Wisdom Amouzou argues that Donald Drumpf (Trump) reveals the truth about America… in a way we can no longer pretend to ignore.
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I am originally from Togo but I grew up in Colorado after immigrating to the States with my family when I was 9 years old. As an insider-outsider, I have always existed in between multiple cultures. I am the African-American and the American-African. I’m caught in between the cracks. Some say the view is better. I say, it makes it difficult to escape the lies and contradictions. Malcom X said “you’re not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can’t face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it.” To survive as a black African immigrant, I never had the privilege to be so blind with patriotism that I could ignore the many contradictions of my America.
My America is the Supreme Court ruling removing all bans on same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015. My America is the father of the gunman responsible for the largest mass shooting in American history, proclaiming “Gays should be punished by God”, nearly a year later.
My America is the cop who pulled me over, as a 12 year old lost boy, walking home alone in the dark of night and gave me directions to find my way home. My America is the other cop who pulled over that same boy, now a 19 year old Chemical Engineering student, and illegally searched him, his brother and cousin because 30 minutes ago a pizza delivery man was robbed in the neighborhood they were passing through.
My America is the cop who tackled my soccer teammate, a fellow African immigrant, for choking the white rich counterpart on the opposing team who called him a nigger throughout the entire game. My America is my teammate spending the night in jail and the counterpart at home with his family. My America is the disempowering shame that my teammates had to swallow and the entitlement and silent guilt their team drove away with.
My America is folks pointing to the symbol of Obama and asking us to forget the Tulsa race riots of 1921. My America is the noose that was found hanging on a tree next to John Mabee Hall at the University of Tulsa last summer.
My America is the beauty of students in my high school district, Aurora Public Schools, speaking more than 133 languages. My America is the guy who said my hometown, Aurora, was the Anus of Colorado because of all the immigrants who live there.
My America is the number of white men making millions from the booming legal and recreational marijuana industry in Colorado and Washington. My America is the millions of poor black men and women rotting in prison for the failed war on drugs.
My America is well-meaning folk with well-meaning liberal arts college degrees who post well-meaning articles on Facebook about the plight of the poor while still contributing to the gentrification of their neighborhoods.
My America is those same well-meaning folks who have few relations with African-Americans on their continent but still find themselves equipped to fly to exotic locations in Africa to solve those exotic problems for those exotic “natives”. (Courtney Martin calls it the reductive seduction of other people’s problems)
My America is Obama lecturing African leaders about corruption and long terms. My America is the Bush and Clinton political dynasties. My America is nearly half of this country willing to vote Donald Drumpf into office.
You want to know why I really love the Donald? He actually makes me feel a bit more sane. He makes it nearly impossible to not acknowledge American hypocrisy.
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The danger of submitting to the false patriotic tranquility of the United States of Amnesia is Donald Drumpf. He reminds us that the United States of Amnesia is one of the most peacefully violent countries in existence, not only politically, but economically, socially, psychologically and spiritually. It’s in a constant state of hypocrisy–that dance between reality and idealism, democracy and corruption, love and indifference, revolution and tranquility. Of course, Drumpf is the logical reaction from a significant population of this country to the minute symbolism of 8 years of a black family in the White House. You want to know why I really love the Donald?
He actually makes me feel a bit more sane. He makes it nearly impossible to not acknowledge American hypocrisy. He brings to the forefront an authentic truth. It’s an ignorant and ridiculously violent truth, but nonetheless, it is the perspective from which nearly half of this country operates from. For some of us, there is nothing more quintessentially American than the violence Drumpf inspires. If you’re still not able to empathize, you have to understand what America has done to most of the heroes I looked up to. They were incarcerated or assassinated, promptly Disney-fied and spoon-fed to me as holidays.
Drumpf’s hateful rhetoric and honest answers reveal the underbelly of xenophobic white supremacy that every American (regardless of color) has internalized. His calls of violence affirm what every 2nd class citizen in this country fears and reminds us just how disposable our bodies are to the system. Most importantly, his millions of followers, and voters remind us that America’s colonization of indigenous, queer, African, and Latinx people never ended. It’s indeed an active state of violence and the need for collective transformative resistance has never been greater.
In my America, resistance has never been a luxury. It was and still remains the only way to make sense of the contradictions and the only means of our survival.
To heal through storytelling, I’m writing a book that wrestles with the realities of living in such a violent and colonized world titled Loving Is For Everyone. Follow this Instagram handle, @Wisdom_Writes, for updates/excerpts from the manuscript and read occasional blog posts from the book on my weekly column at TheGoodManProject.com!
In some ways, I think it would be better for Trump to win the election. As you say, his idiocy and dangerous speech/actions is very out in the open – in your face so to speak. In contrast, Hillary’s evil will fly under the radar. While the American people are distracted by their tabloid quality major News Networks, the oligarchy will continue their business as usual.
Interesting read. It brings to mind the many conversations I had with British Africans while attending school abroad. We are a country of contradictions, ones that much of the outside world can’t seem to comprehend. I suppose those contradictions must be even stranger when viewed through an American African lense. Good stuff.
“My America is the cop who tackled my soccer teammate, a fellow African immigrant, for choking the white rich counterpart on the opposing team who called him a nigger throughout the entire game.” Holy shit… Are you seriously suggesting that the cop had no right to stop your friend from violently assaulting someone? Why, because he was black? How far would your friend have been willing to take that, if he hadn’t been stopped? Murder? Your friend was called a word. A vile word, to be sure. One of the vilest and most despicable in the English language. At the… Read more »
Slow down my friend. Cop was doing his job. He stopped it because it was “assault” and from a different, but no less true, perspective a form of self-defense. That word particularly from white mouths (given the politics at play) has serious repercussions for your health. The effects of racism have long been documented and have serious physical impacts. Anyway, I hope I got you to empathize a bit further with a black body’s perspective. To have your soul denigrated is violent and to see your body shackled for resisting is also violence to your consciousness
Sorry man- not buying it. I 100% agree with 8ball- your buddy was trying to KILL someone because an asshole said something mean to him. And no, being called a name at a soccer game has no repercussions on your health. You’re engaged in an elaborate rationalization to OK something that isn’t OK.
Good on the police officer.
I think the author’s point is not so much that the cop was wrong to arrest his friend, but that the guy denigrating his friend experienced absolutely no negative consequences at all. Maybe we can’t blame the cop; perhaps it’s the law at fault. But hate speech, whether it’s retail or wholesale, cannot and should not be seen as “just words.” They hurt. They cause damage. They ARE violent because they have the implied threat of physical violence at their core. There’s an old chess adage that “the threat is greater than the execution.” THAT’S what the racist soccer player… Read more »
“Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it”
No,it was most assuredly not “self defense” Your buddy escalated a situation. Do you know how many times I’ve been called a F*ggot in my life? I lost count around the eighth grade. Do you know what I never did in response to being called that? Attacked someone.
Hmm interested to hear more…can you link to one of his articles?
Just go to his site …
You said Drumpf’s hateful rhetoric and honest answers reveal the underbelly of xenophobic ” Please give examples?
Listen to most of his speeches at the rallies, and notice whom the violence his supporters engage in is targeted towards.
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/what-trump-supporters-think-about-race-religion-n468896
That’s not violence
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/03/ugly-bloody-scenes-in-san-jose-as-protesters-attack-trump-supporters-outside-rally/
This is violence.
While Trump does say things that may incite violence I think there is a bit of a deception going on here where we are just expected to ignore the fact that Trump supporters are being attacked at Trump rallies by political opponents of Trump. If that had been Clinton or even Sanders supporters getting beaten up in San Jose we all know it would be getting A LOT more press. But since they are Trump supporters it has been deemed okay to assault them and disrupt their gatherings. Oddly if this were happening to Clinton or Sanders supporters it would… Read more »
Something that MANY have ignored with these protesters where I’ve seen several videos, no one has even remotely acknowledged the gang signs that are thrown. I saw one where the kid was maybe 10 years old throwing up a gang signs. Yup, that’s who we have protesting and they are the ones that are going to put Hillary in office.
Interesting how you view differs so much from Allen B West’s
Interested to hear more…Can you link to one of his articles?