Name:   copperline - Subject:   More to come Date:   3/3/2016 10:26:07 AM

Unfortunately because of Trump's play for white racist voters, his rallies are now sure to attract protesters in coming months.  We'll be lucky if someone isn't killed as his supporters rage against black & minority activists.   It's what happens when you gin up hatred & fear in American politics,  not unlike when conservatives (and klansmen) show up to do their own protests.

My guess is that groups like Black Lives Matter and MoveOn will bring scores of young people to Trump rallies, and hopefully everyone will remain peaceful.   But the shoving, cursing and aggression shown by Trump supporters is newsworthy and deserves to be televised.   People practicing civil disobedience protest strategies have been roughed up thousands of times since the Civil Rights Movement, and Trump may well reinvigorate them to put themselves on the line again.

Sadly, not everyone will be willing to be punched & cursed while turning the other cheek.  That will not be a plus for our side at all, but it will serve to put Trump's people on display.

I have been reading that Trump's nomination will recreate the Goldwater debacle for the GOP, and that may be true.  More scary to me, and I think really possible, is that the GOP convention ends up looking like the Chicago Democratic Convention in 1968.   At the time, the radicals of the Democratic party ran us off the rails and alienated the electorate for years afterward.  All that needs to happen is for Trump's hate-based campaign to trigger massive protester turn-out & street conflicts with his minions could easily erupt.   

Nonetheless, I'd remind everyone that peaceful protesting is legal, even if it occurs in the middle of a political rally.  Heck, that's where they do the most good.   As a Democrat, I won't regret the diminished influence of the GOP but I really don't want to see the US political process become more embittered & destructive than it already has become.

The take away:   Hate speech breeds anger.   Anger leads to violence.   When you preach intolerance, you shouldn't be surprised when it brings bad Karma.