In the game of politics, don’t let bigotry be the Trump card

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“I don’t like what I see happening to America,” says Donald J. Trump in a campaign video, over a background track of nationalistic classical music. “The infrastructure of our country is a laughingstock all over the world. Our politicians are all talk, no action. Millions of people are flowing across our southern border, we’ve got to build a real wall. With all of this, our country has tremendous potential. Let’s make America great again.”

Quite frankly, I don’t like what I see happening to America either. For instance, we have this buffoon running for president. When a campaign video feels like propaganda circa 1930s Germany, and crowds are cheering in response, there’s something very wrong with this picture.

While he isn’t revelling in his own cult of personality, Trump’s first priority agenda is immigration reform. His official position statement on the issue, published on his website for the world to see, is painful to read. Mass deportations, denial of citizenship, construction of the Great Wall of Mexico. I would describe it as “thinly veiled racism,” but that would be inaccurate, since he isn’t even bothering to cover it up.

Fifty-eight percent of Sequoia students are Latino. We live in a melting pot of cultures, and our community is enriched and strengthened by its diversity. When political discourse becomes a hotbed of anti-Latin American hate speech, it’s incredibly damaging.

Liberal senior Jordan Sandoval, who runs an anti-discrimination Facebook group, reflected on the grim implications behind Trump’s proposed policies.

“The statements that stand out to me are his comments about the children of immigrants,” Sandoval said. “If he went through with what he’s been saying, families would be deported.”

Even humoring the idea of Trump as a U.S. representative is cringeworthy. The rest of the world might be treating him as a whimsical punchline, but before you make that Donald Trump joke, stop and consider whether his ‘political incorrectness’ is really something you want to endorse.

Sandoval also pointed out that under the Trump regime, justice movements would face setbacks across the board, from 4th wave feminism to Black Lives Matter.

“With Ferguson, and all of these things going on, there’s been a real push for racial equality,” Sandoval said. “And if someone who’s promoting racism becomes president it would make them feel like their voices aren’t being heard.”

Thus far, the only minority Trump appears willing to stand up for is his fellow members of the 1%. While aging billionaires like himself might be nostalgic for the ‘50s golden era of white privilege and male dominance, the rest of us aren’t.

Many Republicans praise Trump for being brutally honest. One conservative Sequoia senior who will be able to vote in the 2016 election, and plans to vote for Trump, described his viewpoint to me.

“He’s straight-up, he doesn’t fly away from the truth. I’ve never heard another politician speak out like a regular person would,” he said.

Trump does indeed have a crude verbal candidness which sets him apart. However, he’s also a narcissistic bigot, who I wouldn’t trust to fairly manage a gas station, let alone the executive decisions of an entire country.

As of the latest polls, however, this is a disturbingly possible reality. If the GOP primary were tomorrow, he would win by a landslide. This spray-tanned chauvinist is filling stadiums with his supporters. Forget about him, America, his opinions are just as bad as his toupee.

I propose we do build a wall, but around Donald Trump. Let’s make this country somewhat better, by freezing him and his vile beliefs off the political stage, and out of impressionable minds and hearts.