Donald Trump, Catholics, and the Scourge of Racism

Donald Trump, Catholics, and the Scourge of Racism

Gerald J. Beyer

Racism has never disappeared from the U.S. landscape. In spite of some ill-founded claims about a post-racial nation, racism has continued to manifest itself profoundly through the Obama years. But the spike in racist hate crimes and bigotry since Donald Trump’s election should shock the conscience of every American.

In my home town of Philadelphia, every first-year black student at the University of Pennsylvania recently received via a social media app messages with “scheduled lynchings.” The messages were sent using the pseudonym “Daddy Trump.”

On the day after the election, which was also the anniversary of Kristallnacht, several buildings in South Philadelphia were sprayed with “Sieg Heil 2016” and “Trump.” Swastikas were used to in lieu of the “T” in the president-elect’s name.

Such repugnant hate crimes and intimidation have taken place elsewhere in the region and in many other parts of the country since the election – some at Catholic institutions. The Southern Poverty Law Center reports 876 incidents in the ten days after the election.

As Catholic ethicist Megan Clark contends, calls for superficial unity in the face of this intolerable bigotry will not do.
We must all stand up and act – now.

For the full article see: http://www.politicaltheology.com/blog/donald-trump-catholics-and-the-scourge-of-racism-gerald-j-beyer/