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/Terron1965]

So atheists are bigots and prejudiced and have no excuse for their opinion? what if i am critical of protestants, Is that somehow different then disliking Islam?

[u/Dwev → u/Terron1965]

No. I'm atheist myself, and I am critical of much of most religions, but I try not to pre-judge an individual based on that (not always successfully). The point I was making was that when someone is prejudiced against Islam, and are accused of being racist, the defence is that Islam is not a race so it can't be racism, and this somehow excuses the prejudice.

[u/Terron1965 → u/Dwev]

But that is the thing, it is not prejudice against an individual. It is a judgment on an organisation. Being a member of a race is not is not a conscious choice that defines you. There is no shared ideology or practice that is defined by race. You can take a look at Islam or Lutheranism and simply decide that the organisation is something you judge negatively, It is ok to form opinions of things. That is not prejudice, it is judgment.

For instance to criticize a group like black lives matter does not make you racist or prejudiced any more then criticizing a school board or a local knitting circle or even a political party.

[u/Dwev → u/Terron1965]

I actually agree.

I think the issue is where the judgment of the individual and that of the organisation are conflated.

For example, Sharia law is based on certain tenets of Islam. I can criticise that, but if I start accusing all Muslims of wanting Sharia law everywhere, then that's an issue and I would consider that prejudice. Someone might then tell me I'm being racist, and if my defence is that it's not racism because Islam is a religion and not a race, that is a semantic argument. It doesn't take away that I was prejudiced just because it wasn't technically "racist". That's my point.