Make America Hate Again

Bigotry has been a damaging factor in society for as long as mankind can remember, but one’s unreasonable beliefs and dislike of others has recently reached its peak – or rock bottom so to speak – in contemporary society. How did society end up down the drain of decency?

The twentieth century shattered a couple of issues concerning equal rights with which society has been struggling with for ages. Women’s rights, segregation of races and gay marriage in the west are examples of the rights, that have been partly demolished or at least been reduced in the recent decades. However, in the current social landscape it appears that these changes did not represent the majority of the population of the USA. Or so it seems. It would not surprise me if the year 2017 will go down in history as the year where bigotry thrived again. We can thank the 45th President of the United States for that.

Ever since Donald Trump has been elected as President of the United States, equality in society has been pushed back into its bigoted history. Trump did not “make America great again’, but definitely made America hate again. Bigotry has always been a controversial topic in the USA, but never as much as since Trump became president. Since his election it has become okay to be openly bigoted.

Social media and news outlets have been flooded with reports of racist taunts, other hate-fuelled attacks, and acts of intimidation since Trump’s election. After Trump’s first month in office there have been more than 1050-catalogued incidents regarding this matter. These reports consist of individual incidents of racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia. Throughout 2017 these reports have increased and rather than acting on them, President Trump has chosen to ignore these situations all together.

An example is the disaster that happened in Charlottesville. The president barely commented on this national disaster and even blamed both sides for the violence. Reports, that include photographs, show that the white supremacists attacked the peaceful counter-protesters first. This white nationalist rally even claimed the lives of three people after a car drove into a crowd of counter-protesters.

Another example is Trump’s lack of respecting women as he recalls his misogynistic insults as “locker-room talk” rather than apologising for his behaviour. The same goes for his refusal to defend the LGBT-rights, joking about how the vice-president “wants to hang them all’. His actions – and often also lack thereof – influence society more than he realises.

In a world that is much more connected than ever, it is scary to see one of the most powerful people in the world ignore these serious matters and even fuel them. Social media allows people to anonymously attack others without feeling any remorse or retribution for it. The administration of President Trump is largely responsible for giving bigots an opportunity to thrive and spread hate and disrespect. Trump wanted to make America great again, but instead succeeded in making America hate again.