The anxiously awaited election for president of the United States has come and gone, and Donald J. Trump has emerged victorious. This was a very hard-fought contest, but as things currently stand, there should be an uneventful transition of power in January, 2025.
This event is anticipated to take place peacefully, unlike the debacle that took place several years ago when Trump, then the defeated 45th president, refused to concede the election to current President Joe Biden. Trump encouraged an insurrection that ended up with at least 5 deaths and over 100 individuals, mostly law enforcement, injured.
This time there are hopes that the transition will be without incident, especially since there appears to be no resistance to a peaceful transition of power coming from the Biden administration. This is important because the election process was very highly charged with animosity; almost at every turn there were negative skirmishes between Trump’s acolytes and democrats. It appears that Trump’s backers were the first to spread vitriol and hatred. On the other hand, democrats were extremely disappointed by Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss, and there were underlying fears and trepidation due to an anticipation of the draconian policies that have been promised by the Trump administration’s Project 2025. That project paints a very dark scenario for American citizens. Some people had predicted that going backward, i.e. Making America Great Again, would bode very unpleasantly in America’s Black communities. Apparently, there was a valid reason for their fears, based on the mean-spirited racist epithets aimed at Blacks after it was confirmed that Trump had won.
According to a CNN article entitled “Authorities work to find the source of racist texts sent to Black people nationwide after the election. Here’s what we know” by Dalia Faheid, Ashley R. Williams, Jack Forrest, Jillian Sykes and Sean Lyngaas, federal and state authorities are working to find the origins of racist text messages sent to Black people across the country referencing slavery and telling them they were “selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation.”
Another article in the Washington Post titled “After election, racist texts nationwide threaten Black people with slavery” by Daniel Wu and Joseph Menn, people in at least a dozen states and D.C. have received the messages, according to authorities and local news media. The texts have spread alarm after a presidential election marked by President-elect Donald Trump and his campaign’s use of inflammatory language against minorities. According to the article, some, though not all, of the messages claimed to be from a Trump supporter or “the Trump administration,” according to screenshots shared on social media and local news.
A representative from the Trump campaign said that they had nothing to do with sending the messages. Technically, this may be true. In actuality, however, it had EVERYTHING to do with the mean-spirited messages that are being sent mostly to Black people at colleges and universities.
This situation brings to mind the person who threw a stone at someone and then hid their hand. In other words, the toxic tone coming from the Trump campaign generated negativity that is apparently embraced by some of Trump’s followers. In essence, they are “following the leader” imitating his penchant for calling his opponents names and spreading racist tropes. In other words, Trump has been a very negative influence among some of his followers. This does not bode well for the much-needed healing that needs to take place in America after a very contentious election.
Contrast this with the very high-minded Kamala Harris who immediately attempted to contact Trump to concede defeat after the election results were verified. Kamala Harris was a class act. She was no doubt deeply disappointed that she lost the election, but she has not lost her outwardly optimistic spirit. And in comparison, to Trump, she appears to be as positive as he is negative. This situation with Trump’s supporters immediately devolving into MAGA racism is the direct fruit of Trump’s toxicity. Let’s hope the feds are able to nip this situation in the bud, and that healing can take place in America. Aluta continua.
Reprinted from the Chicago Crusader
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