Trump’s US is a ‘white’ one

Even though racial attacks and murders are not new to the US, hatemongers have found their new poster boy in President Donald Trump. Trump has never minced his words in trashing immigrants, touting slogan like “Let’s Make America Great Again.”

According to observers, the racists have literally started reading between the lines of Trump’s “America First” philosophy and decoded his message to mean the US is a country exclusively for the “white” people. This has emboldened racists to hurl loaded comments against and indulge in attacks on immigrants.

These observers believe that the racial hatred planted by Trump in the minds of Americans has led to the murder of techie Srinivas Kuchibhotla from Hyderabad. According to statistics, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of racist incidents and vandalism ever since Trump entered the US presidential campaign.

The prevalent gun culture has also been a major concern. Observers say that if the anti-gun measures are strictly implemented, the number of casualties could be reduced. According to the Congressional Research Service, Americans have about 30 crore guns. Some sceptics ask as to why the US government is inactive about checking the proliferation of guns.

Anand Giridharadas, author of ‘The True American and India Calling’, explained about the Kansas murder in a series of Twitter posts: “Trump makes the statements, goes back to his chefs, and is jet-set. But there are aimless Americans who take his words (and act).” When Trump spreads his idea of Americanness-as-whiteness, he and his rich friends can laugh about the brilliant tactic to woo votes. “But people listen. And a small fraction of those who listen will arm themselves (and indulge in violence). And people will die.” Predictably, White House press secretary Sean Spicer dismissed any correlation between Trump’s remarks and Srinivas Kuchibhotla’s murder.