I was raised a bigot.
My parents were bigots; my grandparents were members of the Klan in the 1920s. Their participation in the Klan was more of a social club — but their picnics were funding nefarious activities. They were loving and kind to their families, but the “N” word was uttered daily in my home growing up. I said it and was not reprimanded. I understand bigots.
This is important not just because it speaks to what I overcame but also because it calls out a distinction between racists and bigots. Racists are openly hostile in the manner of the infamous Proud Boys. Violence, intimidation, and sometimes murder are part and parcel of their trade.
Bigots are more subtle, even insidious. Many bigots are unaware that they are bigots. Think Archie Bunker. They go about their lives and frequently believe that because they occasionally associate with minorities, they have evidence in their minds that they are not bigots. “The blacks,” as former President Donald Trump refers to them, are acceptable if they conform to the bigots’ values and attitudes. If they don’t, well, consider the Central Park Five.
I have come to this conclusion after years of pondering why so many people — even those I have known for decades — fall in line behind Trump. His bald-faced lies, his racist rhetoric, his promises of unleashing the U.S. Military on domestic “enemies” like Adam Schiff and the radical left, and his inconsistent applications of our Constitution and the teachings of the Bible would have disqualified him 15 years ago. Now, nearly half of Americans rally, unabashedly, in support of his cruelty and dishonor. Just deny realities and make up false equivalencies to excuse their stubborn bigotry.
They think it is OK to urge a mob to storm the capital, trash it, and try to interrupt the electoral count. It’s OK for Trump to steal top-secret, classified documents and refuse to return them. It’s OK to speak with Vladimir Putin once out of office — and send him Covid test kits. It’s OK to assault women sexually — all this support for a criminal who has been found guilty of 34 felonies. He is an American presidential candidate out of prison on bail. Think about that.
Let’s remember his ruse about being an uber-successful business professional. All of the businesses he has launched were forced into bankruptcy — all of them. The only thing he’s exceptional at is being a con man. He nailed it when he said he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue in broad daylight and not lose any supporters — brilliant con man stuff, and it is not commendable by any stretch of the imagination.
This is the person that about half of America wants as our president. It is shameful, but he provides a permission structure because he hates fellow citizens whom most bigoted Americans don’t know but hate. Because they are bigots. This is the elephant in the room.
This is why you can’t reason with his supporters. Civil exchanges are not allowed. What we get are preposterous lies. It would lead to upheaval and turmoil in a second Trump term. None of it is necessary.
Trump trashes our country to convince his followers that America needs him. Trump is an incompetent governor — a charlatan.
Republicans like to moan about Socialism, but when you bother to learn the facts, it’s just more MAGA BS. Consider that America is the world’s largest, most potent, and robust economy. Unemployment is at an all-time low. The stock market is trading at an all-time high. Interest rates and inflation are down, and the trendline is optimistic. Border crossings are lower now than in the last year of Trump’s presidency. The United States military is head and shoulders the most awesome force on the planet. I know no one will hear any of that on FOX “News,” the same media outlet that was forced to pay nearly $800M for lying about Dominion voting machines.
Make no mistake, Trump’s “Agenda 47” is Project 2025 rebranded. It is crafted by cretins such as Stephen Miller, Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, and Christopher Miller, all worthy of Hitler’s inner circle of evil.
To underscore what stupidity bigotry creates, those who embrace MAGA should understand a second Trump presidency will hurt them. They will diminish their cushy lives by voting for Trump’s Fascism. Trump’s across-the-board tariffs will cause prices and inflation to skyrocket. His internment camps and mass deportations will cripple many businesses, especially small ones already in need of labor. He wants to deport 20 million people, some already citizens but not the skin color of his liking. Imagine the turmoil that will generate. This may be the biggest mystery. Trump has been a source of division and distraction since his Golden Escalator ride. It should be exhausting for everyone. Even bigots should know that’s not good for them, even if they don’t give a damn about the people they think they hate.
