TRUMP UBER ALLES
When Donald Trump glided down the escalator in Trump Tower spewing vile hate on Mexican-Americans, we knew something had shifted in our political discourse. When he targeted Muslims for exclusion from our shores, we knew the bigotry – that I thought was on the decline in the USA – had come roaring back. When Trump supporters manhandled and sucker punched Black people who were at his rallies, we knew that those who felt either ashamed of their bigotry and who felt they had to hide their biases were fully empowered by the Bigot-in-Chief. When white supremacists marched with torches in Charlottesville – when Heather Hyer was murdered in Charlottesville – when the Racist-in-Chief said there were “fine people on both sides,” our deepest fears were realized.
Shortly after Trump’s election, Amy Siskind starting publishing a weekly column detailing our slide towards authoritarianism. This gave me the idea to produce a similar newsletter detailing acts of white supremacy. Having been an Air Force brat in France in the 1950’s, I saw places where Jews had been slaughtered. I realized that we could be moving in that direction here in this country. Right after the election, some people felt that this view point was overly dramatic and that such horrors could never occur here. I was heartened by this spot-on book review in the New York Times of In ‘Hitler,’ an Ascent From ‘Dunderhead’ to Demagogue, a new biography portraying Hitler as a clownish, deceitful narcissist who took control of a powerful nation thanks to slick propaganda and a dysfunctional elite that failed to block his rise.
One thing I remembered clearly from history is that many Germans claimed not to know what was transpiring in their country when millions of Jews, Roma, people with disabilities, gay men, and lesbians were harassed and then murdered. I thought by bringing attention to what is transpiring in our own country, I would help make sure no one could credibly claim ignorance. Hence This Week in White Supremacy, a title I attribute to my mischievous prankster nature.
WHAT DO WE DO NOW????? VOTE!!!!!
On Tuesday, our fellow Americans get to say in the words of Dan Rather “Who We Are.” Are we a country where Jews and Black Christians will be routinely murdered while in their houses of worship? Pittsburgh is fresh in our minds, but do not forget that the little demon Dylann Roof murdered the nine beautiful souls in Mother Emmanuel Church in Charleston the day after Trump announced his candidacy with hate filled words of racism. My colleagues at EJS talked about how we wanted to mark the one year anniversary of TWIWS and decided that the best way to fight white supremacy is for the country to stand up tomorrow and say “Hell no” to Trump and Trumpism.
Get out and vote. Help other people vote. Work the phones. There are Democrats and Republicans who are renouncing Trump. We would love to cease publication of This Week in White Supremacy. Help us make that happen. The democracy you save may be your own.
With love and respect,
Eva, on behalf of the Board and Staff of the Equal Justice Society
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We wanted to take a moment to remind you of the people who died so you could vote:
Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman
If you need to find your polling place, want information on candidates and ballot measures, or need to report Election Day problems, visit Vote411.org.
Remember what Jenifer Lewis said:
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