Donald Trump will not be the next President of the United States. I’m saying that for two reasons: 1) most political pundits seem to agree and 2) I’m just claiming it in Jesus’ name. I learned that part at church. So yeah, I’m going to just go on with the assumption that Donald Trump won’t be president of the United States. Any time we can avoid the harbinger of doom and Armageddon it’s a good thing, so I’m happy about dodging the bullet of a Trump presidency. But we shouldn’t ignore the fact that Trump has a massive following. He has a passionate fan base of people who agree that Black lives don’t really matter, people of color are either illegal immigrants or terrorists and that the LGBT community doesn’t deserve any rights. These people exist and we’ve seen them in droves at every Trump rally. But what happens in November? Where do the men and women who ardently support Trump go on November 9, 2016, a day after Trump loses his bid for President? Where does the woman who hailed Hitler in Chicago go? Or the guy who punched a protester in [insert any city in America here]? Or the kids at Northwestern University who put swastikas in a church in support of Trump? What happens to these people when their leader loses? Some of these angry supporters will probably riot . Some will burn cars, turn over trash cans, try to be violent and not get arrested for any of these things. But the rest of the supporters? Well, they’ll go home. Then they’ll go to work. And we’ll see them every day, not knowing that these were the people who supported a hate-mongering lunatic to the head of a Republican party spot. There’s a common narrative that the people who support Trump are backwoods rednecks with low income and poor education. That’s generally the common stereotype for racism in America. But let’s not get it twisted: Donald Trump supporters are all over the place and they represent a wide swath of bigots from different walks of life. And that’s the scary part. I don’t know any Trump supporters. I don’t even know anyone who knows any Trump supporters. But I know they exist, voting in silence and relishing in their mobs of ambiguity. Unless video catches them beating up protesters or yelling obscenities, it’s impossible to tell who these people are. They can rally in groups and cower back to their corners of intolerance in silence, which is exactly what they’ll do when Trump loses. The media will do the same, ignoring the hatred that’s festered in America and has only been exposed because a reality star is leading the charge. There are Trump supporters in Hollywood, in classrooms teaching our kids and wearing badges and pulling over our boys and girls. And just because the rallies will be over it won’t mean the hatred will go away. The sentiments that made thousands gather to hail Trump will be the same sentiment that will make his supporters hate people who don’t look like them. For much of America the rallies have provided a riveting spectacle showcasing how radical hatred is in this country. It’s been “surprising” and “shocking” to witness. For the rest of us, the people in the Trump rallies are our everyday reality. And when the news stops reporting on “Trump rallies” like they’re National Geographic excursions, the people who make up these crowds will still be around us every day. For much of America, Trump supporters represent a subset of American society that was buried below the surface until now. For the rest of us, Trump supporters represent the the men and women who denigrate us every day. And they won’t stop just because their leader lost out on destroying the world. So where will Trump supporters go when he loses? Nowhere. We’ll still come in contact with them every day. Their hatred won’t go away. The real question is who will still be there to care when the leader leaves yet the hatred continues?
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Editorial: Where Will Donald Trump’s Supporters Go When He Loses?
