Scared of KKK (Trump)

[ModernArtist25]

My cousin is crazy worried for her husband's safety(he's black). She said after Trump was elected, there is KKK lurking around her area. She constantly worry that her husband or her kids might not make it home one day. I understand where her worriness come from because her husband was arrested before and pulled over before multiple times just for being black. Now with Trump as president, she is fearful. She keeps getting the flu, getting breakouts because of worrying. It is affecting her physically and mentally. Is there anything I can tell her to alleviate her fear and worriness?

[Phi for All]

Unfortunately, all the things I could say shouldn't have to be said to an American. I shouldn't EVER have to tell you to avoid doing anything to get on a group's radar. But Donald Trump will be POTUS, and the hate is going to get worse. He's the maggotty center of the corruption the Republicans have infected the country with in their determination to disease the middle class. All the filth took a look at him and realized they didn't sound half bad.

 

I don't have any words of comfort.

[StringJunky]

Unfortunately, all the things I could say shouldn't have to be said to an American. I shouldn't EVER have to tell you to avoid doing anything to get on a group's radar. But Donald Trump will be POTUS, and the hate is going to get worse. He's the maggotty center of the corruption the Republicans have infected the country with in their determination to disease the middle class. All the filth took a look at him and realized they didn't sound half bad.

 

I don't have any words of comfort.

Let's hope he finds changing things as difficult as Obama has, even with all the Republican votes he has behind him. I'm hoping reality and the stiffness/slowness/resistance of the political machinery to change will slow it down enough so that not too much change in the Republican favour occurs over the next four years.

Edited December 4, 2016 by StringJunky

[CharonY]

Well, there are limits to what he can implement and also to what actually he wants to. He has courted the right fringe to get into power, but they are not that important to keep him in power (though correct me if I am wrong).

The actual issue is probably that just the issues that have been bubbling under the surface are finally bubbling out. People will not suddenly join the KKK, it is just that members are more likely to be more vocal about it, now. I am not sure if there is any comfort, but basically it just means that the bigots do not feel the need to be "PC" anymore rather than that people will suddenly become bigots.

 

Edit: removed no sentence fragment.

Edited December 4, 2016 by CharonY

[iNow]

Charons point resonates with me.

 

This stuff was always there under the surface, hidden in the shadows, lurking quietly in the soft underbelly of society. Quite likely, it always will be. It's just more visible now, their masks (hoods?) taken off, their voices unmuted, their words and dog whistles uncoded, but their numbers aren't likely growing.

 

In fact, seeing this out in the open once more may generate an upswell in counter movements, those who fight for tolerance and advocate for inclusion. The loud and proud of white hate may trigger an animation of the enlightened from an otherwise sedentary and dormant state.

 

We don't yet know what will happen and that uncertainty only magnifies concerns. Your cousin and her husband are understandably anxious and rightly vigilant, but fear of what's happening simply won't change their lives for the better. Quite the opposite really.

 

Encourage them to seek out and support those who desire a better world instead of cowering in a proverbial corner paralyzed with fright.

Edited December 4, 2016 by iNow

[MigL]

Come on Phi, now you're being ridiculous.

The real 'filth' ( like the KKK ) was always there whether Trump or Obama is/was President.

By characterizing all the people who voted for Trump as 'filth', you're making the same mistake Clinton made.

How did it work out for her ?

 

A lot, if not most, of the voters who supported Trump are just sick and tired of the government ignoring them.

Government only ever seems to care for the top 20% ( their rich friends ) and the bottom 20% ( the people they have to support through social programs ).

The ever shrinking middle class has no voice, they are just expected to pay the bill.

I think they got fed up, and voted for a change from 'business-as-usual' Government that a career politician like Clinton represents.

The fact that they chose Trump to do this with is what is troubling, because he is the one who has enabled the real 'filth'. Most of his supporters are, however decent, hard-working people who pay their taxes and get along with their neighbors ( black or white ).

 

I don't know much about American politics since I predicted that Trump would never become president, but I think we're due for a 'Trump' in Canada soon. We may be a lot more malleable than you Americans but I can see us reaching our snapping point also.

Our Conservative government was replaced by the Trudeau Liberals recently.

Trudeau campaigned on legalizing pot. That has gone nowhere.

Trudeau vilified the Harper Conservatives for their weak carbon reduction targets. The same targets he has now adopted.

They campaigned against the F-35 purchase even though the previous Chretien Liberals had joined the program as a partner and gained considerable industrial work. They said it was a sole source contract with hidden costs. They pledged an open and transparent competition, yet they just ordered F18 SuperHornets without a competition and unknown costs ( maybe more than F-35 ). If they had an open competition the F-35 would win and Trudeau would look bad. Can't have that.

They campaigned on replacing our first-past-the-post system with proportional representation so that people would be better represented by their government, but on winning a majority those plans were scrapped.

I could go on, but you get the idea. Government as usual is not about making things better, but about getting re-elected. Promise anything to get elected and then do what's convenient. That's the problem with government-as-usual.

You Americans have simply reached your breaking point quicker than we have, and unfortunately, made a deal with the devil ( Trump ) to that end.

[CharonY]

Assuming the examples are really high on the priority list of Canadians, they do sound like goals that would be more associated with left/progressive policies. So if I understand you correctly Canadians would then go and vote for a leftist protest party or just go back to the conservatives?

[rangerx]

Our Conservative government was replaced by the Trudeau Liberals recently.

 

Harper was anti-intellectual. He muzzled scientists and burned DFO libraries, determined to expunge from the public record anything that impeded development of tar sand resources. The contractor tasked with digitizing the collections admitted less than 15% was captured. Most of it was incinerated or sent to landfills in dumpsters. The Freshwater Institute Library is no longer staffed and the public is free to walk in and take whatever they want of the ransacked books, grey literature and periodicals strewn about on the shelves or the floor.

 

I read Fahrenheit 451 when I was in school, but never in my wildest dreams ever expected it would happen in my own country during my lifetime.

 

I don't expect much from Trudeau keeping his promises either, but unlike Harper he's been compromising, not intransigent. For example, allowing the the Kinder Morgan pipeline twinning and disallowing the Northern Gateway Pipeline.

 

While that may anger industry and environmentalists alike, the average individual sees that as a fair decision.

 

To stay on topic, there was the Barbaric Practices Act which was a whole other Orwellian can of worms that ultimately led to Harper's political demise. So in sense, what you've suggested has already happened and has since been brought closer to the center again. It seems when Canada has a liberal leader, America has a conservative one or vise versa. It keeps North America balanced. If Trudeau is anything like his father, he won't take any shit from Trump.

 

"Americans should never underestimate the constant pressure on Canada which the mere presence of the United States has produced. We're different people from you and we're different people because of you. Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is effected by every twitch and grunt. It should not therefore be expected that this kind of nation, this Canada, should project itself as a mirror image of the United States." P. E. Trudeau

[MigL]

I'm not defending the Harper conservatives but should I forgive the Liberal lies and promises that were made during the election campaign just because it became inconvenient to follow through with them after having been elected ? That IS the reason people voted for them.

 

And that is the sort of thing, which at first generates contempt for politicians/elections and results in low voter turn-out, and eventually in protest votes ( which is what I assume happened in the US ) leading to the election of buffoons like D. Trump.

[rangerx]

I'm not defending the Harper conservatives but should I forgive the Liberal lies and promises that were made during the election campaign just because it became inconvenient to follow through with them after having been elected ?

 

 

No, of course not. You have the right to hold his feet to the fire. To criticize what was said and demand promised expectations. Unlike America where you'd be considered un-American for not fawning over a conservative president.

Edited December 4, 2016 by rangerx

[StringJunky]

Elections are about who can bullshit the most convincingly. Trump won.

[DimaMazin]

Elections are about who can bullshit the most convincingly. Trump won.

After the victory Americans will be losing ability to make science, therefore we should try to do science without their ability. Another countries should make less golden hotels and more scientific work.

[Ten oz]

Elections are about who can bullshit the most convincingly. Trump won.

I think that is an over simplification. Since the voting rights act was gutted I'm 2013 84 counties in 12 states have changed their laws for registration, early voting, mail in voting, and in person voting. It is why some people must wait in line for several hours to vote while others can comfortably get it done in minutes.

 

There is always plenty of blame to go around and the media has many narratives for why one candidate or the other win vs lost but when the margins are tight (100k sealed Trump's win) rule meant to disenfranchise voters can't be over looked.

 

Beyond the BS'ing candidates do there are real structural prices on the ground that help ensure success. Those pieces lining up and helping deliver someone like Trump to the white House is a huge win for groups like the KKK. While someone feel such groups have been around so nothing has changed I feel horrified. The right will expand restrictive voting laws that suppress minority and youth turnout while pass aggressive stand you ground laws as a reward to their bigot supporters.

[StringJunky]

I think that is an over simplification. Since the voting rights act was gutted I'm 2013 84 counties in 12 states have changed their laws for registration, early voting, mail in voting, and in person voting. It is why some people must wait in line for several hours to vote while others can comfortably get it done in minutes.

Those sort of shanannigans are done here as well. Moving county/electoral boundaries to capture more seats that favour the ruling political party, for example.

[Delta1212]

Those sort of shanannigans are done here as well. Moving county/electoral boundaries to capture more seats that favour the ruling political party, for example.

That's the sort of run-of-the-mill gerrymandering that was done before the VRA was gutted. Things have gotten a bit worse since then.

[rangerx]

Assuming the examples are really high on the priority list of Canadians, they do sound like goals that would be more associated with left/progressive policies. So if I understand you correctly Canadians would then go and vote for a leftist protest party or just go back to the conservatives?

 

Canada has a three party system (excluding Greens and others).

 

Conservatives, Liberals and New Democrats.

 

New Democrats have never held the federal office of Prime Minister, but have been Premiers in the provinces several times since their inception in the 1950s. They gained traction having established universal health care and collective bargaining in the federal system.

 

The other thing Canadians have is "coalition" government, where the minorities can collectively outnumber the majority and take power. They also have the power to bring down the government by a "non-confidence" vote. Very often, Liberals have succeeded in this manner, hence beholding to more socialist fundamentals. Otherwise they're more central in ideology.

 

Canadian leaders can call an election at any time, especially when they want a mandate for certain issues. They can hold office for a maximum term of five years.

 

The three party system puts the government on notice much more readily than the highly polarized two party system in the US.

Those pieces lining up and helping deliver someone like Trump to the white House is a huge win for groups like the KKK.

Again, this can be laid at the feet of the two party system. When one side wins, the other lives in fear.

 

America is exceedingly polarized in their respective ideologies.

Edited December 5, 2016 by rangerx

[Ten oz]

Again, this can be laid at the feet of the two party system. When one side wins, the other lives in fear.

 

America is exceedingly polarized in their respective ideologies.

One side wins and the other side lives in fear down plays the legit concerns people have. United States has the largest prison population in the world. For the millions of people in prison our governments positions on mandatory sentencing, drugs, rehabilitian, and etc are real things. Police in the United states also kill citizens at rates simply not scene else where in the world. For those who are dead and the for the families they left behind these fears are very real. There are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in this country. the overwhelming majority of which are good hardworking people. They are now in limbo. Their futures unclear. Syrian refugees fleeing war hoping for for a new start in the USA, nope!

 

We are very polarized but to say either way people are afraid implies either way people have the same level of things to be affraid of. The Right was afraid of the Affordable Care Act. The Left is afraid off de-regulation that will lead to an exceleration of negative Climate impacts. The Right was afraid of the USA not looking tough enough around the world. The Left is afraid of war which will kill and displace millions. It all isn't the same.

 

The United States, and the world for that matter, were in desperate times 8 years age. Millions lost their homes, their retirmement savings, millions lost their lives in wars and rebellions. Unemployment was 10%, stock market in the tiolet, mortgage companies shuttering, we had hundreds of thousands of troops on the ground overseas killing and dying daily, and etc. That isn't just some unwarranted partisan view of history. It was real. In electing Trump we have ignored they policies that brought us to that point. We have turned our backs on what has worked in favor of demagoguery. It is something to fear. We have tried much of this before and it simply doesn't work.