THE BLOODY LINE of TRUMP ACTUAL VIEWS — remember Knoxville Unitarians in 2008
The media coverage of the “Second Amendment People” remark by Donald Trump was widespread but the context that makes that statement so much more dangerous was widely if not completely ignored. There were many stories in the press. Network and cable news coverage was extensive as exemplified by the Hardball edition with General Barry McCaffrey
RETIRED GEN. BARRY MCCAFFREY: I'm not here to endorse anybody's campaign. But it seemed to me, Chris, listening to Mr. Trump and by the way I object to the notion that his problem is he's going off script. We are actually hearing Trump and his actual views. And his views were praising Saddam Hussein, a mass murderer, praising Putin, being apparently unaware that he's actually invaded another country and seized ground, threatening NATO, loose talk about nuclear proliferation and then finally, the final straw to me was his insulting behavior to this grieving mother of one of our young troops killed in action…...This guy it seems to me has the wrong character to be President of the United States.
And 'A bloody line has been crossed': Joe Scarborough says GOP 'must dump' Donald Trump from ticket
"A bloody line has been crossed that cannot be ignored," Scarborough wrote in The Washington Post. "At long last, Donald Trump has left the Republican Party few options but to act decisively and get this political train wreck off the tracks before something terrible happens."
"At this point, what else could Trump do that would be worse than implying the positive impact of a political assassination?" he asked.
But despite the exhaustive coverage and thorough analysis of the remarks I have yet to have seen any mention of the context that makes his statement so reckless and immediately dangerous.
TAKEN IN THE CONTEXT OF THESE EVENTS THE DANGER POSED IS AMPLIFIED
Slate Magazine published a list of 20 violent incidents at Trump rallies beginning in Oct. 2015 including:
Nov. 21, 2015, in Birmingham, Alabama. A black protester at a Trump rally was punched, kicked, and, according to the Washington Post, briefly choked.
Dec. 14, 2015, in Las Vegas. Individuals at a Trump rally yelled "Sieg Heil" and "light the m__erf___er on fire" toward a black protester who was being physically removed by security staffers
March 1, 2016, in Louisville, Kentucky. A black woman was surrounded and shoved by a number of individuals at a Trump rally.
March 9, 2016, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. A black protester being escorted out of a Trump rally was sucker-punched by a white bystander:
April 11, 2016, in Albany, New York. A protester at a rally was shoved in the face twice by a Trump supporter. Trump later compared a different protester's actions at the same event to "what's happening with ISIS."
May 28, 2016 in San Diego, California. Trump supporters pepper-sprayed protesters outside a rally. June 16, 2016 in Dallas, Texas. A photographer was bloodied when he was hit in the head by a thrown rock after a Trump rally
When the many incidents like these are combined with the images and language heard in this video done by the New York Times UNFILTERED VOICES FROM DONALD TRUMP’S CROWDS the epithets and racial slurs encouraged by Trump’s rhetoric become graphic displays of something unusually violent and ugly.
During a rally in Costa Mesa, in March Lena Rothman was assaulted. She tried to get help from police and ended up in hand cuffs instead of her attacker, according to this account covered by by Amy Goodman. Bryan Sanders filed this report;
BRYAN SANDERS: Donald Trump is perfectly welcome to go ahead and run for president. What he’s not welcome to do is to suggest that everybody who opposes him should be violently attacked, that he should be handed the presidency outside of the rules of his own party. I mean, this is sounding like 1933 up in here. And then you saw all hell break loose, this and that, and he’s stomping me. Incredible scenes. I understand that people support Donald Trump. But do they support this kind of scene, really? Donald Trump is associating himself with violent, extremist people, who are willing to go to any lengths, apparently.
Trump continuously yells “Get em out of here. Get em out of here” so often at his rallies it has become a #getemouttahere on Twitter and T Shirts have been made and sold
Trump has gone so far as to offer to pay the legal fees of protesters who are arrested for assaulting protesters at his rallies
At a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa,Donald Trump told a crowd of supporters There may be somebody with tomatoes in the audience. So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously. Okay? Just knock the hell— I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise, I promise. It won’t be so much ’cause the courts agree with us too.
Not only does Trump encourage the crowd to “knock the crap out of them”, he also promises to pay their legal fees !!!
When all of these dots are connected the picture that comes into focus is clear. A remark that could easily be interpreted by a disturbed individual as a call for “Second Amendment Action” implies that use of a firearm is the only means of protecting the Second Amendment from Supreme Court appointees by a President Hillary Clinton. Given the history of violence at Trump rallies that attract a significant number of NRA assault weapon owners and violence prone people who chant “Lock her Up” and “F___ that B___h” as well as “Hang Her” and “Kill Her”, the potential for a tragic outcome is dramatically increased. Taken by itself the “second amendment people” remark is a terrible example to present to the voters in America. Given the context of violence and assault at Trump rallies this year the threat level of this remark reaches the DHS Red Level of Severe
Four years ago my diary titled A CLEAR AND NUGENT DANGER? — ASK KNOXVILLE UNITARIANS covered the tragic shooting of church attendees in 2008
Back in July of 2008 here in Knoxville, Tennessee a Sunday morning Unitarian Church service was interrupted by Jim David Adkisson, an indigent food stamp recipient, with a shotgun. Adkisson shot and killed two people including the hero who stopped him and wounded 7 more during a youth musical performance. Adkisson had his shotgun and a pouch filled with ample ammunition along with a keen desire to kill the people who voted liberals into office.
The shooter had been inspired by hate speech from talk radio personalities who convinced him that liberals were causing the destruction of the country. This demented man only knew that Unitarians were considered liberal Christians and he knew he could find these dangerous liberal at the church that Sunday. He did not need a specific target or specific Second Amendment protection argument to take his gun and kill.
It is not simply the implied violence of Trump’s remark that is of interest here. It is the context of the entire Trump campaign and the element attracted to the violence that occurs so often at his rallies. We can see that Trump attracts armed and dangerous elements to his cause from the guns they carry, the slogans they wear, the words they chant and the actions they take. Trumps words of encouragement incites and excites them. He leads them to think he will protect them and give them legal cover. This is unprecedented and it is impossible to predict the potential outcome.
LOVE TRUMPS HATE
Once again I feel compelled to warn my liberal friends to be vigilant. Another unstable individual inspired by the forces of violence and hate may have been wakened by Trump and his hateful rhetoric. Trump is losing this election and is becoming desperate. Keep up your efforts with eyes wide open and warn your friends and neighbors of the danger Trump poses if elected. Get out there and rally everyone you can to vote to repudiate this man with such callous disregard for the safety of others and as always remember that LOVE TRUMPS HATE.