Saturday, September 12, 2020

Open letter to Trump supporters

Just before the RNC, I posted an open letter to the GOP - asking them not to nominate Donald Trump for the second term. Obviously, it fell on deaf ears. I am hoping that this letter (to Trump's supporters) has better results.

Recently, I posted this picture (which is basically a tweet from Max Von Essen back in Feb, 2020) to a few groups (that includes folks that are both left-leaning and right-leaning)


Now, you will all agree there is no mention of Donald Trump anywhere in this tweet. Yet, the right-leaning folks came out in full force saying, "Trump is running against Biden, not Pelosi". So, the fundamental premise that they are aligned with is that everything in this message applies to Trump.

Let us just stop here for a second. Everything in that message above applies to Trump. If that is the case, why do you still support Trump. Why do want this egotistical, misogynistic, ignorant, racist, megalomaniac become our President for the second term? He ran his campaign on the slogan, "Make America Great Again". All he has done (in his first term) is "Make America Hate Again". The Hate and contempt that existed during the World War 1 era (which resulted in the passing of the Sedition Act of 1918) is being rekindled by Donald Trump's rhetoric. We should be ashamed that we have let ourselves get to this point. Enough is enough. Let us stop this nonsense now.

On top of all of this, there is the recent news (just this week) of his abject ineptitude / incompetence:
  • His referring to Americans who died in war as losers and suckers (FYI - the original article was validated by Fox News)
  • His knowledge (in February) about the dangers of the Coronavirus
  • His anti-protest vitriol inspiring 17-year old Kyle Rittenhouse to shoot and kill innocent protesters
All this points to one thing and one thing only. Trump only cares about himself and getting reelected. He does not care for his supporters. He will fleece you for everything that you are worth and abandon you when he sees no value in you. This is evidenced even at the level of Republican Governors of Red States. If he attacks Republican Governors for not toeing his line, he is, most certainly, apathetic to the plight of his followers.

The call to action to all of you is to abandon this despot as soon as possible. Let us work towards rebuilding this country again. Here is just a subset of the damage done to the country since Trump took office:
  • Environment - this is but one example whereTrump proposed major changes to the Environmental Protection Act.
  • Collusions with Russia - within 48 hours of the (Republican majority) Senate acquitting the President, Trump fired EU Ambassador Gordon Sindland and Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman - since they had testified in the president's impeachment trial.
  • White Supremacy, Racism, Homophobia, Xenophobia. In a tweet, Trump called two Supreme Court ruling - once protecting young immigrants from deportation, the other depending gay and transgender workers - "shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives."
  • Policy. Trump diverted $3.6 billion from Defense spending to the construction of his border wall. He declared a national emergency in Feb 2019 so that they money could be reallocated.
  • Harassment and bullying. To those that planned to protest at his rally in Tulsa (in June 2020), he tweeted "Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!"
This list is only a small subset of the atrocities committed by Donald Trump in the last four years. Four more years of this will result in the US getting relegated in the world's eyes.

Do not let that happen. This is not about politics. This about morality and core values and standing up for what is right. A decent person stands up to bullies and commits to what is right, moral, ethical and decent. 

Abandon this ship now.