Cincinnati Enquirer Op-Ed: Can you support Trump and not be a bigot?

[StarfishSaver]

Some of my Republican friends are quick to tell me how much they’re repulsed by Donald Trump, yet they continue to support him anyway because they like some of his policies. When I note that they’re supporting the darling of white supremacy, they insist this doesn’t mean they condone racism or that they themselves are racist – and they take great offense that I or anyone else would think otherwise because, after all, "You don’t know what’s in my heart."
...
You’re right. I may not know what’s in your heart. But I can see what you do, and I can see whom you’re doing it with. And I can see that when you support the candidate of white supremacy, you are aligning yourself with white supremacists, adding weight and power to their racism, even if you are not personally racist yourself.

When you vote, whether in person or by mail, no one will sort out the "racist Trump" votes from the "not racist Trump" votes. If you vote for Trump, your vote will go into the same pile with those cast by voters who support Trump because of, not in spite of, his racism, xenophobia and malevolence. And when the voting’s done and the counting starts, your vote will be counted right along with theirs, and the tabulators couldn’t care less what’s in your heart. All they’ll see is that your ballot for Trump looks exactly like all the other ballots for Trump, and they’ll simply mark you down as one more vote for the white supremacists’ candidate.
...
So, my friend, if you choose to vote for Trump in November, please don’t be offended if you’re mistaken for a racist, even if you’re not. When you align yourself with racists, it’s hard to tell you apart from them, regardless what may be in your heart, because to those of us over here on the right side of history, you all look alike.
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/2020/06/19/opinion-can-you-support-trump-and-not-bigot/3209123001/

[SoonerPride]

1. No. If you support trump you are a racist. Full stop.

The op-ed was far too gentle on this point IMO.

[LakeArenal]

2. No. The line is wide. If you crossed it with him, you are him.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Great op-ed, great argument to use when dealing with wavering Trumpers.

[Solly Mack]

4. If it wasn't in your heart to begin with, you wouldn't be a Trumper

[Hortensis]

5. Sure, but never without supporting bigotry/racism itself.

The people I'm thinking of support "Trump" as in support conservative economic policy, things like lower taxes or getting rid of labor regulations they're just sure are the reasons their business are gong broke, etc.

[Downtown Hound]

6. As a statement on general principle,

I would say that it may be possible to be be a Trump supporter and not be a bigot personally. However, since you are choosing to support Trump, you are at least willing to tolerate bigotry and turn a blind eye to it because for some stupid reason you deem his bigotry as secondary and not as important as other qualities he brings to the table. And that hardly makes you innocent.

As a statement of general reality, I would say that if you are still a Trump supporter after all the horrible bullshit that's happened, you are most likely a bigot of some form or another, because his performance is such an epic of utter awfulness on so many fronts that there has to be another reason why you still support him, and bigotry is most likely that reason.

[lagomorph777]

17. If a person can tolerate racism, they are racist.

It's simple really.

[StarfishSaver]

20. No.Despicable, but not the same thing

[luvtheGWN]

25. The thing about "tolerance" is this:

You are willing to put up with racist behaviour, but obviously not willing to do anything about it. That is no different than someone not liking either candidate and then not voting, which is how Dolt45 captured the White House. It means you basically voted him in, without even casting a ballot.

So your "tolerance" allows racism to continue and flourish.

I'd have to say that if you tolerate racism, you are INDEED a racist.

[The Polack MSgt]

7. Supporting Racists Is Racist. That has been the bedrock of my GOP hatred since Reagan

https://democraticunderground.com/10028411453

[dalton99a]

8. Not all* Trump voters are bigots, but all bigots are Trump voters

*Maybe 99.9%

[StarfishSaver]

9. Not all bigots are Trump voters

Some Democrats are bigots, too. The difference is, Democratic bigots are Democrats DESPITE their bigotry, not because of it.

[Midnightwalk]

10. How can they not be racist

Saying that you’re willing to turn a blind eye to trump’s obvious racism because you like his stance on issue requires the question:

What issue is so important to you that you’re willing to support a racist?

Being a racist for personal gain just makes you a racist prostitute.

[StarfishSaver]

11. Supporting a racist doesn't necessarily make one a racist

They can support Trump without feeling that black people are inferior to them. It just means that racism isn't that important to them.

[Midnightwalk]

13. I was thinking along a different line

When does one let racism slide versus doing or saying something against it. It can be a tough question.

Personal risk is one thing. The risk of violence is real. Losing a job or relationship to a family member is hard.

Tolerating a racist for personal gain or policy preference seems different to me.

I get there’s some line between not thinking others are inferior and tolerating someone who treats others as inferior for your own profit. I have trouble believing that such a person really has that line.

If the issue is something like “abortion is worse than racism” then even though I completely disagree with that, I’ll agree with you that person may not be racist.

Anyway thanks for giving me things to think about.

[StarfishSaver]

14. I hear you!

[Tommymac]

36. Nope. Support a racist YOU are a Racist. Simple as that. n/t

[StarfishSaver]

39. Actually, it doesn't

Racism has a very specific definition related to a person's view of black people. Supporting a particular political candidate, even if that person is a racist, does not necessarily make one a racist if they don't hold that view.

I'm not defending people who support Trump in any way. They are despicable and, in many respects, they are worse than racists. But it's important that we not muddy up the definition of racism, which is very specific.

[Tommymac]

44. Sorry. If you support a Racist YOU are a Racist. NO EXCUSES. Live with it.

And I do not direct this at you personally.

[JDC]

12. "They support some of his policies." Like what?

They are racist based. Except for the ones that are destroying our environment I guess or discriminatory.

These folks that say something else is in their heart and support him are racist or just a piece of shit. Most often both. That's the end of the conversation.

[catrose]

29. Like what, as you say.

[47of74]

15. No. No. And FUCK NO.

[BarbD]

16. "You all look alike."

Says it all.

[bucolic_frolic]

23. Yeah, that's really slapping them the same backhander that they have used on 'the others'

Powerful upbraiding, and very necessary

[ProfessorGAC]

45. That Was My Favorite Line

Great capper!

[Different Drummer]

18. Easy answer. No.

DD

[catbyte]

19. ...

[StarfishSaver]

22. Boom!

[Tommymac]

41. +1 n/t

[plimsoll]

24. My parents like to remind me that you would be judged by the company you keep.

Are the the "non-racist" Trump voters telling us we shouldn't pay attention to their buds with the Tiki Torches?

[sarge43]

26. That policy of locking children in cages, Trump voter?

If you can stomach that, then you are bigot and something much worse, if that's possible.

Let's put it this way. If you became aware that a neighbor was locking his/her children in cages, what would you do? Would you call 911 immediately or would you shrug and say, "That's their policy"?

[kimbutgar]

27. No if you support him you support his policy of racism

[StarfishSaver]

28. I think the point of the piece is to set aside the argument of whether someone is or isn't racist

It doesn't matter whether someone is or isn't a racist - which requires too much jumping down rabbit holes. If they continue to support a racist along with avowed racists, they can't get upset if people assume they're racist, too.

[Tommymac]

42. No argument involved. Support a Racist YOU are a racist. n/t

[Grokenstein]

30. One of my co-workers

supports Republicans no matter what because he fancies himself a wheeler-dealer entitled to tax breaks. He refuses to pay his union dues but expects the union to protect him.

He also fancies himself a devout Christian. Yet when anyone points out the harm to the poor that Republican policies cause on every level, he just shrugs and smiles and says "oh I know, but" and continues bouncing back and forth between "tax breaks" and "devout Christian." He's a devout hypocrite.

I thought I'd be used to that sort of nonsense by now but these sociopaths still flabbergast me.

[StarfishSaver]

35. They do shrug a lot, don't they

That's the response I always get from Trump supporters/Republican apologists when they can't overcome the logic I throw at them. They just shrug and babble something like, "well, they're all bad ... both sides ... well Pelosi ... blah blah blah"

[Red Pest]

31. My hypothetical on this question

Let's substitute Hitler for Trump and anti-Semite for racist (or just leave it as bigot). Can someone support Hitler and not be a bigot/anti-Semite? Well, some Germans thought so. They were just nationalists who wanted to raise Germany up from the defeat of WWI. What happened? Well, we all know - the Holocaust and WWII.

All that it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.

So my answer is NO, one cannot support Trump and not be a bigot for the simple reason that you are supporting that person and, therefore, all that they represent, which in Trump's case is bigotry.

[wcollar]

32. There were people who didn't agree with everything Hitler did...

but continued to support him.
They were still called Nazis!

[marie999]

33. Not necessarily a racist.

Some people are getting richer because trump is president and they are so greedy that they are willing to let people die so so they can make more money.

[calimary]

34. "...to those of us over here on the right side of history, you all look alike."

OUCH!!!

That's gotta hurt. Hopefully, anyway.

Frankly, that BETTER hurt. Your vote for trump means YOU STAND WITH HIM. PERIOD.

AND his racism. PERIOD.

AND his crimes. PERIOD.

AND his corruption. PERIOD.

AND his stupidity. PERIOD.

AND his lies. PERIOD.

You vote for trump? You ARE all that. In effect, you ARE trump.

[Tommymac]

43. +1 Spot on. n/t

[cp]

37. No

If you vote for Dumpy, you support racism and you are therefore a racist.

[Warpy]

38. Some people pride themselves on seeing the "good"

meaning their 401K plans have had their ups and downs, but they're up overall over 2016 and others foolishly see those corporate tax giveaways as shoring up their employment prospects and they stupidly think their personal benefits outweigh the harm he's done to government, the consumer economy, farming, our image worldwide, our alliances, and to anyone who has more melanin than he does.

Yeah, they pride themselves on being fiscal conservatives and publicly deplore police brutality and murder while not doing a fucking thing to try to stop any of it.

I wouldn't call them race bigots, exactly. I would call them worthless, self centered, anti American, and willing to sacrifice anything and everything as long as their gravy train doesn't get derailed.

I have just described a lot of rank and file upper middle class Republicans.

[crickets]

40. No. To support trump in spite of his racism is to tolerate his racism.

It's also asking the rest of us to tolerate his racism by not calling the selective trump supporters to account.

This isn't the same as deciding that a candidate has economic policies that are so attractive you're willing to overlook his problematic approach to unions or privacy. Those are both very important issues, but they are not necessarily an overarching moral human rights failure.

Asking others to overlook a candidate who supports systemic racism and the rise of white supremacy in this country is ludicrous. Anyone who feels that they can disagree with his blatant racism but still vote for him is lying to themselves and to you. If you vote for trump anyway, you have cast a vote for racism.

There is no other way to opt out on an issue this entwined with the respect for basic human rights than to refuse to vote for trump. A vote for trump is a vote for racism.

https://medium.com/parkermolloy/deconstructing-the-tolerance-paradox-why-conservatives-go-to-line-is-garbage-666a1bf04a65

When what we’re asked to tolerate comes at the expense of somebody else’s existence or well-being (for example, ideas that threaten the existence of people on the basis of age, race, gender identity, sex, national origin, race, religion, or disability), showing tolerance for such ideas is in itself deadly.

[CaptainTruth]

46. "Can you support the KKK & not be racist?"

My answer: NO.

[Faux pas]

47. Kickin'

for later

[JonLP24]

48. No I don't think so

Racism is why I never consider the Republicans.