Reflections/Jonathan Gramling
Beware of the Wolf
These are challenging times that we live in. As I have traveled around the community since November 5th, I have come across a lot of anxiety, particularly among the African American, Indigenous and Immigrant communities.
After the election, it was surprising to learn that there was an uptick in African American and Latine voters who voted for Donald Trump. We’re not talking about a massive movement towards Trump. As of today, December 11, Trump actually only earned 49.9 percent of the vote, less than 2.8 million votes over Kamala Harris. No matter how they act and what they say, this was not a landslide except in the Electoral College, which has always slanted toward rural states.
Donald Trump’s strategy was always to peel away at the constituencies that make up the Democratic Party. It was never his aim to appeal to the masses of African American and Latine voters. But he would say and do things that would peel away voters. Trump’s feinting towards criminal justice reform that had Kim Kardashian as the standard-bearer? It never happened
because Trump’s base would turn on him. But it was a way to pretend that he had Black men’s interests in mind.
Recently, Trump floated a trial balloon that he would consider letting DACA “Dreamers” stay in the U.S. and issue them a green card. He has always opposed this and I don’t see why he would change his stance now except to appease the Latines who voted for him knowing full-well that the Republican majorities in the Senate and House would never let that happen. Trump is such a sleazeball. He will say anything that benefits him even though it raises hopes before it dashes them.
And I firmly believe that he said this to appear reasonable before he begins his mass deportation of 11 or more million people on his first day of office. He is just creating political cover for himself before he tears apart the families of Dreamers and so many more immigrant families from around the world. Donald Trump doesn’t have an empathetic bone in his body. And for those who thinks he does, I can still sell you the Brooklyn Bridge.
I am glad that I live in Dane County. I’m going to just say this without having done any research that Dane County has one of the finest immigrant support systems in the United States. Dane County’s approach, in my view, is to treat immigrants as assets to the community, people who work hard to make their American Dreams come true and assists them in making that happen.
My people came to Wisconsin from Germany in 1847, one year before Wisconsin became a state. They worked hard to make their dairy farm in Dousman be sufficient to their needs and then some. Future generations became doctors, accountants, lawyers, judges, business people and so on, each contributing to American society. And that’s what today’s immigrants want, the chance to improve their lot and contribute to American society.
What hasw changed since 1847 is that the skin color of the immigrants has changed. Instead of Western Europeans and Eastern Europeans and people from the Mediterranean areas, the immigrant stream has shifted to Africa, Asia and Latin America. And people have had problems with that and so immigration reform has changed and died. It almost happened in the early 2000 between U.S. President George W. Bish and Mexican President Vicente Fox. But right-wingers torpedoed those efforts. Why should anyone think that things have changed? Trump certainly hasn’t.
All of the undocumented immigrants whom I have had the pleasure to meet have been trying to makie their way and do all that they can to achieve in the United States. When Trump talkes office in a little more than a month, he has pledged to immediately deport over 11 million people. And I am sure that DACA folks will not be exempt. And I wouldn’t be surprised if U.S. citizens got swept up in the effort and deported to countries they never knew. It happened in the U,S, in the 1930s in Southwestern U.S. It would probably happen again.
And it is interesting that the Republicans in Congress were trying to pass a bill that would allow Donald Trump, at a stroke of a pen, to revoke the non-profit status of organizations that opposed his efforts once he was sworn into office. And in the case of deportation, I would think that he would do this to non-profits who opposed his deportation measures or who would give legal assistance to those who would be affected.
I am privileged in this society. I feel for those who aren’t and are vulnerable to the measures that Donald Trump would invoke to appease his right-wing, White Nationalist, fundamental Christian constituency.
They are truly vulnerable and it is up to us, the privileged folks in Wisconsin, to defend their rights so that they can take advantage to improve their lives just as my — and your — ancestors once did.
Trump is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Don’t be fooled.