The Dismal Legacy of Donald Trump

     Rodolfo Rodriguez, 92, is an American citizen who was brutally beaten on the 4th of July in Los Angeles--first by a woman with a cement block, then by four men who joined in the attack.  The woman  falsely claimed Rodriguez tried to “touch” her toddler. As she beat him, she demanded that he go back to his own country.

     Mia Irizarry, an American citizen who had purchased a permit to rent a picnic area in a Chicago park to celebrate her birthday, was verbally harassed for wearing a Puerto Rican flag shirt.  The man who berated her was yelling “you should not be wearing that in the United States of America”.  Of course, Puerto Rico is a territory of the U.S., and its residents are citizens--though based on the pathetic response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria, one would never guess that to be the case.

     Srinivas Kuchibhotla was murdered in Olathe, Kansas last year.  The gunman also wounded a co-worker of Kuchibhotla’s, and a man who had come to their aid.  Kuchubhotla was a legal Indian immigrant working for the tech firm Garmin.  His killer repeatedly yelled “get out of my country” before opening fire.

     The list of similar incidents is voluminous, and is growing daily.  The common denominator?  Donald J. Trump (and the Republicans who enable him).  Hate crimes spiked following his election; attacks against Muslim, South Asian, Sikh, Hindu, and Middle Eastern communities alone were up by 45% in 2017.

     Donald Trump is recognized world-wide as a paranoid narcissist.  He ought to be accorded similar recognition for his well-known history of racism.  Decades ago, Trump’s real estate company sought to avoid renting apartments to African-Americans, and in reference to black employees at his casinos, he noted that “laziness is a trait in blacks”. 

     His recent history continues to be equally vile.  He launched his 2016 presidential campaign with a speech disparaging Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists.  In 2017 he said 15,000 immigrants from Haiti “all have AIDS”, and that 40,000 Nigerians would never “go back to their huts” in Africa after seeing the United States.  He often refers to prominent African-Americans as “unpatriotic, ungrateful, and disrespectful”.  He has labeled Puerto Ricans who criticized his Administration’s embarrassing response to Hurricane Maria as “politically motivated ingrates”.  He has stood with white supremacists (“some are very fine people”), and has shown that he believes one’s immigration status determines their humanity (“these are not people, these are animals”).  Mr. Trump has taken the low road at every turn, from embracing Infowars to enabling QAnon.  As founder and chief purveyor of “fake news” (“Obama is not a citizen”) he’s been driving a wedge between Americans and reality for years now, and his xenophobic vision of America is inciting racist violence.

     It may be possible, with time and considerable effort, to undo the damage his disastrous policies and judicial choices will have inflicted on the country, but the real legacy Donald Trump will leave behind is another matter.  He chose, with malice and forethought, to let loose the genie of hatred, racial division, and violence.  The question before us is if that genie can ever be contained?  

Paul Ryan's Smirk or Scowl

In a few short hours, millions of Americans will be subjected to Paul Ryan's supposed "poker face". The only real question is: will he be smirking, or scowling? As Speaker of the House, Ryan will be seated next to Vice President Biden and behind President Obama as he delivers his final State of the Union address. Ryan’s dark suit will undoubtedly be festooned with his usual American flag pin. Unfortunately, Ryan is unable to grasp or appreciate the incredible strength in the diversity of our nation, so the pin is quite meaningless. If he truly understood, then there’d be no excuse for either his voting record, or for what I’m convinced is the racist manner in which he, Mitch McConnell, and countless other Republican “luminaries” in Congress have consistently interacted with President Obama throughout his two terms. Frankly, their behavior has been so blatant I’m shocked that the word “uppity” hasn’t escaped their lips. Ryan’s disdain of the President has long been palpable, but it’s hardly surprising.
Ryan, who is actually considered a “policy wonk” by some, demonstrated his racist proclivities this past year when he linked poverty to “this tailspin of culture in our inner cities in particular, of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture of work”. Rep. Barbara Lee of California immediately (and quite correctly) took him to the proverbial woodshed. Noting his use of “inner city” as code for “black”, Rep. Lee pegged it as a racist attack.
Ryan is a part of the mindset that would find such statements/views acceptable. Today, nine out of ten Republican supporters are white; and 98% of elected Republican officials are white. Ryan continues to fly in the face of diversity. It’s ironic, then, that he actually held a poverty “forum” in South Carolina last week. Given the fact that Ryan has voted against raising the minimum wage ten times since coming to the Congress, and that he envisions one of the “solutions” to poverty as being slashing proven/effective Federal anti-poverty programs and putting them in the hands of the states, it’s hard to take him seriously. Unfortunately, he’s just so dangerous…
As he glowers or glares behind the President this evening, consider the respective messages each man represents. I’m certain President Obama’s will accentuate the positive, while Ryan will embody the party of opposition-with-no-plan. Ryan will undoubtedly make every effort to ensure his flag lapel is in full view, but Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine (a band Ryan claimed to be a big fan of) summarized it best several years ago when he called Ryan out for “his rage against women, immigrants, workers, the poor, gays, and the environment”. We’d all best beware of Paul Ryan, smirk or scowl.