There as been a dramatic increase in hate groups and white hate groups in particular.
From THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENER
"Antigovernment militiamen, white supremacists, abortion foes, domestic Islamist radicals, neo-Nazis and lovers of the Confederate battle flag targeted
- police,
- government officials,
- black churchgoers,
- Muslims,
- Jews,
- school children,
- Marines,
- abortion providers,
- members of the Black Lives Matter protest movement,
- and even drug dealers.
They laid plans to attack courthouses, banks, festivals, funerals, schools, mosques, churches, synagogues, clinics, water treatment plants and power grids. They used firearms, bombs, C-4 plastic explosives, knives and grenades; one of them, a murderous Klansman, was convicted of trying to build a death ray.
The armed violence was accompanied by rabid and often racist denunciations of Muslims, LGBT activists and others — incendiary rhetoric led by a number of mainstream political figures and amplified by a lowing herd of their enablers in the right-wing media. "
"Reacting to demographic changes in the U.S., immigration, the legalization of same-sex marriage, the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, and Islamist atrocities, these people fostered a sense of polarization and anger in this country that may be unmatched since the political upheavals of 1968."
This article is from 2015 and covers the period before Trump legitimized card carrying white racists by making plans to make them part of his white house staff. This article covers the period when Trump was simply running for president.
Going back even further along the timeline to 2008, we can see a rise in white hate groups that should have been expected. Many black and brown people did expect President Obama's black presence in the White House would stir white hatred and bring it to the surface in thousands of individuals.
But now that Mean Tangerine has the power to ratchet up the racist and islamphobic rhetoric from the president's chair, I expect things the hate group members will become more numerous once more and bolder as well.
Going back even further along the timeline to 2008, we can see a rise in white hate groups that should have been expected. Many black and brown people did expect President Obama's black presence in the White House would stir white hatred and bring it to the surface in thousands of individuals.
But now that Mean Tangerine has the power to ratchet up the racist and islamphobic rhetoric from the president's chair, I expect things the hate group members will become more numerous once more and bolder as well.
Black and brown children, teens, and college students have already begun to experience the regurigitated verbal violence that white children bring to school from their parents.
White adults, who don't consider anything but the word "n-gger" as verbal racism and therefore do not recognize themselves as racists, will become bolder with their verbal violence after that.
Feeling somewhat supported by the racism-without-being-a-racist crowd the dedicated, official white racists may feel emboldened to take violent action.
That's how it has happened in the past. But now people of color are close to one third of the nation now. Racists are fundamentally cowards. Maybe white racists won't act as openly as they have in the past Maybe we won't see the violence of the 1980s or 1960s this time.
Maybe.
But it's going to be a rough four years. I suggest we make plans to solidify a people of color vote for the mid term elections in two years and then for the next presidential election.
In the meantime, think about applying some pressure on the president elect to remove Bannon, reportedly a white nationalist, from his staff
White adults, who don't consider anything but the word "n-gger" as verbal racism and therefore do not recognize themselves as racists, will become bolder with their verbal violence after that.
Feeling somewhat supported by the racism-without-being-a-racist crowd the dedicated, official white racists may feel emboldened to take violent action.
That's how it has happened in the past. But now people of color are close to one third of the nation now. Racists are fundamentally cowards. Maybe white racists won't act as openly as they have in the past Maybe we won't see the violence of the 1980s or 1960s this time.
Maybe.
But it's going to be a rough four years. I suggest we make plans to solidify a people of color vote for the mid term elections in two years and then for the next presidential election.
In the meantime, think about applying some pressure on the president elect to remove Bannon, reportedly a white nationalist, from his staff
Embarrassment and pressure can work, adds Thurber, whose own daughter has joined the anti-Bannon call drive. For example, congressional complaints played a role in the replacement of former president Bill Clinton’s first chief of staff less than halfway through his first term, he says.
It’s unclear whether the strategy will be effective on Trump. But the flood of calls is already sending a message to the incoming president “that he’s not going to get a pass on a lot of his decisions, that people are watching and they’re going to try to hold him accountable,” said Michael Gerhardt, a scholar in residence at the National Constitution Center.
Here’s a sample script of what organizers are asking participants to say, taken from a Facebook post:
“Hi, my name is [Your Name], and I’m a constituent of [Representative’s Name]. I live at [Your Address]. I’m calling to ask [Representative’s Name] to make it a priority to pressure Paul Ryan to pressure Donald Trump to remove Steve Bannon, a known white supremacist, from the position of Chief Strategist. Bannon is a dangerous man.”
FIND AND CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSMAN BY ZIPCODE
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
CONTACT YOUR SENATOR
http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
CONTACT YOUR SENATOR
http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/
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