Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Errol Louis: Callling Out the Deplorables

 
We should all think long and hard about Hillary Clinton's throwaway line condemning and dismissing the “deplorables” she said make up half of Donald Trump’s supporters — a comment she only retracted to the extent of saying “half” was the wrong percentage.

It’s easy to seize on the statement as a gaffe that suggests Clinton doesn’t understand the job she seeks: No American President can write off millions of Americans as hopeless or unworthy of respect. It’s also easy, especially in New York, to agree with Clinton and characterize many Trump followers as intolerant bigots.

But behind the political gamesmanship of the moment is a big question that’s been haunting the campaign for months: Exactly how much respect or deference do the rest of us owe to the extremists flocking to the Trump campaign, who have already signaled their willingness to tear down the vital institutions of democracy, including tolerance itself?

The question first occurred to me last November, when video footage showed an activist named Mercutio Southall being cursed, punched and beaten at a Trump rally as the candidate shouted “Get him the hell out of here!” and the next day affirmed the violence, saying “maybe he should have been roughed up.” 

Click here for the full article. 

Source: The New York Daily News (via The Empire Report)

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