After Trump win, Boulder County sees fast affirmation of some voters’ worst fears
In downtown
In
And in
"They're being called, 'k---,' having aggressive jokes told relating to concentration camps," Greene said.
It is difficult and sometimes fruitless to try making sense of why some people are compelled by hate. But the question of why these incidents are suddenly commonplace around the country -- and, yes, even in deep blue
"People that have been on the fringes are feeling more empowered," Greene said. "They feel like they have a seat at the table now."
And why shouldn't they?
Wave of incidents in 72 hours
The country's president-elect, 10 weeks away from being the most powerful person on the planet, has made his distaste for many of the country's most vulnerable populations plain. Bigotry was something more than an undertone of his campaign.
If the president can call Mexicans rapists and mock the disabled and brush off allegations of sexual assault on the grounds that those doing the alleging aren't pretty enough to assault, why shouldn't civilians feel comfortable doing the same?
At the
A Latina professor's class was interrupted, multiple students who were in the room confirmed, by a man who barged in and told the professor to "shut up" and "go back to
A female student who requested anonymity said that a classmate went to the university's
The Camera interviewed more than a dozen people on Friday, who described bearing witness to and in some cases being victimized themselves by acts and expressions of hatred.
All incidents relayed by these sources took place in the first 72 hours after the election.
"In the shadow of our election, people feel like it's OK to say things that in the past they would not have," said Anderson, the Monarch principal. "There seems to be a climate where we can say whatever we want to say to whomever. To me, it's un-American."
The reported incidents in this area are, as elsewhere, supplemented by profound fear, anxiety and sadness. This is true for many of those who fit demographics typically associated with power, but particularly for the already marginalized populations that Trump has consistently trashed.
The downtown
"When I got to work on Wednesday morning, there were already people in the (office) who had been crying all night and needed some place safe to be that day," Moore added. "Everyone coming in was in disbelief."
"I have a lot of fear about what the future will bring," Garcia said. "As a trans Latina of faith, I represent so much of what I have heard a Trump administration will bring.
"And," she continued, "it's not really the president-elect I'm concerned about. It's all the people that are surrounding him -- the advisors that he's had throughout his campaign, the people I'm hearing he wants to put into his cabinet. These people are very much anti-LGBT, anti-people of color. I just don't see a bright future."
Trump advisor calls fear 'excessive'
One of Trump's allies, the
Blackburn last week informed the
Hern said he believes that the true purpose of this and similar investigations is to out doctors and those who work with them to extreme anti-abortion activists and thereby put "targets" on them, or at least intimidate them.
"I'm fearful for my life," Hern wrote in an article for the medical news site Stat. "I'm fearful for my patients."
That fear seems justified, when one considers Hern's clinic has been shot at in the past. His colleague and friend,
Trump, meanwhile, is only a few weeks removed from announcing to a national debate audience that "I am putting pro-life justices" on the Supreme Court, and that an overturn of Roe vs. Wade "will happen" as a result.
"I would say that change is a scary thing, but time will make this all come into perspective as
So, should citizens disregard the flagrantly racist, sexist and generally anti-Other language that characterized Trump's campaign from
Davis responded, "I don't think you can take his rhetoric and the rhetoric of his campaign to an extreme end when this is the beginning of a four- and maybe eight-year administration."
In a good mood, understandably, Davis added that those upset right now might do well to relax.
"I took a vacation for a reason," he said. "And I'd encourage others to do the same. Turn off the TV, put down the newspaper and focus on other things."
Glimmers of love, support
The hundreds of Trump protesters who took over the streets of
But while few of them are interested in the kind of mental switch-off Davis recommends, many of those interviewed by the Camera said they've found a welcome distraction in solidarity and love.
Out
In fact, multiple people at the Islamic Center said this week has felt calmer and more optimistic to them than most.
It's hard, though, for tales of post-Trump compassion to shine through when the violent language and action of a small but inspired few is suddenly so rampant, and continues to go unchecked by a president-elect who has never displayed much interest in disavowing the obvious hatred and bias-motivated attacks of some of his supporters.
During Thursday's
That high-schooler was punched in the face, the Independent reported, and the protestor ripped off her hijab.
It's the kind of incident
"My job is a little different this week," he said. "I'm trying to provide comfort to people who are sad or concerned about being out in the community as Jews, who are concerned for their Muslim and Hispanic and immigrant friends. ... They might feel like they're in a valley in a place of a deep darkness.
"But if they're feeling the valley," Greene added, "I want to let them know they're not alone. We just might have to roll up our sleeves again."
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