By in Rhode Island’s Future
It seems that Donald Trump won’t be visiting Rhode Island out of a
fear of “disruptive protesters.” Steve Klamkin of WPRO asked Governor Gina Raimondo about this at an unrelated event.
The
Providence Journal picked up the story, quoting Rep Joe Trillo, RI
Chair of Trump’s campaign as saying, “local college students were planning to
protest if Trump came to Rhode Island.”
Trillo said the cost of added security
for the event “may not be worth it.”
More recently
former US Representative Pete Hoekstra found his anti-refugee message particularly unwelcome in
our state when students, clergy and community members countered his message of
fear with one of hope and acceptance.
Both events
brought commentariat responses similar to Governor Raimondo’s above: Activists
should show restraint and civility; shouting down those with opinions you
disagree with is counter-productive.
But Trump’s
magnificent cowardice shows that this is simply not the case. Calls for
civility from those in power are really calls for silence and acquiescence.
When
a speaker full of money, privilege and power comes to our state to tell us that
immigrants are evil, women are second class citizens, or that people of color
deserve the brutality police heap upon them, our response cannot polite.
These are not
simple political opinions, these are fundamental attacks on our state’s
character and values. To politely accept these attacks is cowardice and
weakness, and Rhode Islanders are neither.
Here we have a
proud tradition of standing up to such attacks.
Trump could
never handle Rhode Island. That’s why he ran away.
Steve Ahlquist is an award-winning journalist, writer, artist and founding
member of the Humanists of Rhode Island, a non-profit group dedicated to
reason, compassion, optimism, courage and action. The views expressed are his
own and not necessarily those of any organization of which he is a member. atomicsteve@gmail.com and Twitter:
@SteveAhlquist