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Howard's Commentary - Anger and (Pending) Disappointment in the Age of Trump

Candidate Trump campaigned as a rude, offensive, combative, name-calling, belligerent, bully.

And now in the Age of President Trump, those traits are becoming the norm for his supporters.

We've seen a significant increase in racist, xenophobic, aggressive acts done in the President Elect's name.

"Since the election, we've seen a big uptick in incidents of vandalism, threats, intimidation spurred by the rhetoric surrounding Mr. Trump's election," Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center told USA Today. "The white supremacists out there are celebrating his victory and many are feeling their oats."( 11-13-16)

It's important to repeat these are done in Trump's name. I don't suggest the President Elect is a racist. I think he just used racist dog whistles as a campaign tool. But he has empowered those who have hidden their predilections in the shadows until now. He has made them feel it's "normal" to let their hate into the light.

And the empowerment of anger goes beyond just violent acts, it's pugnacious language and it's not just on the national stage.

My social media has always been full of disagreements and debates, but for the most part we argue over policy or issues. Occasionally there is a drop-by from the "Benghazi-Killery-O'bummer" crowd, but even there it usually reflects actual disagreements.

But since election day the number of pure personal attacks grown exponentially. With no mention of any issue at hand, the Trump-emboldened posters cast personal aspersions. This week, my pages have begun to sprout vulgarities. In a particular nasty exchange a "gentleman" offered "F-U" to a female who criticized Trump.

And the truly sad thing is how disappointed Trump supporters will be as they realize they've been conned. Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and I discussed that on the radio this week.

Trump started this, He empowered the anger and emboldened the violent.

But it's out of his hands now. He can't put the genie back in the bottle if he wanted to.

You can't beat anger with more anger. But I'm not so naive to think a wink and a smile will make it change.

The American people are smart. More of them voted against Trump than for him. Many who were conned into voting for him will see the error of their ways.

Facts and reasoned argument need to be our tools.