Race, hatred and the US

The divisions in the US that led to the election of Donald Trump have shown their ugliest face in the town of Charlottesville in Virginia. In what has been dubbed the ‘Battle of Charlottesville’, neo-Nazi groups and far-right activists based in the US attacked anti-racism demonstrators in the small town where a statue of a pro-slavery general was about to be removed. The stark racism on display seemed to take the US back to the dark days of the 1960s, where those who supported the cause of de-segregation were butchered by mobs. Despite the condemnations across the US, there is a simple fact that cannot be ignored: the US has elected a white supremacist into the White House in November 2016. In his election rhetoric, Trump appealed to those who were once considered fringe far-right groupings in the US. His constant refusal to condemn far-right groups – or distance himself from them – has been a consistent pattern, which has continued with Trump refusing to condemn far-right violence in Charlottesville. Instead, the American president chose to word his condemnation in much more vague language by calling out violence on ‘many sides’. The organisers of the ‘Unite the Right’ rally had stated that they were there to finish what Trump had started. On Tuesday, Trump went a step further and equated the violence and hate bred by far-right groups to those who choose to fight racism.

While most Republicans have specifically condemned the racist rhetoric fuelling the attacks from far-right groups, the reality is that Charlottesville has only confirmed what the last election indicated. America’s white population is finding refuge in the covering ideology of white supremacy. This is an exceptionally dangerous trend, which is now not only shaping national discourse, but also shaping policies at the helm of the state. Many of Trump’s key advisers are affiliated with far-right groups. Certain members of his cabinet, including his choice for attorney general, have been reported to possess significant racial bias. There is nothing that Trump can say or do that can alter the course of history he has started. His anti-immigrant rhetoric has mainstreamed the racist views of millions of Americans. The Charlottesville incident confirms that this is a polarised America that is at war with itself. The Trump administration has peddled dangerous myths of media manipulation to cover over its massive failings. While opinion polls indicate the unpopularity of Trump, his election has brought confidence for fringe far-right groups to become mainstream. Identity politics will become the hallmark of a more divided America in the Trump era.