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Comment by iamjeff | Hacker News Reader

This is my first ever post/comment on this site and, strangely, it is in admiration of a uniquely articulate comment (one of many on HN, frankly)on a rather timely and intriguing topic. I am far removed from the events in the US (2016 presidential elections). However, I am appalled that (US) presidential politics can degenerate into openly racist dialogue from the ultimate representative of a mainstream political party. I honestly thought that, in a post-Obama period, "identitarian" politics had been definitively repudiated. But as the Brexit vote, the European immigration crisis, and Trump's insurgent campaign have demonstrated, I was very wrong. Although there is no conspiracy here, I am lost as to what it means and, quite honestly, I suspect so are many others.

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> "identitarian" politics had been definitively repudiated

Sadly, everything creates its own reaction: the rise of a black person who contradicts all the negative stereotypes merely enrages those people for whom "white" is an important part of their identity. See also people getting angry about female Ghostbusters.

The republican party spent so long sending coded racist messages to their supporters that those supporters have forgotten that they were supposed to speak in code.

And perhaps this is the real tragedy: that the GOP machine, in its quest to achieve its political aims (protect its congressional dominance, subvert the Obama presidency, engineer a presidential comeback post-2008/2012), fomented racial divisions that will likely change the party's very identity (I fail to see how the GOP remains the same post-Trump). Admittedly, there were similar warnings from the punditry class after the Tea Party revolt (hello 2008 mid-terms and Boehner & Co.), but this time, the divisions, disenfranchisement, and emergence of the alt-right seem a little too real to be wished away. I have seen similar events play out in my country and agree with your earlier sentiment, >everything creates its own reaction.

> See also people getting angry about female Ghostbusters

Oh come on. From the reviews leaking out it sounds like Ghostbusters is a legit shitty movie. A spoiler for the ending is out there; go read it and tell me this isn't something a 5th grader would write. No, I haven't seen it, and I probably won't, and it has nothing to do with the fact that it is a female cast, but because it doesn't sound like something, based on the trailers and previews, that I would willingly spend money on.

No one complained when the main protagonists of Star Wars VII were a woman and a black man. (Or did they? I don't know, I certainly don't remember hearing it if they did.)

So... you have no idea, and you're not willing to find out, but you're sure you're right?

Obama (and other anti-racist wins) really just made the racists scared. They're not defeated, but they sense they are being pushed out and losing power, so they're fighting back.

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