Log in

Login to your account

Username *
Password *
Remember Me
  • Forgot your password?
  • Forgot your username?
Facebook linkedin Twitter RSS
logo
  • Home
  • Elana
    • Dr. Elana Maryles Sztokman
    • Elana's Books
    • Media Appearances
    • Speaking Engagements
    • Consulting Services
    • Resources
  • Blog
    • Gender Issues in Education
    • Gender in Judaism and Orthodoxy
    • Gender in Israel
    • Politics and Leadership
    • Economics, business and working life
    • Body Issues
    • Men, boys and masculinities
    • Spirituality
    • Social Activism
    • Random Musings
  • Books
    • The Men's Section
      • Book Events
      • Book Q&A
      • Book Reviews
    • Educating in the Divine Image
      • Book Events
      • Book Q&A
      • Book Reviews
    • The War on Women in Israel
    • Masala Mamas
      • Book Events
      • Book Q&A
      • Book Reviews
  • Contact
  • Jewish Feminism Telecourse
    • About
    • FAQ
    • Sign Up
    • BRAND NEW TELECOURSE from JewFem.com
    • Desire: Favorite Readings
  • Discussions
Print

The Trump Effect part 2: It's not politics -- It's verbal violence

JewFem Blog: Random Musings
Elana Sztokman
Thursday, 19 January 2017
2260 Hits
1 Comment

“Build the wall! Fuck those dirty beaners!” screamed a man at a Trump rally in early 2016.[2]

 “You can’t trust Latinos. Some maybe, but not most,” said protesters at another Trump rally. “Immigrants aren’t people, honey,” another responded. “You know them crazy black girls, how they are.”[4] 

“Fuck Islam! God bless Donald Trump!” screamed a man at another Trump rally, who was also wearing a t-shirt with big, block letters that read “Fuck Islam”. Another man screamed, “Islam is not a religion, it’s an ideology [sic].” He moved closer to the man in front of him, raising his fists, and said, “You don’t come here and talk about America when you are supporting Muslims.” A sign nearby read “Sieg Heil”. [6]  A Georgia high-school teacher who wears a hijab received a threatening note on her desk that read, “Your head scarf isn’t allowed anymore. Why don’t you tie it around your neck and hang yourself,” signed “America!”[8]. The same day, "Make America White Again" was spray-painted on a softball dugout in upstate New York, along with a large swastika.[10]

“We got a new president you fucking faggots,” strangers screamed at Chris Ball as he watched the election results at a bar in Santa Monica. When he left the bar, a group of men violent attacked him, smashing a bottle over his head until he fell to the pavement and lost consciousness.   

This is The Trump Effect, the impact of hateful political speech on people’s everyday interactions with those who they see as different from themselves. It is what happens when people do not see the other as a whole person but rather insists on classifying the other based entirely on physical attributes – the color of their skin, their ethnicity, their gender, their sexual orientation, their clothing, their bodies.

The Trump Effect is the legitimizing of hate-filled, bigoted abuse.  And it is real.

According to a study of over 2000 teachers conducted by the Southern Poverty Law Center about the ways in which the election brought hate into American schools, called "The Trump Effect: The Impact of the Presidential Campaign on Our Nation’s Schools," there is “an increase in the bullying, harassment and intimidation of students whose races, religions or nationalities have been the verbal targets of candidates.”[12]

Trump was not like any other candidate, and 2016 was unlike any other election. We are living in a time when toxic, vitriolic, hateful abuse has entered the public sphere and is now mistaken for legitimate, political discourse.

But make no mistake: This is not politics. This is verbal violence.


[2] Mayra Cuevas, 'Trump' as anti-Latino epithet: Ugly incidents at high school games. CNN, March 1, 2016 http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/01/us/midwest-trump-school-chants/

[4] Joseph Serna, Principal on leave for alleged anti-Trump comments; student who voiced support for Trump attacked. LA Times, November 11, 2016 http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-trump-students-targeted-20161110-story.html

[6] Joseph Serna, Principal on leave for alleged anti-Trump comments; student who voiced support for Trump attacked. LA Times, November 11, 2016 http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-trump-students-targeted-20161110-story.html

[8] Cory Zurowski, Maple Grove students greeted with 'fuck niggers' the day after election, City Pages, November 9, 2016  http://www.citypages.com/news/maple-grove-students-greeted-with-fuck-niggers-the-day-after-election/400601921

[10] Ashley Parker, Nick Corasaniti and Erica Berenstein, Voices from Donald Trump’s Rallies, uncensored. New York Times, Aug 3, 2016 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/us/politics/donald-trump-supporters.html?_r=2

[12] Kuang Keng Kuek Ser, What's the 'Trump Effect' in schools? Here's how 2,000 teachers explain it. PRI,  April 20, 2016 · https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-04-20/whats-trump-effect-schools-heres-how-2000-teachers-explain-it

Tweet
Tags:
the trump effect verbal violence
Counting women in prayer
The Trump Effect

About the author

Elana Sztokman

Elana Sztokman

The JewFem blog is written by the award-winning writer Dr. Elana Maryles Sztokman, former Executive Director of JOFA, the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance. Elana's books include The Men’s Section: Orthodox Jewish Men in an Egalitarian World, which won the 2012 National Jewish Book Council Award for Women's Studies, Educating in the Divine Image: Gender Issues in Orthodox Jewish Day Schools, which won the 2013 National Jewish Book Council Award for Education (co-authored with Chaya Gorsetman), and the forthcoming The War on Women in Israel: How Religious Radicalism is Stifling the Voice of a Nation Elana writes frequently at The Forward, Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post, Lilith, and more.

Author's recent posts
More posts from author
Friday, 22 January 2021 Inauguration: I'm breathing again
Friday, 22 January 2021 What happened to the women erased in the biblical genealogy?
Friday, 22 January 2021 What if Moses were a woman? Here's what would happen
Sunday, 20 December 2020 NEW RELEASE: Conversations with my Body
Friday, 16 October 2020 If you think Trump is a friend of the Jews, you are a 'freier'

Related Posts

The Trump Effect

JewFem Blog: Random Musings
 

Comments 1

Already Registered? Login Here
Guest
Guest - Teaneck Jew on Friday, 20 January 2017 07:26

Just more anti-Trump slander. Contrary to the liberal-progressive narrative, whose members can't seem to swim out of their sea of tears through the fog of their cognitive dissonance, most Trump supporters are not racists or bigots or homophobes. Most simply want a business person who, despite some lack of polish, would do a FAR better job leading this country than an entrenched liberal who is carelessly incompetent at best and criminal at worst.

0
Just more anti-Trump slander. Contrary to the liberal-progressive narrative, whose members can't seem to swim out of their sea of tears through the fog of their cognitive dissonance, most Trump supporters are not racists or bigots or homophobes. Most simply want a business person who, despite some lack of polish, would do a FAR better job leading this country than an entrenched liberal who is carelessly incompetent at best and criminal at worst.
Cancel Update Comment

About Elana

elana sztokman photoDr. Elana Maryles Sztokman is an award-winning author, and leading Jewish feminist thinker, educator and activist. The former the Executive Director of JOFA, the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, Elana writes and speaks all around the world about gender issues in Jewish life, in education and in Israel.

Copyright © 2015 Elana Sztokman. All Rights Reserved.
Website created by LiteSites