Recently, at a local queer function, I was talking to an acquaintance who figured that I must be an American, because I was so worried — wait, it doesn’t make sense to start there.
He assumed I was an American because I had expressed worry about the current election. In particular, the fear that Donald Trump might succeed in his bid for presidency. And, since this is an American election and we live in Norway, why was I worried, he asked.
If we ignore for now the fact that Trump’s election would be terrible for Americans and America in general, then I still have valid worries here in Norway. Every public statement of hatred, bigotry and prejudice that goes unchallenged strengthens the resolve of bigots and lowers the threshold for others to express the same. The reason Trump is so worrying for me is that he has an extremely visible platform – the run for presidency – and virtually no critical response in the media. He gets away with his worst statements.
When such actions go unchecked, people start assuming they are ‘okay’. You might be tired of hearing ‘first they came for the Socialists…’ but I can assure you, you’re not as tired as the people who lie awake at night, worrying about their next president, what he might say, what he might do. Nobody is telling him ‘no’ right now. Why would that change?