When it comes to racism, Donald Trump is not the problem
That’s not to say that Donald Trump isn’t a problem; He clearly is. But when it comes to our country’s problems with racism and police brutality, Trump is far from the root cause.
Yes, he has undoubtedly made things worse thanks to his frequent dog whistles and implicit approval of racist behavior. But when it comes to the race issues which plague the country, we can’t simply blame it all on the orange buffoon. And by focusing on his idiocy, we sometimes lose sight of the real problem.
None of us should pretend that racism wasn’t a problem in America long before Donald Trump came around, or that the problem is going to magically solved as soon as his time in office is over. We had eight years of an African-American man in the White House, and things certainly weren’t all okay during that time.
I have no doubt that Obama — and really, just about every American president since maybe Andrew Johnson — would have handled this current crisis better than Trump has. Obama would have given us a nice speech, and worked to diffuse the situation as peacefully as possible. He probably wouldn’t have urged governors to take control using force, and he certainly wouldn’t have tear-gassed protesters so he could have his picture taken in front of a church.
But the simple truth is: If Donald Trump was the only problem in America, he would have never been elected president. And after almost four years of his reign, the upcoming election wouldn’t be viewed as a toss-up. Instead, he’s the tip of an iceberg which is revealed to be larger every day.
Before I continue, I want to be clear: The intended audience for this piece are white people who are disgusted by the persistence of racism in American society and want to do something to help. If you’re a Trump supporter, or don’t believe that systematic racism is real, my guess is that you stop reading a few paragraphs ago, or never bothered to click on the story in the first place. But if you’ve made it this far, and plan on commenting with statistics that show that systematic racism is a myth, or by saying how much Trump has helped the country, please save your energy.
And if you’re a person of color, you probably don’t need to hear another white person explaining your situation or telling you what to do. However, you are welcome to add something or tell me where I went wrong.
So for all my fellow white people who want to be part of the solution, here’s the bad news: It’s not going to be enough to just get rid of Trump. If you think you can cast a vote for Joe Biden in November, wipe your hands and say, “I fixed racism!” that’s not going to cut it.
Instead, let’s try doing all of these things:
- STOP BEING RACIST. Is it really that hard to treat everyone with the same respect regardless of their race or ethnicity?
- Know that all racism doesn’t wear white hoods or carry the Confederate flag. It’s possible that you’re doing hurtful things without realizing it. If people are accusing you of being racist, you might need to be more careful in what you say and write. Instead of reflexively defending that Tweet that’s being attacked, take another look and figure out why its being criticized.
- Understand that you don’t really understand. Even the most “woke” white person can’t truly understand what its like to live as a minority in this country. These past couple weeks have hammered home this point: Even though some of my peers may have lived in the same neighborhood as me, or gone to the same school as me, they didn’t have the same childhood that I did, simply because of the color of their skin.
- Encourage others to not be racist. Call out your friends and family when they make bigoted comments or tell racist jokes. And parents, please teach your children good values.
- Vote. Even though voting alone isn’t enough, it’s still very important. And when you vote, please choose the Democrats over the Republicans. I’m aware that the Democrats are far from perfect on many issues — race issues included — but imperfect is better than horrible. I also realize that Joe Biden may not seem all that much better — he certainly wasn’t my first choice for the nomination — but this is a binary decision. Either Biden or Trump is going to be inaugurated in January, and it shouldn’t be difficult to figure out who is the better man for the job.
- Also pay attention to local elections. Too many people focus on the White House, when real change often takes place at the state, county, and city level. If you want to see police reform, then you need to worry about who’s in charge of the lowest levels of government. Find a local candidate who jibes with your beliefs and donate money or help campaign for them.
- Don’t forget about this in a week. Soon enough, there’s going to be a new crisis in the news, be it a surge in COVID-19 cases, or Trump attempting to dissolve the Senate. Your attention will go elsewhere, and the names of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor will fade into memory. But black people don’t have the luxury of “forgetting” about this. If you want to be an ally, you have to remain an ally even when its not the hot issue of the week.
- Listen and follow. I know a lot of you want to help. But sometimes the best way to help is by following, and not leading. Black people aren’t looking for white saviors, or to have their situation “whitesplained.” Your black friends may also not want to be bombarded with questions from you. It’s not their responsibility to educate you, especially when there are already plenty of resources out there to help answer whatever questions you may have.
Here are just a few of those resources that you can reference:
So let’s stop focusing so much energy on the president. While we should still work to make sure he isn’t re-elected, there are other actions we can take to make sure racism becomes less of a problem — with or without Trump. If we all do our part, we can ensure that like Trump, racism will one day be viewed as an unfortunate part of our country’s past, and not its present.
