An Open Letter to my Country Club Friends Everywhere

Okay my country club friends — and you know who you are. Know this. Voting for Trump is not the same as voting for Bush. You can’t just brush aside the social issues this time. And I get it — they don’t apply to you. You can just buy yourself — or white yourself — out of almost any problem that comes your way. But this time is different. This time you can’t just look the other way and vote your pocketbook. This time your vote says something. That you’re okay with a man who sued to be able to block African Americans from renting his apartments. You’re okay with a man who had every African American cleared from the room in his casino before he’d walk through it. You’re okay with a man who only wants “short men in yarmulkes” counting his money — who doesn’t want Blacks touching it. It’s all out there. We know the truth — Trump is a racist. And if you vote for Trump, so are you, my friends. Which, sad to say, means our friendship is over. Because RACISM IS NOT OKAY WITH ME. PERIOD. IT’S A DEAL BREAKER, UNDERSTOOD? I don’t want to hear about you don’t like Hillary or Bill or Obama or Democrats — or even that Bernie should’ve won. TRUMP IS A RACIST. I don’t even have to get into how he treats women or his childish temperament or his threats to ditch our allies or his sordid dealings with Russia. TRUMP IS A RACIST. And I am seriously disappointed in anyone who can “see past this.” RACISM IS NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN SEE PAST. Racism is looking at another human being and not seeing their humanity. And that refusal to grant every human their basic parity — to diminish their status — and then to take advantage of that diminished status — is at the root of almost every problem in the world right now from Isil chopping off the heads of priests to frightened police officers shooting a man who’s lying in the street with his hands raised. So think carefully, my friends. And not just about me and what our friendship means. But about you — do you really want to live in a country where the president draws distinctions on the basis of pigment? Think carefully. You’ve enjoyed your privilege for a long time. But that could always change. After all, it’s just pigment. Next time they could be coming for you.