Three men were stabbed and two had their throats cut on a Train in Portland today. Their mistake was coming to the defense of two Muslim women who were being harassed by Jeremy Joseph Christian. Two of the men died.
During Trump’s vile rallies he revealed many things about himself. He is a white supremacist, an Islamophobe, and a sexist. He shouted angry statements intended to reach human being’s greatest weakness; their emotions. He also encouraged violence, telling his supporters to “hit him in the face,” or “you know what we used to do to people like that?”
Every nation has a hidden darkness, usually in its past. In America evil has been hiding in the shadows, and with the election of Donald Trump, the worst of America has returned to the light of day.
You don’t see it on the television “news,” but the facts cannot be denied; hate crimes have increased by an estimated 800 percent. There are no national statistics, but tabulation by the Southern Poverty Law Center recorded 1,094 hate crimes between November 9th and December 12th in 2016.
Crimes range from graffiti to structural damage, and verbal and physical assault. The victims are African Americans, Hispanics, the LGBTQ community, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, women, and others. The perpetrators who have been arrested are all white men who fallaciously claim to be Christians. The Trump effect.
I’m sure many of you ask ‘what makes someone that angry; that filled with hate?’ I don’t have the answer, but there are approximately 817 groups who espouse racism and bigotry. Most stayed hidden until June of 2015 when Trump began his campaign. We even hear it from the politicians in Washington. Past statements by Attorney General, Jeff Sessions revealed his racism. Articles written by Steve Bannon for Breitbart exposed him as not only a white supremacist, but also his bigotry towards other groups including Hispanics, Muslims, and women. Steve King, Representative from Iowa, may be the most racist man in America. He constantly makes statements defaming African Americans. Earlier this week, Representative Al Green, an African American, brought impeachment demands to the floor of the House. He has received multiple death threats, calling for a “lynching.”
The atrocity committed on a train in Portland is unforgivable, and any true American must denounce any actions of violence in our country. Hate crimes are uniquely perverse. Prejudice based upon color of skin, religious preference, sexual orientation, or for not being a male is nothing less than ignorance at its worst.
I am not a naive man. I know that prejudice and bigotry have existed throughout my 70 years. But I have not witnessed it at a level similar to this since I was stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi at Keesler AFB in 1965. The civil rights movement was underway, and in the south black men, women, and children became targets of white men who harbored hatred for no reason.
Hillary Clinton should not have apologized for calling one-third of Trump’s supporters a “basket of deplorables;” she was 100 percent correct. And here we are. Thanks to an illegitimate president and his circle of sinners, the worst of America is out in the light of day. They are not real Americans; they are ignorant thugs who have no respect for themselves or others.
Trump must be removed from the Oval Office. He is a danger to the Constitution, and a danger to the American way of life. We must have a leader who will move us forward and join the rest of the developed world. Trump is moving us into our dark past.
Op-ed
by James Turnage
Photo courtesy of Mark Dixon
Follow me on twitter; @jamesturnagenov
My website: https://sites.google.com/site/jamesturnagenovelist/james-turnage-truthsayer
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