There seem to be quite a few people enamored with the the idea of disrupting a Trump rally. I’m afraid of what will happen to protesters at future rallies, and I think the disruption will play into Trump’s hands.
I think it’s informative to discuss John McGraw, the white man who sucker punched a young black protester who was being led out of a Trump rally a couple of days ago. Was he sorry about it? Is he rethinking his use of violence? A subsequent interview with him indicates that is not the case:
“You bet I liked it. Knocking the hell out of that big mouth.”
. . .
“Yes, he deserved it. The next time we see him, we might have to kill him. We don’t know who he is. He might be with a terrorist organization.”
That is the mindset of Trump supporters. We may think protest and confrontation is a good thing, but many Trump supporters are people who seek and rejoice in violence. They will view serious violence at a rally as a good thing, not a bad thing. Violence and disruption will not dissuade them, it will enhance their support for Trump and draw more people to Trump. People who have, as Vox calls it, “latent authoritarianism,” which may be triggered by the perceived threat of the protesting outsiders. Think about the right-wing radicals who were mindlessly drawn to the Oregon wildlife refuge for . . . for what? Patriotism? Grazing rights? They didn’t know themselves, but they brought lots of guns.
Trump supporters were surprised at the Chicago protest, but they won’t be surprised at future ones. Disrupting his rallies is playing into his hands. And when it comes to violence, his supporters like it, seek it, and are better at it than we are. We should be focusing on supporting the Democratic nominee, and giving voters a choice for civil society and the rule of law.