Here’s the thing about working in the news: The hours are long, and the pay is terrible.
But on the other hand: Everybody hates us!
You get used to it. I like to think that at any given time, perhaps a third of the Triad is upset with me, a third are grateful that I’m here and a third don’t care either way.
Lately I’ve been experiencing a new form of vitriol, above and beyond the usual fare: Personal. Menacing. Disturbingly misguided.
The best — or worst, depending on your point of view — came in the form of a series of anonymous voicemails, 38 minutes spread out over 12 messages from a single source.
It’s part personal attack, part manifesto and part lunatic screed, a diatribe against everything that is not white or Christian. It invokes the founding fathers, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. My caller made predictions, named enemies and walked right up to the line of threatening personal violence.
But the most interesting thing he said is excerpted above, where my Copenhagen-voiced caller articulates the heart of Trump’s base, the basis for Nixon’s Southern Strategy, the reason why our first Black president sent so many white Americans into conniption fits.
It’s the racism. This guy was just willing to admit it. And I choose to believe him.
In that one word, my caller explained why so many Trump voters no longer care about deficits and taxes (Where my tea party people at?), the shifting set of standards applied to lawmakers, the dog-whistle codewords that make them salivate.
For so many of them, it really is that simple.
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In an election year where emotions are already high, and nerves are already shot, it is disappointing to see this “article”. You are certainly entitled to your opinion and apparently have chosen to believe that this one lunatic racist represents the whole of the base of one political party. This is very sad. Maybe for your next article you can find that one stereotypical supporter that perfectly represents the entirety of the opposing political base and write a glowing piece on them.
Shouldn’t those of us on opposing sides who still remember how to have an adult discussion be working towards bridging the gap? What happened to trying to understand the opposing viewpoint? These days people jump straight to labeling and denigrating anyone who doesn’t believe the way they do.
It is clearly too late for “fair” and “balanced”.
You should know the people you are standing with. This guy is one of them.
No Lisa, it is you who believes that this one lunatic racist represents the whole of Trump’s base. But that belief is so threatening to your plans and designs for the future, that you can only see it as coming from outside yourself.
If you were to accept that this does represent Trump’s base, you would no longer be able to vote for him, and such an idea is too disruptive for you.
Agreed. This one imbecile represents THOUSANDS if not millions. He is a symptom of everything the GOP has closed their eyes to.
Not all Trump supporters are racist, but all racists are Trump supporters.