A new petition from the SPLC and an organization of teachers is calling on Donald Trump to denounce violence being carried out in his name.
Tens of thousands of people marched in streets across the United States on Saturday, staging the fourth day of protests of Trump’s surprise victory as president. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
WASHINGTON ― After responsible stewardship of the nuclear arsenal, perhaps the most import role an American president sets is setting a tone that guides how millions of people will act.
In the aftermath of the election of Donald Trump, acts of violence and intimidation against the groups that he singled out during the campaign have been reported across the country, and are being tracked by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Ethiopian immigrant Yemaj Adem, for instance, was attacked in Grand Rapids on Nov. 12 by a man in his cab who started punching him and shouting, “Trump! Trump! Trump!”
The man was arrested, but he continued making racist comments about Adem in the back of the police car. “When I heard that Trump word, I knew this was something different,” Adem said, according to an article on the incident in the local Michigan press.
“I understand there’s a few people that have been brainwashed with hate speech,” he said. “And I’m not labeling everyone like this guy, but there are some out there.”
In an interview with “60 Minutes” after the election, Trump was asked about the surge in hate crimes. “I am so saddened to hear that,” he told CBS journalist Lesley Stahl. “And I say, ‘Stop it.’ If it ― if it helps, I will say this, and I will say right to the cameras: ‘Stop it.’”
The admonition was applauded, though some said it felt a bit like like Trump sounded as if he were chastising unruly children rather than condemning serious acts of violence.
Either way, the attacks have not stopped. Now, nearly two weeks after the election, The Southern Poverty Law Center, the American Federation of Teachers and The Huffington Post are joining together to create a petition calling on Trump to make stopping the violence one of his highest priorities.
“We ask that you keep your promise by loudly, forcefully, unequivocally and consistently denouncing these acts and the ideology that drives them,” the petition states.“We ask you to use your position, your considerable platform and even your tweets to send a clear message that hate has no place in our public discourse, in our public policy or in our society.”
When it comes to Trump, whatever one may think of him, at least two things are clear: He wants to go down in history as a great, or perhaps the greatest, president ever, and he cares very deeply what people think about him and how he is performing.
In some ways, Trump may be more likely to be influenced by mass petitions and shifts in public opinion than presidents before him, who were grounded more firmly in their politics by partisan leanings or ideology. For the president-elect, though, there is only Trump, and greatness. If he can be persuaded that the regular acts of violence carried out by his supporters in his name ― quite literally in his name, as in cases like Adem’s attacker ― then he may decide that tamping them down is something he needs to do. If so, lives could be saved.
