That is the question.
Trump now gets more coverage when peaceful, silent protesters are removed, forcibly or otherwise,by Trump’s security/hired goons, than when no one protests his hateful, white supremacist rallies. It’s a strange dynamic, that benefits Trump, as he gets free publicity, as well as shoring up the enthusiasm of his supporters, who have become practically gleeful in their willingness to express their anger and loathing at “people not like them” in the worst possible ways.
Obviously, I question no one’s right to make a political statement at his rallies. In any sane country, his actions in dealing with hecklers and/or silent protesters would be viewed as inciting hate speech and even physical violence by his supporters at those rallies. In any sane country, he would have long ago slipped off the national radar as a viable candidate, regardless of party affiliation.
But we are not a sane country, and the Republican Party no longer even tries that hard to mask their racist, xenophobic agenda. Why? Because their strongest most loyal supporters – primarily older, primarily white, often fundamentalist Christians – have been conditioned by decades of propaganda in which various groups – Blacks, Muslims, “Liberals,” Feminists, Latinos, LGBT people, and even less extreme Republicans (can’t call them moderates anymore) – have been scapegoated by Fox News and Right Wing hate radio as the root causes of the real problems our society faces.
Which leads us to Trump, the man who can say anything, no matter how vile, dishonest or outright stupid, and not suffer any consequences for his behavior. Initially, his outrageous comments were deemed to have doomed his campaign to a mere vanity project. Except they didn’t. His support grew. Then the incidents of his supporters attacking those who peacefully protested his campaign events began being roughed up and removed, often with the clear, vocal encouragement of Trump himself, and that was deemed to be the bridge too far. And, again, the political pundits in both parties were shown to have seriously misjudged his appeal, for his support increased after each such incident.
The other Republican candidates went from mocking and criticizing him, to giving him a free pass, because any criticism, even from other extremely conservative GOP figures resulted in a backlash against those who went public with bashing Trump. Jeb! is a prime example of a candidate who has been essentially neutered by Trump’s popularity among the GOP base, but he’s far from the only one. Indeed, the candidates who rose in the polls (if only briefly) were the ones that best embraced the same attitude and tone of Trump himself. Carly Fiona, Ben Carson and now Ted Cruz.
The media itself has been cowed by Trump. We now see many leading media figures parroting Trump’s lies and his ridiculous statements as worthy of serious consideration. Fear among the media and political elites is rampant. Trump has spent far less on his campaign than practically anyone else in the Republican field, yet he leads the polls because his base supporters are so enthralled that his candidacy has enabled them to come out of the closet and openly show their true feelings, prejudices and hatreds toward their fellow American citizens.
At this point, White Supremacist groups, “militias” and others from the fringe of the far right are using Trump as a means to garner attention for their own crazed agenda and proselytize for new members. What was once considered beyond the pale of decency and morality has been moved to the center stage of America’s grand political theater – the Presidential campaign. Trump is responsible for that.
I would lie to you if I said I predicted this effect. As far as I know, no one did. Yet here we are, with the politics of fear and hate on display in all their full glory and infamy. So, what do decent, sane people do? Protest or not? It’s a tactic that has failed to dent The Donald’s support among the GOP faithful. I cannot and will not predict whether continued public defiance against the venomous, bilious rhetoric of Trump and his followers will hurt or help Candidate Trump in the general election should he becomes the Republican nominee. We live in a world turned upside down.
That said, I come down on the side of continued non-violent protests at Trump rallies. History needs to show that Trump and his “message” of anger and contempt for anyone not white, and for anyone who does not swear fealty to him and his racist, bigoted agenda, is not accepted as politics as usual by millions of Americans. Perhaps any such actions are counter-productive, but nonetheless, we need to continue to make them, in my opinion, if only to show the rest of the world that Trump is not the only face who represents America.
Those who choose to protest at Trump campaign events will be risking a great deal. Violence against them by Trump supporters that results in severe injury or even death I no longer consider highly improbable. Whoever follows the footsteps of those who previously stood up and defied Trump in front of his angry mobs will know this going forward. I wish them the best, and admire their courage, in advance.
