The University has experienced many incidents of hate speech anonymously written on Grounds this semester. Though we do not live in a society absent of this rhetoric, we do not see ourselves as a University community that would foster this sort of thought. So why are we having so many incidents of anonymous, bigoted graffiti on grounds? The problem is these last eight years, racism and hatred have become legitimized, especially by the Republican Party. Everyone who has allowed for this movement to grow has contributed to these incidents in their own way.
This trend has its origin in the 2008 election of President Barack Obama. Though it rarely receives comment now, Obama being the first black president remains significant. His election gave minorities the feeling they finally had their voice being heard in the highest parts of the government. But it also made some people feel like the country was being run by someone who did not belong there.
The view of Obama as illegitimate was only a fringe view at first, but before long it gained wider appeal. People claimed Obama was a Muslim with little factual basis other than that he is black. 49 percent of Republicans still believe he is a Muslim according to a 2015 poll. This claim supports the idea that being a Muslim makes Obama unfit to be president, which is ridiculous, along with making him even more of an “other” than he already is.
There is also the issue of the birth certificate, which was demanded by Donald Trump because Obama looked different than how many people expect presidents should look. This controversy lasted for years despite the claim being patently ridiculous. Other presidents did not have to deal with these non-scandals questioning the very legitimacy of their rule. Race is the clear underpinning to the conspiracy-level paranoia that surrounds Obama, and the legitimization of this logic by lawmakers and the media has only helped to reinforce this racial thinking.
At the same time as an “imposter” inhabited the White House, the country got much more diverse. This has caused a great deal of fear, especially among the Republican base. The problem with this fear is it is based more in racist feeling than fact. It is not hard to find stories about problems immigrants and minorities have caused. However, these are nothing more than anecdotes. Immigrants commit fewer violent crimes than naturally-born Americans and actually benefit the overall economy. It is telling that communities with the least amount of diversity are the one’s who are most worried about immigrants. This conviction is not solely due to hard personal experience or facts, but also an inherently racist belief. With the media and Trump constantly affirming these racially biased views, it is no surprise that some of our own student body have taken them on.
The threatening presence of the Black Lives Matter movement has only served as vehicles to further push this racist narrative.The rise of BLM has created fear in many people, with some going as far as blaming the group for the fatal shooting of two cops. These people see BLM as a terrorist group, denying any value the group could have in empowering blacks who have a fear of the police in their communities. But these protesters are held to a much higher and more critical standard by the far-right than others who have committed the same, or worse crimes. Only a few days ago, a mentally-ill man connected with white nationalism ambushed and killed two cops. There has been virtually no coverage of this. What do you think the headlines would be like if a black or Muslim man had done it?
I hate to make this a partisan issue, because it really shouldn’t be, but I truly believe the Republican Party is making this racist mindset legitimate. Only one party is trying to suppress minority votes, and only one party has nominated and stood behind a consistently racist candidate. Conservative media like Breitbart obviously contributed to this as well. It is no surprise that in light of this rhetoric people feel emboldened to express their bigoted opinions on where the country is going.
As ugly as this election has become, it has also highlighted the courage of some Republicans who have made a principled stand. Conservatism is not about us vs. them, and I think it is only a matter time until the basic principles of individual rights and small government reassert themselves in the party. But for now there is a strong movement in the party and country that legitimizes racism. If we want to fight bigotry on Grounds, purging racism from the right would be a good place to start.
Bobby Doyle is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at b.doyle@cavalierdaily.com.
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