I was unpleasantly surprised when two of my friends recently confessed that they admired Trump.
It was particularly strange as one of them is Maori and the other is gay.
I tried to understand where they were coming from.
Here is a man who espouses xenophobic, homophobic, Islamophobic, racist and misogynistic views.
Even if he is merely pandering to his supporters, how can you admire someone who would do such a thing?
How can you admire someone who is has a low regard for your sexual orientation and would have no sympathy toward your historic struggles?
Maybe it's the fact that we all live in New Zealand where the threat of him affecting our daily lives seems too remote.
I can't admire or "give him credit" for being openly racist.
"He's not afraid to say what some people are thinking," they say.
So he's essentially amazing for taking advantage of the fears of ignorant white people who think their "way of life" and "American values" are under threat?
It was telling when The Daily Show sent reporters to interview Republicans on the subject of when "America was last great."
Most of the interviewees named dates before women could vote and when slavery was still legal.
Now we know what "Make America Great Again" really means. It means restoring it to a time when white, mostly Christian males held all the power.
But even if this could be brought about there is still the fact that a certain poofy haired oompah loompah isn't exactly a man of the people.
He's a wealthy businessman, one of the elite who throw their money at Congress to buy favors and chip away at democracy.
When I asked my gay friend why he admired Trump his response was because Hillary was corrupt.
I suppose he hadn't read about the $250,000 that Trump funneled from his charity to defend himself from lawsuits.
I also suppose he's never heard about the con game known as Trump University.
Look, it was fun for a while.
Even I enjoyed watching Trump trounce the GOP candidates who were trying to do business as usual but that was before he became the actual party candidate.
Now it's not amusing.
It's not funny.
As much as I don't hold the land of my birth particularly dear, I still care enough about my friends and relations there to want better things for them than Donald J Trump.
It was particularly strange as one of them is Maori and the other is gay.
I tried to understand where they were coming from.
Here is a man who espouses xenophobic, homophobic, Islamophobic, racist and misogynistic views.
Even if he is merely pandering to his supporters, how can you admire someone who would do such a thing?
How can you admire someone who is has a low regard for your sexual orientation and would have no sympathy toward your historic struggles?
Maybe it's the fact that we all live in New Zealand where the threat of him affecting our daily lives seems too remote.
I can't admire or "give him credit" for being openly racist.
"He's not afraid to say what some people are thinking," they say.
So he's essentially amazing for taking advantage of the fears of ignorant white people who think their "way of life" and "American values" are under threat?
It was telling when The Daily Show sent reporters to interview Republicans on the subject of when "America was last great."
Most of the interviewees named dates before women could vote and when slavery was still legal.
Now we know what "Make America Great Again" really means. It means restoring it to a time when white, mostly Christian males held all the power.
But even if this could be brought about there is still the fact that a certain poofy haired oompah loompah isn't exactly a man of the people.
He's a wealthy businessman, one of the elite who throw their money at Congress to buy favors and chip away at democracy.
When I asked my gay friend why he admired Trump his response was because Hillary was corrupt.
I suppose he hadn't read about the $250,000 that Trump funneled from his charity to defend himself from lawsuits.
I also suppose he's never heard about the con game known as Trump University.
Look, it was fun for a while.
Even I enjoyed watching Trump trounce the GOP candidates who were trying to do business as usual but that was before he became the actual party candidate.
Now it's not amusing.
It's not funny.
As much as I don't hold the land of my birth particularly dear, I still care enough about my friends and relations there to want better things for them than Donald J Trump.
