The Real Donald Trump: Please Stand Up

To be completely transparent, I didn’t watch the televised coverage of the events in Charlottesville.  I was already horrified by the images on social media of what was happening there.  

I did not want to see it “real time” because I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle it.  Blame it on my horoscope (Cancer) but I knew I would be way too emotional to watch what was happening in this country.  Full disclosure – I wrote “our country” initially and had to delete it.  Because I don’t believe this is my country even though it should be more mine than Trump’s since it was built on the backs of my people and I donned a uniform and fought for it.

I took to Twitter Saturday to get a handle on how people were responding to the white nationalism demonstration in Charlottesville and noticed a curious hashtag.  #ThisIsNotUs  I weighed in with the following response:  “Ah, but it is.  Unfortunately it has always been us.  Until we address racism & bigotry head-on it will continue to be us.”  If I had additional characters, I probably would have added that minority groups are not responsible for dismantling racism.  We didn’t establish it.  So the “we” addressing racism has to be the group that put it in place.  Which brings us to our elected leader, Trump.

Now Trump consistently showed us throughout the entire election cycle exactly who and what he was.  He made no apologies for having to be sued by the federal government because he wouldn’t rent to Black people.  He ran his campaign on the plan to round up illegal immigrants and build a wall so they could no longer get into this country.  He stood with the David Dukes and the Steve Bannons of the world as he proclaimed he would “make America great again” which was code for make America white and non-diverse again.

This is the same “leader” who told police officers recently not to be too nice when they are apprehending people.  Reading between the lines, those people would overwhelmingly be people of color.  The same people of color who have to fight hard not to die at the hands of a police officer when we are pulled over on a traffic stop.  Color me not surprised that he did not speak out against the racist, hateful, bigoted display in Charlottesville, where a white supremacist turned his car into a weapon, ramming it into counter-protesters, killing a young mother and injuring others.

There was blame to be had on both sides.

Lawmakers and citizens called for Trump to say something…but he was noticeably silent for TWO HOURS (gathering facts he said).  He finally came out with a response that was soft on racism.  And then today, two days after Saturday’s tragic racist display, in the Trump Towers no less, he came out and said what he really meant to say on Saturday:  There was blame to be had on both sides.  The “alt-left” is just as much to blame as the “alt-right”.  The “alt-left” didn’t even have a permit and went charging against the nice neo-Nazis and white supremacists who just wanted to keep their nice statue of a fine man, Robert E. Lee.  Then he likened that traitor (Robert E. Lee) to George Washington.  Yes, the same traitor who fought to keep slavery in this country.  David Duke tweeted his approval.

NOW, people are appalled, when truthfully, they should have been appalled in November.  They should have been appalled enough to not vote for this man who showed them at every turn that he is a racist.  But maybe they thought he was just playing…just talking…and when he got into office, surely he would become the President of ALL people…brown, black, yellow, gay, straight, female, male, transgender, Muslim, Jew.

I’m reminded of what Big Mama always said, “When people show you who they are, believe them.”  Nothing Trump does in that White House surprises me.  I’m just surprised or should I say disappointed by the people who continue to support him.  When is enough going to be enough?  Will he have to lynch somebody on the front lawn of the White House for y’all to get that he is not fit to be President?  Who in that Republican party and among his supporters are willing to take a stand?  I hear crickets….

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