Which GOP lawmakers have condemned Donald's tweets

[Speedwell]

It is a tweet... and people are laughing.

People are laughing at official statements of the government (and yes, the administration confirms that's what they are) and you're OK with it?

 

[SummerMadness]

It is a tweet... and people are laughing.

People are laughing about racism? It's that attitude that keeps racism alive in this country. Since you're not the target of racism, it's okay for the government to target others? That's wrong.

 

[SummerMadness]

staff edit

This attitude is why the US currently has concentration camps at the southern border where families are separated, women and children are sexually abused and people have died in custody due to inadequate and inhumane care. Yeah, the people that cheer on the racism we're seeing today were around during the Civil Rights Movement and have re-emerged today. When your moral compass is all about winning an election, it says a lot about character.

 

[Sparagmos]

Both the tweets and the reaction to the tweets make them all look silly.
Seriously. They are tweets!

Twitter is a medium. What do you mean by “they are tweets?”

 

[carlv_52]

staff edit

It is agreed that often the term "racist" is used indiscriminately and against people who are not truly racist.

But calling Trump's actions "racist" is not that indiscriminate use.

The man has:

1. Been charged with (and had to settle out of court) charges of discriminatory housing in the 1970's
2. Made his "political bones" with the overtly racist "birtherism" conspiracy theory
3. Shown a predilection to find common cause with neo-nazis and white supremacists (repeatedly)
3. Told women of color to go back where they came from (3 of the 4 were born and raised in the USA. Apparently in Trump's world being a person of color means you can't possibly be from the USA)

So, yeah, let's call it for what it is. Racism. Pure and simple. A near life-long habit of racism and racist thought.

If we don't denounce this then we are lost as a nation. I pity the supporters of this man since they have find themselves in the same boat as David Duke and the KKK all of whom are in firm support of Trump because he says the kind of things they only whisper.

The Right needs to stand up against Trump's racism. Don't let it slide because it's "comfortable" or whatever. It is wrong. WRONG IS ALWAYS WRONG.

 

[carlv_52]

As for Trump, if he is a racist...he is not a very good one. Forgive me. I am from the 50s and 60s generation which saw real racism. Not the micro-aggressions and "trumped up" racism we see today. We saw churches bombed, cross burnings at KKK rallies, even murders in the streets. So when I hear people say "racism" that is what I look for. People saying "I hate blacks so I am going to not hire this person" or "I hate blacks and I would not let my daughter date one." And so I look for Trump saying and doing such things... and I see none, I wonder. I wonder if they are doing to him what they have attempted to do to me as well as others. Even in these very forums. Bottom line is they scare people.. they are angry, power hungry, and determined to prove that everyone in their path who might disagree is racist. That is what I oppose. I oppose innocent people being accused and railroaded by angry and vengeful people. Especially when they are using these methods to gain political power where they can destroy thousands if not millions of innocent lives.

I agree that Trump is not as virulent a racist as that which was commonplace in the 40's-50's-60's. But we are supposed to be moving forward, not just "hiding it" better.

I grew up in the Midwest where racism was baked in good and deep. It was subtle and not at all as vile as Jim Crow, but the effect was often the same. Back in the 70's Trump and his father were charged with racially discriminatory housing practices. Keeping people out of homes based on race is still a real thing. People DO get hurt by it. And just because a hiring manager doesn't go around dropping the "n-word" doesn't mean he or she isn't keeping black people out of the workforce for no better reason than their skin color.

Yes, we've definitely come a long way. But racism is still an issue in the US. When you hear the honest stories of people of color they are NOT experiencing the world with the same advantages as I enjoy. The systems are still in place which discriminate on a basis of color. We just don't say it out loud.

So it is doubly horrifying to see a public official say things out loud that shouldn't even be uttered quietly. Let alone from the highest office in the land.

Donald Trump needs to remember that he is the president of ALL AMERICANS. Black, white, brown, etc. He is the president of all people who are naturalized citizens who came here for a better life.

I want better from the President. I don't demand he be pure of thought. He can be as vile as Richard Nixon in the quiet of his own mind. But when he steps out on the public stage he is MY PRESIDENT and I will NEVER accept my president speaking like a common backwoods racist troll. That is NOT my idea of America.

And it shouldn't be anyone's.

 

[Freodin]

If they will do it to him... they will do it to me and mine.
No thanks.

If YOU and YOURS are agreeing with someone who says that people of color should "go back to where they came from"... falsly implying that they are not Americans, would come from some "black country" other than America, should go back to the "failed countries" they "came from"... then, quite obviously, you are doing something wrong.

 

[Tom 1]

Both the tweets and the reaction to the tweets make them all look silly.
Seriously. They are tweets!

What would you say is the difference between the president tweeting what he thinks, or using some other public forum?

 

[FenderTL5]

It is a tweet... and people are laughing.

The only people laughing at overt racist comments coming from official government channels are imbeciles and those who give no thought to their fellow man.

 

[TLK Valentine]

They are official government statements. Racism coming from the Oval Office should not be laughed at, encouraged, or ignored.

Slight disagreement here: They absolutely must be laughed at -- for the ignorant buffoonery that it is. The man who made tham and his followers need to be laughed at for the same reason.

Those that act in this manner don't believe the targets of that racism matter and are complicit by their silence. It doesn't matter if you don't hold those beliefs, remaining silent suggests tacit approval as the perpetrator will continue this behavior.

Agreed -- to ignore is to encourage.

But since Donald and his ilk feed on outrage, that won't work... which makes laughing at him and his followers all the more important.

 

[TLK Valentine]

The only people laughing at overt racist comments coming from official government channels are imbeciles and those who give no thought to their fellow man.

True -- you've got to laugh at the people who make and support such comments... what else does one do with clowns?

 

[carlv_52]

My point is, based on the criteria we have seen here and elsewhere, anyone can be proven to be a racist.

But there ARE real racists posting racist stuff. Just because some people are falsely accused of being racist due to some oversensitivity doesn't mean there isn't real racism. What Trump tweeted and given his extensive overt history it makes it pretty easy to call it for what it is.

If you look at everything: If he is a racist... he is not a very good one.

As noted before he was charged by the US government for discriminatory housing. I'd say he's doing the racism thing quite effectively.

The masses of Americans see this.. and will vote accordingly. You have not convinced me because the REAL evidence is not there. "Hidden" evidence is as good as imaginary evidence. Either way it is not there. The real evidence is ignored. If they will do it to him... they will do it to me and mine.
No thanks.

A federal charge of discriminatory housing practices is hardly "hidden". The guy who "hid" it was Trump when he settled out of court to get out of the charge.

But honestly, while I don't hold Trump personally responsible for the fact that David Duke and the KKK LIKE him, there's a reason they like him....he says the kinds of things that they like. He denigrates people from Africa ("S hole countries" in Trump's parlance), he demonizes vast groups of Hispanics (rapists, drug criminals, but only SOME of these people might be OK humans in his estimation). ANd now he's using language that isn't even veiled.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

If YOU and YOURS are agreeing with someone who says that people of color should "go back to where they came from"... falsly implying that they are not Americans, would come from some "black country" other than America, should go back to the "failed countries" they "came from"... then, quite obviously, you are doing something wrong.

What is problematic here is that when he said that, I did not hear anything about race or color. You did.
I cannot help what you hear, and I am not going to defend something that was not said.
I think many Americans agree that people who hear things that are not said are very dangerous. What are they hearing me say? Of course this is true. People hear what they want to hear.
Hillary lost the election partially because she called 64 million voters deplorable, racists, underbelly etc.. And after she crashed and burned, the Liberals, instead of saying "gee it was a mistake to attack voters and call them things that they are not" they said "gee, we must not have pushed IP hard enough, let's double down and really insult them with false accusations and lies...". And that is exactly what they are doing. And on top of identity politics, lets really end it and push socialism to boot. When people disagree, we can always resort to the race card.
Goodbye 2020 Dems.

 

[TLK Valentine]

What is problematic here is that when he said that, I did not hear anything about race or color. You did.

Most people are smart enough to recognize subtext.

I cannot help what you hear, and I am not going to defend something that was not said.

And if he had said it, you'd excuse it.

Goodbye 2020 Dems.

Yeah, why don't they all just go back where they came from?

We have the camps to expedite that now...

 

[iluvatar5150]

What is problematic here is that when he said that, I did not hear anything about race or color.

What do you hear when he claims that they're not from the US?

And on top of identity politics, lets really end it...

Trump called them not Americans. That is identity politics.

 

[FenderTL5]

Most people are smart enough to recognize subtext...

Some are trying to place ambiguity where there is none.

 

[GoldenBoy89]

People hear what they want to hear.

People also ignore what they don't want to hear.

 

[Freodin]

What is problematic here is that when he said that, I did not hear anything about race or color. You did.

See, that is the problem with your approach. You hear what you want to hear, and those who tell you things have become quite proficient at hiding their words.
You think as long as no one calls people the n-word, it is not racism.
But when "many Americans" hear "go back to your own country", aimed at a black person... they know exactly what is meant. That "you" don't belong here. That "you" should be somewhere in Africa. Because America is for the white people.

I cannot help what you hear, and I am not going to defend something that was not said.

Ok. So you are only going by what is said. Literally. Trump called out these women and told them that they should try to fix the "worst, most corrupt and inept" government in the country they "originally" came from.
These women, for the most part, came from the United States. So Trump tells the world that he wants these women to fix the corrupt and inept government of the United States.

Right? That was what was said. Or do you think there is something in these tweets that were not said and should be considered?

I think many Americans agree that people who hear things that are not said are very dangerous. What are they hearing me say? Of course this is true. People hear what they want to hear.
Hillary lost the election partially because she called 64 million voters deplorable, racists, underbelly etc.. And after she crashed and burned, the Liberals, instead of saying "gee it was a mistake to attack voters and call them things that they are not" they said "gee, we must not have pushed IP hard enough, let's double down and really insult them with false accusations and lies...". And that is exactly what they are doing.

Let's, again, go only by what was said, and not what people heard.
Hillary Clinton, in an interview in Isreal's Channel 2: "You can take Trump supporters and put them in two big baskets. There are what I would call the deplorables—you know, the racists and the haters, and the people who are drawn because they think somehow he's going to restore an America that no longer exists."

So, are a lot of those who supported and still support Trump racists and haters? Those who want to see a return to segregation, who hate to see equal rights for LGBTs, who want to limit the role of women, who think all Muslim are terrorists, who walk through the streets and chant "Jews will not replace us."?

Why yes, they are! Trump knows that very well, and plays to these groups.

But what the people thought they heard was "Clinton called ME a deplorable, because I am for Trump."
Well, again... only what was said: No, Clinton called the racists and haters who support Trump deplorables. And if you think this applies to you, it must mean you think of yourself as a racist and hater, right?

And on top of identity politics, lets really end it and push socialism to boot. When people disagree, we can always resort to the race card.
Goodbye 2020 Dems.

You wouldn't know socialism if it came and bit you in the backside. But it is a useful "identity politics". Call whatever you disagree with "socialism" and "communism" and "marxism"... and you don't have to bother doing politics for your own side.

I have no idea how the 2020 elections will work out. I have not much hope in sanity and reason in today's world anymore.
But I know it won't keep people sitting on a pile of rubble and shouting that they have the greatest country on earth.

We have our own, similar problems here... but I am still grateful that I don't live in your country.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

People also ignore what they don't want to hear.

Or they just do not see it because it is not really there. They do not share in the fantasies of others, especially where there is contradictory evidence. IOWs prove it. Not with imaginary associations and twisted meanings. I am talking about actual real evidence. Where are the KKK marches. Where are the cross burnings and such.... there are none. Nothing at all like what we (I) saw in the 50s and 60s.
It is nothing but a witch hunt with imaginary victims of imaginary bug a boos. I know this from personal experience. Millions of others are also being called these terrible names with false accusations based on nothing. How do you expect them to vote?
Unbelievable. Goodbye dems in 2020. They are committing political suicide by attacking the very voters they need to with.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

See, that is the problem with your approach. You hear what you want to hear, and those who tell you things have become quite proficient at hiding their words.
You think as long as no one calls people the n-word, it is not racism.
But when "many Americans" hear "go back to your own country", aimed at a black person... they know exactly what is meant. That "you" don't belong here. That "you" should be somewhere in Africa. Because America is for the white people.

There it is. No, that is NOT what "what is meant." He did not say that... YOU are hearing what you want to hear. Something that was not said and not meant. You see it and hear it because it gives strength to your false narrative. As for myself, do you not realize that I know if I am a racist or not? Are you going to tell (millions) people who are not racist that they are in fact racist and they better stop? How do you expect them to react. You lost them... big time.
Witch hunt, McCarthyism, false narrative, fake news.