So, question... I've been lurking a lot in this thread because I don't follow American politics in-depth, but I find it interesting to read everyone's thoughts.
With that said, one thing I'd like to understand is why someone who is "Conservative/Republican/Right" is immediately labeled as a racist (or isn't, if that's the case?). Is it not possible to agree with certain economic policies the Republicans may have but still disagree with any racism?
Case in point, one of my good friends is from Jamaica and a huge Trump supporter. Does that mean he's racist against himself?
I'm not arguing for anything, I just wanted to understand. Because this is the impression I have after reading so many forums, social media posts, and news articles.
It’s not really that they’re racists — but since there are only two parties, the racists have to go somewhere; and unfortunately, the so-called ‘right’ is where they go these days to feel comfortable.
Anyone who is racist, xenophobic, or sexist knows that the Republican party will welcome them with open arms. It didn’t use to be this way, but now it’s a near-epidemic. You can take our President for starters, but it extends all the way down to regular-old small town America. All those people flying confederate flags and telling immigrants to get out of our country? Guess which ‘side’ they’re aligned with.
And so the issue is that the party itself does absolutely nothing to push back against these things, because they need the votes. And this is why, to me, this notion of dividing everything into two artificial categories is absolute nonsense.
When people say ‘conservative’ in the US what they really mean is ‘Republican’. The party that accepts statements like telling four minority congresswomen to ‘go back to their countries’ without any sort of argument, shame, or reprimand. The party that supported banning people from predominantly Muslim countries except for the one that vaporized 3000 Americans in a single day in 2001. And the party that embraces a FOX news network that amplifies these kinds of racist and xenophobic messages to their fullest degree, and the party that is endorsed wholesale by white supremacists without any sort of pushback.
So yes — theoretically you can be ‘conservative’ without being a Republican, and embrace views from all ‘sides’ in a fair and objective way, while fighting for the rights of marginalized people. But that’s not what ‘conservative’ has come to mean in this country, and that’s why I’m tired of this notion of people trying to divide 400 million people up into strictly ‘conservative’ or ‘liberal’, align all of their talking points with the two major parties and the news/pundit networks, and make everything, even the simplest of humanitarian, environmental, and social causes into something political.
It needs to end. All it does is feed the moneymaking machine that keeps our society polarized — for the sake of entertainment, campaign contributions and advertising revenue. And meanwhile, the people who need our help the most keep suffering.
