I recently saw Dave Chappelle being interviewed on CNN and the one thing that stuck with me from that exchange was his assertion that he still could not understand how families and friendships had been frayed due to politics. What I don’t understand is how Chappelle could not comprehend such a thing.
We’re not in the realm of arguing over tax cuts and funding for Sesame Street and the NEA anymore; those quaint days are behind us. What we have now is a significant portion of our citizenry supporting a PROVEN bigot, con man, misogynist, sexual predator and thief who cannot and will not acknowledge his role in fanning the flames of hatred and division in this country, not in the furtherance of an ideology or philosophy but simply to pamper his fragile ego. A man whose increasingly despicable actions and pronouncements are seen as daily reminders of past authoritarian regimes by those who have managed to survive them, including Holocaust survivors. And listen, I don’t know about you, but if someone who lived thru the horrors of Nazi Germany tells me to pay attention to what’s going down, I’m gonna pay attention.
Trump has drawn a line of blood in the sand, one that dares decent people to continue to follow him. And for many of us who see this waste of human life for what he truly is, being apologists for his followers is simply not possible.
In the end, my question is not why Mr. Chappelle doesn't understand the reason behind these aggressively divided families and friends, but why would he expect anyone to look the other way at an allegiance to the monster that has created this divide?
