What is most unfortunate is that the violence-prone aspects of "Trumpism" were both predictable and preventable.
In 1968, when I was still in elementary school, the Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago during the last week of August.
Although I was young, I remember seeing the convention on my family's small black-and-white television. I will never forget the riots that weighed heavily on the entire nation. The murders of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy; a growing intolerance of the Vietnam War and the military draft; the civil rights movement and a political system determined to "take America back" all converged at the end of a long, hot, summer. The result was mayhem.
As I watched on TV, on the streets outside the convention, 10,000 young protesters fought with twice as many police officers and National Guardsmen. I didn't fully comprehend what was happening. Looking back, I see that a national movement was taking place, and all of America, as well as the international community, were witnesses.
This July, the Republican National Convention will be held in Cleveland, and the mood of the Donald Trump faction is seemingly more ugly and violence-prone than the "old guard" in 1968. Reportedly, the City of Cleveland is accepting bids for thousands of police riot suits, collapsible batons and steel barricades, and likely stocking up on tear gas. In other words, they are preparing for the worst, and rightfully so.
Over the last several weeks, Trump rallies have gotten progressively more brazen and violent. I would not be surprised if someone is seriously injured or killed.
You have seen black students at Valdosta State University forcibly removed from a Trump rally on their campus for no justifiable reason. You have seen black and Muslim protesters assaulted, pushed and kicked, with objects thrown at them as they are dragged away by Trump's staff.
On March 9 in North Carolina, 78-year-old Trump supporter John McGraw sucker-punched a protester who was already being escorted out of a Trump event. McGraw later stated he enjoyed "knocking the hell out of that big mouth". He continued, "We don't know who he is, but we know he's not acting like an American ... The next time we see him we might have to kill him."
A threat to kill a man because he has different political beliefs has mostly gone unchallenged. Meanwhile, free-speech advocates remain silent. A few days ago, Trump stated that his supporters may riot if he is denied the GOP presidential nomination.
What we are witnessing reflects the attitudes of many who are empowered by Trump's "tough guy" rhetoric and persona. That 78-year-old in North Carolina is basically repeating what he and other Trump backers have heard from the candidate. How long before they act upon it? The convention in Cleveland looks like a powder keg, and the fuse has been lit.
What is most unfortunate is that this situation, this "Trumpism," was both predictable and preventable.
Eight years ago a new faction reared its head within the Republican Party, angry that a black man, Democrat Barrack Obama, had been elected as president. They mobilized coast to coast to destroy and discredit his presidency. The president endured false personal attacks directed at him and his family. He was derisively labeled a Muslim, then a socialist, and even a terrorist.
Soon thereafter, Donald Trump became the face of the "birther movement," foolishly questioning his citizenship and hisState of Hawaii birth certificate. Some elected officials felt so empowered to be disrespectful that in 2009, as Obama gave a speech to Congress, a Republican South Carolina congressman interrupted him by yelling out, "You lie."
During all of this, most Republican leadership was silent. Many were happy to see a tide of anger and animosity rising against Obama, and plotting how to use it to their political advantage.
Other than John McCain -- Obama's 2008 GOP opponent who firmly but politely advised a supporter that Obama was not an "Arab" as she perceived -- Republican leaders failed to shut down the rhetoric. After Mitt Romney became the 2012 GOP nominee, he welcomed Trump's support, ignoring his incendiary statements.
Only now, when Trump is perceived as a threat to the GOP establishment, have leaders like Romney admitted publicly that things are out of control. But his press conference imploring Republican voters not to support Trump is akin to what happens when you bring home a lion cub as a pet. The little fella teething on your hand seemed to be so cute, when it really was instinctively practicing to eat you once it got big and strong enough to do so.
Now there is a full grown, hungry lion outside the door, and the GOP establishment is no longer in charge.
They are not seated at the table.
They are on the menu.
Milton W. Hinton Jr. is director of equal opportunity for the Gloucester County government. He is past president of the Gloucester County Branch NAACP. His column states his personal views, not those of any organization or agency. Email: mwhjr678@gmail.com.