We all have a cultural frame of reference. Mine is The Blues Brothers. I love that film. Always have. And one line always springs to mind (strange mind; what can I say?) at certain times. “I hate Illinois Nazis!” said John Belushi’s ‘Jake’ just before they drove their car straight into a whole procession of swastika-wearing, jack-booted white supremacists. Because in the 1970s movies you could actually use a swastika. Especially if you wanted to mock, ridicule and humiliate it.

I’m gonna reckon Donald Trump didn’t see that movie. Because he has absolutely no discernible sense of humour and very little concept of ‘enjoyment’ that doesn’t involve golf balls or sexual assault. But if he had, he wouldn’t have liked that scene. Because I reckon Donald doesn’t share Jake’s hatred of Illinois Nazis. I reckon he’d have justified their viewpoint, mitigated their swastikas, defended their right to free speech and told of how they’re misunderstood and entitled to their side of the argument.

On Saturday, in the aftermath of the Christchurch massacre, Donald stated that there is no rise in right-wing extremism. Even though the general consensus would indicate otherwise. Strongly. But maybe its just a matter of perspective, of starting point, of definition. Because Donald was heavily involved with the alt-right, with Steve Bannon, with Breitbart News, so it could be that he’s more ‘normalised’ to right wing thought. If he thinks at all.

Donald Trump was endorsed by David Duke, the former grand-imperial-tosser of the KKK. Then he chose to re-tweet an horrendously Islamophobic comment by the dozy bitch from England First (or whatever they call themselves) who named her baby Adolph and is currently in prison for inciting racial hatred.

Then there was the terrible attack by the white supremacist on a black protest, where the Nazi murdered people with his car. To which Donald thought ‘both sides were to blame’. One side for protesting and being black, the other by committing mass murder with a car. That’s even.

So for Donald, there is no ‘sudden upsurge’ in neo-naziism. For him its always been there, its always been acceptable, its always just a slight extension of his own personal views. Banning all Muslims was his idea. Building a wall to keep out Mexicans is certainly his idea. So a slight slippage to all-out white supremacist ideology is not very far. Though I think he calls it ‘orange supremacy’.

No accusations. I’m just sayin’…

Happy Sunday

A xxxx