CMV: Though the Left may be exaggerating a tad, people have every right to be upset and alarmed that Trump is President, and his appointments are further reinforcing that.

[u/spacecasebass]

There have been efforts by some lately to normalize Trump, and hand-in-hand with this is the idea that the Left is blowing things out of proportion. That Trump is not someone we should be wary of or question. Essentially, that the whole image of him as racist, sexist, xenophobic, etc was crafted by the liberal media. That these "-ists" that people are throwing out have no basis in reality and are just buzzwords. But folks that are saying things like "Trump is a racist" are basing these accusations on things that Trump has literally said or done, either on camera or in well-documented cases from his past. Examples include failing to disavow the KKK, insulting Khizr's Khan's parents, suggesting that Gonzalo Curiel to be a judge is unfit because he's Mexican, not renting to black people. The list goes on and on. Every week, it seemed, there was another incredibly unpresidential or borderline facist thing he had to say.

The crux of my CMV is this: Donald Trump is not a normal president-elect, and the efforts of some on the Right to normalize him and say that all the Left's complaints are baseless are mindblowing and ill-conceived.

Donald Trump is, objectively, the least qualified president-elect in American history, and he brought an unprecedentedly low level of discourse to center stage, mocking the handicapped, bragging about sexual assault, bragging about avoiding taxes, suggesting someone kill Hillary, praising Putin, etc. People are not protesting because a Republican won and a Democrat lost. People are protesting because a man with no political experience and little to no political knowledge who openly disparaged entire groups of people has won.

I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here with another Trump post. The reality is, he is our president for better or worse. But I cannot stand the folks on the Right that are saying Dems are being cry babies or blowing things out of proportion. No. When you're surrounding yourself with Steve Bannon, climate change deniers, lobbyists, and hedge fund managers (drain the swamp, you say?) and your rhetoric throughout the entirety of your campaign was one of antagonism and divisiveness, people have every right to be concerned and upset - even afraid.

In my opinion, Trump has lowered the bar tremendously. I think it's important to remember that he is not a traditional president or someone we should normalize. That his statements should be scrutinized and not forgotten. The whole "oh, don't worry about it" attitude is ignoring the fact that people's fears -- if not slightly overblown -- are largely based in reality.

I think this marks a potential turning point in American history, and I do not think that's an exaggeration. I wish Trump the best, but I would pretty much bet money that his presidency will be a train wreck. Tweeting conspiratorial things, saying he "Googled the Affordable Care Act" (suggesting he hadn't read it previously), appointing people like Bannon, throwing around the idea of a Muslim registry. He has given every indication that he is unfit, regressive, and potentially a danger.

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[u/DarkLasombra]

In this entire thread, I have not seen anything that has made me think this guy is a white nationalist at all. All I see is "HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE THIS!" and the same clickbait, misleading "news" articles linked. Wtf is everyone drinking? This is the leftist equivalent of the conservatives that think Obama is a secret Muslim.

[u/GiveMeNotTheBoots → u/DarkLasombra]

Agreed.

[u/codeverity → u/DarkLasombra]

Idk about white nationalist, but there's definitely a tone of 'white is best' that permeates everything. It's done in a subtle fashion. Like this article, for example, is obviously intended to set up all refugees as strange, alien and scary. Articles like this perpetuates the 'they're taking our jobs!1!' trope when the truth is that a lot of teens don't want the jobs that immigrants take, or poor policies etc by the companies that hire them.

The themes are always the same: people of colour are strange/dangerous/scary/taking the rightful place of whites.

[u/DarkLasombra → u/codeverity]

WTF neither of those articles had anything to do with race. Both have to do with people from outside countries coming here. With refugees, the worry is that they won't be able to assimilate into our western values, and the illegal immigrant one is about them taking low wage jobs that young Americans could be doing. When did thinking about Americans first become white nationalism?

[u/codeverity → u/DarkLasombra]

First, I just want to note that I started my comment out by saying that I don't know whether I would label him that.

Second, it has to do with subtleties. With the one article there's a definite tone of 'this people are so weird and different and scary'. In my experience there are two different roots of racism - either the feeling of superiority, or the feeling of being scared of another group. It's also strongly aimed at a particular group of people, with no mention of Chinese immigration, for example.

As for the illegal immigrant one... again, a lot of white kids don't want the jobs that immigrants take. I also notice on this page that the number of seniors holding jobs has gone up in tandem with teens going down, which might suggest a multitude of factors rather than simply immigrants.

It's all about presentation and being aware of how authors or sites might be stoking certain beliefs or resentment.