I just read: “I’m a Lefty and I Joined a Trump Supporters Facebook Group: Here’s what I learned” on Medium, wrote a comment that turned into more…

This post was originally just a comment inspired by the post “I’m a Lefty and I Joined a Trump Supporters Facebook Group: Here’s what I learned” but as I often do, I began writing and it just flowed. So much so it became this.
To be clear, I wanna thank the original author Blakeley Nixon (https://medium.com/@blakeleynixon) for writing what he did. There’s a link to that article at the end of this post.
My original comment, which I never posted as written, started with “Thanks Blakely for taking the time to share your experiences.” Which still feels apropos, so…
Thanks Blakely for taking the time to share your experiences.
I gotta be honest, it feels like I’ve seen more than a few headlines that feel similar to this in the past and I don’t think I’ve read any of them. Mostly because I’ve dealt with many, many Trump supporters as well as the modern “clean cut” (then add stylish, as GQ magazine tried to portray ’em) racists who today are using PR spin to call themselves “alt-right” — a whole ‘nother story there.
…anyway, this article came up in my email as recommended by Medium and for whatever reason I decided “I’ma give this one a chance”. Overall, I think it was good that I did.
When I saw your mention of triggers before the main body of the post, I definitely felt some appreciation that you were likely not taking this whole thing as a joke, and was more hopeful it wouldn’t cause me to regret my decision as I read on.
I’ve seen so many folks defend Trump and his supporters in the past, regardless of the violence they either personally espouse or nonchalantly ignore, it wears me out. I’ve had conversations in the past with folks who get angry that I won’t happily acknowledge that his supporters aren’t all racists. They’re likely not all racists, but ALL were willing to accept overt racism/bigotry/sexism/etc. They gave these things and more, their seal of approval by voting for him. I’ve seen it many times as a random racist person enters a Twitter conversation I’ve had with Trump supporters or folks who don’t like BLM who want to explain he’s not about bigotry, the random racist often spouts an incarnation of the “N-word” at me and then proceeds to do the things that they do to attempt to intimidate, start fires, etc.
So on one occasion, that same Trump supporter I’m conversating with asked me to not use terms like “Black Lives Matter” (I can’t remember exact details its been a minute) because the multiple random racists jumping into the conversation have really upset him and his family —racists behavior upsetting them is a normal and positive human reaction, I’m encouraged by seeing that (we should never tolerate hate). Based on this, my assumption is that he’s not been the target of White Supremacists or racism, tho I have, many, many, many times. I understand where it all leads. If left unchecked, where it leads for all of America and beyond.
So unfortunately, that concept of wanting to feel for his pain as some random racist jumps into our Twitter conversation and then bothers their sensibilities, quickly fades if you then remember that this man I was speaking to, was then going to be voting for Trump and supporting a man that has a history of having no qualms about espousing similar hatred and racism. Who’ll be enabling a toxic environment full of rampant hatred. Those things don’t match regardless of how someone tries to defend it. Economic anxiety or not. Overall it’s not really defensible. Not honestly anyway.
Regardless, some unity in our country would def be nice..if it were genuine, available to everyone, structural, and equal. I think most good folks are worn by the rampant hatred that’s been brewing the last 30 years..and in the modern era is just tolerated out in the open, even across main stream media.
I think therein lies the rub, that it’s so blatantly open, tolerated and normalized. Regardless how someone aligns, I think it’s unsettling because even racists deep down inside their guts have got to understand on some level the villainous-nous of their ways, and seeing it slathered across the mainstream as somehow “normal” must feel somewhat messed up…even to them.
This isn’t new, as a few of the commenters on Blakeley’s post have mentioned (https://medium.com/@kyjimbo51/i-have-watched-this-slow-train-wreck-happen-for-decades-starting-with-the-creation-of-the-moral-1e569c6ae0bb), it’s something the politicians have been trading-in for years now. There’s the term “dog whistle politics” for a reason. It’s just that now, it’s not only come home to roost, but the political parties no longer have control over it. At best they can attempt to guide and direct like a mud slide the anger and venomous mentality they’ve fostered, but it’s well outta their hands to control it, at least in the short term. They’ve created a monster for the purposes of amassing power, political and financial gain and because they were never afraid of being the focus of that beast’s rage. They didn’t care when they stoked the fires hotter and hotter, until now, now however they seem to realize that the monster will readily reject them as it’s master. Fuck ‘em.
…anyway, thanks for writing your post. As I said earlier, I’m always resistant and it’s tough to not find it dubious, when I’m certain folks are gonna try and let Trump supporters off the hook sorta speak, for supporting the monster he’s proven himself to be.
I’m open even when it’s challenging to be, cause I care about humanity. All humanity. Much thanks to ALL folks working to make shit better. If anything, I think article’s like Blakeley’s can genuinely help to enlighten any folks who reject the reality of what many Trump supporters are doing, or passively hoping is done to the millions of Americans who look or think nothing like them.
I would not be able to hang out in that FB group like the author did, so I’m most certainly appreciative of folks like him for taking on that task and doin’ what I am not going to stomach, for the betterment of others. I’m adamant about folks with privilege using theirs to help dismantle systems that oppress others, he seems to have taken that to heart and then actively did something with his privilege. Doing that from the right place with the right intentions is def honorable.
Best of luck to all of you who continue to speak out and use your platforms to reverse the trend toward bigotry in all it forms, keep doin’ what you do.
Reuben
Read Blakeley’s article https://medium.com/@blakeleynixon/im-a-lefty-and-i-joined-a-trump-supporters-facebook-group-here-s-what-i-learned-47d7a98884d
