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Harriet Marsden
Nov 16, 2016
Picture:
Screenshot / Twitter (@MLsif)
The world continues to reel as we absorb the fact that the President-elect of the US is actually Donald Trump.
His election might be particularly galling to those of Muslim, black or Hispanic heritage, those with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ communities, or indeed any survivors of sexual assault, given the nature of Trump's rhetoric - and his own personal actions.
Hate speech is becoming increasingly normalised in both common discussion and political/media discourse. Racially, xenophobically or homophobically-motivated crime is rapidly on the rise... nobody knows what will happen next, and fear levels are high.
One teacher decided to tackle the fear head on, posting this amazing sign on his door:
The picture, which has gone viral on Twitter, appears to pay homage to this sign, held by an anti-Trump protestor in LA last week.
Let's summarise just a few particularly memorable Trump actions against certain communities:
Muslims:
Attacked Syrian refugees for being jihadi terrorists, aligned with the so-called Islamic State
Threatened to ban all Muslims from entering the country on his official website
Viciously offended parents of Muslim U.S. army officer Captain Humayun Khan, who died during the Iraq War
Reportedly dicussed plans to force Muslim immigrants in the US to sign a registry
African Americans:
Refused to condemn white supremacists and neo-Nazi groups who campaigned for him (including the Ku Klux Klan who endorsed him)
Is supported by a majority who consider black people to be less humanly evolved
Has a long professional history of his companies being accused of racial discrimination towards black people
Accused black people of inherent laziness. In print
Claimed that President Barack Obama was born outside of the US, and therefore not a legitimate presidentÂ
Appeared to condone the beating of a Black Lives Matter protestor, and disparaged the entire movement
Hispanic / Latinos:
Accused Mexicans of being drug dealers, criminals, killers and rapists
Claimed Judge Gonzalo Curiel was biased because "he's a Mexican"
Threatened to build a wall across the US-Mexican border and deport millions of Mexicans within his first hour of office
Insulted former Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush and his Mexican wife
Defended two of his supporters for beating up and urinating on a homeless Latino man, calling them "passionate"
Built his empire on the back of undocumented Latino labour
LGBTQ:
Chose Mike Pence as his Vice President, who suggested that money to support HIV patients would be better spent on gay conversion therapy
Responded to a massacre at an LGBT nightclub with: "Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism"
Supported the First Amendment Defence Act, a bill that would pardon homophobic discrimination if justified on religious grounds
Has received speech writing assistance from a man who described homosexuals as paedophiles
Disabled:
- This.
That's to say absolutely nothing of Trump's...
Rampant anti-Semitism (despite his own daughter's conversion to Judaism)
Insults towards Native Americans
Ongoing and corrosively misogynistic actions against women
Offensively sexist rhetoric against women
Inadvertent admittance of sexual assault
Direct insults towards nearly 300 people on Twitter
Indirect offence against millions
We're going to need a few more heartwarming signs before we can process that.
More: Spotted outside a bookshop... the sign that perfectly sums up 2016