Editor’s note: Amid the Nazi salutes and cheers and hopes for better days or the wailing and gnashing of teeth and fears of worst-case scenarios in the wake of Donald Trump’s stunning victory (depending on one’s political sentiments), one unidentified individual’s observations on the mood encountered before and after the campaign stand alone as best capturing the angst being felt by those finding themselves surrounded by rabid Trump supporters. You can almost feel the frustration of the writer being placed in a potentially hostile environment.
The writer, who identified himself/herself only as “Confused” for very obvious reasons, wrote this as reader’s comment but we felt it was such a well-articulated, poignant message that it deserved to be published as a guest column.
With only minor edits, here is his/her story:
I have always been very private at work and avoided conversations there about politics, religion, science, evolution and diversity. It was just a general awareness of my not fitting in and seeing others getting ganged up on if they disagreed with others, which rarely happened.
Prior to getting hired (I’m from out west), I never thought I would ever experience living somewhere where I felt afraid for my job because I did not agree with the homophobic viewpoints, the entrenched racism, the anti-union sentiment and the fear of anyone of color.
I have stood up to this many times for our clients because I had no idea free speech is only allowed if I agree with them.
During the campaign, I was asked over and over about who I was voting for. I was told lies about both candidates, told racist and sexist jokes and heard people proudly boast of being white. I found ways to walk away or change the subject.
As many have noted in their comments on LouisianaVoice, arguing is futile.
Now I am terrified. I need my job. I can’t afford to move, but thinking of four years of living like this makes me ill. And knowing there is no guarantee it will end in four years only intensifies my anxiety!
I am white, but as terrified as I feel, I can’t even begin to understand how helpless this whole election has felt to those who Trump has attacked verbally and emotionally and now has the power to attack them physically and destroy their lives.
Louisiana Voice 
Excellent and concise picture of something that has been happening for a long time, but that I noticed most during the last 4 years of the Obama administration, and particularly once Trump became a contender. I can’t tell you how many times I have been in workplaces and made offhand philosophical remarks only to be answered with hushed voices of employees afraid to express their own beliefs for fear of being ostracized and/or fired. The writer has a right to be concerned and knowing the general sentiment among his co-workers and clients has no choice but to continue what s/he has been doing. Sad, but true.
Lying Trump: “I want to be President for all of the people.”
Yet dozens of friends/acquaintances of mine in large US cities, NYC one of them, complained of the same but inversely. They dared not mention voting for Trump for the exact same reasons. Then what of the scores of assaults, aggressive hate intimidation launched across the country on folks wearing Trump gear which was under-reported by Mainstream Media to this day as it is still occurring. Other than people being prosecuted for fraudulent claims of Trump supporters attacking them (one in Lafayette, LA), I’ve not heard much about Trump supporters attacking Clinton supporters even with the instigations of Soros backed NGOs & Clinton Campaign tactics. What about the CEO who threatened to fire anyone for Trump & then had to walk back his sentiment while another threatened assassination?
To buy into Mainstream Media’s skewering slant of what Trump supposedly said or didn’t say will make you nervous because much of it is outright dissemination. If you feed off the pablum of The New York Slime, The Washington Compost & the alphabet entertainment, so-called news services, then you are one uninformed voter. Something to fear are so-called Clinton supporters (actually paid agent provocateurs) masked-faced, rioting in our cities, destroying property. If you want to meet fear, walk out into one of those crowds and announce you voted for Trump. Show me some Trump crowds doing such.
Many people that were plainly anti-Clinton not necessarily for Trump climbed on his bandwagon. This bandwagon as it is was, provided a seductive ride for any fringe nut job taking the opportunity to bring credence to their weirdo beliefs, i.e., David Duke, et al. Though communists, socialists, Black Supremacists and a myriad of others promoting hate were all out for Clinton, the press never smeared her with their approval.
Lastly, if you work in such a vile environment, perhaps you should seek employment elsewhere but to blame Trump for their actions or to say all Trump supporters are of that ilk is deluded if not juvenile or short sighted.
Your senseless diatribe only underscores the problems cited by the writer and goes far to validate his/her claims.
I’ve experienced the atmosphere he/she writes about. It’s prevalent everywhere you go. A group of friends and I were meeting for a quiet lunch at Piccadilly in Baton Rouge the day after the election when a man walked out and announced to us, total strangers, “I’m ecstatic! Trump won!” Rather than confront him, however, we just let it pass because that was his right. Too bad many Trump supporters are not nearly so tolerant. He’ll change his mind with his Medicare and Social Security benefits are cut or abolished altogether.
So will you.
By the way, I’m not sure what you were trying to say with your “dissemination” comment. In the context you used it, it made no sense. Perhaps Fox News can clear it up for you.
His post wasn’t a rant or a diatribe. It was the the truth. Nothing he said was inappropriate. I think Clinton was a crook and Trump was a jackass. He wasn’t my first choice. But I’ve seen Trump’s words twisted and bent so far out of context that it’s ridiculous. The mainstream media is a joke and they are liars, including Fox. Nothing Trump has said has been racist, sexist, or bigoted. And if I’m wrong…pull up the actual video, not what CNN reported. He hasn’t embraced the alt-right. Steve Banon isn’t a racist or anti-semantic. Read Hillary’s email about the races. She was the racist in the election. Bill’s mentor was William Fulbright…a racist. And she claimed KKK Robert Byrd as hers. They are the terrible people. TERRIBLE. They have gotten filthy rich at your expense and mine.
Neither Trump or his supporters have embraced hate. The left is the one doing the hateful acts. They are the one painting swasticas and blaming Trump supporters. And yes..it’s happening all over the place. Liberals are the most intolerant people around.
When you start with a conclusion in mind, you’ll find a way to make it reality. Hillary had a 99% chance of winning. No one could ever believe otherwise. When you look for Trump to be a racist, bigoted, homophobe, in your mind he will be. Objectivity be damned. He isn’t perfect but damn.
Links please. And don’t tell me to look it up. You’re the one who brought it up so please back up your statements with some facts.
Here’s a start for you Fredster:
Homes Vandalized with Anti-Trump Message
http://www.wtsp.com/news/crime/home-vandalized-with-anti-trump-message/351665609
2 Men Attack Trump Supporter in Meriden: Police
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/2-Men-Attack-Trump-Supporter-in-Meriden-Police-400947415.html
Man Describes Brutal Attack; Crowd Yelled ‘That’s A White Boy Trump Supporter’
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/11/11/man-describes-brutal-attack-crowd-yelled-thats-a-white-boy-trump-supporter/
Student Trump supporter attacked at Woodside High School
http://www.ktvu.com/news/216760384-story
“9 Times Leftists Targeted and Attacked Trump Supporters Post-Election [Videos]” http://www.dailywire.com/news/10841/x-videos-leftists-attacking-trump-supporters-amanda-prestigiacomo
@JK_Berman, Thank you for the links. It’s always helpful to have them.
The Chicago incident appears to have been motivated by something other than politics. Even the victim stated that.
That being said, there is no excuse or reason for any type of physical attacks on someone who supports a different candidate than your own.
You have only to link to the video of the White Nationalists Conference this week in which Neo-Nazis are saluting “Hail Trump” Sieg-Heil-style (link) https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=white+nationalist+conference and compare Trump’s style to Hitler’s. (link)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vezr3dW4J5s&bpctr=1479871191 Understand what’s happening in our country when Neo-Nazis, Skinheads, Arian Nationals, the Klan and other assorted alt-right nuts have been empowered by Trump’s hateful rhetoric to crawl out from secreted meetings and attack whomever they perceive as non-white. If you haven’t read about the 900+ attacks on “the other” since Trump’s “election” you’re watching only FOX and the hundreds of fake news articles on Facebook and other assorted propaganda sites.
As Hitler scapegoated Jews, Trump scapegoated the brown “other”: Islamists, Hispanics and Blacks. As Hitler preached making the “fatherland” strong again Trump preached “make America great again.” Trump read and used Hitler’s strategies from Mein Kampf and other writings. Propaganda need not be true, it must just be repeated often and appeal to people’s fears to be believed. So his main talking points/LIES were Clinton as criminal, building the wall and creating jobs. In LA we would say he’s crawfishing because there are no crimes to prosecute.
Hillary Clinton has been vilified for 30 years by the noise machine because she has the intelligence and skill set to have been elected President. And to the racist old white men the only thing worse than a Black man as President is a woman.
Should you wish to “lock up” someone, try Trump for his collusion with the
dictator of our enemy Russia in interfering with a Presidential election. It may not be a felony but should be.
fairness2014: Based on this and your earlier posts, I find myself wondering if you really believe some of the things you post, or are baiting us and using the classic brainwashing technique of adding a little reality and reason to your posting recipe to give credibility to the rants. You can’t possibly believe everything you have written above, can you?
I wonder what kind of world we live in these days. The press is in fact biased and does in fact support democrats. You mention the Nazi like group that hails Trump yet nothing about the paid protestors, nor the non voting complainers, nor the many threats leveled on the President elect, etc, etc. There were no riots when Obama was elected. CNN invents the term “blacklash” to explain the election. Sorry folks, we’ve been subjected to the most divisive administration in recent memory. We’ve been fed propaganda for many years. Personally, I voted for Pence, Trump just happened to be on the ticket. Neither presidential candidate should have made it this far, but it is what it is. The silent majority(both conservative republicans and conservative democrats) has had enough of a ruling class of politicians who could care less about their constituents, a ruling class that has delivered us to the steps of bankruptcy, and a ruling class of politicians that has allowed this great country to sink to the sewers, and a ruling class that needs term limits. Clinton should have never been nominated but alas, then the dems would have nominated a socialist. What we see is a revolt against the status quo, a revolt against the direction we have been headed. Granted there are racists on both sides of the political realm, but this election was a mandate by the people to really change things in Washington. Will it happen, who knows. I fear that as long as we have career politicians things won’t change.
Thirty years of Reaganomics, deregulating banks (beginning w/Reagan in the mid 80s), trickle-down Bush tax cuts on corporations and the wealthiest 1% plus a war-for-profit for Cheney and big oil took us to a near depression. Obama saved the nation despite being blocked every step of the way. He proposed infrastructure projects nationwide to employ Americans whose jobs have been outsourced and to support industries here such as steel. The party of NO thwarted those efforts to keep the economy suppressed because they know “it’s the economy, stupid”. Now that Trump is pres-elect Congress is suddenly interested in infrastructure.
Lest you continue to swallow right wing propaganda mindlessly remember not just the media but also most R. leaders disavowed Trump because he is the absolute worst. He continues an anti-media campaign because it is the observer and reporter of his gross excesses, lawlessness and craziness. He has used the media for years for name recognition but now it’s bad because it reports truths about him.
And Pence, the most radical religious right governor available, is homophobic, against ALL women’s rights including the right to be paid equally for equal work. Your pro-Pence stance shows your antiquated values and/or absolute ignorance.
You should hope tRump has the luck to attract a few “career politicians” to run our country. Many are disinclined to sign on to this hopeless chapter in US history wanting nothing to do with his insanity. tRump seems to think he can continue with his business as usual, against the law. He doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing.