Hillary’s “Deplorables”: A Necessary Comment
On Sept. 9, Hillary Clinton spoke at the LGBT Gala for Hillary in New York City. Her speech became controversial for just one paragraph. The media highlight of the speech was her comment on Donald Trump supporters: “You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic—you name it.” The 2016 race has been centered around insults. And although Hillary Clinton’s remarks may not be backed by any statistic, the statement made was a bold, yet necessary move for Hillary to make.
Throughout this whole presidential race, Donald Trump has never been shy regarding his views about his opponent. With terms such as “Crooked Hillary,” Trump has insulted Hillary without provocation or response. Tossing political correctness out the window, Trump speaks his mind regarding Clinton without a thought or hesitation. Trump is not the only one who voices his opinions in a brutal manner—his followers do it with just as much ignorance. Violence and vulgar language at Trump rallies are a representation of what his campaign stands for. Disgusting language has been used against minorities, entire religions and Clinton herself. After months of personal insults and no proportional response, Hillary has finally delivered a punch. As this comment that Hillary made is one of the first that can be paralleled with Trump’s comments, the media has had a field day. Yet the thing that is nonsensical is the overwhelmingly negative reaction to the comment. These kinds of gross generalizations have become commonplace in this election. If Trump hits hard, Hillary should hit harder. That is how elections work.
In addition to backlash towards the comment, Hillary’s statement has been compared to Mitt Romney’s “47 percent” speech claiming that “[t]here are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims. my job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” The 47 percent comment hurt Mitt Romney’s image immensely. And although the generalizations in the two statements are similar, it is not fair to compare them. The 2016 race and the 2012 race differ as this race has been arguably the least politically correct with the most insults. Hillary’s comment should be put into perspective with its own race, just as Romney’s statement was.
Clinton’s remarks may not have been completely accurate, but there is some truth to them. Many videotaped rallies have caught Trump supporters using racial, gay and religious slurs. The complete ignorance of Donald Trump and many of his followers makes them deplorable. Our country should not foster hatred; we should build a community of peace and acceptance. The time for politeness has long passed. This race has transformed into a battle of the cold-hearted. A lack of censorship has made Donald Trump one of the top contenders for president of the United States. But if we do not want Trump in the Oval Office, negative responses to Clinton’s comment should not exist. We need to support her response to insult and offense. We should accept Hillary’s statement as just another step in the fight against bigotry. Trump has hit Hillary hard, but it’s time for statements like these to knockout Donald once and for all.