The Harsh Truth

In our divided age, I have been doing my best in person and online to defend the values that we hold dear – social and economic equality, justice, humane and ethical behavior.  

I have been fought against every step of the way by Drumpf supporters, Nazi sympathizers, Regressives and idiots, and I treat them accordingly. 

This greatly hurts their feelings, and they furiously parrot their party’s new line demanding an apology for being treated as racists and Nazi sympathizers.  Many have indignantly demanded that I lay out my case for why I treat them as harshly as I do.

Here's why my default assumptions about the ethical and political characters of Drumpf's supporters are the way they are and how I've come to the inescapable conclusion that every Drumpf supporter is, by default, a Nazi or at very least sympathizes with Nazis.

First and foremost -- they are literally standing in solidarity with actual, swastika-waving Nazis in praising a man who has not only repeatedly declared his desire to be dicatator but who has acted like one at every opportunity, even going so far as to use actual Nazi slogans to attack a free press and a KKK motto for his entire administration, to threaten the lives of political opponents, falsely declare that he can undo Constitutional laws by Executive Order and openly defy our Constitutional checks and balances.  I’ve yet to meet a single Drumpf supporter who doesn’t excuse or defend this behavior.

Secondly, he has done everything he can to incite racist violence at his rallies to the point where violent hate crimes against minorities spike every time he comes to town and those who perpetrate that violence cite him for giving them permission to do so.

And what is racism?  Merriam-Websters defines it as follows:

1: a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

2a: a doctrine or political program based on the assumption of racism and designed to execute its principles

b: a political or social system founded on racism

3: racial prejudice or discrimination

And yet Right Wingers insist that pointing this out is somehow racist in and of itself.  What they are doing with this line of rhetoric is strongly implying that they agree that their biggest fear is being treated for being white the same way that minorities have been for generations.  Why else would they consistently scream in terror whenever you bring up BlackLives Matter?

Now that we’ve gotten the definitions out of the way, his personal history of racism is well-documented.  He has repeatedly referred to actual Nazis as “very fine people”, refusing to condemn them outright, as any decent person would do, yet routinely berates the idea that a non-white NFL player would dare to exercise his right to protest.  That’s the pattern of behavior one would expect from a White Supremacist, but that’s not all!  He’s even made a point of showing solidarity with such, calling himself by their very label.  True to form, he also saves his most savage attacks for the non-white members of our own government.  Again, I’ve yet to see a single Drumpf supporter who doesn’t make a fool of themselves defending and excusing this behavior.

Thirdly, and most heinously, he is rounding up ethnic and religious minorities and putting them into concentration camps.  There’s no other way to describe it.  Once again, I cite the standard definition of the term:

: a place where large numbers of people (such as prisoners of war, political prisoners, refugees, or the members of an ethnic or religious minority) are detained or confined under armed guard —used especially in reference to camps created by the Nazis in World War II for the internment and persecution of Jews and other prisoners

These camps feature absolutely inhumane conditions, forced labor, overcrowding and deprivation under armed military guard.  And yet his supporters cheer louder.

He is not limiting his ICE activities merely to the border, but he has ordered the rounding up of American citizens, specifically targeting LEGAL immigrants and even veterans of our own military.  Again, ask any of his supporters about this and they’ll double-down in cheering.

Interestingly enough, he’s conveniently leaving the white illegal immigrants alone.

So we have a man behaving exactly like a Nazi dictator, implementing policies that differ from Nazis ONLY in which minority is being targeted (Hispanics now, instead of Jews), to the thunderous applause of actual Nazis and the KKK.

After a while, it’s hard to tell the difference between a man standing in an SS uniform and the man standing next to him, taking a selfie and holding a sign that says, “I agree”.  There’s not enough of a difference in character to quibble about.

At the end of the day, even those who aren't actively waving a swastika are making every appearance of being happy to stand in solidarity with those who do. Every effort they make to excuse, defend and deflect from the fact that the man they're all cheering for -- both openly and tacitly -- is committing actual human rights violations towards children is a demonstration of their support for his actions, again, in solidarity with actual Nazis.

If they don't want to be tarred with the label of what they're standing in solidarity with, the easiest way to avoid it is to actively denounce the man, his supporters, his policies and his party.

The way to guarantee that the label sticks is to double-down in excusing and defending that same man, his supporters, his policies and his party.

This is an issue that goes beyond mere politics.  This goes straight to personal character.  Taking the labels away, for a moment, and just focusing on basic human decency, I challenge every Drumpf supporter to follow their Fuhrer’s lead.

Go into work on Monday and tell one of your coworkers of color to “go back where they came from”.  Find a coworker with disabilities and mock them for it to their face.  Grab a coworker by the p*ssy and then call a less attractive coworker a “dog” or “horseface”.  See if you can stay employed through lunch time by doing so.

If you’re not willing to do this, then you’re acknowledging that such behavior is unacceptable. 

Now, ask yourself why you feel that unacceptable behavior should be cheered for and supported in any person at all, let alone an elected official.

While we quibble over the feelings of those who clearly don't care about other people's feelings, innocent people are being brutalized, abused and killed. I don't see how there's any reasonable excuse to not treat those who cheer for that treatment accordingly.

The real question isn’t “how dare you call Drumpf supporters ‘Nazis’ and treat them as such?” – it’s how can we objectively NOT do so and still be decent human beings?

So, for all those poor crying Drumpfers who don't like being held to the standard of behavior they cheer for, I can only say this: