The Cruelty Is the Point: President Trump and His Supporters
The article discusses the theme of cruelty in the Trump era, highlighting how supporters find a sense of community through shared disdain for marginalized groups. It draws parallels between historical acts of violence and contemporary political rhetoric, particularly regarding the treatment of immigrants and sexual assault survivors. The author argues that this embrace of cruelty fosters a toxic environment where malice is celebrated.
- ▪The Trump administration has been accused of seeking to ethnically cleanse over 193,000 American children of immigrants.
- ▪At a rally, Trump mocked Christine Blasey Ford, leading to cheers from supporters who shouted 'Lock her up!'.
- ▪The article connects the cruelty of Trump's policies to a broader societal acceptance of malice as a virtue.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
IdeasThe Cruelty Is the PointPresident Trump and his supporters find community by rejoicing in the suffering of those they hate and fear.By Adam SerwerJonathan Ernst / ReutersOctober 3, 2018 ShareSave The Museum of African-American History and Culture is in part a catalog of cruelty. Amid all the stories of perseverance, tragedy, and unlikely triumph are the artifacts of inhumanity and barbarism: the child-size slave shackles, the bright red robes of the wizards of the Ku Klux Klan, the recordings of civil-rights protesters being brutalized by police.The artifacts that persist in my memory, the way a bright flash does when you close your eyes, are the photographs of lynchings. But it’s not the burned, mutilated bodies that stick with me. It’s the faces of the white men in the crowd.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Atlantic.
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