Two articles used:
Donald Trump’s not-so-nice Campaign
Social media has made almost anything possible. It can sway the way you think and conduct
yourself, even the way you see your own self.
Social media can highlight good points or bad points. Sometimes these points are true, sometimes
they are not, sometimes they are made to look as if they are something they are
not.
Towards the beginning of the election, that is what
I thought. Social media was putting a
costume on this crazed candidate: Donald Trump.
Before I decided to do my own research and just sort of nodded at what
people were saying about the election, I thought he was just being made out to
seem like the Big Bad Wolf. Hey, he
wants to run the country…he can’t be that bad.
Well he can. I spent a majority
of my time working at summer school, reading articles about his ideas and
plans. I had already seen the many
videos posted where he degrades pretty much anyone who is not like him, but I
decided to read into the more technical “stuff.”
I am no expert on politics, I am not even sure how
much I can say I know is concrete about this election. But I know one thing—kids; my students. I know what love feels like and I know what
hate feels like. The latter is best to
avoid.
Last year, freshman from Providence, RI who live
mostly in poverty asked me if their relatives would have to be sent back to
their countries if Trump became president.
I told them not to worry about it, I do not think one individual could
even muster the man power. My answer to
them proceeded with an “I hate that guy, I hope he dies.”
He says “we do not have a country," in this CNN interview with Erin Burnett, "if we have illegal
aliens.” Was this country not build on "illegal aliens?" I agree with Erin here,
how is this possible? The logistics… It
sounds like he has it figured out but actually finding these people and having
the man power sounds impossible. Is
invoking fear into people a way to get people to leave willingly? This is a big part of why my students are
scared—the "law abiding citizens." This
was a video they had showed me a few times, questioning me…(me unable to give
proper answers).
“Latino students who carry their birth certificates
and Social Security cards to school because they are afraid they will be
deported” (Kristof 2). This came from a North Carolina teacher who made student
observations. “He was supporting Trump because he was going to kill all of the
Muslims if he became president!” (Kristof 2). This was said by a fifth grader
to a Muslim peer.
Since Trump has begun his rhetoric expressing hate
towards immigrants, Islam, and people of color. People have started to take
notice to these people who they have lived with every day and have highlighted
their differences. Trump is allowing
people (young and old) to say things they might not have said a year ago. He is giving people more leverage to say what
has been brewing in their minds. Last
semester, one of my professors said: “Trump is saying the things people want to
but can’t.” Hate. Everyone might have
some hate in them somewhere for something or someone. It is something most of us have been taught
to conceal, much like a weapon. Well,
Trump is basically saying to take out those weapons [hate] and find people with
the same weapons as you and come together.
Wait....so your parents were immigrants?
Who said anything about taking over the country?
rac·ism
noun
1. the belief that all
members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that
race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another
race or races.
o prejudice,
discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race
based on the belief that one's own race is superior.
He is not only spreading hate, but promoting the
idea that his race is superior to other races.
His white race is superior to all other races.
Briana Larios, a 15-year-old Mexican-American in Forest
Grove, Oregon is a honor roll student who hopes to go to Harvard, said some of
her white classmates “openly express their dislike of my race” (Kristof
1). She is being told she does not
belong in the country and should go back to where she was born. This is convincing Briana she should be
home-schooled.
White students in the same community chant the
phrase “Trump, Trump, Trump” through the hallways as well as hang banners that
read “Build a Wall!” This has prompted
Latinos in the school to stage a walk out.
Build a Wall sign at Forest Grove School
My questions:
Is Trump aware of the amount of bullying that occurs daily in
schools? Is he aware of the number of
suicides because of bullying? Has he
seen gun violence in schools? Does he
know some of the reasons why there has been gun violence in schools? Does he know how impressionable young minds
can be? How easily they can cling to an
idea if it sounds good? Why is he egging
on this hate?
Mexican and Latino students protesting back
Maureen Costello of the Southern Poverty Law Center
said “we’ve spend the last 15 years fighting bullying in schools, and the
example set by the Trump campaign has broken down the doors, and a tidal wave
of bullying has come through” (Kristof 2). It appears Trump is undoing years of
tedious work.
Inflammatory talk is a big part of how Donald Trump
has gained so many followers. This can
be dangerous, especially for those who already have hate and racism rooted in
them somewhere. This fuels the fire
instead of putting it out. In Kristof’s
article, “When Whites Just Don’t Get it” he writes, “Polling and analysis by The Economist found
that Trump is propelled in part by a wave of white “racial resentment” that
blacks are coddled whiners, protected by a stifling political correctness”
(Kristof 1). It might be safe to say
that Donald Trump is a white man with power and privilege, embodying white
power and supremacy. Although Trump has
used his rhetoric for followers and many are lining up to support him, there
are many who do not support him. However, many whites are still unintentionally
acting in ways that propel inequality.
Johnson would agree with this. This refers back to the conveyor belt of
white privilege most of us unknowingly are traveling on. It is the elephant in the room with a hard to
pronounce name.
Black CNN panelist, Angela Rye, gives her input on some of Trump's racist actions. She offers ways he could restore his relationship with the black community:
He also touches on the processing of discipline for
black students as opposed to white students.
“A Stanford study found that teachers reviewing discipline reports in
some cases were more likely to favor harsh punishment for a student named “Deshawn”
or “Darnell” than one named “Greg” or “Jake” (Kristof 2). This brings me back to Delpit’s, “Other
Peoples’ Children.” Would she question the
teacher? I feel she would first inquire
if it was a white teacher giving out these referrals and then ask the teacher
how they handled the situation. Was the
teacher explicit with the student? Or did the teacher question the student
about what they were doing it, as a white female would more or less. This also brings me back to the question, if
Trump is planting a seed in the mindset of whites that they are superior to
blacks, how will discipline be handled if Trump wins presidency? Will people feel they can just suspend black
students because that is the tone of the country? Will understanding our black
citizens be put back on the back burner?
Even though there are a lot of racial incidents occurring right now, as a
nation we are having conversations that were not had, so we are making SOME
progress. I would hate to see all of
that fall apart because of the leader of our country.
Marissa,
ReplyDeleteI love how you acknowledge that Trump is promoting hate. So many of his followers fail to realize that their actions suggest that white people are better than other races. The fact that "many whites are still unintentionally acting in ways that propel inequality" is extremely frustrating to recognize. People are so desperate to put the blame on a group of people instead of seeking ways to fix problems within our government.
I love how you made this about our students. Like you, I do not follow politics very much so I found the blog to be a challenging one to write. I love how your wrapped it all up into something that we can all relate to as we all know how important our students are to us. Bullying is already such a big problem in schools and everywhere - Trump's statements definitely take us back a few decades in terms of the segregation and bullying that may come if he is elected.
ReplyDeleteThank for grounding this election by analyzing its impacts on reality. Trump is surely promoting hate and were only dealing with the present results of it. You really made me stop and wonder what the hate could grow into. If it is bad now, I can only imagine how much worse it would become after 4 more years of comments. We are adults who can hopefully remove ourselves from hateful situations. Unfortunately, our students do not all have that privilege.
ReplyDelete