Saturday, October 08, 2016

"The deplorabes are real. The deplorables are dangerous." Newsweek reporter shares what it is like to be targeted by Trump supporters.

Courtesy of Newsweek: 

The deplorables are real. The deplorables are dangerous. 

Because I have written critically about Trump, I have received innumerable death threats, sometimes just general invocations that I should die, sometimes more specific threats that I should be shot or “lynched,” as one Trump fan wrote. I have been called “kike,” “Jew” and “anti-American Zionist,” even though I’m Episcopalian with a Jewish father (as if that makes a difference). I have received video cartoons that look like they are from Nazi Germany of hook-nosed men dressed in Jewish garb rubbing their hands greedily over piles of money. I have been told to go back where I came from, whatever that means. I have been called “fag,” “pedo,” and once—in an email that made no sense—“nigger-lover.” One Trump fan mentioned he knew which schools my children attended, and correctly named them. Topping it off, some Trump fans have even gone after one of my sons online, although he knew enough to immediately block them. 

My family has been through this before—it is sometimes a consequence of writing about controversial topics—but this is the first time we have discussed whether I should continue investigating an issue. All of them agreed I should stay on this story— since Trump won’t release much information about himself, digging up everything that can be found before the election is important for the country. But why is this even a discussion? We do not live in a third-world nation where journalists who report unpleasant realities are in danger. While I believe that most of these threats—except for Mike’s—are from internet blowhards, why does my family even have to wonder about this? And why am I convinced that, just by writing this article, Mike will get lots of new Twitter followers and praise from profoundly evil people? 

I am far from the only journalist exposed to the bottom-feeders among Trump supporters who traffic in violence, threats, racism and anti-Semitism. In a tweet, Charles Blow, an African-American columnist for The New York Times who has been harshly critical of Trump both in the newspaper and on television, told me he is bombarded with racist fury through email. Katie Tur of NBC reported in an article in Marie Claire that she had to be escorted out of a Trump rally in December by Secret Service to protect her from raging Trump supporters who had sicced on her by their candidate. She was also the primary subject of a death threat two weeks later on Twitter. 

“MAYBE A FEW JOURNALISTS DO NEED TO BE WHACKED,” the tweet from someone with the handle GuyScott33 read. “MAYBE THEN THEYD STOP BEI[N]G BIASED HACKS. KILL EM ALL STARTING W/ KATY TUR.” 

There are more. According to The Daily Beast, Bethany Mandel, a conservative essayist who has written about her opposition to Trump, had been so violently attacked on social media that she felt compelled to purchase a gun for protection. Jeffrey Goldberg, national correspondent for The Atlantic, received an email telling him he would be sent to “a camp” when Trump wins. After she published an article in GQ about Melania Trump, Julia Ioffe, a Jewish journalist, received death threats by phone and email, and tweets showing vile images such as an anti-Semitic caricature of a Jewish man on his knees being shot in the back of the head; she filed a police report. Jonathan Weisman, deputy Washington editor of The New York Times, tweeted a link to a Washington Post opinion piece that was harshly critical of the Trump phenomenon. The vicious attacks on Weisman, who is Jewish, came quickly. 

“Get used to it you fucking kike,’’ tweeted one of the deplorables who goes by the handle “deplorable basket weave.” “You people will be made to pay for the violence and fraud you've committed against us.”

There is more in the article, much more, and I encourage all of you read it. 

Of course we here at IM have already seen this before, in fact it's a little like deja vu.

However back then it was Sarah Palin supporters, and they were threatening to shoot yours truly in the face at the school where I was working at the time.

I, like many others back then, also received threatening emails, in all caps of course, threatening my life and calling me every name in the book. (My favorite remains one which called me a "Faggot Nazi Nigger" a combination of insults so bizarrely incongruous that it almost hurts your head to read it.)

So yes we, including the President, have identified the link between Sarah Palin and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.

And what we are learning is that the crazed fringe that were awakened during the 2008 campaign, and who helped found the incredibly disruptive and destructive Tea Party movement, have now circled their inflamed wagons around this new agent of anarchy.

And as his campaign starts to slowly disintegrate are now lashing out much as they did in 2008 and 2009 when the media, and certain bloggers, pointed out the deep flaws in a certain ignorant half term governor from the wilds of Wasilla.

The only question remaining is what happens to them once the Trump campaign flames long before ever reaching the doors of the White House?

That is a question that I am not sure I want answered.

41 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:12 AM

    Not the same thing, but I think many of us progressives have had to defriend friends and family from Facebook over similar stuff. The Right has swung so far out there, that I think it will have to right itself. As for the deplorables, hopefully they'll slither back under their rocks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:56 AM

      Once upon a time Sarah Palin got a ton of free publicity every time she opened her yap. I think the media have probably learned from their mistake there, and will have had enough of Trump anyway. Without the media he is a big fat orange nothing.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:20 AM

      Hopefully not before waging a "fact attack" on their fb page?!?!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous9:30 AM

      I am dubious that anyone threatened to shoot you. Why didn't you press charges? You claim to be neighbors with the police.

      Delete
    4. Call was from out of state to the front office of the school.

      I believe THEY contacted the police as is school policy.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous4:19 AM

    I read that article yesterday and was just shocked. The word "deplorable" hardly even fits these Trump supporters. And yes, HRC was right - he has attracted and then unleashed the absolutely worst in America. What happens after the election is anyone's guess. It's possible Trump will try to harness the energy of these people to finance some sort of media operation. Trouble is, the Deplorables are rabble for the most part and don't have the kind of money Trump will need from them to sustain any kind of media enterprise without advertisers, because other than crooks flogging gold (plated) coins to idiots, name one real corporation willing to jeopardize their brand to support Trump.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 66gardeners5:10 AM

      This is what I can see from my porch: The trumpsters will start attacking each other for not being true conservatives.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous5:54 AM

      Bingo!

      Delete
    3. A. J. Billings6:20 AM

      Per some websites, the bigwig Repubs are backing out from supporting the pu**y
      grabber!

      http://www.politicususa.com/2016/10/07/republican-officials-meeting-toss-trump-ticket.html

      Oh, and for a chaser, a woman who was pursuing a business deal said Trump tried to rape her

      http://www.rawstory.com/2016/10/he-was-relentless-former-business-partner-tells-horrific-story-about-trumps-attempt-to-rape-her/

      And finally for dessert:

      Trump resisted suggestions from his advisers to practice exhaustively for the second debate, a town hall-style forum that will be held Sunday night in St. Louis. He flat-out refused to participate in mock sessions, saying such play-acting was annoying.

      Trump is also refusing to study and do real preparation for the debate, but he believes that he really won the first debate. Anyone who is expecting a performance out of Donald Trump in the second debate that will be much different than the first debate is setting themselves up for some major disappointment.

      http://www.politicususa.com/2016/10/07/trump-throwing-tantrums-refusing-prepare-presidential-debate.html

      Delete
  3. Anonymous4:20 AM

    What America really really needs right now is a full list of every Republican running for election in 2016 who supports Trump. People need to make sure these fools do not get into office because support is just as bad as being the guy running as Deplorable in Chief.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 66gardeners5:11 AM

      I'll go one better. EVERY republican should be sidelined. There is NO defending what they have become.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:13 AM

      This morning's GOP outrage at Trump rings very false to me. The GOP is afraid of losing in November.

      Trump has been spouting outrageous things all his life and especially ever since the GOP primary season began years ago. Why didn't the party abandon him when he embraced the KKK and other white supremacists? Why didn't the party abandon him because of the outrageous things he said in their never-ending debates and when he was ranting on the primary campaign trail? They've known all about him; it didn't matter until it began to look more and more like he couldn't win.

      Sorry, GOP. You chose him; you're stuck with him. Hopefully some Republicans will wake up and rid the party of the Koch brothers, the Tea Party and every shred of Trump and his hateful supporters.
      Beaglemom

      Delete
  4. Anonymous4:36 AM

    A true leader would discourage such behavior but we've seen time and again the sick pleasure Trump and Palin get from it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous4:43 AM

    Hey Sarah,
    Ya sicko. You can't complain a bit about this journalist - k? NO ONE went after the faked Tri-G birth with REAL detective like investigative journalism. And that is probably because you were a WOMAN. So, if you ever spout out off a double standard, your head and body will get all splody from the sheer amount of falsitudiness....that's a new word.
    Shakespeare.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:22 AM

      wouldn't it be falsitudinessous?

      Delete
  6. Anonymous5:25 AM

    What happens? Lets hope law and order put a stop to the outrageous crumbling trump foundation organization. Then we can immediately adjust tax laws, qualifications of presidency, overturn citizen united for starters. Remove all corruption within military/contractors and law enforcement community. They are enabling the likes of rump.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous5:29 AM

    IF all the nasty articles were to surface on trump and associates? wow! If journalist dug deep into each article and the associations? ))whew(( bad bad bad boys.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:44 AM

      $EX, BULLYing and MONEY$$$

      Delete
  8. Anonymous5:41 AM

    The GOP nominated a person currently being sued for raping an underage girl.

    I think Donny saying "grab their pussy" is the least of his and the GOP problems.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:51 AM

      Yet he terms it a "distraction." Doesn't sound the least bit apologetic to me; more like "so what?"

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:29 AM

      Yes, it is only a distraction because he was speaking about women, second class people.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous5:44 AM

    The Deplorable's have been spinning all night--

    "Trump is an alpha male. For the majority of human histories men like himself could enjoy sexual inter course with multiple , nubilr partners without judgement .Did anybody tell Ghengis Khan or Julius Caeser they should not be having sex ?
    Trump is cut from this cloth of human being . He accepts he is a sinner trying to do good. One of his vices is sex with beautiful woman - as many men of his stature also struggle with."

    "This is how Trump operates. High risk, high reward. The reward is being able to take Hillary and the Media apart with their own hypocrisy. They took the bait - the HYPOCRISY is STUNNING. If he seizes the initiative, he can decimate them over this. "

    "Folks what we are seeing is a bit of the Trump brilliance and one of the many ways he goes int discussions and negotiations.He is, according to my father, very, very tough but once a deal has been reached, straight as an arrow."

    "Trump in a private conversation discussed in lewd fashion his desire to have sex with women... Any man who hasn’t had the same sort of conversation in a private setting with another dude... Well, that man is probably on the wrong team.The only thing this surreptitiously recorded conversation proves, is that Donald Trump is a healthy adult male."

    “Folks won't like this but it is the truth and cannot be refuted - the two worst things to happen to this country and western civilization, and they go hand in hand is the Progressive movement and the women's vote. The progressive movement is based on gaining control of the people by playing to the emotions and women, by and large, make their political decisions based on emotion.”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:23 AM

      But Bill Clinton was impeached for "she pursued him" sex with a willing, of age sex partner. Double standard much?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:24 AM

      once a deal has been reached, straight as an arrow."
      Tell that to the small business contractors he stiffed.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous6:25 AM

      "surreptitiously recorded conversation proves," He had a mic clipped to his lapel - how is that surreptitious?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous6:58 AM

      http://money.cnn.com/2016/10/07/media/access-hollywood-donald-trump-tape/index.html

      Delete
  10. Anonymous5:51 AM

    Trump, in his statement, defends himself by saying there's a big difference between words (his) and actions (Bill's). Well there you go again Donald -- re-writing history. You are a self admitted, court document acknowledged serial adulterer. What world are you living in Mr. Deplorable J. Trump?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:05 AM

      Exactly. Do you REALLY want to go there, Donald? You'll be bitch slapped and deservedly so.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous5:52 AM

    I have no doubt that the "ignorant half term governor from the wilds of Wasilla" is shitting bricks right now, but things aren't half as bad for her as they're going to be for her. Every day she is reviled in the national media for her role in this disgusting state of affairs.

    Her shrinking fan base netted her just 24 donations from the tens of thousands of dollars of PAC money that she spent on direct mail begging in the last quarter- even the suckers have woken up to her. All SarahPAC has left are elderly retired people, some of whom won't even be aware that her PAC is raiding their bank accounts every month. People with actual jobs who work for a living aren't parting with a dime for her, probably because they see what a lazy unemployed bunch they'd be supporting.

    It's no surprise that Sarah Palin is in hiding.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:02 AM

      Sarah Palin is a mealy-mouthed coward.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:31 AM

      Quitgate is coming.

      We are bringing it.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous6:03 AM

    Trump/Pence to hold campaign stop at Grand Canyon on Monday. Afterwards the pair will hop in a 50's convertible and drive off the canyon rim.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous6:55 AM

    "The base reason she was a T.Rump supporter was that she was convinced President Obama was a secret Muslim "
    I would have said "SO FUCKING WHAT".

    ReplyDelete
  14. I've said this many times on other threads, and now for the first time here. The favor that Trump has done this country, is that he has flushed all the rabble out from under their rocks and out into the open. Now, what we should do, is ear tag them like we do cattle, making them easily culled to be put in the so called FEMA camps where they belong. I know what I say is facetious and hyperbolic, but the truth lay in the identification. I hope law enforcement will have put their "1984 ways" to good use and done their due diligence in identifying many of these rabble seen at these Trump rallies, because we will be hearing from them again, once this campaign is over, and not in a constructive way. These people are potentially dangerous and need to be dealt with, emphatically. I foresee chaos and bloodshed. They are that ignorant and dangerous.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous7:59 AM

    If Trump loses? That won't be pretty either

    finalgrandslam •
    He's finished. Unfortunately, however, that means HRC assumes office and the republic is finished. Stock up while you can, they're coming for them. Be ready and willing to assert your second amendment right to the death when this happens.

    Molon labe •
    Yep..we'll give it to 'em REAL good!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous8:19 AM

    We are screwed either way: if Trump wins the deplorables will feel entitled to continue their bullying especially with such a fine role model in the W.H.

    If Trump loses, not only is he going to contest the results, the whole Hillary stole the election will follow her the whole term. Who knows what havoc the deplorables are willing to go to? They are not going to return under the rock without a fight.

    I am praying the Russians are unable to hack the voting machines.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous8:33 AM

    It is like Rudi Giuliani saying it was ok he is an adulter because he is a Catholic and confessed his sin, but not ok that Bill did the same.

    After all little Donnie was just degrading women. they aren't important to Evangelicals.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous9:47 AM

    Today I saw a pic of a Trump cap online with the usual words changed to "grab em by the pussy," and there is no doubt in my mind that Trump's fans wouldn't see this as a jab at Trump but as a cap to get a hold of and proudly wear.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous9:57 AM

    Hitler tactics. They used the brownshirts to bully people. When Hitler came into power he killed his own that were not on his list of Aryan perfection. They did his dirty work then he killed them. Read something yesterday that Trump and all of this unrest if being orchestrated by Putin who is doing what Hitler did in the 1930s. Making social and political unrest so people start working against each other and not with each other. Then WW2 was started to hide Hitler's real agenda, that he wanted to exterminate Jewish people. People in the US have have dumbed down on the history but we are seeing it all over again. This proves that as humans we really don't learn diddly shit, and yes we will do it over again. And again. An earth full of numbnuts we are.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous4:57 PM

    http://www.rawstory.com/2016/10/bombshell-trump-told-howard-stern-its-okay-to-call-ivanka-a-piece-of-ass/
    Yeppers, folks, this would help sink Trumpies battleship

    ReplyDelete
  21. I want to go furniture shopping.

    ReplyDelete

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