How President Trump Made America Hate Again

"Trump's America. Whites Only."

That was what churchgoers who attended Silver Spring's Episcopal Church of Our Savior saw as they pulled into the parking lot. The hateful message was scrawled on the back of the church's sign offering a Spanish language mass for the local immigrant population.

Sadly, this disturbing scene was just one of over 700 different hate crimes that occurred within the first two weeks of Trump's presidency. Many of the crimes were acts of vandalism targeting minorities, women, LGBTQ individuals, as well as people who didn't practice Christianity.

Experts are saying that this is a sharp increase from hate crime rates in 2016 and before; most agree that the new spike in hate crimes is connected with the new presidency.

After all, as much as news outlets may try to deny the link, it's impossible to ignore the fact that a huge percentage of the hate-filled attacks involve messages that mention Trump in one way or another.

It's hard to imagine that a country with a reputation as progressive as America could see so many attacks and so much hate in 2017. Many don't want to believe that it's even happening. But it is - and there may be a psychological reason why these assaults are happening.

Inside the mind of a bigot, according to psychologists.

Many people can tell you that there has been a lot of progress in the past 30 years in terms of tolerance.

Gay marriage, once considered to be a pipe dream, is now legalized in many states. Awareness of domestic violence, rape, and sexual harassment became increasingly high - and people found guilty of these crimes are facing more real consequences than ever before. Children's television shows now regularly involve multiracial casts and raise awareness of disabilities that others may have.

In other words, society has been having a major push to have a more open mind and embrace one another's differences rather than hate one another for not being uniform. It's a change that has been happening gradually over the past 50 years - and it's a change that has greatly accelerated over the past 15 years.

For those who benefit from these changes, this is great news. However, not everyone is okay with the sweeping social change. More specifically, people who felt at home in the old world now feel persecuted or slighted because of the new focus on other peoples' rights.

Many may feel like they're personally being blamed for hundreds of years of oppression. Or, they may feel like they're not getting the same benefits that others are getting - and are therefore being "shortchanged."

Others, however, can't handle the idea of the press being more concerned about others' wellbeing than their own - or feel like they're being indirectly demonized by these headlines in some way.

If you find it hard to believe, looking at articles about hate crimes will tell you volumes. Many of the commenters will say things like, "Since I'm a white straight male, I don't count. I forgot, it's not hate if it's against me."

Another example of this is when you hear men balking at the idea of feminism. They feel like women being able to choose what to do with their lives is a direct affront to them - and even other men have called these bigoted men out on that in the past.

When you combine that feeling of being persecuted with the fact that many people were either implicitly or explicitly taught that they are somehow innately superior to minorities, you have a recipe for racism - as well as a recipe for resentment.

People who have been implicitly told they’re better than others are in a particularly bad position, because they may not even be aware of how unfair their behavior is. Since they don’t consciously see what they’re doing, they often feel accosted by “sensitive” people who simply are tired of having to put up with discrimination.

In other words, we’re socialized to think certain things about others - and we also will feel shortchanged if we don’t receive benefits, even if the benefits others are reaping have nothing to do with us. Between feeling superior and feeling shortchanged by perceived "losses," you have a recipe for the kind of racism that sparked Hitler's rise to power.

People who feel shortchanged will often want to find a way to forcefully take what they think is theirs, regardless of whether they're actually entitled to it. This is doubly true for people who feel they're superior to others as well as people who feel "rejected" by the mainstream culture of acceptance.

And, scarily, these are facts that have been backed by psychological studies time and time again.

"The Good Old Days" were actually horrible.

People who feel shortchanged will often want to find a way to forcefully take what they think is theirs, regardless of whether they're actually entitled to it. Feelings of being demonized or otherwise rejected by society also is known for increasing feelings of anger, resentment, and hatred.

To make matters even worse, it’s also human nature to see the past through rose-tinted glasses - especially if you didn’t live during that time. We often are told that things were “so much better back then,” even though they weren’t.

No era better illustrates this than the 1950s. If you were to listen to nostalgia aficionados, it was a time when women were happy homemakers in dresses, men were all employed, and every child had a happy home.

In reality, women often felt forced into the homemaker lifestyle, and teen pregnancy was such a huge problem that people had to marry young. Rape often went unreported, resulting in pregnancies that women weren't allowed to keep.

Moreover, women who attempted abortions at home often died horrible deaths - and it was such a common occurrence that entire hospital wings were devoted to it.

Racism was also a major pressing subject that many people forget amidst all the fun reminiscing about Elvis Presley and doo-wop bands. Simply put, it was a time that people didn't recognize as terrible because it was a time when people covered up the terrible side of life.

Despite the proof and records of what life used to be like, that weird amnesia we have makes us want to turn back the clock...and for many people who feel the perceived wounds of living in a society where equality rules, that "time that never was" remains an ideal they want to attain.

Trump As A Symbol Of Hate

One of the most common things you'll hear people say about Donald Trump is that he's not politically correct - and this is absolutely true. During the election, Trump had no qualms about saying things that made every other politician balk due to the sheer insensitivity it showed.

Women were horrified to hear Trump talk about "grabbing her by the pussy," and how you can "do anything" to women once you're famous. Latin groups felt their stomachs sink when they heard his promises to deport immigrants and "build a wall."

Feminists of all genders were terrified when they heard Trump's plans to defund Planned Parenthood and revoke LGBTQ privileges that were legally instated under Obama.

Muslim communities, particularly those who were refugees from Iraq and other similarly war-torn regions, also recall quite a few presidential promises that make it clear that they are not welcome in Trump's America.

Considering all the statements Trump has said, is it really surprising that racists flocked to him? Moreover, is it really so shocking that he's become a symbol of hate winning over tolerance?

In response to the 340% uptick in hate crimes in New York City's subways, Mayor DeBlasio said, "There's no question this sudden increase in bias incidents is directly related to the hateful rhetoric we heard during the election season."

It's not all talk, either.

Within the first 100 days of his presidency, Donald Trump has pushed through a number of presidential movements and bills that have serious consequences for minorities of all kinds. Some of those include the following:

• Pushing through a travel ban that allowed people to deny visitors with passports and visas entry into the United State on basis of their home country. An uproar ensued after children, elderly people, and terminally ill people were denied travel privileges, interrogated, and coerced into signing away their right to travel to the United States.
• Repealing transgender bathroom rights. This forces transpeople to use bathrooms that may not identify with their gender, and can cause humiliation on a number of levels.
• A move to build a wall on Mexico's border, and have it funded by Mexico. This has caused the Mexican government to threaten to raise tariffs on products made in the country and cut ties with the US.
• Refusing to fund abortions in developing countries. The women in these countries may end up dying in childbirth or may end up in financial ruin because of these pregnancies. The measure will very likely kill thousands of women over the course of 4 years.
• Approving pipeline construction that goes directly through Native American sacred lands. This move has caused major protests, and has caused many protesters to get arrested. It's considered to be both an environment and civil rights disaster.

Scarily, many Republicans in Congress are also backing these orders and also pushing their own similar laws within their own states. Some of these include the following:

• A law in Texas that allows doctors to lie about the health of an unborn child, in an effort to dissuade expecting moms from choosing abortion. This law effectively allows doctors to lie to women in an effort to remove their ability to decide their own body autonomy. A similar bill that bans abortion in cases of rape and incest was brought forth by Oklahoma Republicans - and the representative explained that pregnancy via rape and incest is "God's Will."
• Multiple GOP states have also started to pass "religious freedom" bills that allow businesses and organizations to discriminate against single mothers and LGBTQ individuals. Multiple bills are expected to be signed into law, and it's uncertain whether or not these laws may also allow other forms of discrimination as well.

By passing these kinds of laws, politicians are both condoning and normalizing acts that harm civil rights for people who are already being systematically disenfranchised.

Trump's win greatly impacted bigoted attitudes in a way that no other presidency did.

In the past, politicians shied away from politically incorrect statements out of fear that they would alienate potential voters. Trump's win, along with his often-bigoted rhetoric, flew in the face of this typical standard.

As a result, racists, homophobes, Islamophobes, and misogynists all felt validated in their positions and felt like they had a politician who gave them "a voice." On a conscious or subconscious level, they also assumed that the win signaled that their beliefs were in the majority - even though Trump lost the majority poll.

The internet also plays a major role in cultivating this atmosphere of hate. As many people already know, the net also plays as a large echo chamber for groups that otherwise would have been considered outliers and loners.

Daryl Johnson, who works to curb domestic terrorism alongside the DHS noted, "If we didn’t have the internet, I’d venture to say the movement would be pretty small and unable to communicate."

With the feeling that Trump's win may have indicated that a large majority of people would condone racism or similar mentalities, is it really so shocking that people who hid their hate became brazen enough to commit hate crimes after the election? Of course not.

Can this even change course?

Trump himself, upon being pressured by media, had eventually come forth to tell hate crime participants that they need to stop, and that he doesn't condone their acts. But, this alone isn't enough to make the hate crimes stop - nor is it enough for people to finally achieve a country where positive elements like tolerance, diversity, and personal merit take top priority.

In order for hate to go away, we need to stop condoning it - and we need to start talking about it. We need to begin a dialogue with the people who feel so slighted by it, and try to get them to understand why their views are hurting them, their loved ones, and society as a whole.

Until we as a nation make the effort to understand one another, this stuff will continue to happen.