EDITORIAL: Racist fliers part of Trump Effect

AsburyPark

Congratulations, Trump supporters.

White supremacist fliers have been popping up across the region – in Somerville, Bridgewater, Morristown, and many other communities. We’re not just talking a few posters tacked up on random telephone poles. In some locales, such as the Somerville Public Library and Bridgewater Commons Mall, they’re showing up inside books, on bulletin boards and car windshields.

Thank Trump and his supporters for that. They’re partly to blame.

The fliers declare “Our Generation,” “Our Futures” and “Our Last Chance” promoting the Identity Evropa white nationalist group that champions white American culture and white European identity. The message is racist and anti-Semitic, which fits all too well with the tendencies of the Trump Administration and its willingness to court some of the ugliest segments of American society.

Trump’s hardcore base is loaded with racists who are undoubtedly thrilled. They probably helped circulate the fliers. But as we’ve said before, that portion of Trump’s support is hopeless and unreachable. They’re driven by the kind of warped, ignorant hate that cannot be counteracted by logic and facts.

We’re talking to the other Trump supporters, the ones who preferred a Republican, or a conservative over anyone Democrats offered, those who enjoyed Trump’s blunt style or his business tycoon’s approach to politics. They thought Trump was better for the nation than Hillary Clinton and other Republican contenders before that. They like what he’s doing with the economy, they back his tough brand of immigration reform, they’ll look past some foreign-policy stumbles to see how it plays out.

They’re happy with their choice. Fine. Just understand that choice has also emboldened the racists and anti-Semites among us, who have seen time and time again that Trump will not condemn their actions in any meaningful way. That has given them voice, brought them out from under rocks and increasingly into the societal mainstream.

That all comes with the Trump package too. Maybe his supporters are OK with that. We’re not.

Racism and discrimination are a sad but enduring part of the American way, a dark corner of our culture we’re not comfortable acknowledging. There’s nothing new about a racist fringe group trying to drum up support, or the use of swastikas to intimidate. Trump isn’t the first politician to exploit such hate.

Still, it’s different now. Groups like the Anti-Defamation League have noted increases in bias incidents since Trump’s campaign. Trump isn’t spouting off from the pulpit of a crackpot Southern senator, or a House rep trying to win over a far-right district constituency. He’s the president, ostensibly representing every American citizen. Yet he continues to fan the fears of “the other” and brown people everywhere. That’s what gives hate shelter, and strength.

But hey, the eocnomy’s buzzing along, right? Why worry about bigots? The media’s probably just making it all up. And at least we avoided the evil plague of Democratic leadership.

That’s what Trump wants you to think. Just understand the complete picture, because it isn’t pretty.