Trump–the political correctness factor: an attack on decency and respect

 

Donald Trump once again has threatened not to support the Republican nominee if it is not himself. This should come as no surprise whatsoever to anyone who has followed the erratic and vindictive utterings by the Republican front runner. What should be noted, however, is the nature of Trump’s following, especially those who are part of a backlash to what he has regularly hammered at, namely: “political correctness.”

The appeal of Trump’s attacks on political correctness can mean a lot of different things. Most come under the heading of simple decency and respect for all of one’s fellow humans. Polls indicate that a majority of Americans support decency and respect, even to individuals whose lifestyle is not something they are comfortable with. Yet, as Trump’s support demonstrates, a sizable number have been mobilized into a backlash against having to be politically correct. Here, I am not talking about having to call a postman (or a postwoman) a postal person. No! It is clearly a backlash with racial and homophobic overtones. Society has moved too fast for these people. “Telling it like it is,” an attribute admired by Trump supporters, is a code phrase for legitimizing indecent and disrespectful talk and actions against Mexicans, Gays, anyone from the LGBT community, and Muslims. It may be Muslims (“rag heads”) or Gays (“fags”) or Mexicans (“spics”) today, but don’t forget it is not so long since vile talk and behaviors toward Jews (often called “kikes”) and Blacks (often called “niggers”) were the displaced frustration targets of similar bigots. Make no mistake about it, bigotry is not a selective attribute.