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This post first ran in 2016. The core idea has held true.

I want to explain something to anyone who will listen.

Here is a comment I read today:

“You mention “racist.” I’m a Trump supporter so that automatically makes me racist? My best friend at my wedding is black, my wife is Mexican, my daughter in law is Muslim, one of my closest friends is black. They agree with Trump, so I guess they’re racist?”

Here’s my response:

Racism is NOT individual prejudice. Racism is the systematized and systemic denial of access to the same rights, benefits, educational, economic and legal opportunities–based on skin color–for our fellow humans that we live with in this country.

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You do not have to have individual prejudices to be complicit in the systems of racism. (Although they often go hand in hand, despite your “black friend”.)

We have a candidate for the position of President of the United States. He has very few actual policies that he can explain clearly as to how he would “Make America Great Again”. But what policies he DOES have are all designed to make America not great—-but more racist. What Donald Trump is really saying is “Make America Racist Again.”

In case you are not clear on how Donald Trump plans to make America more racist by systemically denying people of other races access to the same rights, benefits, educational, economic and legal opportunities for people who are not “white like him”, let me quickly explain. 1) Building a wall to keep “bad hombres” out. 2) Tax cuts only for the wealthy (the majority of whom are white). 3) Supporting Stop and Frisk 4) Threatening to sue and take away the rights of “liberal media”. 5) Allowing groups like the Ku Klux Klan to gain credibility. 6) Directly attacking Muslims. 7) Calling for voter suppression and intimidation in areas where he is losing 8) Inciting violence and fear at his rallies, while speaking in coded language— such as talking about “The” blacks—which is designed to further marginalize a segment of our population.

If you vote for Trump you are voting for those systems.

If you vote for Trump, you are supporting systematized racism.

If you vote for Trump, yes—a person who works to support racist systems is racist.

Author’s note: This post is spreading virally across social media. I will be adding in some of the best comments I get in reply.

Here are some of the comments that have come in through Social Media:

Jez Davis: “I’m not racist because I have a black friend” is as inane as “I’m not a misogynist because I’m married”.