In response to a Twitter Poll on "the hatred and anger"
This was posted recently about a poll launched on Twitter by a self avowed "Deplorable" asking who was responsible for the anger and hatred in America. The poll asked if President Obama was responsible or of Trump was.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210474470#post12
My response is that the anger and hatred are not the responsibility of either man, though we could certainly attribute blame to Trump for stoking racial tensions.
The anger and hatred comes from us (not all of us, before I get flamed) but a sizable section of the populace. This country was founded on the idea that "All Men Are Created Equal" but we know that "All Men" did not mean all men, and certainly not women. This country was founded on the idea that White people were the natural rulers as a mark of their superiority. The idea of "The American Dream" of being self sustaining and being judged by the fruits of your labor, was sold to people and certain others were excluded through slavery and through discriminatory policies. White people who were not wealthy were also excluded from fully participating in this dream, but they were told that at least they maintained a connection to superiority. They were told that their lack of financial success was due to Black people, Mexicans, Irish, Italian, Poles, Chinese, Women, etc... trying to take what was rightfully theirs. Rather than seeing that they were being used, many just accepted that it wasn't the greed of the owners of capital who did not give them their fair share, it was "those others" who mooched and stole their jobs, and on an on....
That anger has been simmering since the days of the Clay Eaters, Hill Billies, and Crackers (which are all derogatory terms that rich White people called poor white people).
There have been recent threads by DU members who are people of color, which have garnered a lot of attention in the last few days. Many are trying to address this idea of racial equality and social justice as it relates to economic justice. Obviously the poll was meant to blame President Obama for creating the anger and hatred that poor Trump has to deal with, which anyone with a brain knows is bullshit. The fact that President Obama did not look like any other American President in our history, stoked the fears and anger of that group of people who for 230 plus years, at least knew that there were certain things that were "theirs". Trump played on those tensions from before the election, but he would not be able to do so if they were not already there.
America has not really dealt with the racial and economic inequality that have been present since the country was founded and until we do, we cannot blame a President, or political party for the anger and hatred. It is within us and only we can deal with it.
