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Make America Hate Again

From being viciously attacked to called a liar, Jussie Smollett​ has endured Trump's America.

By Edward AndersonPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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"I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBT citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology," Donald J. Trump said as he accepted the Republican nomination for President.

The keyword there must have been foreign because he has done nothing to quell the hatred that has been stoked by his comments and actions the past two years. However, a high profile incident may force him to finally address the pink elephant in the room; beloved Empire star Jussie Smollett was viciously attacked and nearly murdered, with the assailants screaming at him, "This is MAGA country."

Making America Great Again must include ridding the country of anyone who is not straight, white, and cisgendered. This is not an observation made from someone who hates Trump, it is the observation of someone who can see facts for what they are. Murders of Transgender people have been hitting record highs, hate crimes against the LGBT community have risen dramatically since Trump ascended to the office with his rhetoric of Nationalism and wanting to deport every brown person that he is legally able to.

Time and again he has refused to acknowledge that the things he says lead his supporters to commit crimes in his name. Part of this is because he encouraged violence at his rallies when he was just a candidate. There was a promise that supporters' legal bills would be paid for if they committed violent crimes in his name. Nevermind that his reputation for paying anything is about as good as his relationship with the intelligence community. Instead, he spouts off what sounds good to him, what will cast him in the best light possible, and to Hell with the consequences later on.

Which is what happened in the case of Jussie Smollett. After leaving the safe haven of NYC to fly to Chicago to film Empire, Smollett landed and wanted to get something for dinner. He stopped at a Subway restaurant and after he left two assailants yelled racist and homophobic remarks at him. When Smollett didn't respond, they jumped him and began their attack. Kicking, hitting, and pouring bleach over him. Letting him know the entire attack was because he is gay and black. The criminals also wrapped a rope around his neck, and it is only by the grace of God that the talented Smollett was not killed.

When news of the story broke, there was an outpouring of support for Smollett among most people. Some people though were angry that it was being reported that the attackers yelled "This is MAGA country" because it made them look bad. What actually made them look bad was the fact that they then tried to say that it was a hookup gone wrong or that Smollett had made the whole thing up. Nothing makes a country great like saying that someone faked an attack, even though there are hospital records.

Does anyone remember when Kathy Griffin posted the picture of a decapitated Trump, and his base went crazy, calling for the comedian to be jailed for the rest of her life? Yeah, those people are now crying that they are lumped in with people who committed the crime. They are angry that the attackers are being called out for being anti-gay and racist. The little deplorables are mad as hell that their demagogue hasn't said there were fine people on both sides.

It is astonishing the lengths people will go to cover up their hate. Some have said they can't be racist because they voted for Obama. Maybe they need to learn what racism is? There have been a few who decried being homophobic because their brother, sister, best friend, or aunt's cousins grandmother is gay. Again, that doesn't take away from the homophobia. Two days after the attack, Trump finally made a comment on it. Yet, he was Twitter the day controversy erupted over a spoiled, rich white boy confronting a Native American happened. And he was on the spoiled, rich white boy's side. Gee, wonder why.

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About the Creator

Edward Anderson

Edward has written hundreds of acclaimed true crime articles and has won numerous awards for his short stories.

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