They're not. It's March 2016, and Donald Trump is running away with the GOP primaries. A statistical model that has only been wrong once since 1904
points to Trump winning the presidency. We're asking ourselves the same question now that we have been asking since last summer: When is this joke going to end?
All the adjectives that can be used to describe Trump have been said already. Criticisms of him at this point seem tired. America -- and the whole world -- is well aware of the plethora of garbage qualities that make up his persona. Yet, he's the clear frontrunner for a GOP party that is currently the world's laughingstock.
Do you want to know what white privilege is?
White privilege is being able to entertain Trump's ideas. It's being able to openly support Donald Trump because you know that even when it all goes to shit? You'll be safe. You'll be fine. Trump hates minorities, not you.
White privilege is being able to fish for excuses to support his archaic and xenophobic views.
White privilege is the ability to not be terrified of a Trump presidency because it won't really affect you -- not like it will affect the minorities that Trump has been demonizing for months now.
Don't think this privilege is
limited to
conservatives, either. The lack of understanding by White America on this topic is what has allowed Trump to come this far. His supporters follow him like blind sheep, either not knowing or refusing to acknowledge the consequences of doing so. But bigotry is a storied part of America's history, and old habits die hard.
"Donald Trump's success to this stage is a pathetic reflection on the state of America."
Donald Trump's success to this stage is a pathetic reflection on the state of America. The irony of his slogan "Let's Make America Great Again" is that he's doing the polar opposite. The fact that, as a nation, we've allowed him to reach this far in our presidential election is shameful. Everyone is at fault for entertaining the idea of him thus far. CNN has been advertising the
cringeworthy GOP debates as some sort of
reality show. NBC pissed off a lot of people by having him host Saturday Night Live.
The only thing scarier than Trump spewing his bigoted views are the tens of millions of Americans earnestly agreeing with his policies. Recent polls from South Carolina, a state that Trump ran away with,
show harrowing statistics.
Seventy-four percent of Trump voters supported a ban on Muslims entering the country. Forty-seven percent want undocumented immigrants to be deported right now. Thirty-eight percent wish the Confederacy won the Civil War. Twenty percent disagreed with the Emancipation Proclamation, thus wishing that slavery had continued. With each passing day, I'm more embarrassed to be an American. What a time to be alive.
Yesterday, I was on the phone with my mom. She was telling me how at school, a girl walked up to my 10-year old sister and told her "You know if Donald Trump becomes president, you have to go back where you came from."
My little sister -- a 5th grader, a kid who should not be having to worry about this BS -- replied, "I know."
And these are the real victims. Young Muslim and Latino-AMERICANS who have to worry about not only Trump himself, but also his racist supporters and their kids who parrot these views. This is how his hate speech manifests. Today, it's my little sister hearing something mean at school. Tomorrow, it's the
vandalism of a mosque. Or a health professional being
verbally assaulted at her job. Or a group of men
having coffee thrown at them while peacefully praying in a park. Or a homeless Latino man being
savagely beaten by loud-and-proud Trump supporters. Or a Muslim store owner being brutally
beaten and robbed. I think you get the idea. Right?
I could sit here all day linking you to hate crimes. In a normal world, the general population would acknowledge the hateful climate towards minorities and get the buffoon heavily responsible for it out of the paint. But it's too bad because this country is full of racists, open and
closeted.
I don't want to have to worry about my Muslim brothers and sisters living in fear. I don't want to have to worry about Sikh people being
dragged into this mess by idiot racists. I don't want to have to worry about my fellow minorities living in fear, worrying about their families and friends. But unfortunately, that's a reality that millions of American voters are okay with and ready for.
The jokes about Donald Trump just aren't funny anymore, and they haven't been for a long time now. Not when Trump's ignorance leaves his fellow Americans (Americans who are already marginalized) suffering in his wake. All the
John Oliver segments and critical takedowns haven't stopped Trump's seemingly endless surge. I couldn't care less about Donald Trump's tax plan, or economic strategies, or anything else he has to say. If there are this many Americans who believe in this man to lead our country, then maybe America isn't the place for me.
This post originally appeared on Medium. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
