The day after the election, I posted this olive branch on social media.I have family and friends who support Trump. So, I tried to express some hope that maybe they see a different man than I do. Maybe they know something they're not telling me.
That is what prompted my hesitant peace offering, my agreement to "wait and see."
So, nearly a week has passed. I've waited a little and seen a little.
This weekend we got news of Stephen K. Bannon's appointment as Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor.
This news was met with tremendous enthusiasm from the White Nationalist community. The Southern Poverty Law Center collected the online celebrations from some of the more prominate figures in the White Supremacy movement. They also posted this comment from Stormfront, the famous neo-Nazi message board. And so, I return to last week's peace offering.
The reaction from openly racist communities confirms some of my worst fears. The White Nationalist Movement believes they have the President Elect's ear.
They are publically celebrating because they believe their agenda will be represented in the White House.
If you support Trump, do you also support this appointment?
Do you support an appointment that gives White Nationalsists the impression their ideas are represented in the West Wing?
Because if you do support this appointment, you support the White Nationalist agenda.
Even if (and this is a big "if"), even if Bannon is not a voice for White Nationalism, he has never disavowed the support he receives from that community. That is how people in power legitimize hatful ideologies.
So, I'll say this again: If you do support Bannon's appointment, you support the White Nationalist agenda.
And if you support the White Nationalist agenda and want to argue, "But I'm not racist," then you are an idiot.
There is no nice way to say that. You cannot believe that non-racist people support White Nationalism unless you are stupid. Even White Nationalists know that.
So, Trump supporters, do you support the Bannon appointment?
