum requirements of the constitution that he receive no foreign compensation while serving in office as President Even Republicans will cast him out if he fails to remove himself and his family from his international business interests
2
Mr. Trump won by appealing to the very group he is now surrounding himself with. The sad truth is, women, African Americans, Hispanics, progressives, young people, gays, LBGT's, elitists white liberals, etc., etc, etc. could have easily defeated him. All they needed to do was vote. Based on the numbers lots of them couldn't be bothered.
Elections have consequences. The right held the House, held the Senate, took the Presidency and added 3 State Houses.
Amazingly their strategy of blocking President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, something that looked idiotic days before the election even paid off.
All the hand wringing isn't going to inspire the coalition the Democrats are depending on to actually go and vote. Inspiring candidates like President Obama actually did get them to vote. Where are they?
Elections have consequences. The right held the House, held the Senate, took the Presidency and added 3 State Houses.
Amazingly their strategy of blocking President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, something that looked idiotic days before the election even paid off.
All the hand wringing isn't going to inspire the coalition the Democrats are depending on to actually go and vote. Inspiring candidates like President Obama actually did get them to vote. Where are they?
2
All that so many liberals have these days are "labels" that they think somehow make those on the right untouchable and ostracized. They just don't get how ridiculous it all is. Actually, an attorney general could have racist feelings and still be a great attorney general. What matters is that the attorney general uphold the law evenly. Inverse racist sentiment caused Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch to overcompensate and use their power to influence the behavior of police forces and communities, where there was never any evidence of actual racial biases, yet they didn't enforce the law evenly in the case of Hillary Clinton.
Let me add that whether a person is a racist, a xenophobe, a fascist, or a misogynist makes no difference for, say, the head of the EPA or the IRS. What does make a difference is whether the person carries out their position with political biases, as has been the case under the Obama administration.
Democrats have to learn that social engineering and labeling are tertiary to the real concerns of the nation and its citizens. They need meaningful policies to combat terrorism, improve the economy, and give Americans better, healthier everyday lives, while retaining their freedom.
Being the champions of diversity and multiculturalism only appeals to a relatively small segment of the population. If they don't change soon, they will lose more of the black, Hispanic, and independent voters and be consigned to a long term minority voice.
Let me add that whether a person is a racist, a xenophobe, a fascist, or a misogynist makes no difference for, say, the head of the EPA or the IRS. What does make a difference is whether the person carries out their position with political biases, as has been the case under the Obama administration.
Democrats have to learn that social engineering and labeling are tertiary to the real concerns of the nation and its citizens. They need meaningful policies to combat terrorism, improve the economy, and give Americans better, healthier everyday lives, while retaining their freedom.
Being the champions of diversity and multiculturalism only appeals to a relatively small segment of the population. If they don't change soon, they will lose more of the black, Hispanic, and independent voters and be consigned to a long term minority voice.
6
"The America he envisions, and is now actively constructing from his perch of power, is not an inclusive America. It is a society driven by a racial Orwellianism that seeks to defend, elevate and enshrine the primacy of white men and is hostile to all “others.”"
This should not surprise anyone. This is exactly what his entire campaign (and many of his supporters) was about: white male supremacy. He won! It has been legitimized. As many have pointed out, it is not fair, accurate or reasonable to describe every Trump voter racist, sexist, and xenophobic, but I do think it is fair to conclude that for most (the vast majority), these are not important issues. To me, that brings along partial responsibility for what will happen. And what will happen will be very bad for many people and, tragically, many will applaud and celebrate it (that what is very saddening). Dislike, distrust and even hatred of those that are different than you is alive and well.
This should not surprise anyone. This is exactly what his entire campaign (and many of his supporters) was about: white male supremacy. He won! It has been legitimized. As many have pointed out, it is not fair, accurate or reasonable to describe every Trump voter racist, sexist, and xenophobic, but I do think it is fair to conclude that for most (the vast majority), these are not important issues. To me, that brings along partial responsibility for what will happen. And what will happen will be very bad for many people and, tragically, many will applaud and celebrate it (that what is very saddening). Dislike, distrust and even hatred of those that are different than you is alive and well.
2
This slide actually began the day that Ronald Reagan showed up that the Neshoba County Fair, roughly three or four miles from the point at which three civil rights workers had been buried after being murdered in 1964, and announced that he was in favor of "states rights." The mistake in the years since was thinking that the people who respond to this sort of dog whistle all live in the old Confederacy. When I was growing up in Mississippi in the 1960s, I once asked my parents when all of this would end. The answer: Not until a lot of people are dead. They were not advocating revolution but instead meant that a younger generation would think differently. I continue to hope that they were correct. The need for constant vigilance, however, seems to have escaped about 100,000 plus voters across three midwestern states. Now we are all subject to the result.
3
It would be a mistake to limit the number of non-whites entering the country. However, we have had a disproportionate number of illegal immigrants who are non-white. We need to stop all immigration until we can secure our borders and develop a vetting system that excludes terrorists, but treats all races and nations fairly such that the numbers of their immigrants are reasonably proportionate to our nation's current mix.
5
I don't believe the majority of Republicans are racist. Their beliefs about social liberties, the economy and foreign policy are simply different than mine.
That's why it is so shocking that deeply racist players, representing a minority of what most of us stand for, are being placed into key positions of power, giving the racist minority in this country a loud and powerful voice.
While it would be nice to think of this as Trump rewarding those who stood by him in the election, it is not. It is a clear demonstration of his belief system.
What is not shocking is that the leaders in the Republican congress again say nothing against this man's bigotry, instead relishing in the thought of putting in place the changes that will further disenfranchise the very voters who elected him.
That's why it is so shocking that deeply racist players, representing a minority of what most of us stand for, are being placed into key positions of power, giving the racist minority in this country a loud and powerful voice.
While it would be nice to think of this as Trump rewarding those who stood by him in the election, it is not. It is a clear demonstration of his belief system.
What is not shocking is that the leaders in the Republican congress again say nothing against this man's bigotry, instead relishing in the thought of putting in place the changes that will further disenfranchise the very voters who elected him.
3
Let's give Trump's transition team two months which will be early January. Then we need to examine the candidates to see if they are exemplars. Pompeo, the proposed head of the CIA, graduated first in his class at West Point so he is smart.
Priebus has simply not been outstanding. We waffled through the primaries as Trump fired-bombed. Probably an OK but can he direct Trump? Not Likely. No proof.
Pence always seems to be starring onto the headlights of have I missed something? Did you expect that your vote was for President Pence?
Flynn and Sessions are total misses.
So so far one exemplar. Romney would make two. Priebus not an exemplar maybe a 0. Not a plus or a minus.
Let's keep score for the next 8 weeks.
Biggest problems seems to be the good guys and women are allergic to fleas or don't want any bites. Sound too harsh? Trump's influences for years appear to have been FOX News, its hosts and its guests. That has produced a strange and affected mind for a President person.
Priebus has simply not been outstanding. We waffled through the primaries as Trump fired-bombed. Probably an OK but can he direct Trump? Not Likely. No proof.
Pence always seems to be starring onto the headlights of have I missed something? Did you expect that your vote was for President Pence?
Flynn and Sessions are total misses.
So so far one exemplar. Romney would make two. Priebus not an exemplar maybe a 0. Not a plus or a minus.
Let's keep score for the next 8 weeks.
Biggest problems seems to be the good guys and women are allergic to fleas or don't want any bites. Sound too harsh? Trump's influences for years appear to have been FOX News, its hosts and its guests. That has produced a strange and affected mind for a President person.
The author misses the point. Trump's success (and, for that matter, Trump's appointments) have nothing to do with race (he got a larger percentage of the African American vote than any of the last three Republican candidates). Over the past 8 years, African Americans (like many other Americans) have seen their incomes go down, and have fared worse than other groups in various other economic indicators. The real problem is that Blow and his fellow liberals are terrified that someone other than a liberal Democrat will actually improve the lives of minorities in this country-- best way to prevent that is to ratchet up the allegations of racism.
2
I have been converted to belief in two of Mr. Trump's positions:
1) the election was rigged (cf. popular vote results)
2) America is in danger from violent extremists who hate America and Americans and presently live among us. These individuals vote, and were robustly represented on November 8.
1) the election was rigged (cf. popular vote results)
2) America is in danger from violent extremists who hate America and Americans and presently live among us. These individuals vote, and were robustly represented on November 8.
1
Open your eyes to reality! Violence comes from,the left, just look at the violent fascist mobs roaming the streets
2
People who have loosely identified themselves as Trump supporters have been associated with past statements of racist sentiment, etc. How many of them have committed acts of violence, in recent times? I don't know. I don't follow these people. It's not a rhetorical question.
How many of the ethic groups that supposedly fear a Trump white administration have been associated with violent acts against other Americans, against white Americans? The obvious ones I can think of have been Islamic terrorism and Black Lives Matter riots and mass murders against white policemen. Both of these groups have shown a repeated tolerance for deadly violence against Americans, specifically white Americans. There have been incidents of white cops killing criminals in questionable incidents such as traffic stops, etc. but theses incidents are now being investigated by the police and in some cases the cop is prosecuted.
If black Americans fear Trump's white America, as defined by liberal media propagandists, then white Americans fear blacks who riot and kill innocent people because of a cop shooting that in many cases is justified.
There are people in the Black community who are pushing a narrative that invalidates our constitution and current laws. They advocate that the country was founded by, and the constitution was written by, white racists, therefore America's laws are white racist laws and should be ignored and fought against. So we have deadly assassinations of police, etc.
How many of the ethic groups that supposedly fear a Trump white administration have been associated with violent acts against other Americans, against white Americans? The obvious ones I can think of have been Islamic terrorism and Black Lives Matter riots and mass murders against white policemen. Both of these groups have shown a repeated tolerance for deadly violence against Americans, specifically white Americans. There have been incidents of white cops killing criminals in questionable incidents such as traffic stops, etc. but theses incidents are now being investigated by the police and in some cases the cop is prosecuted.
If black Americans fear Trump's white America, as defined by liberal media propagandists, then white Americans fear blacks who riot and kill innocent people because of a cop shooting that in many cases is justified.
There are people in the Black community who are pushing a narrative that invalidates our constitution and current laws. They advocate that the country was founded by, and the constitution was written by, white racists, therefore America's laws are white racist laws and should be ignored and fought against. So we have deadly assassinations of police, etc.
3
I've never disagreed with Blow but never understood his approach before the election. His column comments are so popular I was always too late to submit one with a simple question, are you trolling for Trump?
Demeaning working class voters as racist and ignorant guaranteed their support of Trump. As did unquestioned support of an unelectable candidate. (Worst was his critique of opposition not on issues but by worst supporters. His publicizing extreme Sanders supporters was like the right wing opposing Obama and Clinton due to a few of their extreme supporters, illogical, evasive and divisive.)
We can't blame Blow alone for electing Trump. Just his divisive ilk, including the DNC who gave no reason to support Clinton and insulted labor enough to motivate their oppositional vote.
Demeaning working class voters as racist and ignorant guaranteed their support of Trump. As did unquestioned support of an unelectable candidate. (Worst was his critique of opposition not on issues but by worst supporters. His publicizing extreme Sanders supporters was like the right wing opposing Obama and Clinton due to a few of their extreme supporters, illogical, evasive and divisive.)
We can't blame Blow alone for electing Trump. Just his divisive ilk, including the DNC who gave no reason to support Clinton and insulted labor enough to motivate their oppositional vote.
3
Imagine if every ‘forgotten’ person who claims they voted Trump for economic reasons magically found themselves in stable, fairly-rewarded work on January 21st. Do you think they would, having achieved their avowed objective and had their needs met, adopt a live-and-let-live approach towards others? Having secured their own financial position and the corresponding status, would they step up and support other less fortunate people who are still struggling against persecution or inequality or simple lack of opportunity (or even merely respect their right to struggle)? If it was all about the money then I guess they would. But your guess is as good as mine.
I sincerely hope that Trump's and the republican's behavior, appointments, policies, and actions are so offensive to decent minded Americans that at the next election, they roundly boot the lot of them from Trump on down. However, given the stupidity of those who voted for Trump this time around, I sadly wonder whether that can happen.
I agree with this article except for the remark on the sanctuary cities. Sanctuary was justifiable in the days of slavery because of injustice. Sanctuary for illegal immigrants is a different story. A legitimate law has been broken and the Federal Government should not be frustrated in enforcing that law by any local government.
1
Why did so many Americans of all races and so many women fool themselves and think "Trump would be different when he was elected? All one had to do was look at his actions during the past 3 decades & observe his actions and listen to his words during the 2016 political campaign. Trump is not just a racist. He is sexist and a misogynist. He is a master a terrorizing people by cultivating fear and hatred. Wake up America. He is not going to become enlightened and change his perspective once he enters the Oval Office. Give him a chance? No way. It is time for the majority of people of this country to rise up and insist. No way.
People voted the KKK into the white house! And you can bet the Supreme Court will follow suit. But in a real sense, America suffers from the Boiled Frog Syndrome in that we continue to ignore the drum beats and warning signs that are all around us.
We have choices here. Unfortunately, the easy choice is behind us (unless someone finds the smoking Russia tinkered in the election gun), and we only face hard ones. Do we work with the guy supported by everything we do not want to be? And if we do not, how do we protect the children as we engage in what I hope will be a non-violent revolution. If we do, how do we DO that and live with our choice?
All our choices are hard, and they have consequences. The fact is that we are running out of time. The clock is ticking and it won't be long before they are tattooing Muslims and gay people. We cannot wait until 2018 for change. We must be the change, and take heart from the voices of the past, from our current president, and from HRC.
We have choices here. Unfortunately, the easy choice is behind us (unless someone finds the smoking Russia tinkered in the election gun), and we only face hard ones. Do we work with the guy supported by everything we do not want to be? And if we do not, how do we protect the children as we engage in what I hope will be a non-violent revolution. If we do, how do we DO that and live with our choice?
All our choices are hard, and they have consequences. The fact is that we are running out of time. The clock is ticking and it won't be long before they are tattooing Muslims and gay people. We cannot wait until 2018 for change. We must be the change, and take heart from the voices of the past, from our current president, and from HRC.
1
I recently watched part of the 'American Experience' program about the City of New York. It's a multi-part documentary....I was watching the episode about NYC from 1880 to 1920 - the era of immigration.
There was a lot said about Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Emma Lazarus, etc.
I found myself weeping as I watched the program.
Then, immigration was regarded as a boon, a plus, an advantage to the City. Now, with the ascendency of Donald Trump, all this will end.
I weep for my city and for my country as we descend into the dark abyss of hatred and fear that are hallmarks of the forthcoming reign of a bigot.
There was a lot said about Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Emma Lazarus, etc.
I found myself weeping as I watched the program.
Then, immigration was regarded as a boon, a plus, an advantage to the City. Now, with the ascendency of Donald Trump, all this will end.
I weep for my city and for my country as we descend into the dark abyss of hatred and fear that are hallmarks of the forthcoming reign of a bigot.
"Then, immigration was regarded as a boon, a plus, an advantage to the City. "
That was then, but things are very different now. We do not have enough jobs for all American citizens who want one, let alone every uneducated, illiterate, third-world world peasant who wants to come here.
That was then, but things are very different now. We do not have enough jobs for all American citizens who want one, let alone every uneducated, illiterate, third-world world peasant who wants to come here.
1
The Left needs to get something straight:
Racism exist.
Race does not.
To talk about "white" voters is to embrace the central myth underpinning racism.
Look closely. The term "white" voter and "black" voter are not parallel to other descriptors - like "Latino" or "Asian."
It may be difficult to disrupt our habits and inconvenient to find another shorthand, but until we find an accurate way to classify ethnicity we will unintentionally reinforce the mental ecology that nourishes racist ideology.
Racism exist.
Race does not.
To talk about "white" voters is to embrace the central myth underpinning racism.
Look closely. The term "white" voter and "black" voter are not parallel to other descriptors - like "Latino" or "Asian."
It may be difficult to disrupt our habits and inconvenient to find another shorthand, but until we find an accurate way to classify ethnicity we will unintentionally reinforce the mental ecology that nourishes racist ideology.
3
Let's give trump a chance? So far the results are not encouraging. I'm not sure we can afford too many chances.
A bit too soon and a little over the top for this, Charles, but I agree we seem to be heading there. Like Sessions, the worst villains have that patina of civility and reasonableness.
A bit too soon and a little over the top for this, Charles, but I agree we seem to be heading there. Like Sessions, the worst villains have that patina of civility and reasonableness.
1
Why, Charles, haven't you been reading the NYTimes since the election? There have been a number of opinion articles explaining how this was all the fault of liberals and how liberals are responsible for the rise of Trump (before the election the dog whistles of the GOP were blamed). It appears that we liberal elites (never thought of myself as 'elite,' but it seems to be defined as educated), have ignored the average white working men and women; that we have oh so carelessly cared about diversity too much - now look what we have done - Trump! Furthermore, it seems that none of those cheering Trump fans really liked his racism, misogyny, or xenophobia - they just tolerated it but their real issue is that they are neglected by the uncaring, irresponsible, cold coastal elites - or so the story seems to be going.
(I get that economic misery and job loss is a factor for many Trump fans, but let's not pretend that thousands of them weren't also enthusiastically cheering his bigoted remarks. )
(I get that economic misery and job loss is a factor for many Trump fans, but let's not pretend that thousands of them weren't also enthusiastically cheering his bigoted remarks. )
2
Today, the GOP holds more elected seats at all levels of government (local, state and federal) than at any other time in the last century. The reasons for this shift are many and complicated, but this situation will not change as long as the left keeps retreating into their academic, journalistic and social media bubbles crying "racism" and "white privilege" every time they lose. Build a solid platform of jobs and national security - not trans-gender bathrooms and sanctuary cities - and the voters will return, just as they did in 1992 after 12 years of Reagan/Bush.
96
Obama will be the last Democratic president
3
We, and Mr. Blow, are screaming racism because those in position to lead our government are known, out of their own mouths .... white nationalists.
If that isn't cause for alarm I don't know what is. We should all be screaming against racism.
If that isn't cause for alarm I don't know what is. We should all be screaming against racism.
I agree that tactically the Democratic Party needs to figure out how to better reach many of the white voters who chose Trump this year. However, what feels grossly unfair and ironic to those of us who followed every twist and turn of Obama's attempts to get common-sense legislation through a Republican Congress for 6 years is that he constantly championed "a solid platform of jobs and national security"; he always tried to have the back of workers, of whatever ethnicity--e.g., infrastructure spending at the start of the recession, creation of a private-public bank to fund further infrastructure spending, education opportunities for those who had lost or were losing their jobs because of outsourcing or the death of their industries; saving the auto industry; creating a labor department that was overtly pro-worker's rights; supporting unions; extending unemployment during the recession for those (of every ethnicity!) who lost their jobs to the mess created by lax oversight of financial giants; extending health benefits to poor & working class people (of every ethnicity -- in rural Tennessee as much as in the heart of NYC); and much, much, more. Meanwhile, the Republicans sought to block & roll back every single one of these efforts.
This point does not get made often during all the postmortems about "elitist, bubble-living" liberals.
This point does not get made often during all the postmortems about "elitist, bubble-living" liberals.
Despite being a black American, I have frequently felt that Mr. Blow overstates his case on issues (although, I see his overall point). This is not one of those times.
Granted, my personal memory of past Presidents only extends to a very hazy knowledge of some of Clinton's first term. Yet, conservative or liberal, white or black, I was always willing to concede that each President during my lifetime was at least TRYING to do what's right for everyone. Maybe there's a difference of opinion as to what will work (trickle down economics, for instance). Maybe there are horrible unintended consequences of a desperate policy (like Clinton's crime bill). Maybe a particular President just wasn't the ideal person for the circumstances in which they found themselves (like G.W. Bush needing to respond to 9/11). I have no personal complaints about President Obama, but feel free to insert your own gripe if you like.
The point is that each of these leaders can at LEAST claim some amount of good faith. Trump will be the first President in my lifetime that cannot make that claim. That his statements are "authentic" should only serve to horrify people further. His own description of his proposals, taken at face value and without editorializing, are malicious. I have never witnessed such crowds of people cheering so loudly while a leader fantasizes opportunities for torture, persecutions, military brinkmanship and abuse of power. Why should I "give him a chance" to do such things?
Granted, my personal memory of past Presidents only extends to a very hazy knowledge of some of Clinton's first term. Yet, conservative or liberal, white or black, I was always willing to concede that each President during my lifetime was at least TRYING to do what's right for everyone. Maybe there's a difference of opinion as to what will work (trickle down economics, for instance). Maybe there are horrible unintended consequences of a desperate policy (like Clinton's crime bill). Maybe a particular President just wasn't the ideal person for the circumstances in which they found themselves (like G.W. Bush needing to respond to 9/11). I have no personal complaints about President Obama, but feel free to insert your own gripe if you like.
The point is that each of these leaders can at LEAST claim some amount of good faith. Trump will be the first President in my lifetime that cannot make that claim. That his statements are "authentic" should only serve to horrify people further. His own description of his proposals, taken at face value and without editorializing, are malicious. I have never witnessed such crowds of people cheering so loudly while a leader fantasizes opportunities for torture, persecutions, military brinkmanship and abuse of power. Why should I "give him a chance" to do such things?
321
Only a hyper-partisan NYT moderator would celebrate this absurd and hysterical partisan ranting.
"Identity politics?" This is just another fabricated code-word used by conservatives and their propaganda specialists (al la Luntz) to point the light of decency away from their own shortcomings.
How do conservatives (or run-of-the-mill-racists/bigots) explain the coarse, impolite and inappropriate labels they use regarding other people? They engage in the very identity politics they themselves object to.
I'm afraid that if some Blow readers are offended by his candor in this article, perhaps they need to grow a thicker (white?) skin.
How do conservatives (or run-of-the-mill-racists/bigots) explain the coarse, impolite and inappropriate labels they use regarding other people? They engage in the very identity politics they themselves object to.
I'm afraid that if some Blow readers are offended by his candor in this article, perhaps they need to grow a thicker (white?) skin.
6
Might as well add make America Christian again. No diversity of religion either. How is is that Donald Trump who has lived all of his life in one of the most diverse cities in the world only sees it through his white, male, Christian bubble? This is just another example of why his myopic point of view is so frightening.
2
How would Trump's Jewish Son-in-Law get along with Bannon? I haven't read anything about how well would they work together?
1
Every day is the same. I read, I am outraged and I write my little comment in this space. My hope today is that the Republicans and the Democrats in the Senate remain vigilant and do what they can to keep hate out of our government. Hate goes beyond partisan politics. They must not forget their role as the "government of the people, by the people and for the people."
2
Trump is, at heart, a liberal. No ones rights are going to be changed one iota.
2
The Electoral College can still choose someone who is not an existential threat to America. State laws claiming otherwise are clearly un-Constitutional. To head of the crisis of like this is exactly why Hamilton and the Founders put the Electoral College in place.
5
Do you honestly (i know, it's a challenge) think that Hillary would be better with her proven corruption and childish regard of national security? They just bought another house in white privilegeville, Chappaqua, N.Y.
She's in it for the payback. She's done her 'public service' and now wants whats coming to her, money and riches.
She's more corrupt than you give her credit for.
She's in it for the payback. She's done her 'public service' and now wants whats coming to her, money and riches.
She's more corrupt than you give her credit for.
1
This can be stopped. The electoral college can heed the will of the People. They can go by the real vote which Clinton leads by almost 2 million votes. They can stop this Fascist in his tracks if they have the courage to do what they were created to do. Reject the bigoted, unfit Trump and his white supremacist thugs. If they don't it is the end of America.
5
What is happening in the media is that people are realizing that Trump really is our president-elect, and they are trying to put a hopeful face on it. Understandable, but it doesn't work. To use an overused metaphor, it's like putting lipstick on a pig. The fourth estate needs to do its job. Trump's appointments and cabinet picks suggest that he intends to govern the way he campaigned. His way, without regard for the consequences of his actions. I can't imagine his administration lasting two years without a major scandal, perhaps impeachment. When that happens, the journalists, such as Charles Blow, who called things as they saw them, are going to be able to eat turkey on Thanksgiving 2018, not crow.
5
O M G!!! Another original and insightful from Blow. This man and his ability to say racism in a million ways is truly stunning. What a gift.
7
Bull squeeze. You still don't get it but you will soon enough.
“Elections have consequences, and at the end of the day, I won.” – President Obama to House Republican Whip Eric Cantor, January 23, 2009.
Time to put the left wing racists and xenophobes in their place.
“Elections have consequences, and at the end of the day, I won.” – President Obama to House Republican Whip Eric Cantor, January 23, 2009.
Time to put the left wing racists and xenophobes in their place.
9
An ignorant man just fined $25 million for running a fraudulent university has just been elected to the most powerful position in the world.
Instead of learning where Syria is on a map, he is spending his time tweeting about personal insults.
Americans need to wake up and be very frightened
Instead of learning where Syria is on a map, he is spending his time tweeting about personal insults.
Americans need to wake up and be very frightened
12
Last time I checked America was 70% white. Soooooo this article is nothing more than hating whitey for being white. It's become so predictable and represents exactly why Trump is president.
11
Mr. Blow, you hit the nail on the head. I've had this thought since they introduced their slogan. Keep calling it out.
9
Charles you are really starting to turn my stomach. If there is a racist in the house I suspect it's you.
I figure you like Ellison even though he has supported Farrakhan and the Holy Land charity which was giving money to Hamas. I suspect you love CAIR even though they were unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy land case.
We won, you lost get used to it.
I figure you like Ellison even though he has supported Farrakhan and the Holy Land charity which was giving money to Hamas. I suspect you love CAIR even though they were unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy land case.
We won, you lost get used to it.
14
How sad it must be to be Charles Blow - forever self righteous and smug. A man who rails against hate by being hateful,; a man who preaches tolerance, is himself intolerant. I you don't agree with him you are a racist, sexist bigot.
16
Blow can't seem to write anything that doesn't scream racism. Is he a follower of Rev. Wright? Maybe he should research some of Schumer's actions when he was attorney general in New York. I guess Blow wasn't satisfied with Alabama schools being de-segregated.
19
I hate to say it but I have come to the conclusion that Blow is a racist. His articles are continuously focussed on how evil white folks are and what they do to control other races, which is utter nonsense. Blow has never looked within the black population ever for any of its problems and will always blame somebody else. Who at the NYT is publishing editorials with a balanced view point ?
16
Keep writing this nonsense, Charles. You will guarantee Trump a second term easily. You have done more to elect Trump than you can possibly imagine - keep up the good work!
6
OMBP government-old men in baggy pants...
He may be a hillbilly billionaire, but he's our hillbilly billionaire...president.
3
Give it up, proglodytes. Become objective if that's even possible.
The US Presidency is no place for an affirmative action project. That's the lesson from 8 years of Barack Obama. He's a tiny little man and the presidency shrank to fit him.
The US Presidency is no place for an affirmative action project. That's the lesson from 8 years of Barack Obama. He's a tiny little man and the presidency shrank to fit him.
6
Sure, but the non-voters in Milwaukee (for instance) don't regret their choice. Give them a couple years and see how they feel.
2
It is stunning that The New York Times continues to allow these racially-charged, hate-filled columns. As a long-time subscriber I am dismayed at how diminished you are becoming...
12
It's hard to speak up when you are afraid. The terrorists have really won now. I am deathly afraid of my own government.
1
I'm afraid of the mobs of violent fascist leftists roaming the streets beating any and every Trump supporter they see, or even suspect
2
Trump may be a lot of things, bad and maybe good. But I don't think there is evidence that he is homophobic.
His public and private statements on gay rights have been generally supportive. He has said that gay marriage is "settled law". His attitude might be characterized as benign or even positive.
His public and private statements on gay rights have been generally supportive. He has said that gay marriage is "settled law". His attitude might be characterized as benign or even positive.
8
If some (aspect) of us go(es) low, it's harmful to give it a pass.
If they shoot, we shoot. If verbally, verbally. If they go amok or terror, we go police, army, navy seals.
Yes, we strive to go high, ranging from spirited mind to lust in embracing accord, high(er) in evolution, love shared begetting love begetting sharing, adoring, life, co-creating the beauty of humanity, freedom, joy, celebration, gratitude, education, truth, class, the audacity of hope evolving to belief then to solid knowledge that no Texan plunge back into bigot superstition can shake or roll back.
If we go low, we sadly regretfully know it is not who we are, but it is where we have to go to save ourselves.
If we are engaged, challenged, threatened, attacked, we can't allow the abuser to get away with it and take away he can come again and cause even more consternation, tribulation, misunderstanding, misleading, pollution, pain and hurt.
If they go low, whether it's only one or a whole stampede of lemming bullies heading for Trumpocalypse Now, we go in and push back with all the sway we can gather.
Michelle's "go high" is an invite to suicide.
Obama went "high" with Comey and got owned so low.
8 years of high road leadership without engaging the low with the full fierce force of a pushback pulpit undaunted, brazen, no brakes, 8 years of holding back co-created Trump.
I too confess to talent abandonment, duty neglect and engagement delay. I apologize in pain.
Enough.
Fired up. Ready for low.
If they shoot, we shoot. If verbally, verbally. If they go amok or terror, we go police, army, navy seals.
Yes, we strive to go high, ranging from spirited mind to lust in embracing accord, high(er) in evolution, love shared begetting love begetting sharing, adoring, life, co-creating the beauty of humanity, freedom, joy, celebration, gratitude, education, truth, class, the audacity of hope evolving to belief then to solid knowledge that no Texan plunge back into bigot superstition can shake or roll back.
If we go low, we sadly regretfully know it is not who we are, but it is where we have to go to save ourselves.
If we are engaged, challenged, threatened, attacked, we can't allow the abuser to get away with it and take away he can come again and cause even more consternation, tribulation, misunderstanding, misleading, pollution, pain and hurt.
If they go low, whether it's only one or a whole stampede of lemming bullies heading for Trumpocalypse Now, we go in and push back with all the sway we can gather.
Michelle's "go high" is an invite to suicide.
Obama went "high" with Comey and got owned so low.
8 years of high road leadership without engaging the low with the full fierce force of a pushback pulpit undaunted, brazen, no brakes, 8 years of holding back co-created Trump.
I too confess to talent abandonment, duty neglect and engagement delay. I apologize in pain.
Enough.
Fired up. Ready for low.
3
Identity politics did this to the Democratic Party. As a professor at a small, very liberal liberal arts college, I used to marvel at a seeming paradox: the fact that the richest people in America send their kids (from pre-K on) to the most exclusive AND socially liberal schools in America. Nowhere is more liberal than Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Then I realized that what rich New Yorkers, for example, want is kids who turn out just like them: "socially liberal but fiscally conservative." FDR's Democratic Party was socially liberal AND fiscally liberal, too. Identity politics became a hypocritical badge of honor for the rich. Being sympathetic to diversity, poor blacks, women, and gays made the rich liberals swell with pompous moral superiority, but cost them nothing at all, since none of it raised their taxes one iota to help the poor. Sanders tried to get back to fighting poverty and inequality as FDR did, with class war. Goldman and Hillary killed him with a racial smear that won the primaries for them. Too bad their identity politics then lost the war Sanders would have won easily.
8
The answers live in Trump's own words.
He would not accept the result if he lost, then why should we, now that he's won?
The only thing i understood about Trump supporters, was the idea of an outsider
would be something new and different.
Of course, they absolutely picked the wrong person for the job.
The swamp just got deeper and includes a vortex into hell, with fascism rising right before our eyes.
He would not accept the result if he lost, then why should we, now that he's won?
The only thing i understood about Trump supporters, was the idea of an outsider
would be something new and different.
Of course, they absolutely picked the wrong person for the job.
The swamp just got deeper and includes a vortex into hell, with fascism rising right before our eyes.
6
Interesting to see how the establishment on the left is starting to notice that Sanders may not have been such a bad option. I consider their myopia largely to blame for our current predicament.
6
Keep the lies coming - they will give you comfort as you find yourself alone.
9
Funny that Blow mentions Orwell, because America is just beginning to emerge from a Left-Orwellianism in which the media and universities routinely whip up a "two minutes hate" against anyone who questions the dogma of political correctness or the mantra of human equality. Blow fears that America is returning to a "white patriarchy" again, but why is this so bad? Those white patriarchs wrote the Constitution, with the preamble of the document clearly stating that it was intended for the benefit of their posterity (i.e. not the posterity of the entire world eternal), a notion further undergirded by the 1790 Immigration Act.
Liberal egalitarians tell us that we've learned so much more down through the years than our "ignorant" forefathers, but I wonder what it is that they think has been learned that our forefathers weren't aware of. If human equality is real and persists across time as well as space, then our forefathers experienced the same "subaltern groups" that we experience today. Yet our forefathers chose to treat those groups differently. What have we learned that's new about those "disadvantaged folks" that our forefathers were supposedly blind to? Egalitarianism thus creates a paradox for the Left that exposes that we moderns aren't more knowledgeable than our forefathers--many are instead "temporal narcissists."
Liberal egalitarians tell us that we've learned so much more down through the years than our "ignorant" forefathers, but I wonder what it is that they think has been learned that our forefathers weren't aware of. If human equality is real and persists across time as well as space, then our forefathers experienced the same "subaltern groups" that we experience today. Yet our forefathers chose to treat those groups differently. What have we learned that's new about those "disadvantaged folks" that our forefathers were supposedly blind to? Egalitarianism thus creates a paradox for the Left that exposes that we moderns aren't more knowledgeable than our forefathers--many are instead "temporal narcissists."
5
While Mr. Blow condemns "white patriarchy", I have to ask: What government ISN'T patriarchal?
And since whites in this nation still outnumber blacks and Hispanics and any other "minority", why shouldn't their voices be heard in proportion to their numbers?
If you look closely at Barack Obama's political appointees, one can easily see that a "no whites need apply" exclusion from his policy circles.
Don't get me wrong, a President is entitled to appoint who he wishes to his cabinet an other political posts in his administration..
But to suggest that Obama was full entitled to do so and Trump is not seems to be as unreasonable as it is hypocritical.
And since whites in this nation still outnumber blacks and Hispanics and any other "minority", why shouldn't their voices be heard in proportion to their numbers?
If you look closely at Barack Obama's political appointees, one can easily see that a "no whites need apply" exclusion from his policy circles.
Don't get me wrong, a President is entitled to appoint who he wishes to his cabinet an other political posts in his administration..
But to suggest that Obama was full entitled to do so and Trump is not seems to be as unreasonable as it is hypocritical.
The history of the Roman Empire gives us a pretty clear picture of what happens when a republic doubles down on oppression and resist inclusion. First, it divides itself into powerful internal factions who expend talent and resources to seize control. Ruling parties impose crushing force against its own people to regain control. Ultimately, a weakened state becomes ripe for destruction from forces outside its borders. We are not making America great again but actually seeing this republic in the advanced stages of decay. Our standing in the world community is already degraded and we will become more dysfunctional as Trump attempts to create an American caste system.
1
So often in the aftermath of great elections, voters come to the discouraging realization that the've been baited, then switched. 2016 was no bait-and-switch. Donald Trump made abundantly clear what he intended to bring us. We bought it anyway.
Now we are confronted by a great evil. The fact that it is brought by a vain ignoramus makes it no less evil. We see the consequences playing out on our streets as gratuitously racist insults and assaults spike, revealing the dark, fat underbelly of a culture gone sick.
So, what to do? For starters, writers like Blow, Kristof, Collins, Friedman, Egan, Cohen and Bruni must keep writing with all the edge that circumstances warrant. The Democratic Party needs to conduct its own "autopsy" and then to follow where it points. We must understand that pre-election GOP animus toward Trump was based on no principle whatsoever now that Republican Trump-bashers are grovelling for plum positions.
Now is the time for decent people to come to the aid of their country.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
Now we are confronted by a great evil. The fact that it is brought by a vain ignoramus makes it no less evil. We see the consequences playing out on our streets as gratuitously racist insults and assaults spike, revealing the dark, fat underbelly of a culture gone sick.
So, what to do? For starters, writers like Blow, Kristof, Collins, Friedman, Egan, Cohen and Bruni must keep writing with all the edge that circumstances warrant. The Democratic Party needs to conduct its own "autopsy" and then to follow where it points. We must understand that pre-election GOP animus toward Trump was based on no principle whatsoever now that Republican Trump-bashers are grovelling for plum positions.
Now is the time for decent people to come to the aid of their country.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
2
I despair of common sense ever re-emerging.
It is perfectly possible to despise Trump and his cohort - every angry criticism Mr Blow makes here of his appointments and rhetoric is valid - and not subscribe to the 'identity politics' of the left which the NYT endorses.
Because we insist on subscribing to this either/or mindset, we have become incapable of having the complex, nuanced discussions required to solve very real problems. I think, unfortunately, this is a fatal flaw built into the model of democracy; decisions are made, and leaders chosen, by the majority, which will always equal the lowest common denominator who construe the world in childishly absolutist, simplistic terms.
It is perfectly possible to despise Trump and his cohort - every angry criticism Mr Blow makes here of his appointments and rhetoric is valid - and not subscribe to the 'identity politics' of the left which the NYT endorses.
Because we insist on subscribing to this either/or mindset, we have become incapable of having the complex, nuanced discussions required to solve very real problems. I think, unfortunately, this is a fatal flaw built into the model of democracy; decisions are made, and leaders chosen, by the majority, which will always equal the lowest common denominator who construe the world in childishly absolutist, simplistic terms.
2
I do not disagree that many of the people Trump is considering or has considered have radical views which irrationally target larger groups. Unfortunately, so did President Obama, and Trump's election is the direct result of the groups that felt targeted deciding to voice their displeasure with a vote. Mr. Blow needs to realize that the past eight years, for many Americans, were as disappointing and frightening as he imagines the next four, or possibly eight might be for him, The trick is not to wholly reject but to try a dialogue. As a businessman, as opposed to the current demagogue with no apparent negotiating experience, Trump may be far more open to compromise than Mr. Blow thinks.
6
Should Mr. Blow give up his "victim cloak", he might have to re-assess his position on a wide variety of issues.
His cloak allows him to find "reason" in all of his emotional musings and offer them as "considered opinion."
His cloak allows him to find "reason" in all of his emotional musings and offer them as "considered opinion."
2
It's the Civil War redux. Those who lost that war have made sure they maintained the rage, hatred, and resentment that precipitated the war throughout the generations to today. The progress made in the 1960s only helped to refuel the hatred.
But over the 150 years since, the hatred has become its own entity. We're not going to return to slavery, obviously, and at this point secession of the South makes no sense, since the hatred has spread widely through the Central states. The hatred is now focused on the government and all non-white-male groups. It's hatred for hatred's sake. It will not satisfy its membership, however. It will need constant feeding, because the objects it has attached to aren't the real issue. The real issue is the rot inside the people who adhere to and promote it.
How on earth can we solve this problem and at the same time protect the rights of the people of America? It's sobering. It's not really about left vs. right anymore. It's about health vs. sickness, and it will distract the entire world from more pressing issues, such as the fate of our planet. I believe we must address every incident arising, down to the graffiti and bullying in schools, to the nightmare of secret communication with Russia, to the invasion of the alt right into voting rolls. We must not let anything go by or take hold. And at the same time, we must figure out how to wash our society clean of this poisonous mindset.
But over the 150 years since, the hatred has become its own entity. We're not going to return to slavery, obviously, and at this point secession of the South makes no sense, since the hatred has spread widely through the Central states. The hatred is now focused on the government and all non-white-male groups. It's hatred for hatred's sake. It will not satisfy its membership, however. It will need constant feeding, because the objects it has attached to aren't the real issue. The real issue is the rot inside the people who adhere to and promote it.
How on earth can we solve this problem and at the same time protect the rights of the people of America? It's sobering. It's not really about left vs. right anymore. It's about health vs. sickness, and it will distract the entire world from more pressing issues, such as the fate of our planet. I believe we must address every incident arising, down to the graffiti and bullying in schools, to the nightmare of secret communication with Russia, to the invasion of the alt right into voting rolls. We must not let anything go by or take hold. And at the same time, we must figure out how to wash our society clean of this poisonous mindset.
2
You say nothing about the failure of a marginalized group of people to get along with each other, who evince no respect for human life by killing each other and thereby delighting those on the outside of their group who hate them. The groups like BLM who purport to advocate for their people remain curiously silent when it comes to crime being done within the black community, where one black person inflicts upon another. What has all this oppression and awfulness from the outside wrought on people who have internalized so much hatred, and who have yet to overcome these terrible, inescapable realities such as the homicide we see daily in Chicago?
Calling this the Civil War redux is a little over the top.
Middle America is not willing to go to Civil War to redress their grievances, but instead turn to the ballot box, as indeed they should.
It would appear, however, that the bookends or the Coasts, after having held the levers of power for eight years, may not be willing to eschew violence in their zeal to oppose the the "power" that they see that is their right, and their right exclusively, to wield.
Middle America is not willing to go to Civil War to redress their grievances, but instead turn to the ballot box, as indeed they should.
It would appear, however, that the bookends or the Coasts, after having held the levers of power for eight years, may not be willing to eschew violence in their zeal to oppose the the "power" that they see that is their right, and their right exclusively, to wield.
Dems who tried to hoist HRC are squarely to blame for the nation's predicament. HRC since 2008 aspired to be her turn for presidency and entitled to it. But she failed to connect and did not represent aspirations of all 50 states and never cared to visit except the target battle ground states. That was her doom. HRC and her sycophants drooling for power grab failed to see that through. Sanders had a great shot and was clean, unlike HRC baggage. Any one running for presidency may want propose the plan for creating Special Economic Zones in midwest and plains states ( the so called red states) so that new business investments can be drawn in to those regions and with that it can be turned purple - rather than being a party of either coasts.
4
Perhaps it is a distinction without a difference, but it may be that those in the Trumpist movement are not racists in the simple sense but rather more tribal instead. I am sure that most of the Trump voters and other reactionaries do not believe that they are racists in the simple sense defined the belief that those of other races are inferior intellectually, morally, spiritually, and so forth.
For some time the white male tribe has seen its government as highly concerned about ethnic, sexual, national minorities and not at all concerned about them. The Trumpist reaction among the white male tribe may be - as viewed from inside that tribe - a rejection of what they see as unequal level of concern for them at the hands of their government. This could explain that puzzling phenomenon of "nice" people voting for Trump and his gang.
Is simple racism part of the mix? No doubt. Simple racists are attracted by the same perceived injustices as the "nice" racists. But for the nice racists it is more a matter of reclaiming their white privilege, which they, somehow, feel that they have "earned", and is somehow being eroded by all this concern for the other tribes.
For some time the white male tribe has seen its government as highly concerned about ethnic, sexual, national minorities and not at all concerned about them. The Trumpist reaction among the white male tribe may be - as viewed from inside that tribe - a rejection of what they see as unequal level of concern for them at the hands of their government. This could explain that puzzling phenomenon of "nice" people voting for Trump and his gang.
Is simple racism part of the mix? No doubt. Simple racists are attracted by the same perceived injustices as the "nice" racists. But for the nice racists it is more a matter of reclaiming their white privilege, which they, somehow, feel that they have "earned", and is somehow being eroded by all this concern for the other tribes.
That same analysis, Mr. Chew, can be applied to the block-type voting for Hillary Clinton, or, for that matter, any candidate for office.
2
The first paragraph of this piece is insightful. How many tragedies in the past could have been resolved before ending in catastrophe? The First World War was one of those needless conflagrations that could have been snuffed out early by a level-headed internationally-led inquiry into the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.
And many great novels use a plot line in which a protagonist makes a string of bad judgments (obvious to the reader) that lead to that character's downfall. In fact, the first line of Alan Paton's novel, "Too Late, the Phalarope," states just that:
"Perhaps I could have saved him, with only a word, two words out of my mouth. Perhaps I could have saved us all. But I never spoke them."
We must continue to speak out as we witness lies and innuendo being audaciously presented as truth.
And many great novels use a plot line in which a protagonist makes a string of bad judgments (obvious to the reader) that lead to that character's downfall. In fact, the first line of Alan Paton's novel, "Too Late, the Phalarope," states just that:
"Perhaps I could have saved him, with only a word, two words out of my mouth. Perhaps I could have saved us all. But I never spoke them."
We must continue to speak out as we witness lies and innuendo being audaciously presented as truth.
1
Are you suggesting that "hands-up, don't shoot" should have been thoroughly reviewed before it was latched onto by people responding emotionally instead of rationally?
Good luck on that.
The emotional blackmail potential was far too great. And like a crisis, a good punch line should never be let go to waste...
Even if it is patently false.
Good luck on that.
The emotional blackmail potential was far too great. And like a crisis, a good punch line should never be let go to waste...
Even if it is patently false.
1
In the beginning the Founding Fathers intended that only white Anglo-Saxon Protestant men from North and West Europe who owned property were divinely naturally created equal with certain unalienable rights including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Neither a civil war nor reconstruction nor a civil rights era has made the heirs of enslaved Africans denied their humanity nor discriminated against Africans denied their equality fully, finally and freely within the intent of the Founders.
Even a half-white by DNA genetic biological nature and all white by cultural nurture man named Barack Hussein Obama is all and only the first black President of the United States. And in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 elections 57%, 59% and 58% of white American voters voted Republican white McCain/Palin, Romney/Ryan and Trump/Pence.
America has never stopped being white. But the white majority is aging and shrinking with a below level replacement birthrate. And the whites still having babies come from the bottom of the socioeconomic educational pyramid.
Color is not race. There is only one evolutionary fit biological human race species.
Even a half-white by DNA genetic biological nature and all white by cultural nurture man named Barack Hussein Obama is all and only the first black President of the United States. And in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 elections 57%, 59% and 58% of white American voters voted Republican white McCain/Palin, Romney/Ryan and Trump/Pence.
America has never stopped being white. But the white majority is aging and shrinking with a below level replacement birthrate. And the whites still having babies come from the bottom of the socioeconomic educational pyramid.
Color is not race. There is only one evolutionary fit biological human race species.
1
Yes, trump and his appointments are frightening. You clearly stated why.
But some of the deeper questions we're invited to ponder in my view are:
You can't make a group continually apologize for being born white (or black, brown, male, female, this religion or that religion, etc.) ... or you risk driving them totally insane and they will vote for someone they feel represents them, obnoxious or not, like trump or whomever. In our current climate, we're obviously seeing this first hand.
Suppression of speech in the name of social justice is censorship, though we're all free to strongly disagree with what people say.
A political approach that divides us by identities is ultimately going to fail us. We now have countless subgroups with endless grievances, but dividing us by identities is the wrong approach. We don't like to admit it, but trump played identity politics better than clinton. There is a better way.
It starts with self reflection, meaning you, me, Charles and everyone else.
Labels divide us, get to know individuals. Most are decent with the same basic concerns for their families, children's educations and their general financial and emotional well being.
Focus on what unites us all.
Live by example, do the right thing, be civil...trust follows.
Obsession with identity politics is self defeating, especially long term.
We need civility, justice, focus on shared needs and empathy, and economic inclusiveness as some of our highest priorities. God help us.
But some of the deeper questions we're invited to ponder in my view are:
You can't make a group continually apologize for being born white (or black, brown, male, female, this religion or that religion, etc.) ... or you risk driving them totally insane and they will vote for someone they feel represents them, obnoxious or not, like trump or whomever. In our current climate, we're obviously seeing this first hand.
Suppression of speech in the name of social justice is censorship, though we're all free to strongly disagree with what people say.
A political approach that divides us by identities is ultimately going to fail us. We now have countless subgroups with endless grievances, but dividing us by identities is the wrong approach. We don't like to admit it, but trump played identity politics better than clinton. There is a better way.
It starts with self reflection, meaning you, me, Charles and everyone else.
Labels divide us, get to know individuals. Most are decent with the same basic concerns for their families, children's educations and their general financial and emotional well being.
Focus on what unites us all.
Live by example, do the right thing, be civil...trust follows.
Obsession with identity politics is self defeating, especially long term.
We need civility, justice, focus on shared needs and empathy, and economic inclusiveness as some of our highest priorities. God help us.
4
And, Charles, when it is repeated, column-after-column, and year-after-year, it make you sound like Charlie-One-Note.
I would suggest that you write about the soul searching that you have to do to find your way back into the mainstream of both political and social thought.
I would also suggest that that introspection, if done by the people reading these Op-Ed pieces and the comments to it, could well lead to a more cohesive and functioning society and body politic.
Enough of the divisive talk, sir.
I would suggest that you write about the soul searching that you have to do to find your way back into the mainstream of both political and social thought.
I would also suggest that that introspection, if done by the people reading these Op-Ed pieces and the comments to it, could well lead to a more cohesive and functioning society and body politic.
Enough of the divisive talk, sir.
Looking at Trump's cabinet appointments, I share your foreboding, Charles. Why was this inevitable? At some level, Trump knows that he knows nothing about government, and is not so much in over his head as swimming - barely - over the Mariana Trench. He needs help, and fast, so it's natural for him to turn to those who have expressed support for him during his campaign. These are all the skeezy rejects and opportunists who have no problem with - indeed, perhaps endorse - the filth, lies and authoritarian malevolence that are Trump's stock in trade. Now they jostle to become the new gauleiters of white privilege, climate denialism and American militarism knowing that, by unhappy accident, they just won the electoral lottery - as opportunities go, this is as good as it gets for them to realize their extremist ideology. The bad news is that others of the same ilk are waiting in the wings, hoping for Donald's favor.
All this throws new responsibilities for vigilance on all open-minded citizens of good will, on both sides of the aisle, to record the untruths, the corruption of language and the legal misapplications that may occur, and resist. The future, not only of this country, but of the planet, depends on it.
All this throws new responsibilities for vigilance on all open-minded citizens of good will, on both sides of the aisle, to record the untruths, the corruption of language and the legal misapplications that may occur, and resist. The future, not only of this country, but of the planet, depends on it.
3
FDR was not noted for his intelligence.
He was noted, however, for his ability to select the best people in his party to help him govern.
Isn't it wise to see how he governs before you scream that it is a disaster?
He was noted, however, for his ability to select the best people in his party to help him govern.
Isn't it wise to see how he governs before you scream that it is a disaster?
1
We live in the San Francisco Bay Area, a place where diversity works and immigrants help us all succeed, a majority-minority area that is thriving economically and socially. We are not without our challenges, particularly affordable housing. But our problems do not include having voted for Donald Trump or the GOP.
We're big on making it easy for every citizen to vote. We, and the rest of California, created an election commission to take redistricting out of the hands of our politicians (both parties hated it - a good sign). We made a law that pits the two leading candidates in primary elections against one another, so in our area we often choose between two Democrats and in more conservative parts of our state, two Republicans. In either case, our citizens have shown a proclivity to elect the moderates.
What we mostly want from the election, in my opinion, is to be left out of the mess that Donald Trump and the GOP Congress will create with regressive economic and social policies. We probably won't be so lucky. But maybe they will want to preserve us as the source of much of the nation's technology and agricultural output and the movies and music we watch and hear. Maybe they will see us as the Golden Goose and allow us and the and the other Blue State makers to go on dutifully sending our federal taxes over to the Red State takers, as we have for many years. And hopefully we won't receive in return anti-immigrant, anti-woman, anti-LGBT and anti-minority laws and policies.
We're big on making it easy for every citizen to vote. We, and the rest of California, created an election commission to take redistricting out of the hands of our politicians (both parties hated it - a good sign). We made a law that pits the two leading candidates in primary elections against one another, so in our area we often choose between two Democrats and in more conservative parts of our state, two Republicans. In either case, our citizens have shown a proclivity to elect the moderates.
What we mostly want from the election, in my opinion, is to be left out of the mess that Donald Trump and the GOP Congress will create with regressive economic and social policies. We probably won't be so lucky. But maybe they will want to preserve us as the source of much of the nation's technology and agricultural output and the movies and music we watch and hear. Maybe they will see us as the Golden Goose and allow us and the and the other Blue State makers to go on dutifully sending our federal taxes over to the Red State takers, as we have for many years. And hopefully we won't receive in return anti-immigrant, anti-woman, anti-LGBT and anti-minority laws and policies.
5
What if the actual results of the recent election are not what the authorities and the general public believe they are but the opposite?
The Feds have evidence, according to CNN of penetration of the systems by foreign hackers in Florida and Arizona. Previous penetrations have affected private and public organizations like big banks, large retailers stores, the DNC and Federal Government sites like the Pentagon.
Once a foreign hacker enters a system in a given State it certainly can flick the votes at the source, and casting for Trump a vote that was intended for Clinton and viceversa. It would take an actual manual recount, something considered impossible to do in most States to know what the real results really are.
The Feds have evidence, according to CNN of penetration of the systems by foreign hackers in Florida and Arizona. Previous penetrations have affected private and public organizations like big banks, large retailers stores, the DNC and Federal Government sites like the Pentagon.
Once a foreign hacker enters a system in a given State it certainly can flick the votes at the source, and casting for Trump a vote that was intended for Clinton and viceversa. It would take an actual manual recount, something considered impossible to do in most States to know what the real results really are.
3
Cue the tinfoil hats, plastic light sabers, and conspiracy theories.
Why should ANYONE believe CNN after the recent revelations on poor reporting, flawed analysis, and passing of patently false news stories.
You need to be less hyperbolic and more discriminating in your passing of speculation and spin as fact.
Doing that is exactly why the liberal viewpoint and the news media are under such attack these days.
Why should ANYONE believe CNN after the recent revelations on poor reporting, flawed analysis, and passing of patently false news stories.
You need to be less hyperbolic and more discriminating in your passing of speculation and spin as fact.
Doing that is exactly why the liberal viewpoint and the news media are under such attack these days.
Charles ,it is time to face reality.The Country has always been divided.The "book ends" are progressives who genuinely believe in equality and racists, misogynists and the like who prefer the "old order".What this election has clarified is that along the spectrum between those groups are millions of Americans who, when freed from current social norms for appropriate behavior, are not nearly as progressive as many thought.In other words, the majority of Whites want a society which is not color or gender blind.Thankfully, demographics mean they are "trying to push water up hill".Having said that, giving these Americans permission to express themselves brings the hitherto unspoken into the open and should allow a dialogue that helps the population face reality and move in a progressive direction.The alternative, a push towards minority white rule, may be unthinkable but has many precedents globally.
We must hope that our Democratic values apply to people as well as guns.
We must hope that our Democratic values apply to people as well as guns.
This part of The People between the bookends believes in equality, fairness, free competition, reward for excellence, education for all, eliminating poverty, better roads and schools, a flourishing economy, equal justice under the law, a welcoming immigration policy, more scientific exploration of "climate change", free and fair elections, recycling, civility, and a host of other things.
Please don't assume, Observer, that disputing the methods that you choose to achieve those ends is sign that others don't hold them as dearly.
It as offensive as it is arrogant that you would not consider alternatives to your approach, particularly since, over the past half-century, your methods have proven to be incapable of even coming close to addressing the issues.
Please don't assume, Observer, that disputing the methods that you choose to achieve those ends is sign that others don't hold them as dearly.
It as offensive as it is arrogant that you would not consider alternatives to your approach, particularly since, over the past half-century, your methods have proven to be incapable of even coming close to addressing the issues.
2
Right now the only firewall we have is the ACLU and the 14th Amendment of the Constitution that affords "equal protection under the law". It was the basis for arguing Brown vs the Board of Education, Roe vs Wade, and marriage equality. Democrats do have the filibuster, but I am not certain how effective its use will be.
We are indeed entering an Orwellian period in this country, driven by a petty man who looks to take offense at the slightest hint of anything negative uttered about him. Now he will be a very powerful man with many avenues available to him to seek revenge on those whom he sees as opposing him. He is choosing advisors and henchmen such as Bannon, Sessions, Flynn, and Pompeo who will be more than willing to impose draconian measures on all of us. I have actually wondered if it will be prudent to comment in the NY Times once Trump has taken office. I know the NY Times will be under pressure, because it already is in Trump's bad graces as is the Washington Post.
With Paul Ryan eager to dismantle Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, and the promises to the right wing evangelicals to overturn Roe v Wade, and a man risen to power under cheered on by white nationalists, we are going to enter a very dark time in this country's history. It will not affect just our country, the whole world will need to fear a Donald Trump with access to the nuclear codes. I do. I am afraid for all of us.
We are indeed entering an Orwellian period in this country, driven by a petty man who looks to take offense at the slightest hint of anything negative uttered about him. Now he will be a very powerful man with many avenues available to him to seek revenge on those whom he sees as opposing him. He is choosing advisors and henchmen such as Bannon, Sessions, Flynn, and Pompeo who will be more than willing to impose draconian measures on all of us. I have actually wondered if it will be prudent to comment in the NY Times once Trump has taken office. I know the NY Times will be under pressure, because it already is in Trump's bad graces as is the Washington Post.
With Paul Ryan eager to dismantle Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, and the promises to the right wing evangelicals to overturn Roe v Wade, and a man risen to power under cheered on by white nationalists, we are going to enter a very dark time in this country's history. It will not affect just our country, the whole world will need to fear a Donald Trump with access to the nuclear codes. I do. I am afraid for all of us.
5
We owe it to our children to fight our way through this dark time in American politics. To fight for what is right with integrity and wisdom. To lead our country to a better place by acknowledging where we have misjudged and made costly mistakes in the past.
To be a liberal today reminds me of the married woman who was cheated on and then abandoned by divorce, yet never saw it coming. We need to move through the stages of grief, and then we need to pick ourselves up, determine if and how we contributed to the heartbreak we now feel and vow to never let it happen again. To fight for the future of our children, and to heal with the knowledge that we will be stronger in the broken places, and prepared to face the future with confidence. Now that the ugliness is out in the open, we have reached a real ground zero, a place to begin in making this country the place that we dream of. We are stronger than we can imagine, of this I am certain.
To be a liberal today reminds me of the married woman who was cheated on and then abandoned by divorce, yet never saw it coming. We need to move through the stages of grief, and then we need to pick ourselves up, determine if and how we contributed to the heartbreak we now feel and vow to never let it happen again. To fight for the future of our children, and to heal with the knowledge that we will be stronger in the broken places, and prepared to face the future with confidence. Now that the ugliness is out in the open, we have reached a real ground zero, a place to begin in making this country the place that we dream of. We are stronger than we can imagine, of this I am certain.
2
Sorry to have to point this out to you Kathy, but the sun rose this morning, and likely will set this evening.
Nothing has changed in America, and pretending to know what the future will hold for our nation is an insult to both history and the future.
Nothing has changed in America, and pretending to know what the future will hold for our nation is an insult to both history and the future.
1
We owe it to our children to tell them that they cannot assassinate their teachers when they get a bad grade, like the left wants to do to Trump. We need to tell our children they cannot harass the referees when they lose a game, like the left is doing to Electoral College delegates. We need to tell our children they cannot have violent temper tantrums when they don't get their way, like the left is doing.
To be a liberal today is to be hate-filled and violent. Nothing more, nothing less. Liberalism = hate: hate of the rich, hate of whites, hate of Southerners, hate of Christians, hate of America, hate for everyone who doesn't follow the Party line with jack-booted ruthlessness
To be a liberal today is to be hate-filled and violent. Nothing more, nothing less. Liberalism = hate: hate of the rich, hate of whites, hate of Southerners, hate of Christians, hate of America, hate for everyone who doesn't follow the Party line with jack-booted ruthlessness
1
Mr. Blow can't have it both ways. The ascendance of the alt-right and white identity is an outgrowth of identity politics in general. It is not mere coincidence. Belonging to a specific race or gender does not make someone more special. The media, aided by The Great Uniter, have spent the last several years promoting tribalism and are now surprised by the result. The only thing that is shocking is the complete lack of self-awareness about what contributed and fueled this movement.
108
Not special. Just equal. And that's apparently so very threatening.
2
"Mr. Blow can't have it both ways."
But you can. If people who are demonstrably (and sometimes legally for LGBT people) discriminated against, paid less for identical work, arrested and incarcerated at far higher rates for the same crimes or harassed and demonized because of their religion or skin color advocate to reverse these things, they are not seeking equality or justice, they are promoting tribalism. So they should just shut up and take it or else you'll make them pay by voting in outspoken bigots and they'll only have themselves to blame. Heads you win, tails they lose.
But you can. If people who are demonstrably (and sometimes legally for LGBT people) discriminated against, paid less for identical work, arrested and incarcerated at far higher rates for the same crimes or harassed and demonized because of their religion or skin color advocate to reverse these things, they are not seeking equality or justice, they are promoting tribalism. So they should just shut up and take it or else you'll make them pay by voting in outspoken bigots and they'll only have themselves to blame. Heads you win, tails they lose.
2
Identity politics is not about being special; it is about ensuring the rights (equal treatment) of minorities in this country. When we expand the rights of ALL Americans, we are at our best. Sadly, the Presidency of Demagogue-Don will turn the clock back. It is truly frightening; I remain perplexed by the decision of millions of Americans to vote for a deeply unqualified man who lied and bullied~yes, bullied his way through a long and arduous campaign. I have little hope for this country under a Trump administration.
2
If you live in Blow's world where all is viewed through the prism of race, you can't be too shocked if white people do the same.
8
Dear Charles,
I just read a new statistic about the 2016 Election that explains it all perhaps even more so than the obvious racism. While racism was the number one factor that brought out all of the super white people from their broom closets, it was superficiality that ultimately gave the election to Trump. How so? A new statistic has just come out that shows 53% of white women voted for Trump. Why? Basically because they thought that Trump couldn't be so bad since he had such a beautiful and smart daughter, Ivanka. A lot of men probably also thought that and voted for Trump. My racist brother voted for Trump because he likes the fact that he's rich, surrounds himself with "Beautiful People" and that he's going to do "something " about the Blacks, (he's sick Charles but he's my brother) and so that's it. Yes, a lot of people might have voted for him because they need a job but Trump's supporters are "wealthier" than Hillary's voters. They aren't looking for jobs and so it comes down to a bunch of shallow, greedy, bigots who decided this election. Of course those "negative qualities" are really other realms of HATE and the Democratic Party needs to not back down and fight this with everything it can. These Republicans deserve no time since they gave President Obama no respect during his entire Presidency. Looks are supposed to take a backseat to intelligence but it didn't
and perhaps many of us shouldn't have been so surprised.
I just read a new statistic about the 2016 Election that explains it all perhaps even more so than the obvious racism. While racism was the number one factor that brought out all of the super white people from their broom closets, it was superficiality that ultimately gave the election to Trump. How so? A new statistic has just come out that shows 53% of white women voted for Trump. Why? Basically because they thought that Trump couldn't be so bad since he had such a beautiful and smart daughter, Ivanka. A lot of men probably also thought that and voted for Trump. My racist brother voted for Trump because he likes the fact that he's rich, surrounds himself with "Beautiful People" and that he's going to do "something " about the Blacks, (he's sick Charles but he's my brother) and so that's it. Yes, a lot of people might have voted for him because they need a job but Trump's supporters are "wealthier" than Hillary's voters. They aren't looking for jobs and so it comes down to a bunch of shallow, greedy, bigots who decided this election. Of course those "negative qualities" are really other realms of HATE and the Democratic Party needs to not back down and fight this with everything it can. These Republicans deserve no time since they gave President Obama no respect during his entire Presidency. Looks are supposed to take a backseat to intelligence but it didn't
and perhaps many of us shouldn't have been so surprised.
8
It must be amazing to have the power to look so quickly into 62 million hearts and be able to read them so thoroughly and thoughtfully. How incredible that so many of those who were enlightened enough to support Obama in 2008 and 2012 could, overnight, become shallow racist misogynists and vote for Trump. What a curious country!
If you believe that, you might be interested in attending the auction for a bridge in Brooklyn.
Far more people...including women...voted for Trump because of Hillary Clinton's ethical and judgment issues.
Far more people...including women...voted for Trump because of Hillary Clinton's ethical and judgment issues.
“fear of Muslims is RATIONAL”-Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn
No doubt, to the Madman, the sky really IS red.
No doubt, to the Madman, the sky really IS red.
2
In any large society about 30% of the populous is Right Wing Authoritarian (RWA). Politically the 30% breaks into 21% Right (inclined to doctrinaire strongman Fascism) and 9% Left (inclination similar but toward Communism).
That 30% votes come Hell or High Water . The rest of us (70%) breaks into rationally engaged, engaged but easily swayed, disaffected, disgruntled, or apathetic. Where EVTO is about 50-60% all things being about equal personality-wise the Republicans start with about 42% of the vote and the Democrats about 18%.
Democrats need EVTO of about 63% to stand a good chance of winning. Looking at popular vote of recent elections against a mathematical model given the above shows this:
Reagan +/- Than Model By 2.855% (BUT giving almost all Anderson 6.6% to him - who knows if Anderson did not run)
Reagan 7.373% (Mondale non-charism)
Bush 1 1.154% (Dukakis demonized)
Bush 1 -3.448% (Even giving Perot to him; Bill Clinton charisma)
Dole -7.198% (Even giving Perot to him; Bill Clinton charisma)
Bush 2 -2.338% (Gore should have won as voters recognized more qualified candidate))
Bush 2 1.255% (Kerry demonized; 911 effect)
McCain -3.134% (Obama charm)
Romney -2.412% (Obama charm)
Trump Probably will underperform by -2.020% (Most people recognize he is worse than a HRC who is very distasteful)
When a nation doesn't vote Fascism happens eventually. Especially when the opposing party while benign relatively is uninspiring/ineffective.
That 30% votes come Hell or High Water . The rest of us (70%) breaks into rationally engaged, engaged but easily swayed, disaffected, disgruntled, or apathetic. Where EVTO is about 50-60% all things being about equal personality-wise the Republicans start with about 42% of the vote and the Democrats about 18%.
Democrats need EVTO of about 63% to stand a good chance of winning. Looking at popular vote of recent elections against a mathematical model given the above shows this:
Reagan +/- Than Model By 2.855% (BUT giving almost all Anderson 6.6% to him - who knows if Anderson did not run)
Reagan 7.373% (Mondale non-charism)
Bush 1 1.154% (Dukakis demonized)
Bush 1 -3.448% (Even giving Perot to him; Bill Clinton charisma)
Dole -7.198% (Even giving Perot to him; Bill Clinton charisma)
Bush 2 -2.338% (Gore should have won as voters recognized more qualified candidate))
Bush 2 1.255% (Kerry demonized; 911 effect)
McCain -3.134% (Obama charm)
Romney -2.412% (Obama charm)
Trump Probably will underperform by -2.020% (Most people recognize he is worse than a HRC who is very distasteful)
When a nation doesn't vote Fascism happens eventually. Especially when the opposing party while benign relatively is uninspiring/ineffective.
1
Considering it was white men that demonized hunter-gatherers, enslaved and decimated them from the Americas and Africa. And white men that were allowed to vote and be educated. And don't white men make up most of the 1%? Trump and his are just being more honest, like Hitler and his, about their racism.
2
Excuse me, sir. Muslim Arabs ran the slave trade to the tune of approximately 26 million Africans and 2 million Europeans. Slavery has been a huge part, a given actually, of human history. However, it was those blue-eyed white Christian devils who were the first in history to abolish slavery well over 100 years ago. Saudi Arabia got around to it in 1962, at least on paper. Slavery is still happening.
It is your myopic, uninformed and racist construct of history that is a big part of them problem. Educate yourself, mate.
It is your myopic, uninformed and racist construct of history that is a big part of them problem. Educate yourself, mate.
1
At this point in time all we have to save us from Trump is the Constitution of the United States of America. Let us see if the republicans have the backbone to hold Trump to it.
By the way, Trump is a con man. And he only has his own interest at heart.
By the way, Trump is a con man. And he only has his own interest at heart.
3
Funny, that's all we had to save us from the imperial Presidency of Obama and it worked out just fine. Just like the climate, some things are too powerful for man to screw up.
*greatness
Mr. Blow I love your column but we the people need to start a movement and its call keeping America Great. We the people have all the power we can shut this country down with out buying power! Trump can place all the racisit he wants in the white house and Rual America can applaud him but America was built on the backs of immigrants. America will continue to survive from us. As Americans, Black, Latinos, Muslism, Gay and So on we cant be afraid. They must be afraid of the people. If we organize productive marches that will shut down any business that support Trump we will only then be respected because we the people run America not Trump and his goons.
1
I thought the country was already rife with internalized racism, a war on unarmed black men by police, discrimination against women in the workplace, microaggressions at every turn, too few transgender bathrooms and a war against a religion of peace. The Left ran a campaign about how awful our country is and how much is left to do. Now it's great! Y'all are pathetic in your lack of principle.
Poor Charlie.
All those words he wrote in the last 9 months, wasted.
Now he is starting on another 4 years of wasting space and everyone's time.
All those words he wrote in the last 9 months, wasted.
Now he is starting on another 4 years of wasting space and everyone's time.
19
I pray that the administration appoints a judicious, fair, even tempered and inclusive person who values diversity in leadership at the U.S.Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The agency continuously fails to effectively enforce civil rights and it appears given current racial climate we will need strong and fair leadership in that agency.
1
This is laughable !! Your criticizing a President Elect for picking folks to join his cabinet who were loyal to him? You're afraid because of the 4 people named so far they are all old white guys?
You're trying to create fear with your accusations, which you can never back up in facts. This is why the liberals will continue to lose the battle of ideas within the great majority of moderates who have gone beyond your racist rhetoric.
You're trying to create fear with your accusations, which you can never back up in facts. This is why the liberals will continue to lose the battle of ideas within the great majority of moderates who have gone beyond your racist rhetoric.
16
Blarney. The problem with the intended hysteria journalism from the NYT is that your journalism has the opposite effect on many. We see through this, and if you would only like PBS Newshour report the news we could form our opinions thank you very much.
14
Hear, hear, Mr. Blow!
11
What a column: A rehash of press releases from Leftists, hyperbole and a personal attack on the man's appearances. And the NY Times is worried about fake news -- what about banal columns like Mr. Blow's?
17
Hard to believe, but intelligent elites, like Charles Blow, still don't see that the election of Trump is in large part a reaction to their constant, shrill, overblown, insulting attacks on ordinary Americans.
In the past eight years they have lost the Senate, lost the House, lost the majority of State Houses, lost two-thirds of Governorships, and now they have lost the Presidency.
It couldn't have happened to a more deserving crowd.
In the past eight years they have lost the Senate, lost the House, lost the majority of State Houses, lost two-thirds of Governorships, and now they have lost the Presidency.
It couldn't have happened to a more deserving crowd.
1
Great and terrifying piece, not that I haven't thought and felt all these same things. You just expressed them better and more thoroughly than I could. This is not my America, but if we let Bannon be right and this becomes the start of even a fraction of 50 years or more of racism, violence and hatred, this will be the last America I ever know. The fear and sadness I feel at tht possibility are what galvanize me into action and the effort to prove Trump and his deplorables wrong.
1
If you turn on the TV or read a newspaper you'll see the reality that violence comes from the left.
paraphrase of Rhporter:Trump is not even President yet and he is making a mess already.
the Times will print anything by a racist black, even if illogical, but other people must hold their tongue.
I doubt the NYT will print this post.
additionally I have noticed that the opinion author,charles blow limits the number of comments when he receives a substantial # of blow-backs and negative feedback.
the Times will print anything by a racist black, even if illogical, but other people must hold their tongue.
I doubt the NYT will print this post.
additionally I have noticed that the opinion author,charles blow limits the number of comments when he receives a substantial # of blow-backs and negative feedback.
5
See, it was printed, along with countless other comments that don't agree with Mr.Blow. Long live Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech. You are a shining example of that. I don't agree with you but I sure do defend your right to speak your mind.
(And the individual journalists have no control over who gets printed the Comments section.)
(And the individual journalists have no control over who gets printed the Comments section.)
Blow continues his poliitcal bigotry, race-bating and fear-mongering. His own hatred and intolerance of anyone with a view different from his is clearly apparent. That is bigotry, pure and simple. His words are nothing but speculation based on the past. He will praise change that is politically-oriented in some while scoffing at any possible change in those he detests. His followers join in gladly. Hatred and bigotry is ugly no matter which side you are on. But Mr. Blow can't and won't see his own. His only goal is to destroy those who disagree with him. And I didn't vote for Trump.
11
we won. liberals lost. live with it
7
Yes, we have to live with it. But you will have to live with it too. Good luck to both of us.
Actually you need to amend it to say "We, the bigots, won. Liberal lost. Live with it." With that amendment, you seem to be the first honest one of the lot.
Mr. Blow, please stop the "those evil white people are at it again" narrative that is so dismissive and fueled much of the vote for trump. You do know that 8% of black voters and 29% of hispanic voters voted for trump, don't you?
The state of things is much more complex. What I think this election showed is how the two parties are pathetic mirror images of each other, the only difference is where they divide the us vs. them and with whom. Their goals have always been the same, divide and conquer then take the plunder, no matter the human cost that everyone else but them have to pay.
A much more intelligent, sophisticated and accurate picture of the contributing factors to this horrific outcome appeared in these pages: The End of Identity Liberalism. I suggest you read it.
Sir, you are part of the problem.
The state of things is much more complex. What I think this election showed is how the two parties are pathetic mirror images of each other, the only difference is where they divide the us vs. them and with whom. Their goals have always been the same, divide and conquer then take the plunder, no matter the human cost that everyone else but them have to pay.
A much more intelligent, sophisticated and accurate picture of the contributing factors to this horrific outcome appeared in these pages: The End of Identity Liberalism. I suggest you read it.
Sir, you are part of the problem.
10
Charles is so caught up in his confirmation bias that he cannot even fathom how this happened and has to invent sommelier like powers to sniff out the most exotic forms of imagined racism. Keep spitting out these sophistries please. I can't wait to see the massacre that happens in 2020 when Democrats have to defend all those seats in states that Trump carried.
9
Charles...you have been wrong at every turn when it comes to Trump. You need to give up as you have no idea as to what you are talking about.
14
Who is this guy ?!?! Charles you are so out to lunch I don't know where to start. You've had a black president for 8 years and now you're freaking out because America elected a 'white' guy ? No wonder 70% of Americans don't trust the mainstream news outlets like the NY Times. You keep writing rubbish. Disingenuous gotcha journalism with all the typical labels thrown in...racist, sexist, mysogynistic, bigoted....it's a wonder you have any subscribers left. You try to portray all Trump voters as uneducated rubes with floppy hats and a piece of grass hanging out their mouths. And they all belong to the KKK and want to enslave all black people and perhaps roast babies on a spit ! I exaggerate but then so do you and you have been given a rather large soapbox. If the NYT has any credibility left they should fire you for that piece of tripe. But then you would be screaming racism and we can't have that can we ?!?!
20
It seems you haven' t been listening during the campaign. DT's rallies were stoked by his racist, Muslim-bashing, misogynist rants. We can argue about what you heard, but not about what he said.
Thank you for stating the truth of things. People can and will deny it, and say that you see things from a racial perspective.
As a white woman, I agree with all that you say, and I'm sick and tired of those with notions of white supremacy, and their worries about losing their "power." To them I say, get to work, or get an education, and stop whining about things, and certainly stop blaming others of different religions, races, or genders for what you consider to be your disadvantages. Try throwing down your guns and picking up a textbook.
As a white woman, I agree with all that you say, and I'm sick and tired of those with notions of white supremacy, and their worries about losing their "power." To them I say, get to work, or get an education, and stop whining about things, and certainly stop blaming others of different religions, races, or genders for what you consider to be your disadvantages. Try throwing down your guns and picking up a textbook.
6
The United States has long been a white country. What is wrong with that other than having taken the country from the Native Americans.
I know some nice white people who are hard working and law abiding. Pretty good people all around I think.
Let's give white people a shout out!
I know some nice white people who are hard working and law abiding. Pretty good people all around I think.
Let's give white people a shout out!
7
As Donald Trump continues to reveal that he is exactly what he always appeared to be, remember that he has not yet been elected President.
The voters in each State have chosen the Electors who have the responsibility to vote for President next month.
While a majority of the Electors chosen were Republicans, the Constitution gives these Electors the authority and responsibility to cast their vote as they choose. These Republican Electors are not required to vote for the Republican candidate.
Republican Electors can take their historic role seriously and join with the large majority of American citizens, including many Republicans, who voted to reject the hate-spewing, uninformed bully Trump, as this position proposes:
https://www.change.org/p/electoral-college-electors-electoral-college-ma...
The voters in each State have chosen the Electors who have the responsibility to vote for President next month.
While a majority of the Electors chosen were Republicans, the Constitution gives these Electors the authority and responsibility to cast their vote as they choose. These Republican Electors are not required to vote for the Republican candidate.
Republican Electors can take their historic role seriously and join with the large majority of American citizens, including many Republicans, who voted to reject the hate-spewing, uninformed bully Trump, as this position proposes:
https://www.change.org/p/electoral-college-electors-electoral-college-ma...
3
The GOP has been a racist party since it took in the Dixiecrats after Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. They have practiced identity politics in the worst way since by using language as a signal to Americans who are afraid of a multi-ethnic society in ways designed to convince them that they will be the oppressed. I think that we've all heard the stories about how this unqualified woman or African American was hired for a job and it didn't work out no matter what the employer tried to do. What's never mentioned is that the person was hired because of their color or gender instead of being hired because they were the most qualified and happened to be a woman, an African American, handicapped, etc. This then gave employers license not to hire qualified minorities because the first one failed. And it's the same sort of game that's being played now with Americans and outsourcing.
I think that America will continue to become more diverse despite this election or the GOP. We have many more multi-racial children coming of age, couples that are mixed race, and people who did not grow up in an America that is exclusively white or black. Our workplaces do reflect a multi-racial society much more than they did 30 years ago. It needs to go further but it is happening. What also needs to happen is an open condemnation of the pernicious remarks that continue to be made by people in powerful positions that incite violence.
I think that America will continue to become more diverse despite this election or the GOP. We have many more multi-racial children coming of age, couples that are mixed race, and people who did not grow up in an America that is exclusively white or black. Our workplaces do reflect a multi-racial society much more than they did 30 years ago. It needs to go further but it is happening. What also needs to happen is an open condemnation of the pernicious remarks that continue to be made by people in powerful positions that incite violence.
4
And sometimes (often) that diverse/ethnic/other race new hire is road-blocked at every turn by colleagues unwilling to get on the bus. Even if management has honestly signed on.
1
Another NYT commentary based of fake news. Mr. Blow offers no proof of racism among Bannon, Sessions or Flynn except for the opinions of the leftist SPLC, NYT and Bernie Sanders. What Mr. Sessions may or may not have said in the 1980's in no way constitutes him as being racist today. Reference Robert Byrd. None of "ist's" that Mr. Blow throws at Bannon or Flynn have ever been substantiated.
Fake news by the major media, fear mongering by Hillary Clinton and the constant laughable attacks on white males helped get Trump elected. Thanks. Keep it up and Republican's will remain in power for many years to come. The deplorables in swing states who voted for Obama in 08' and 12' but voted for Trump in 16' are not going back to the Dems anytime soon.
Fake news by the major media, fear mongering by Hillary Clinton and the constant laughable attacks on white males helped get Trump elected. Thanks. Keep it up and Republican's will remain in power for many years to come. The deplorables in swing states who voted for Obama in 08' and 12' but voted for Trump in 16' are not going back to the Dems anytime soon.
11
The Senate in 1986 believed the Sessions reports. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/the-fix...
You are stretching the definition of 'fake news.'
You are stretching the definition of 'fake news.'
The NY Times is the chief purveyor of fake news. Just compare their insane pre-election stories of GOP violence to the reality of post-election reality of Democrat violence.
And Charles Blow is the worst of the worst. Remember that Blow was caught red-handed lying about a story involving his son and a Yale police officer. Blow's son was briefly detained and released by a Black Yale Police Officer, yet Blow -despite having a worldwide exclusive and limitless access to the subjects of the story- still got the story wrong!!! He deliberately lied to make it appear that his son was questioned by a White officer!!!!! Blow lied to stoke the flames of division and racial hatred!!! Blow incited hatred and violence against police officers!!!!! How the supposed "paper of record" can continue to employ such a liar and deplorable person is beyond belief.
And Charles Blow is the worst of the worst. Remember that Blow was caught red-handed lying about a story involving his son and a Yale police officer. Blow's son was briefly detained and released by a Black Yale Police Officer, yet Blow -despite having a worldwide exclusive and limitless access to the subjects of the story- still got the story wrong!!! He deliberately lied to make it appear that his son was questioned by a White officer!!!!! Blow lied to stoke the flames of division and racial hatred!!! Blow incited hatred and violence against police officers!!!!! How the supposed "paper of record" can continue to employ such a liar and deplorable person is beyond belief.
We will have to wait and see what the Trump government will look like: will it be representative of the makeup of our population or will it be one-dimensional?
So far, it does not look good.
So far, it does not look good.
Another day, another negative lecture from Charles Blow. Why are you encouraging division and rancor, Mr. Blow?
I did not vote for Donald J. Trump, but he has yet to serve a single day in office.
Give it a rest. If you're correct, we'll know soon enough.
I did not vote for Donald J. Trump, but he has yet to serve a single day in office.
Give it a rest. If you're correct, we'll know soon enough.
8
As usual for Mr Blow, spewing hate and division and intolerance for anyone different than him...Mr Blow, you are part of the problem, not the solution. I don't understand why the NYT keeps you on.
6
A good solution for your peace of mind: don't read Blow' column.
I live in trump country; signs along the roads, confederate flags flapping in the wind, and guns on hips. It can be a daunting sight for a progressive liberal living in Appalachia...but I am here to say there are many more of us than these folks realize. We may be small in number but we are mighty in our ideals for a country that is inclusive and non-hostile to anyone other than white Christians.
I am more fearful of what is going to happen once voters realize he is not going to do and cannot do what he promised them he would do for them...will they turn on him yelling "lock him up?"
Yes, his choices are frightening and it is akin to watching a ridiculous episode of ignorant TV...but I have to hold on to hope. Hope that the Constitution of the United States of America holds him and his ilk in place long enough for him to play this farce out to his voters. My father and many others came back from a world war fighting the very people he is now emulating...we cannot allow this happen.
The sun may be low on the horizon but it always comes back around, hold onto hope Mr. Blow; it will be dark for a time but the light always comes back around.
I am more fearful of what is going to happen once voters realize he is not going to do and cannot do what he promised them he would do for them...will they turn on him yelling "lock him up?"
Yes, his choices are frightening and it is akin to watching a ridiculous episode of ignorant TV...but I have to hold on to hope. Hope that the Constitution of the United States of America holds him and his ilk in place long enough for him to play this farce out to his voters. My father and many others came back from a world war fighting the very people he is now emulating...we cannot allow this happen.
The sun may be low on the horizon but it always comes back around, hold onto hope Mr. Blow; it will be dark for a time but the light always comes back around.
4
Can't Mr. Blow think about anything except race? He bangs on about it at all times and in all circumstances. He seems to write the same column over and over again.
10
We've spent over a year reading Blow's hate-filled screeds against Donald Trump. Do we have another four years of more hate-filled Blow op-eds? Blow's hard-line hatred isn't softening; it's being cemented. So sad for readers of The New York Times to read a writer spinning out of control. Too many fawning loyalists, too much echo chamber.
5
"When confronted by the committee about remarks he was accused of making about the N.A.A.C.P. and the A.C.L.U., Sessions responded:
“I’m often loose with my tongue. I may have said something about the N.A.A.C.P. being un-American or Communist, but I meant no harm by it.”
***********
Loose with the tongue destroys reputations, lives, marriages, jobs, friendships and leads to very few good outcomes. Anyone in the public eye with the public's trust to be honorable and respectful of all Americans should know that a loose tongue can even kill.
“I’m often loose with my tongue. I may have said something about the N.A.A.C.P. being un-American or Communist, but I meant no harm by it.”
***********
Loose with the tongue destroys reputations, lives, marriages, jobs, friendships and leads to very few good outcomes. Anyone in the public eye with the public's trust to be honorable and respectful of all Americans should know that a loose tongue can even kill.
1
First time I've read a Blow column all the way through. And the last for a long while.
This piece is unnecessarily alarmist and irresponsible. Trump has said very little since the election about what exactly his agenda will be. Large parts of the country, including journalists (who apparently have maxed out their EAP benefits), are whipping themselves and others into even more unwarranted anxiety. Unprofessional yellow journalism has been creeping into The Times for some time.
This piece is unnecessarily alarmist and irresponsible. Trump has said very little since the election about what exactly his agenda will be. Large parts of the country, including journalists (who apparently have maxed out their EAP benefits), are whipping themselves and others into even more unwarranted anxiety. Unprofessional yellow journalism has been creeping into The Times for some time.
12
I recall Trump promising that "I only hire the Best people, I always have the Best people around me".
From the perspective of someone who has the mental and emotional make-up of a six year old I suppose that's true.
Little comfort.
From the perspective of someone who has the mental and emotional make-up of a six year old I suppose that's true.
Little comfort.
8
Welcome to the "Jerry Springer" show, the show that made Trump possible. Bannon took lessons from Jerry Springer, a very intelligent guy who knew how to make millions off the backs of the "white trailer trash" of America. These people are the core of Trump's army supported by millions of white well educated morons whose loyalty arises from their hatred of blacks, Jews, Muslims, immigrants!
7
It is imperative that all American minorities band to gather to confront the Alt Right.We must put aside our differences, & prejudices for the common group.In particular African Americans, & Jewish Americans. These two groups either join together if we have any hope to push back Trumpism & outright bigotry.The stumbling block is Israel. To many Jewish Americans Israel & Judaism are one and the same. This is not to say that we agree with Israel on every issue, but rather than join an Anti Israel Chorus, we bite our tongues & wait for a change of leadership in Israel.The Great Reverend , Martin Luther King knew the importance that Israel was to many of the Jews that marched with him, & suffered the same slings and arrows as our Black Brothers & Sisters.Both groups must understand that together we can stop bigotry, but apart we are doomed to fail.
3
What about everybody being just Americans? What a concept!
Interesting that you choose to quote Bernie now. After all, your treatment of him is part of why we had Hillary, and now Trump. Own it.
7
When one liberal uses another liberal's statements as proof a person is racist , their argument needs to go unheeded. Why can't these liberals find something the person actually said. Bannon hasn't been proven anything but a wise business man. When they all live in an echo chamber you can't believe any of them.
6
having a platform that support racist views,.is not what i call being a smart business man. its just and extension of you lr personal racist view. he just found a way to make money from it.
What a torment it must be to see the world solely through the lens of race. Mr. Blow apparently will not relent in his bias that sees in President-elect Trump all things evil. It seems Mr. Blow will not rest well unless his dark predictions are vindicated.
8
because you wont let us forget it, through you dog whistle racist views.
Quoting Bernie Sanders now, maybe you should have supported him instead of Hillary Clinton. You should have seen it coming.
9
Trump: Making America White Again
Those "white" people with whom you now engage in "identity politics," voted eight and four years ago to put the first black man in the WH.
Here is what they got in return: an anemic economic recovery without manufacturing jobs but good if you like serving latte to 21-year old techies who fly over for a visit; crumbling infrastructure with raised local taxes to pay for state share of medicaid; full speed ahead to control the climate without thought for the millions who depended on coal production; raising health care premiums after wishing that Obamacare would work but realizing that it did work for only the people too poor to afford any insurance; globalization for elites only; wars without end in new and exciting places, fought largely by those same "white people" who get sent home in a box and don't complain.
Which always seems to work out well for those who believe that the really important issues of the day include permitting men to use a girl's bathroom.
If Trump builds his Administration on white racism, he will quickly lose most of his white support. Americans of all colors are generous and forgiving, but will not tolerate being lied to about change. Which is why Hillary was such a poor candidate.
There were better candidates than Orange man, but You Helped Create Him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NPPE6a7mSI
Those "white" people with whom you now engage in "identity politics," voted eight and four years ago to put the first black man in the WH.
Here is what they got in return: an anemic economic recovery without manufacturing jobs but good if you like serving latte to 21-year old techies who fly over for a visit; crumbling infrastructure with raised local taxes to pay for state share of medicaid; full speed ahead to control the climate without thought for the millions who depended on coal production; raising health care premiums after wishing that Obamacare would work but realizing that it did work for only the people too poor to afford any insurance; globalization for elites only; wars without end in new and exciting places, fought largely by those same "white people" who get sent home in a box and don't complain.
Which always seems to work out well for those who believe that the really important issues of the day include permitting men to use a girl's bathroom.
If Trump builds his Administration on white racism, he will quickly lose most of his white support. Americans of all colors are generous and forgiving, but will not tolerate being lied to about change. Which is why Hillary was such a poor candidate.
There were better candidates than Orange man, but You Helped Create Him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NPPE6a7mSI
14
With Op-Ed pieces like this one, everything on Breitbart News looks highly credible.
8
Amen! The Left has really gone off the Deep End with Trump's victory. You'd think they'd wiseup and realize how out of touch they are with mainstream America and understand the necessity of breaking out of their Liberal elitist box and try to reconnect with he rest of the country. Blow has an additional handicap. He's terminally addicted to playing the Race Card and will undoubtedly continue to do so.
1
Clarification needed. What, exactly, do you mean?
Blow is the biggest purveyor of fake news in history. Remember how he told us his son was questioned by a white police officer at Yale but in reality the officer was black??
1
Will we ever be able to sing "America the Beautiful" again and truly mean it?
2
Mr. Blow, your bleak assessment of our country's course couldn't be more correct. However, the voice of the people was loud and clear on election night. Change they wanted and change they shall get. The cruel surprise the American people wanted will be sprung upon them when they open their box of cracker jacks the after the Inauguration Day funeral...their just desserts for handing over their future to the unprepared and indifferent Furhrer.
2
You are so right! Their comeuppance will arrive and be inflicted on us all. Take heed.
while yes, there are unsavory groups who don't whites to become a minority, has the Times ever thought that there are some whites out there, who have nothing to do with such groups, who simply just don't wanna go from majority to minority? There's a saying "better to have never been rich rather than to have been rich and lost it." A lot of members of America's ethnic majority simply feel that way. If we could do mind control and get of the fact that likes favor likes, then it wouldn't be worth minding, but we can't.
1
Go right ahead Mr. Blow. Keep engaging in hypocritical journalism to cement your reputation as nothing but a trash-talking leftist. When did President Obama NOT pick from "among his fawning loyalists"??? We have had a failed junior varsity for the last 8 years. We have had a rash of innocent police officers murdered in cold blood and President Obama is dead silent. We have had violence and destruction by paid protesters evidently from those who hold to YOUR worldview.
Why don't you consider the policies that are going to be implemented in a Trump Presidency instead of castigating people who you don't know with the broad-sweeping infantile rant of "racists"?
How about better foreign policy? How following the rule of law? How about growing the anemic economy? How about giving stay-at-home Mom's who decide the raise their children instead of throwing them into daycare the same tax advantages the latter have?
Write something of substance instead of constantly focusing on the melanoma content of people's skin.
Why don't you consider the policies that are going to be implemented in a Trump Presidency instead of castigating people who you don't know with the broad-sweeping infantile rant of "racists"?
How about better foreign policy? How following the rule of law? How about growing the anemic economy? How about giving stay-at-home Mom's who decide the raise their children instead of throwing them into daycare the same tax advantages the latter have?
Write something of substance instead of constantly focusing on the melanoma content of people's skin.
7
Now talking about Fake News...
3
This obsession Mr. Blow has with white people, and his feelings of inferiority compared to them, are bordering on the edge of mental illness.
4
Dear Mr. Blow,
To call this a "hard right hand turn" would be to give it dignity.
This is a descent into madness; the lunatics have, indeed, taken over the asylum and, unfortunately, close to 60 million Americans, those who voted for Trump, have escaped their strait jackets.
Those big droplets appearing in NYC are the tears from the Statue of Liberty as she sees her torch and her ideals extinguished by a wave of hatred and violence.
To paraphrase British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey on the eve of the "Great War",
"The lamps are going out all over America, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime".
To call this a "hard right hand turn" would be to give it dignity.
This is a descent into madness; the lunatics have, indeed, taken over the asylum and, unfortunately, close to 60 million Americans, those who voted for Trump, have escaped their strait jackets.
Those big droplets appearing in NYC are the tears from the Statue of Liberty as she sees her torch and her ideals extinguished by a wave of hatred and violence.
To paraphrase British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey on the eve of the "Great War",
"The lamps are going out all over America, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime".
4
Shortly before Trump won, My teen went to a football game and in response to Asians on the team, the other team chanted "Pure white, pure white" along with "Make America Great Again." This my teen's first introduction to racism - courtesy of Trump! The degradation of America is affecting our youth as well. Shame on you Republicans for voting in a man of such poor character.
6
I don't even know how to react anymore. There anti-Trump screeds are getting so over the top.
I did not support Trump but I understand why so many did. Those here illegally need to leave. The Democrats would have won had they acknowledged that. Telling citizens they are 'racist' because they believe in the rule-of-law gets you people like Trump.
Stop. Stop ripping this country apart in pursuit of your addiction to helping criminals. Stop. We cannot afford Republican government- but that is what we are going to get if we cannot put citizens first.
Stop. Stop. Stop.
I did not support Trump but I understand why so many did. Those here illegally need to leave. The Democrats would have won had they acknowledged that. Telling citizens they are 'racist' because they believe in the rule-of-law gets you people like Trump.
Stop. Stop ripping this country apart in pursuit of your addiction to helping criminals. Stop. We cannot afford Republican government- but that is what we are going to get if we cannot put citizens first.
Stop. Stop. Stop.
3
With all the "Heil Trumps," where does his orthodox Jewish son-in-law stand? Does business trump racism? Is there a divorce in the offering? Does he call Donald "Dad?"
Is he really a Jew or just another Abramowitz?
Is he really a Jew or just another Abramowitz?
2
Some Trump Cult members cry foul when they are painted with the brush of racism. They point out they are not members of the KKK, they believe blacks and Latino Americans should have equal rights and they may even work with or know a black or Latino American.
Here's the problem: the Trump Cult supports Trump and Trump is a racist.
What is a racist? Do you have to be a member of the KKK to be a racist?
A racist is anyone who believes others of an ethnic group do not deserve equal rights or treatment; or anyone who supports someone who has those beliefs. Trump called immigrants from Mexico criminals and rapists. He claimed a judge with Mexican heritage could not be fair. He discriminated against blacks seeking housing. He supports 'stop and frisk' targeting blacks. He brought racists Stephen Bannon and Sen. Sessions into his cabinet. And most racist of all, he tried to delegitimize America's first black president. Trump IS racist.
The Trump Cult IS racist. Cult members cannot claim they are not when they support Trump and the Trump Cult agenda.
Here's the problem: the Trump Cult supports Trump and Trump is a racist.
What is a racist? Do you have to be a member of the KKK to be a racist?
A racist is anyone who believes others of an ethnic group do not deserve equal rights or treatment; or anyone who supports someone who has those beliefs. Trump called immigrants from Mexico criminals and rapists. He claimed a judge with Mexican heritage could not be fair. He discriminated against blacks seeking housing. He supports 'stop and frisk' targeting blacks. He brought racists Stephen Bannon and Sen. Sessions into his cabinet. And most racist of all, he tried to delegitimize America's first black president. Trump IS racist.
The Trump Cult IS racist. Cult members cannot claim they are not when they support Trump and the Trump Cult agenda.
7
Donald Trump seems to have effectively put a spotlight on how few job opportunities there have been for urban blacks, as well as how badly city governments have failed them in every other way. You say this is racist? Why? I've seen many such accusations, but I have not seen any attempts to connect the dots. Simply repeating a word does not make it applicable.
By the way, are you saying it's not OK for the Sen. Byrd to have received support by his party for so many years?
By the way, are you saying it's not OK for the Sen. Byrd to have received support by his party for so many years?
Sorry but your cries of racism against anyone who disagrees with you is why Clinton lost the election . We saw that clinton was totally corrupt even though the MSM told us that she wasn't. We saw leftists engage in violence at Trump rallies even though the media tried to tell us that it was Trump supporters doing it. We saw Obama engage in blatant bias for minorities even though the media told us that if we disagree with obama on anything that it is racism.
1
The problem with continually calling Trump the new Hitler, a bigot, a racist and about 50 other derogatory terms in Blow's columns is that after awhile it has no effect. Do you honestly believe that a single Trump supporter will be even slightly swayed by Blow's over the top rants?
I don't particularly like Trump, but I end up liking the MSM even less.
I don't particularly like Trump, but I end up liking the MSM even less.
6
Wow, the Drama Queens from the Left are unrelenting. Have you clowns not figured out the error of your ways yet?
5
Thank you for this article. Thank you for speaking for me. Thank you for speaking out and calling it as it is. You should be remembered for your articles during this time when everyone is making excuses and "white" washing the rhetoric.
Know that people are watching on CNN and reading your articles because we know that you are going to speak for us.
Know that people are watching on CNN and reading your articles because we know that you are going to speak for us.
2
That Trump's many flaws will ultimately result in his own undoing is beyond argument; the question is how much damage he'll inflict in the meantime. It's up to the majority of Americans who elected Hillary Clinton President to contain the worst of what's coming.
2
Race-baiting in it's most virulent form, sir, plain and simple.
9
I come now to the Times, not for the news and opinions, but for the schadenfreude derived from liberal caterwauling.
8
Parag, its non stop entertainment. Charles Blow likes to speak from both sides of his mouth. He was the one who kept hammering Bernie how dare he oppose Hillary the queen. Now he is bordering on acceptance that Bernie (alongwith Schumer, a fellow Brooklyner who attended the same high school as Justice Ginsburg too, and Liz Warren) will be the new face of a consolidated democratic opposition. And they will be a force to reckon with. Clintons are history now, their time is past.
1
Charles Blow's opinion piece on Monday ended with 'That orange glow emanating from the man is the sun setting on America’s progress, however slow and halting, on race and gender inclusion and equity.'
There is nothing "glowing" from that man....I would say it is an orange GLOWERING signaling DANGER AHEAD.
There is nothing "glowing" from that man....I would say it is an orange GLOWERING signaling DANGER AHEAD.
1
With the exception of Loretta Lynch and Eric Holder, the majority of Barack Obama's administration was also lily white. Obama picked Joe Biden, the whitest man in America, as his Vice-President. When Supreme Court vacancies opened up early on in his presidency how come Obama didn't select an African American judge as his nominee? Isn't it amazing how Charles Blow, who always plays the race card every chance he gets, failed to notice this?
3
Nah. Wrong. President Obama's team is very diverse, ethnically and gender wise. Mr Obama has some of the brightest and sharpest minds working for him. Despite horrible opposition and politics, they were able to keep laser sharp focus on the tasks at hand and get things done. We may whine constantly about how they did not do enough (Paul Krugman was one of such whiners), but the truth is, they saved us from plunging into a financial abyss and they saved the rest of the world as well.
At what point do we hope for a military coup as a better alternative to what is clearly a fascist take over by Trump.
1
My sense is that, by and large, the career military types are increasingly right-wing "Christians" and likely strong supporters of Trump. A coup scenario would have been more likely under a Clinton presidency, although I'd like to think that even then, something that extreme would never happen.
The military, as every exit poll showed, is overwhelmingly behind Trump. And that means all the way up the ranks. If anything, the election of Clinton and the continuation of Obama's agenda would have fueled any possibility of a military coup.
Mine is not a significant Voice. I have expressed hope that the "Campaign Trump" was Not President Elect Trump. I fear I am watching as a man in Power defines "Truth" as Anything Convenient to Him, and the Embodiment of Greed has indeed "Won".
3
Charles - You have become so Progressive that you forgot a Fundamental "Law of Nature" 1st iterated by that "White Scientist" Sir Isaac Newton. His 3rd Law of Motion
stated that "Every Action has an Equal and Opposite Reaction".
For at least the last 10 to 15 yrs, the white middle class especially the males have been bombarded by 'The Elites" that their Cosmopolitan view of the world is the correct one and only one that should be considered.
We are not 'ONE" we are "Many". Donald Trump is the blowback to your
Views and Ideology.
stated that "Every Action has an Equal and Opposite Reaction".
For at least the last 10 to 15 yrs, the white middle class especially the males have been bombarded by 'The Elites" that their Cosmopolitan view of the world is the correct one and only one that should be considered.
We are not 'ONE" we are "Many". Donald Trump is the blowback to your
Views and Ideology.
5
When I read a laughable article like this one and the comments that follow I can't help that notice that America, as encapsulated by progressive democratic politics, seems to have gone hysterically and blindly mad. I mean come on......you had it your way for the last 8 years and America is certainly unrecognizable to a vast swathe of the population because they all voted for Trump. For those reading this drivel article please don't let the writer of it manipulate you into the fearful state that he seems to be aiming for. America is a great, great country and I'm sure it will survive.
6
Hang on, Charles....4 more years it may change. 8 years; for sure it will.
Those who largely disagree with you had to wait for 8. We all survived, both non-white and white. The world is still turning.
Your own vision is hostile to many, as well. He who shouts "Bigot!" is often equally bigotted.
Those who largely disagree with you had to wait for 8. We all survived, both non-white and white. The world is still turning.
Your own vision is hostile to many, as well. He who shouts "Bigot!" is often equally bigotted.
5
Mr. Blow -
You need to help convince the 41.5% people who did not vote - to vote in 2 years and in 4 years. You need to help convince all the millennials to vote. You need to help convince all Latinos and African Americans to vote. Keep writing. Keep vigilant.
You need to help convince the 41.5% people who did not vote - to vote in 2 years and in 4 years. You need to help convince all the millennials to vote. You need to help convince all Latinos and African Americans to vote. Keep writing. Keep vigilant.
3
How does a Blow Opinion differ from "hate speech"?
He uses the term "White" as derogatory.
Meanwhile the term "racist" has lost all meaning due to its overuse in "silencing" any rational discussion.
He uses the term "White" as derogatory.
Meanwhile the term "racist" has lost all meaning due to its overuse in "silencing" any rational discussion.
6
People say they voted for change when they voted for Trump. But change to what? People cite poverty, jobs, downtrodden white men. Trump is a symbol of all this - the landlord with the astronomical rents, exclusive clubs, failed business deals bankrolled by our taxes. He and his inner circle thrive on lies on fake stories. The best thing the media can do is ignore him. Pack up and go home. You look like the homeless in Trump Tower. Just ignore him and his band of misfits. He is ignoring you and the public. He is our Purim.
And as a straight white man, I am ashamed at all of the nonwhite, nonmale voters who thought a few emails were worth what is coming.
I voted to stop this, but I'll be fine. Will you?
I voted to stop this, but I'll be fine. Will you?
2
Can't this guy be stopped? Does society enjoy watching a train wreck? Sure, it would be unprecedented for the Electoral College to not vote him in. But wouldn't they be doing their job? And if have learned from history at all why would we allow this unfolding? It boggles my mind.
3
In 1933, the Germans thought they could control Hitler. We know how well that worked out.
Today people think they can control or "normalize" Der Fuehrer Drumpf. The Republicans want to use him as an autopen for signing legislation they would like to pass. He will exact a price for his signature. Wait and see.
Today people think they can control or "normalize" Der Fuehrer Drumpf. The Republicans want to use him as an autopen for signing legislation they would like to pass. He will exact a price for his signature. Wait and see.
3
Tump has different objectives and happens to not be obsessed with identities, so, on cue, he is automatically accused of being "racistsexisthomophobicxenophobic".
This is what progressives do. They paint everyone who disagrees with that broad brush of accusations. One is a racist if he isn't obsessed with race and one if he doesn't hold the precisely correct views on race.
This is what progressives do. They paint everyone who disagrees with that broad brush of accusations. One is a racist if he isn't obsessed with race and one if he doesn't hold the precisely correct views on race.
6
Actually, this "identity" thing is starting to be a bore. The Democrats tend to work against injustice--against anyone suffering injustice (regardless of color or creed). DJT, on the other hand, makes it abundantly clear that he is totally unconcerned with any of that. Racist? Probably not--just pandering to racists to get them to vote for him, but his policies will certainly not help any of the downtrodden, even those poor whites who managed to put him into office.
1
old norseman:
"...but his policies will certainly not help any of the downtrodden, even those poor whites who managed to put him into office."
****
You cannot possibly know this. Everyone has been spectacularly wrong about him thus far. Animus toward Trump has caused people to consistently underestimate him.
"...but his policies will certainly not help any of the downtrodden, even those poor whites who managed to put him into office."
****
You cannot possibly know this. Everyone has been spectacularly wrong about him thus far. Animus toward Trump has caused people to consistently underestimate him.
2
We've grieved and mourned and now is the time to get up and fight for what we want. Funneling our anger and fear into fuel to make these changes...don't let up, don't sit down...keep it going. Never "get over it". Use your right of Freedom of Speech...while you can.....before the old white men take it away.
1
Hello South Africa apartheid right here.
1
Give it a rest Mr. Blow. You and your fellow NYT "opinion columnists" were predicting the sky was going to fall on Mr. Trumps head all year long. Stop it. (And you have a lot of nerve mentioning Bernie Sanders, the candidate you loved to disparage, to illustrate your point today.) Maybe, just maybe, Trump will NOT turn out to be George Bush all over again. Imagine that!
Save the criticism for when it is warranted. All your predictions for the 2016 election only contributed to the way things turned out.
Sincerely,
A Jill Stein Supporter
Save the criticism for when it is warranted. All your predictions for the 2016 election only contributed to the way things turned out.
Sincerely,
A Jill Stein Supporter
6
America fell for the biggest con ever. PT Barnum would be so proud of Donald Trump and his statement, "there is a sucker born every minute" can directly be applied to white rural america.
America the stupid at its finest.
That stupid may have doomed the country.
America the stupid at its finest.
That stupid may have doomed the country.
4
Good luck getting Trump to rescind ANYTHING! He’s short on, make that devoid of, “apologize” for anything, ....although he IS long on telling others they need genuflect before his alter of prejudice.
And with Bannon (aka: Gríma Wormtongue) giving the white supremacists a seat at the table and his voice in Trump’s ear, this is what the next four years are going to look like. Add Sessions, Flynn and who knows what else (Bolton?!?!?! Arpaio?!?!?! David Duke maybe?!?!?! A few more Scalias to the SCOTUS?!?!?! O-M-F-G!!!) and we have the recipe for Civil War 2.0.
Yep….you’ve got it: White Makes Right! Keep your cigar between your fingers and your woman under your thumb! Blacks are fine, just fine; every family should own a few!
Make America Great Again,.....INDEED! Make American GRATE Again is more like it.
Daemon est Deus Inversus!
And with Bannon (aka: Gríma Wormtongue) giving the white supremacists a seat at the table and his voice in Trump’s ear, this is what the next four years are going to look like. Add Sessions, Flynn and who knows what else (Bolton?!?!?! Arpaio?!?!?! David Duke maybe?!?!?! A few more Scalias to the SCOTUS?!?!?! O-M-F-G!!!) and we have the recipe for Civil War 2.0.
Yep….you’ve got it: White Makes Right! Keep your cigar between your fingers and your woman under your thumb! Blacks are fine, just fine; every family should own a few!
Make America Great Again,.....INDEED! Make American GRATE Again is more like it.
Daemon est Deus Inversus!
1
"Keep women under your thumb" You do realize that Kellyanne Conway- who is credited with being the organizer who made Trump's victory possible is a female? I mean I assume that she is not transgender...
Mr. Blow seems to have a poor command of math and proportions. In the US, whites account for approximately 63% of the population while blacks are 12.8% and Hispanics 17%. For Clinton to pretend to reach the US presidency against 63% of the population is silly, as the results of the last election show. I believe that a lot of whites did not vote for Trump but again Hillary and her consistent disregard for national security. Trump may be bad but the electorate thought he would be better than Clinton.
3
It's the electorate who don't know math. Because the people voted for Hillary by 2 million votes and counting.
1
You forget that Hillary has a higher count in the popular vote so your statistics don't hold up. I am white and I believe in her.
1
The American people, all of us, have been denying reality for so long and in so many ways different ways -- the way we damage the environment, the way we run up the
national debt, the way we don’t repair the roads, the way we celebrate our trashy culture -- and then a man like Trump comes along and completes the process of demonstrating that nothing matters any more to the boos of half the population and the cheers of the other half.
national debt, the way we don’t repair the roads, the way we celebrate our trashy culture -- and then a man like Trump comes along and completes the process of demonstrating that nothing matters any more to the boos of half the population and the cheers of the other half.
2
It bears repeating:
That orange glow emanating from the man is the sun setting on America’s progress, however slow and halting, on race and gender inclusion and equity.
-Charles Blow
That orange glow emanating from the man is the sun setting on America’s progress, however slow and halting, on race and gender inclusion and equity.
-Charles Blow
3
Charlie: PC is dead. You can no longer intimidate Americans with your magic words:racism,sexism,homophobia,diversity.Oh ,and don't forget "misogynistic.This about a man who has a WOMAN as his campaign manager
and chief adviser. These words and slogans are now just noise. Dems are going to have to play the game on a level playing field with concrete policy proposals. No more shutting off critics with lazy sloganeering.
and chief adviser. These words and slogans are now just noise. Dems are going to have to play the game on a level playing field with concrete policy proposals. No more shutting off critics with lazy sloganeering.
8
I don't know who to blame more more you or the editorial board for your biased articles.If not for you slanted views we would celebrate a Sanders or O'Malley as our newly elected president.Having an extra dose of melanin doesn't make you immune from tribalism and racism.
When HRC talked about the LGBT,black and brown and and of course women then you cheered her on.Not a mention of the working class whites that she is going to champion.That is reverse racism and it cost her and will cost you.
Sessions fought George Wallace a Democrat in Alabama.He got the death penalty that was carried out on a Klansman and he got a financial judgement in the millions against the Klan and was their financial ruin .
If you said culturally insensitive things 30 years ago inAlabama that should be placed in context.
I remember what Michelle Obama said about her lack of faith in US until her husband was elected,or Bill Clinton saying to Kennedy about Obama that he is a nobody who would be a just a porter in olden days.
When HRC talked about the LGBT,black and brown and and of course women then you cheered her on.Not a mention of the working class whites that she is going to champion.That is reverse racism and it cost her and will cost you.
Sessions fought George Wallace a Democrat in Alabama.He got the death penalty that was carried out on a Klansman and he got a financial judgement in the millions against the Klan and was their financial ruin .
If you said culturally insensitive things 30 years ago inAlabama that should be placed in context.
I remember what Michelle Obama said about her lack of faith in US until her husband was elected,or Bill Clinton saying to Kennedy about Obama that he is a nobody who would be a just a porter in olden days.
4
Anyone who voted for Trump is a racist. Period. Any other argument is simply a smokescreen to hide their racism, or denial of their own deep seated fear of minorities.
I find it funny how writers claim that democrats live in urban bubbles. True in a sense, but there are plenty of white democrats like me who are surrounded by and live side by side with minorities from every country in the world, and have learned not to be afraid, but to embrace the diversity. The ones living in the bubble are rural white Americans too afraid to come out of the woods or their gated communities. They cower in their homes or SUVs listening to Rush Limbaugh and when they see people of other skin color they are afraid. Cowards I say!
I find it funny how writers claim that democrats live in urban bubbles. True in a sense, but there are plenty of white democrats like me who are surrounded by and live side by side with minorities from every country in the world, and have learned not to be afraid, but to embrace the diversity. The ones living in the bubble are rural white Americans too afraid to come out of the woods or their gated communities. They cower in their homes or SUVs listening to Rush Limbaugh and when they see people of other skin color they are afraid. Cowards I say!
3
Mr Ghost - I confess that I laughed out loud when I realized that your profile image compliments your post perfectly! Huzzah for that much-championed liberal "tolerance" toward others who may think differently than you. At least you are consistent!
LOL! Oh dear me- cower in the homes or SUV. Actually they came out and voted for Trump on election day. And plenty of counties in PA, OH, WI and MI that voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012 by large margins voted for Trump by large margins this election. So by your logic- in 2008 and 2012 they loved diversity (voting for the first African American President) but from 2013-2016 they listened to talk radio and became bigoted and voted for a white male vs. a white female. Funny how the liberals are all for diversity and differing opinions until they meet one that does not appeal to them. So since people that disagree with your view point are racists, cowering in fear and are afraid of skin color?
1
Every thing anyone wants to know as to why Trump won, and why the liberals are a tiny minority of government is embodied in the comment above and this pathetic editorial. When you think that your world view is the ONLY possible view and that any other view is not only wrong, but EVIL...well don't be surprised that you get totally tuned out. Which also explains why the Times is losing readers hand over foot, and why no one watches the mainstream news anymore.
1
The Democrats and pseudo-liberals (Sanders) are quick to place the "racist" label on anyone who has a slightly different view of their own. Nobody in Trump's choices so far is really a racist. And certainly not Trump himself.
I suggest the Democrats and Liberals take a deeper look into their own, and they will find true racists among them, and many of those true racists have been holding back "people of color" for many decades.
I suggest the Democrats and Liberals take a deeper look into their own, and they will find true racists among them, and many of those true racists have been holding back "people of color" for many decades.
5
Protopical repugnican non-nuanced absence of cognitive complexity.
None are so blind as those who have eyes but do no see.
None are so blind as those who have eyes but do no see.
If you haven't seen the racists in his picks, you're willfully ignorant or hiding under a rock. Do a bit of homework right here in this paper. Check out the article posted yesterday about Richard Spencer, the leader of the alt-right, one of Bannon's buddies. Or listen to On The Media's interview with another of Brannon's and Breitbart's friends, Jared Taylor. They're racist all right, from Sessions to Flynn to Giuliani ... and more on the way. And Sanders is right to point this out. If it walks and talks like a duck, and consorts with ducks, must be a duck. Of course, Trump is just an opportunist, using the office of president to burnish his brand to make more money, still running his businesses while receiving heads of state and tycoons to wheel and deal. Even the Japanese prime minister was duped and made to look a fool. He will prostitue America to the highest bidder to get what he wants, and if the bidders are racists or war mongers, as long as they give him free reign to do what he wants, they'll get to do what they want. He's busy selling the country down the river and he has yet to be inaugurated.
1
It feels something like this:
Here on the edge of central Pennsylvania, winter began,
and with it, the usual preparations; a narrowing down…
Self and family must survive, with charity for the wayfarer.
Here on the edge of central Pennsylvania, winter began,
and with it, the usual preparations; a narrowing down…
Self and family must survive, with charity for the wayfarer.
Dear Mr. Blow,
At first after I read your column and the NYT Picks comments, I thought there's no point in my commenting. How can I say it any better. I can't. But you put into words so clearly a thought that keeps me awake in the middle of the night. Clinging to the last straw of hope, part of me wants to think Trump's blood-chilling appointments are just a mirage, while another part of me is truly frightened that they are "an enormous menace" that will destroy the democratic fabric of our society, and no amount of pushing back will be able to stop them.
At first after I read your column and the NYT Picks comments, I thought there's no point in my commenting. How can I say it any better. I can't. But you put into words so clearly a thought that keeps me awake in the middle of the night. Clinging to the last straw of hope, part of me wants to think Trump's blood-chilling appointments are just a mirage, while another part of me is truly frightened that they are "an enormous menace" that will destroy the democratic fabric of our society, and no amount of pushing back will be able to stop them.
2
Oh, stop with the gloom and doom. It's counterproductive and exactly what we don't need. This is the beginning of the greatest fight for human rights since the Civil War and the Sixties, and we need you to be hortatory. If all you can do is moan, take a break.
2
People need to know exactly what's at stake before they'll take up a cause. It's fine to point this out. And the doom and gloom is why we need to fight this good fight you mention. There's no need for the solutions if we can't clearly identify the problems.
I urge your readers, Mr. Blow, to pick up a phone and call their elected officials to demand we #SequesterTheVote until we can #AuditTheVote.
This election was hacked - and we need to prove it NOW, before the Electoral College votes on December 19.
DEMAND AN INVESTIGATION.
This election was hacked - and we need to prove it NOW, before the Electoral College votes on December 19.
DEMAND AN INVESTIGATION.
5
Hmmm- so the liberals were upset because Trump called the election system rigged and painted him as "unDemocratic" ... but now since Clinton lost the voting system was hacked and the election is not valid? Very consistent I would say.
1
It is a horrible moment that could be made worse by a hapless and feckless media. The press must resist its ordinary impulse for easily digestible feel-good news and find a soul and purpose. Let's see if the press can cover real stories like the Trump business conflicts as thoroughly as it covered emails.
12
Um, the press woefully underreported about the Hilary email controversy. The press repeatedly attempted to trash Trump with whatever they could throw against the wall to see what would stick. He has his controversies, no doubt. But nothing on the level of Mrs.Clinton. Hence the results of the election.
2
What strikes me is how some are surprised by his selections. It's not as though we didn't have a preview. He pals around with Rudy-Christie, both clearly not the examples of being even tempered. To balance that duo he chooses Pence as a calming voice running mate. Who calmly wants to eliminate a woman's right to choose. And his other candidates have views that are clearly not aligned with the majority of the population want in regards to war and jobs. He's considering people who have outsourced more jobs to foreign countries as commerce secretary. Yet his supporters clearly don't want to believe what is in front of them. They read the papers see their history and it's as though it has never happened. i'm not sure what will happen in the future but i can't ignore the past.
11
It would be great if we could all work together for the common good, instead of denigrating others, being racist in verbal ruminations, and revealing a deep seated attitude of hatred toward "whites".
1
Yes....the election of Trump has brought out the racists and the bigots but they are only a small part of Trump's backers...maybe 10-15%.
What Mr Blow falls to include is the obsessive, compulsive campaigning by Hillary Clinton of making women totally equal to men whether they are qualified or not.
Take a look at the election results Mr Blow. Hillary won the popular vote by app. 2 million people and if she paid any attention to mostly white working class blue collar voters in Pa, Mich and Wisc., she would have been president, just getting a percent point more in these states.
This is not an avalanche of hate.
While we have to guard ourselves against any racism, bigotry etc by Trump.
Remember what got him in there, Hillary's total exclusion of working class, mostly white blue collar voters and their families.
Learn from Lincoln Mr Blow, go slow on progress or otherwise see your gains go up in smoke.
That is why he saved the union before ending slavery. Without the former, he would never have achieved the latter...
What Mr Blow falls to include is the obsessive, compulsive campaigning by Hillary Clinton of making women totally equal to men whether they are qualified or not.
Take a look at the election results Mr Blow. Hillary won the popular vote by app. 2 million people and if she paid any attention to mostly white working class blue collar voters in Pa, Mich and Wisc., she would have been president, just getting a percent point more in these states.
This is not an avalanche of hate.
While we have to guard ourselves against any racism, bigotry etc by Trump.
Remember what got him in there, Hillary's total exclusion of working class, mostly white blue collar voters and their families.
Learn from Lincoln Mr Blow, go slow on progress or otherwise see your gains go up in smoke.
That is why he saved the union before ending slavery. Without the former, he would never have achieved the latter...
7
Paul, I've already had incidents since the election where white guys tell me to go "back to my country." Maybe it's not an avalanche of hate to you because you're white...
1
Excellent article - with one correction. Trump is not President Elect of any group of voters I have seen.Until December 19 when the Electors votes, Trump remains a candidate for President. If we allow the electors to override the popular vote- shame on us.Trump has not legal authority until December 19.
6
Oh perfect. All the Liberals say "Trump must respect the outcome" and there was a hue and cry from all quarters when there it was not certain he was. Now the liberals are calling on the electors to change their votes and hack the election. Very consistent on that view I suppose?
1