On December 10 , around 200 community members, including faith-based individuals and activists, gathered outside the Sheraton Hotel in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to protest an appearance by Donald Trump. Trump was invited by the New England Police Benevolent Association, a regional police union, to deliver a speech and outline his reactionary vision for the United States.
The protest was organized by the American Friends Service Committee and Occupy Seacoast and was supported by local members of the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism). The Leftist Marching Band, a grassroots group of progressive musicians, also played to entertain the crowd. The protesters boldly declared “Black Lives Matter,” “We Welcome Refugees” and “Islam is Peace; Hate Does not Grow on Granite,” (a reference to New Hampshire’s nickname “the Granite State”).
Hundreds brought homemade signs with messages of peace, solidarity with Muslims and Arabs as well as a large LED light sign which read “LOVE > HATE.” ANSWER supporters brought signs that read “The face of racism” which sported a cartoon of Trump’s face as well as signs reading “Immigrant and refugee rights are human rights.”
Compared to the hundreds of protesters, about 30 Trump supporters gathered outside and played “We’re Not Gunna Take It” by Twisted Sister on repeat. The song choice was fairly ironic considering that Trump’s campaign is all about maintaining the same backwards capitalist power relations that have ruled here for centuries. His campaign thrives on racism, sexism, homophobia and ableism. Additionally, Trump rolled in late with a security detail, a luxury not provided to Muslim and Arab Americans who are being physically attacked as a result of his racist diatribes.
Unsurprisingly, the police “union” (an oxymoron for anyone seriously involved with the labor movement) endorsed Trump’s far right plan for the United States. During the speech, Trump unveiled a policy position that calls for the mandatory use of the death penalty for individuals found guilty of killing police officers in addition to the further militarization of police forces across the country. Trump’s vision for the United States turns reality on its head; police officers who have been armed to the teeth and are harassing communities of color with occupation-style tactics are not the victims here. Rather, it is oppressed communities which are plagued by police terror and the violence resulting from the capitalist system that need protection. People like Freddie Gray, Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin, all killed by white supremacy, won’t see justice under this system while killer cops and vigilantes walk free.
Regardless of Trump’s literal relationship with fascism, a few things are clear. Trump’s campaign is emboldening open fascists, white supremacists and Neo-Nazis. Trump’s campaign and its active legitimization by the bourgeois press is setting a dangerous precedent for future right-wing candidates and supporters. The corporate media’s coddling of Trump’s boisterous racism is an insult to all progressive-minded and anti-racist Americans. Finally, Trump’s campaign has some embryonic qualities that fascist movements champion such as extreme nationalism, racist scapegoating, framing working class white men as victims, rampant militarism and “law and order” policies that significantly curtail civil liberties and alternative thought.
The event demonstrated that even in small communities, Trump’s racist and Islamophobic ideas are not to be ignored or tolerated. People from all walks of life came out to denounce Trump’s hateful rhetoric. From New Hampshire to New York and Las Vegas, Trump won’t be able to outrun the tide of history. All progressive people should resist Trump’s campaign and stand in solidarity in particular all those who are forced to deal with the consequences of his hate speech daily.
