They came to Madison Square Garden to tell a city that is home to more than a million Puerto Ricans that they may be U.S. citizens but nevertheless they are “garbage.” They came to declare that New York and all of America’s big cities are infested with crime being committed by dangerous marauding gangs of immigrants.
They came to Madison Square Garden to tell New Yorkers that several million of them will be deported if their Great Leader is elected president next week. They came to Madison Square Garden to tell New Yorkers that if Trump is elected he will drastically cut the 75% chance they have of being killed when they go down into the subways. They came to Madison Square Garden to tell New Yorkers that if Trump is elected he will turn the National Guard and the military loose on them if they engage in protest demonstrations.
Despite all of this, none of the Trumpites, as should have been expected if their leader was telling the truth about America’s big cities, was attacked while they were in New York. Not even when they left the Garden late at night, heading for any one of an endless variety of eateries to enjoy food from around the world. Thousands tasted some of the best pizza in the country without even a thought about the criminals who weren’t coming to attack them.
No one mugged the Trumpites. No one robbed them. No one raped them. No one did any of the things to them that Trump assured them was the lot of people in big cities.
If they happened to get lost while navigating Manhattan, chances are the folks who gave them directions to their desired destination were some of the vicious immigrants Trump had told them about.
Many of the 20,000 at the hate rally learned firsthand, if they cared to give the matter any thought, that they were actually in one of the safest places in America. The per capita crime rate in New York is lower than in many towns in rural America. The fear Trump has stoked among the people of the nation has prevented millions from exploring and experiencing the positive aspects of life in our big cities.
As they stepped outside of Madison Square Garden, the Trumpites found themselves in a city brimming with enormous multi-racial, multi-national crowds, heading home from work or out looking for entertainment. Hopefully some of the positive vibes rubbed off on at least a few of the Trumpites. The thinking ones among them had to have realized that the alleged horror show that Trump said is America’s urban areas is nothing more than another of his big lies.
If they stayed in New York for an extra day, they would have learned the truth about the subway system and how widely used and safe it is. The trains were full of people headed to the World Series game at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Tickets to those games are extremely expensive, so many of those folks were quite wealthy. In New York, the subway gets you everywhere faster than you can get there in a private vehicle, so everyone, rich and poor, rides the trains – none of them expecting to be killed every time they ride, as Trump would have us believe.
The reality of New York, lived by its native born and its immigrants, is nothing like the false and dark picture painted by Trump, an image he conjures up to scare and gin up votes for his fascist program. It’s the time-tested way in which fascists build support for their policies. They spread hate which is designed to divide and conquer.
In a few days, we have our chance to take an important step in what will be a protracted fight against fascism in America. That first step will be voting to keep Trump from getting back into the White House and electing Kamala Harris instead. After that we will have much more to do, but let’s start by taking that essential first step.
As with all op-eds published by People’s World, this article reflects the views of its author.
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