Why Is It So Hard for Our President to Condemn White Supremacy and Islamophobia?
The author of this article from The Nation asks a good question, but I’m going with the obvious: It’s just not his brand. If you sell hate, you don’t condemn hate groups.
It’s the same reason Avis doesn’t sell bus passes, Smith and Wesson doesn’t sell veggie burgers, Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t hand out pentagrams, PETA.org doesn’t carry hunting rifles, Bentley doesn’t offer e-bikes, and the Vatican Gift Shop doesn’t sell condoms.
I wrote dozens of articles on branding during my tenure as a marketing consultant to the tech giants, but they all carried the same imperative: mean something to your customers. Represent something they care about, whether you’re in oyster crackers or luxury automotive.
No one of any IQ, educational background, economic standing, or race/color/creed could possibly misunderstand what he’s getting with Trump: the bitter racism of 1950s Mississippi, combined with economic policies that aggressively transfer wealth to the super-rich. If you like that, great; if you don’t, take it somewhere else.
Craig,
Gosh, you really make it difficult to be polite when responding to your outrage and malice toward President Trump don’t you ?
Curiously, the left-wing labour NZ PM Jacinta Ardern, disagrees with your interpretation of President Trumps response. in fact, she went as far as to say she was moved by his sentiments and agreed with his opinion that the massacre was most likely committed by;
” a small group of people that have very, very serious problems.”
She also appreciated with the President’s observation;
“I guess if you look at what happened in New Zealand, perhaps that’s the case. I just don’t know enough about it yet.”
The New Zealand Prime Minister went on to concur with the President saying she didn’t believe ” White supremacy” was a was a growing problem world wide”. Ms Ardern was asked the question more than once, and each time replied, “No, I don’t. These incidents are usually the actions of an individual or individuals, acting alone “.
But of course, you know more than the NZ PM,don’t you, eh!
Your prejudice blinds you to the President’s growing support among all classes of American minorities. It also makes you insensitive to your own inherent racism when you dismiss the President’s millions of African-American, Jewish, native American and Hispanic supporters.
The President has spoken out on numerous occasions against racism and prejudice. (particularly anti-semitism) He’s also acted decisively to correct injustices committed in past era’s.
You choose to ignore those occasions, instead preferring your own, completely false opinion based on nothing more than bitterness and a determination to spin facts to suit your own bitterness.
The President is not supported by the mega rich, in fact most of his fellow billionaires loathe him and support his opponents.
The President won the last election with less money than one billionaire alone donates to the Democrats !
Your lack of objectivity and sense of fairness when passing judgement on others (not just the President) is very disturbing. When challenged, seldom can you justify your defamation with anything more substantial than more prejudice.
Why do you do it?
I know you dislike President Trump, and I realize it must be very frustrating to see him prospering as all the hype against him dissipates, but surely you can’t continue spitting endless invective and bile without the danger of poisoning your own soul?
I also know it must distress you to see newly elected young democrat congresspersons (and even experienced state legislators) making outrageous and injudiciously phrased speeches full of hate, prejudice, racial and religious bias, class warfare, and well,…just railing against enemies real or imaginary.
Craig, I implore you, please consider for the sake of your sanity and soul, to try acknowledging the excesses and wrongdoing among those whose politics you support. This is important if you are to remain credible as an advocate.
Your claim ;
“No one of any IQ, educational background, economic standing, or race/color/creed could possibly misunderstand what he’s getting with Trump: the bitter racism of 1950s Mississippi, combined with economic policies that aggressively transfer wealth to the super-rich” ……
By making such an arrogant and superciliously contemptuous claim, you just insulted million of people who certainly don’t agree with your biased statement.
You probably don’t understand thatsuch a statement reveals you to appear exactly the thing you claim to hate !
Does that make you just a hypocrite, or so blinded by hatred and frustration you can no longer step back and understand what you have become ?
I don’t know if you ever watched the excellent 1960 film ‘Inherit the Wind ‘? There’s a scene in which Fredric March playing the part of the arch conservative religious advocate, is appalled by the fanaticism of one of his supporters, admonishing him to,
” beware, lest in your zeal you lose yourself to hatred and inherit only the wind”.
(I recommend re-watching this excellent old movie 🙂 )
John Nicols’ article in Nation seems to have raised your perpetual outrage to new heights !
The article which is a combination of poor quality sensationalist journalism, and cynical sanctimony tries to exploit a tragic event in NZ, into an attack on Donald Trump !
The article breathlessly cries in mock horror “one of the darkest days in history for Muslims worldwide “!
Really ? Say what ? The senseless act that just occurred in NZ was truly shocking considering what a gentle peaceful little city Christchurch really is, and how much suffering occurred there during the violent earthquake only nine years ago.
The deranged and malignant perpetrator(s) have been arrested by the efficient local NZ Police and it appears to be the action of a tiny band of (Australian) fringe dwelling, nut-cases. These murderous swine have no real supporters, nor are they a “movement” or have any political influence outside a handful of fellow nut jobs.
The President is absolutely accurate when he describes these violent criminals as a tiny minority to be despised. To give them any more attention, would pander to their delusions of grandeur.
NZ is not Mississippi in the 1950’s, there is no thousands of KKK, just a couple of nut cases, who committed a horrific act.
As for John Nicols and his cheap shot! Shame on him (and you) for trying to blame the the US President for this horrific act of homicide.
As for the claim;
” One of the darkest days in history for Muslims worldwide”
How absurd ! Muslims have been slaughtering one another for centuries. Millions have died in repeated Genocide actions throughout the Islamic world for over a millennia.
Mostly, they massacre each other, but on plenty of occasions non Islamic neighboring countries or neighboring minorities are either victims or perpetrators.
In 1947 20,000–25,000 Muslim families were slaughtered by Hindu extremists in Delhi alone during the partition of India.
So who does John Nichols cite as an “expert” on the massacre that just occurred ?
An expert in terrorism, the NZ police commisioner ? Nope, he quotes a person with even less than his own scanty knowledge!
His “expert” is a self appointed ‘know it all’ , Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League who knows nothing whatsoever about the incident, anyone involved or even NZ !
Nevertheless, Johnathon Greenblatt, completely without any evidence, feels quite justified in announcing the Christchurch attack “clearly was motivated by white supremacy.”
People like John Nichols, Johnathon Greenbatt, (even you Craig) feel so caught up in the hype of any news event, they feel justified in using their imaginations instead of actually waiting until all the facts are know and announced by real experts dealing with the matter.
The media is full of spin and hypocrisy. Politicians feel obliged to issue gushing, nonsensical but “politically correct” emotive statements about every event no matter how remote or unconnected.
The NZ tragedy is truly saddening, but so was the insane actions of a deranged person who deliberating drove through the pedestrian malls and sidewalks of Melbourne killing dozens of men women and children.
Mostly, these horrific acts are committed by madmen with no sincere commitment to any genuine cause or purpose.
The tiny handful of misfits and misanthropes calling themselves “white supremacists” are in such insignificant numbers, they would rate a mention but for the furor of leftist protestors and journalist giving them oxygen.
Recently the Australian “United Patriotic Front”, a group claiming to represent a “grand coalition of all Neo-Nazi, white Supremacist groups”, held a ” grand rally” in the popular Melbourne beachside suburb of St Kilda.
once the event was announced the Media went into hyper-drivem, while activists from the left responded by providing the usual crowd of equally violent counter demonstrators.
The Police deployed two hundred officers.
I was in St Kilda that morning and can confirm the “United Patriotic Front” attracted possibly 30-5 rally participants and another 20, or so, hangers on, bikies, and general riff-raff supporters.
Far-Left activists rallied maybe 150 hundred supporters, louder but smaller than the UPF who seemed to consist mostly of steroid addicts.
It was a very pleasant sunny day, after an hour or so of yelling and screaming at each other the police grew bored and moved both sides on, making only three arrests. (one for selling steroids)
What’s important to remember is Australia is a nation of 25
million, and the city of Melbourne has 4.6 million residents.
White Supremacist power? Do me a favour! Street buskers attract larger crowds. Without all the media hype and hysterical journalists eager for sensationalist stories, these idiots couldn’t have found enough adherents to fill a phone booth !
So far, the motives of Brenton Tarrant, the 28 years old Australian who perpetrated the NZ massacre are unknown. he appears to have left a long and largely incoherent Facebook rant, but is yet to be examined.
.
There is no certainty about the part, if any, the other three arrested persons may have played. (It appears as if at least one was a vigilante who came armed to kill the perpetrator).
Brenton Tarrant had only lived in NZ for 3 years and appears to to have been a fairly innocuous little fellow, with no criminal history. He acquired the five guns used in the shooting legally and had current permits.
We’ll learn more in the coming months.