Donald Trump Lied About Charlottesville, Says Witness

White Americans, Social Media & Accountability

This is a piece I wrote on September 15, 2016. Bear that in mind if it feels dated. Also bear in mind how pathetic it is that America is spiraling downward fast enough for 4 months to even feel "dated"...

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The San Bernardino shooting. The Dallas police massacre. The cold, calculated executions of gay men at Orlando's Pulse nightclub... 

All three of those horrific killing sprees were committed by American citizens against other American citizens. While that fact in and of itself isn't as shocking as it should be, the common denominator that sets these specific mass murderers apart from the rest is rather noteworthy. To put a fine if blunt point on it, none of the assailants were white males. 

In the United States, mass murders and serial killings have almost exclusively been carried out by members of the most privileged group of Americans amongst us. In terms of domestic terrorists alone, white males kill innocent victims at a rate double that of all Black, Latino, Asian, and Native American men combined. For the first time in... well, EVER... the United States is experiencing a new wave of domestic terrorism perpetrated by males from marginalized groups. Yet few if any are asking why.

Muslims have been a part of the American fabric since the nation's inception. Black men can claim a longer history in this country than most whites can. Access to guns has always been a fundamental right in this here. In other words, very little has changed in the U.S. 

This observation is especially marked when we narrow the scope of change to the past thirty or so odd years. Other than the legalization of same-sex marriage, the advent of the internet and, much more recently, an ever-increasing reliance on social media, time has essentially stood still. So what has changed for the marginalized male and, as we saw in San Bernardino, the marginalized female?

Racism and Otherism have always been more American than a freshly baked apple pie served on a flag during a baseball game. Minorities have had to deal with the reality of discrimination, stereotyping, and victim-blaming since before our country's birth. The only difference between then and now is this is the first time in our checkered history where oppressed peoples have been subjected by their oppressors to an every moment of every day assault on their character, dignity, and basic human value. This continuous bombardment of white volatility mixed with white denial and blame-shifting is as traumatizing as it is radicalizing.​

The above screenshots were taken from just one conservative site, on one day, four years ago. Since that time, online hatred and defamation against minorities has become frighteningly commonplace. Here's a quick recap of what is now the new norm:

• Innumerable videos of police officers killing unarmed black men and children are available to view online. Instead of feeling mortified and demanding justice for the deceased, large numbers of white people dismiss, trivialize, and even blame the victims for their own murders. This behavior hit an all-time low with the death of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old Cleveland child who was executed by a police officer while playing with a toy gun. Again, a large number of whites blamed the child for his own death, despite the fact his killer had a history of emotional instability and disciplinary reprimands. Imagine the collective rage if a 12-year-old white child named Tommy Rice had been the victim? There wouldn't have been an excuse good enough to appease white America. 
• After a series of fatal incidents involving unarmed black people being murdered by police officers, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter surfaced on social media. Rather than agreeing and stating that black lives do indeed matter, large numbers of whites responded with #BlueLivesMatter, #WhiteLivesMatter, #AllLivesMatter, and so on. In other words, many whites trivialized and deflected a very real trauma in the black community by making the story about them. ​​​ ​​
• Hate speech against Muslims has been on the rise for a few years now. This hostile outpouring of vengeance and rage has spilled over into the offline world, culminating in a climate where American Muslims are now being routinely attacked in vicious hate crimes. A few days ago, on the 15th anniversary of 9/11, a Muslim woman was set on fire in the middle of New York City; last week two young Muslim mothers were attacked in the New York City borough of Brooklyn by a rabid Trump supporter who punched one of the women in the face, tried to forcibly remove her hijab, and assaulted her 15-month-old child by attempting to knock over his baby stroller. ​ 
• Georgetown University has found a marked correlation between the rise of Donald Trump in this election season and hate crimes toward American Muslims. (An excellent article with summations can be found here.) Update: The Southern Poverty Law Center has found the same correlation since Trump's electoral college "win".

Those four bullet points barely scratch the surface of the new Wild West free-for-all that has become the internet and social media. There is also the wall Trump wants to build along the Mexican border, Trump's campaign promise to end birthright citizenship (aimed at people of color), and on the list goes. Compound these major issues with a seemingly endless supply of demeaning articles, posts, and commentary dehumanizing minorities and what you are left with is a recipe for disaster. Or in this case, a recipe for domestic terrorism.​

Anonymity of the internet does not negate the lasting ramifications of the words we write or our culpability in having written them. Choosing to overlook volatile comments rather than calling people out for issuing them makes you equally responsible for any tragedy that results from them. WORDS MATTER. The commenters I've highlighted here might not have technically pulled the triggers in San Bernardino, Dallas, and Orlando, but at the end of the day they are as ethically and morally responsible for all of those American deaths as the gunmen themselves.

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Nazi Spotting: Twitter & The Frog

Twitter is the easiest of the various social media platforms to identify white supremacists on. Just look for the frog:

Richard Spencer; founder of alt-right (a.k.a. Nazi) white nationalist movement

And another "winner" of a white boy...

David Duke of the KKK; pro-Putin Nazi

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Episode #8: #Pizzagate - Putin - and the US Military

The Anti-christ, Donald Trump, & The Media

Any American who was raised in a Christian home and spent time around St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City has surely taken note of a peculiar building that sits in stark contrast to the island's most famous Catholic church. The building doesn't raise eyebrows due to interesting architecture or novel features; it is in fact a rather unimpressive, cold, Manhattan skyscraper that is dwarfed by taller marvels around it. What causes the casual observer to do a double-take when walking by the 60-year-old structure—and possibly say a quick Hail Mary while picking up their pace!—all boils down to one seemingly trivial flaw: it's address.

666 Fifth Avenue was built in 1957. The building managed to stay off the media's radar for the most part despite being featured in several movies, including (appropriately) 1977's horror film Exorcist II: The Heretic.

It wasn't until the unremarkable edifice was purchased in 2006 for $1.8 billion dollars—the highest sum ever paid for a Manhattan building at the time—that it made national news. Reporters glossed over the address, no doubt rolling their eyes with a collective groan over the symbolism associated with 666. The big question for journalists, and really the only question they had at the time, revolved around why anyone would spend so much money on such an unimpressive building. In the end it was chalked up to the short skyscraper's close proximity to Rockefeller Center and the case was laid to rest.

I've seen the building up close before, as have millions of others. The only reason it sticks out in my memory is because of its address. Well that and the fact my walking comedy of a mother hurled freshly blessed holy water from St. Patrick's at it. She wanted to see if the building would react. (It's really best if you don't ask. Trust me.) But I'm digressing...

I hadn't given what my mom refers to as "Beelzebub's Building" any thought until she phoned me tonight to remind me of it. "You'll never believe who bought it back in 2006," she said under her breath. My mind immediately flew to Donald Trump. "Not him," my mom explained, "but it was bought by Kushner Companies." My jaw dropped.

Jared Kushner

Kushner Companies is a real estate investment firm owned and operated by the father/son team of Charles and Jared Kushner. Jared Kushner—husband to Ivanka Trump—has been and is expected to remain one of Donald's closest #notmypresidential advisors. In fact, the word through the grapevine is that Jared, not Ivanka, is likely the only person on planet earth who wields more influence over Donald than white nationalist Steve Bannon. Is that a good thing? It depends on whether or not you are of the mindset that the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

Jared's father and business partner, Charles, won't be nominated for any "Stand Up Guy of the Year" awards. Having been fined half a million dollars for violating federal laws regarding excessive campaign contributions, having been disbarred from practicing law in three states, and having served time in federal prison for 18 various felonies including witness tampering, the elder Kushner, famously prosecuted by Chris Christie, has a rap sheet longer than the list of reformations Martin Luther hammered to the Wittenburg door. Any one of those facts, much less all of them, begs one question: during an election season wherein the media gave us minute by minute coverage of boring emails and unproven allegations against Hillary Clinton, why the hell did they neglect proven truths about Trump's camp?

Charles Kushner

Some will say Charles Kushner is an irrelevant story—the same people, of course, who say Gennifer Flowers was a relevant issue—but such a quick dismissal doesn't hold up under scrutiny. Charles and Donald reputedly have a close relationship, the former having recently thrown a lavish party at his seaside mansion to honor the latter. Charles is undeniably close in affection and business to his son—a man whose marriage to Ivanka Trump has given him years to earn the #notmypresident-elect's trust and confidence. And then there's that creepy Manhattan building Charles and Jared own...

666 Fifth Avenue. Why did the Kushners really buy it? Why would anyone pay so much money for such a trite (by Manhattan standards) structure? Maybe it really was because of its adjacency to Rockefeller Center. Before closing the case entirely, those given to conspiracy theories and apocalyptic prophecies might find one more piece of information interesting.

Donald Trump's father and mentor, Fred Trump, might have died in 1999, but if the frequency with which daddy dearest's name comes up is any indication then Fred Trump's beliefs, ideology, and person are still very much ruling from the grave.

Frederick Christ Trump never lived up to his middle name. Nor will he ever be mistaken as the poster boy for morality, good citizenry, and ethical business dealings. In 1927, Fred was arrested after participating in and failing to disperse from a Klan riot in Queens. He was also investigated by a senate committee in 1954 for profiteering from public contracts and investigated yet again by the U.S. Justice Department in 1973 for civil rights violations against African-Americans.

By any reasonable standard, Fred Christ Trump wasn't a good man. Whether or not his legacy is worrisome depends upon how deeply Donald Trump's character, morals, and ideologies were affected by his father. After announcing his intention to keep Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway (known affiliates of white nationalists) in his post-election service, I doubt many would wager their last dollar that Fred Trump, the antithesis of his middle-namesake, failed to mold his son into his own immoral image.

But hey, don't take my word for it. Contemplate it the next time you're walking by 666 Fifth Avenue and wondering why anyone would pay $1.8 billion for the least impressive building on the block.

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The Anti-Christ & Trump: All Our Research (In Chronological Order)

• The Anti-Christ, Donald Trump & The Media
• Republicans, Blasphemy & The Anti-Christ: This Is Getting Weird
• Hard-right Israeli Politician: Trump Is Messiah
• The Whore of Babylon, The Anti-Christ & Ivanka Trump
• Blasphemy: The Deification of Trump & Putin
• Russians Make "In Trump We Trust" Coins
• "President" 45 Has History Of Comparing Himself To God