Is this normal? Fear of MAGA hat on child?

amother

Magenta

Tue, Jul 10 2018, 10:05 am

amother wrote:

Crazy and scary how people are living two different realities. Some people see a good president, who's already accomplished a lot and has firm, but not too firm--also reasonably moderate, ideologically--conservative views that we agree with. Oh ya, and he often says obnoxious things.

And other people see the KKK.

don't be naive.

that same president said there are good people among the neo-Nazis. It was more than an obnoxious comment.

He also said that Putin being ex-KGB is "fine."

We are not fine with these positions and neither should you be. They are not moderate conservative positions by any stretch.

SixOfWands

Tue, Jul 10 2018, 11:05 am

First of all, the camp is well aware that a teenager wearing a MAGA hat was recently attacked, and doesn't want to take the risk. Good for them. They should also be aware of how divisive politics are these days, and keep it out of the camp. Again, good for them.

MAGA is clearly associated with Trump, to whomever thought it wasn't.

As to the KKK comparison, its apt. In June, after being told that 15,000 Haitians had received immigration visas to the US in 2017, Trump reportedly stated that they "all have AIDS.” Of 40,000 who came from Nigeria, he reportedly said, that once they had seen the United States, they would never “go back to their huts.” He told black voters, “You’re living in poverty; your schools are no good; you have no jobs” -- which I can anecdotally say infuriated my African American friends, all of whom are staunchly middle to upper middle class. Add his comments on Mexicans. And Muslims. And other immigrants.

That aside, you have at least 8 white nationalists running for office on the Republican ticket this year. (In many cases, the Republican party itself has denounced them. But fact is that Republicans have voted for them.) These same people claim that Trump's tweets support them. MAGA indeed.

That said, there is free speech. I even support the right of the white supremacists to run for office, to deny the Holocaust, and denigrate African Americans. Fortunately , I also have the right to oppose them.

amother

Burgundy

Tue, Jul 10 2018, 11:34 am

SixOfWands wrote:

MAGA is a campaign slogan. I made the distinction because I’m much more comfortable with a child wearing a hat professing ‘I love America and her president’ than I am with a kid being used as a bulletin board for 2020.

(I feel the same way about my local politics).

wiki

Tue, Jul 10 2018, 11:40 am

Of course it's wrong to attack anyone for wearing any hat.

There's plenty to respect about the (many millions!) of people who support the Trump presidency, because they agree with its policies or its results.

But Donald Trump is a really awful, cruel, immoral, dishonest, unprincipled, narcissistic person. Even people who think that his presidency is wonderful should think twice before putting their kids in a hat that sends a loud clear message of celebrating Donald Trump.

The kid would almost certainly not get attacked, but the kid might learn that it's okay to celebrate horrible people as long as they are pro-Israel and pick conservative judges. Do we really think that?

Fox

Tue, Jul 10 2018, 11:54 am

SixOfWands wrote:

Agreed. The teenager in the MAGA hat who was assaulted is only the tip of the iceberg. The #WalkAway Campaign is encouraging people to tell their stories about leaving the left and/or the Democratic Party, many of which include intimidation and physical threats along with the routine name-calling.

Of course, now we're at the stage where #WalkAway is being portrayed as Russian-inspired meddling and Twitter is deleting millions of accounts, fake and otherwise, to make sure no one is adversely influenced by those evil Russian bots retweeting anything.

SixOfWands wrote:

He told black voters, “You’re living in poverty; your schools are no good; you have no jobs” -- which I can anecdotally say infuriated my African American friends, all of whom are staunchly middle to upper middle class.

Um, no. He was speaking specifically to African-American voters living in decaying inner cities, referring to the fact that they've been electing Democrats for years who've done absolutely nothing to improve the economic or educational outlooks of those communities. If your middle-class African-American friends were infuriated by the statement of that fact, I hope they're even more infuriated by the reality of how African-Americans have been cynically played by Democratic politics for several generations now.

anon for this

Tue, Jul 10 2018, 12:00 pm

Fox wrote:

Are you claiming that many other people were assaulted for wearing MAGA hats? If so, please cite your sources for that.

SixOfWands

Tue, Jul 10 2018, 12:16 pm

Fox wrote:

ONE person was assaulted. ONE. Which is, of course regrettable. (Let's not forget to mention that he also reportedly said that "hanging black people from trees would be the perfect party” for the 4th of July before the attack.

But I love love love the right-wing cries of how mean the left is to them.

Mitch McConnell on Brett Kavanaugh: “We should evaluate this president’s nominee fairly, based on their qualifications. And we should treat this process with the respect and the dignity that it deserves.” Durned liberals refuse to give Trump's nominee a fair shot.

McConnell on Merrick Garland: “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice .... Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.” "One of my proudest moments was when I told Obama, 'You will not fill this Supreme Court vacancy.'" ONLY liberals are required to give nominees a fair shot.

A woman is harassed by a police officer for wearing a Puerto Rico tee shirt. A man murders an Indian immigrant after screaming "get out of my country." The daily story on the right-winger calling the police on people of color who are legally grilling, or swimming, or selling lemonade. And the daily story on the vile racist spewings against immigrants and people of color. But its those gosh-durned liberals who are always at fault.

Fox wrote:

Apologetics, apologetics. Trump was clearly conflating ALL African Americans with those living in poverty.

But the right refuses to acknowledge his blatant racism. Or maybe they just agree with it.

Fox

Tue, Jul 10 2018, 12:23 pm

anon for this wrote:

Are you claiming that many other people were assaulted for wearing MAGA hats? If so, please cite your sources for that.

Are you joking? There are constantly news stories about people being initimated, harassed, and sometimes actually assaulted for wearing MAGA hats or otherwise indicating support of President Trump.

Here's a list that Breitbart keeps running: Acts of Harassment or Violence Against Trump Supporters

Obviously, not all of these are about MAGA hats or assaults, but a number, in fact, are.

And before you say, "Oh, well, Breitbart!" please note that every single instance is linked to a local news report and it is clear which attacks are confirmed and which are simply alleged.

If you find Breitbart's collection of local news stories unconvincing, you can also check out YouTube: Violence Against Trump Supporters.

Again, not every video on this channel is relevant to MAGA hats, but they include plenty of videos of violent confrontations against Trump supporters.

More specifically, how about Crown Heights resident David Campbell, who nearly killed a 56-year-old Trump supporter last January. Campell was charged with "strangulation, assault, resisting arrest, loitering, criminal possession of a weapon and obstruction of government administration," after he targeted the man leaving a pro-Trump event at a nightclub. Not clear whether the victim was wearing a MAGA hat or not; apparently Campell didn't consider it a mitigating factor.

Or, as I suggested, for testimony where law enforcement has not been called (but which therefore, admittedly, may have less credibility), check out the #WalkAway testimonials.

anon for this

Tue, Jul 10 2018, 12:30 pm

Fox wrote:

I did check it out. Most of those instances involve protest of public officials due to their political actions and statements, and calls by Democrats to protest public officials for their public political actions. Conflating this with the harassment of an ordinary citizen for wearing a hat is the kind of "journalism" for which Breitbart is known.

Nice try, though!

anon for this

Tue, Jul 10 2018, 12:45 pm

SixOfWands wrote:

A woman is harassed by a police officer for wearing a Puerto Rico tee shirt. A man murders an Indian immigrant after screaming "get out of my country." The daily story on the right-winger calling the police on people of color who are legally grilling, or swimming, or selling lemonade. And the daily story on the vile racist spewings against immigrants and people of color. But its those gosh-durned liberals who are always at fault.

If we're thinking about the same incident, the park officer didn't harass the woman in the t-shirt himself. He just ignored her when she told him that the man, who insisted that she was not an American citizen and that she leave the country, harassed her after she asked him to leave a camping area for which she had a permit. Even though she repeatedly told the officer that the man made her feel unsafe.

(Apparently the man didn't realize that Puerto Rico is indeed part of the US).

Fox

Tue, Jul 10 2018, 12:46 pm

SixOfWands wrote:

Apologetics, apologetics. Trump was clearly conflating ALL African Americans with those living in poverty.

No, and this assumption shows where the real racism is today.

Most normal people in America actually do not equate all African Americans with African Americans stuck in dead-end inner cities, miles away from jobs and opportunity. It's not 1960 any longer. Most people see, work with, and interact with people of different races to one degree or another, and even people who are fairly insulated from other groups are increasingly aware that there's a spectrum of educational and economic attainment within groups.

The real racism is pretending that all African-Americans are doing great just because a significant percentage are doing better. The real racism is throwing good money after bad to basically keep people in poverty. The real racism is praising African-American churches while ignoring what government and politicians, often but not always Democrats, have done to undermine black families.

Obviously, you're not going to believe me. You are convinced that Trump is a racist; his supporters are racists; anyone who doesn't hate him is a racist . . . or at least doesn't care about racism. Of course, Trump wasn't a racist back when he was donating money to Al Sharpton, et. al. Strange, that.

Many of us -- even tepid Trump voters -- have been called "racist" enough now that it's lost all meaning.