The New Other

It occurs to me that in the 8 years since Barack Obama was elected, a tremendous shift has occurred in this country. Think about it. A black man was elected president. This same president has drafted a policy that illegal immigrants be given a “path to citizenship,” Gays and lesbians are now entitled to legal marriages, Muslims are becoming more visible in communities around the U.S., and a woman is now knocking on he door to the Presidency.

What do these five groups of people have in common? Well, 20 years ago, they were all considered part of The Other. The Other simply refers to people that are not like us. And “us” means those people who would be happier in an all-white, all Christian, all-straight, and all-American world where a man is king and a woman his help-meet, whatever that is.

So far I haven’t said anything new, right? This has been true for 100 years or more; maybe forever, but let’s say at least 100 in the U.S. Heretofore, the traditionalists (at least those who were not Deep South Segregationists) were content to remain relatively quiet, especially after the resounding slap in the face of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the more moderate wrist slap of Title IX in 1972, which, among other things, gave girls and women equal access to sports in schools. These laws stung, but the traditionalists could take some comfort in the fact that blacks and women were still minorities in the workforce and in politics. The LGBT communities were still there to be despised, beat up, and spat on, and the only Muslims in the news (members of the Nation of Islam) were seen as just another radical African-American  sect.

But then something happened. Obama was elected. A black man had risen above all the whites and was now running things—at least as much as he could given the Old White Traditionalist Establishment in Congress. Then he came out for the LGBT community and a put forward a path to citizenship for illegals. Muslims—who were all now seen as terrorists by the traditionalists, were protected by law. And finally, holy hell, a woman was not only running for president under the banner of a major party, but she was expected to win.

Suddenly, the traditionalists, who for decades or centuries had viewed all Others with suspicion, found themselves in the minority. They have, in fact, become The Other. The New Other. Their attachment to Donald Trump is a simple reaction to this. After all, he has disparaged nearly every minority group there is. In fact, his entire appeal has been in his perceived misogyny, homophobia, racism, Christian superiority, and threats to throw many of these groups out of the country.

I used the word perceived in the last paragraph because nobody really knows where Trump stands on any issue. For instance, although he has promised his supporters that he will appoint a Scalia-like Supreme Court justice that will repeal the LGTB marriage law, the latest name on his short list is gay billionaire Peter Theil. Go figure.

That’s just it; you can’t figure a guy like Trump. The New Others—who are now in his camp—have no other choice. It is obvious that Hillary Clinton will move toward more progress—which will alienate Trump’s supporters even more, cause them to be further marginalized, like they have marginalized so many for so long.

But think of this, in trying to suppress these New Others, we are not trying to suppress an ethnic group, a particular religion (as many New Others protest), or a gender. We are trying to stamp out an idea that one group is more important than another, that a person is less valuable because of being a woman, a Muslim, gay, and the like. And that, I think, is a valuable goal.