“Why the Trump Rally in St. Louis Was So Different”
“Life in America is supposed to improve from generation to generation. That’s the narrative we’re raised with. But instead of that bright American future, many St. Louisans have been left broke and short on answers in the most dangerous city in America…
While people around the world have been inspired by the resistance they saw in Ferguson and the commitment to justice displayed by protesters, many white St. Louisans felt differently. Rather than seeing a movement for justice in the streets, many locals instead saw the last vestiges of the white-dominated social order being ripped away. The local response was ugly. It tore apart friendships and even families.
Enter Donald Trump. Here is a candidate promising to return jobs to America, get tough on China, bomb the shit out of ISIS, round up undocumented immigrants, and build the Great Wall of America. And he cusses just like us! No wonder his message is music to the ears of the disgruntled white population of St. Louis. It speaks to their hearts and stokes their demons in a way that progressives wish Bernie Sanders would reach their better angels.
That’s the Trump welcome party. But there is another St. Louis — one whose African-American population erupted in protest after the police killings of Mike Brown, Kajieme Powell, and Vonderrit Myers. It’s a city with a rapidly growing Latino population. It’s a city that has become a hub for Muslim refugees, including the largest Bosnian community in America.
These two cities came together face to face on Market Street while Trump spoke inside.”
