Looking Xenophobia and Nationalism in the Face

The French National Front. Xenophobic. Racist. In the 2011 cantonal elections, it gained 15% of the overall votes, but 2 out of 2,026 seats. UKIP, in England, 2015 general elections, 12.6% of the total votes, but 1 seat out of 650 (I think).

((Guy: Sorry to interject. This piece has originally been written in February 2016, long before most people thought Trump would actually get elected, and it was originally titled "Trump Losing is a Dangerous Thing." This post has been relevant since the early 2000s, and it only gets more and more relevant with every passing year. Even with Trump being elected President, its message is not yet fully digested. And I think it must be, lest we revisit the 1930s fully.))

This is the situation that makes Trump losing so dangerous.

Wait, Trump losing is dangerous? Yes, you heard me right.

The reason Trump losing is so dangerous is exactly the thing that led to Trump actually gaining so much strength and popularity as we speak.

The cantonal system of representation democracy makes it so that vast numbers of people have their voices unheard. The less political parties you have, the more likely it is that the “majority parties” get represented, and that more and more people do not. You might say “Good!” when the third or fourth-largest party is one that you consider “bad”, but this does mean that the anger is allowed to boil for a long time, and for a good reason - these are people that do not consider their voices heard in a representational democracy, and to some of them it feels as if it’s the tyranny of the majority.

This is bad, and explains why people who preach against these systems, as a whole, find ready audiences, because it’s hard to make good arguments against this state of affairs. It is this way because it’s always been this way. And thus, anti-traditionalism is joined by forces that then call to undermining more aspects of the “traditional world-order,” such as listening to the courthouses, saying no to xenophobia and racism, etc.

And here’s the other part - UKIP and the National Front, though they don’t do all that much better on national elections in terms of representation in parliaments, are doing better each election - both on a municipal level, and on a raw “How many voters voted for them, country-wide?” And here’s the kicker - the same thing has been happening in the USA, within the Republican party, under the name “The Tea Party.” Can you imagine Cruz being considered such a serious contender back in 2004? Even in 2008 it’d have been stretching it. And although the “Republican Establishment,” as it were, apparently despises him, he’s still a “mainstream contender,” as far as the voters are concerned, and even for the establishment, relative to Trump.

And here’s where it gets dangerous - things have been going in this direction for a while now, and as the saying goes, “One more victory such as these and we’ll be doomed.” Because at some point, you pass over the limit, you get a majority within your district, and then you gain the majority everywhere.

Trump, the Tea Party, UKIP, The National Front - they’re all symptoms of things that must be addressed. They’re reflective of what many people think, and of shifts that must be addressed with. And such shifts can’t be addressed once every year. These shifts are nothing for you to go, “Oh, they’re nothing, they didn’t get any seats on parliament, or not even one percentage, so who cares?”

And this is why Trump losing will be dangerous. Moreso if he loses before he faces off whoever the Democrats end up electing. It will be dangerous because then the relieved establishment of both parties will breathe a sigh of relief, and brush Trump off. Brush Trump’s voters off. They’ll act as if none of it is real, and as if giving it attention will only raise more such issues - but these issues are here. These issues have been here, and have been rising for over a decade, at the very least. And if Trump loses, then people will act as if no change, no real discourse is needed, for 4 more years, and then they’d be surprised that these voices have come “out of nowhere.”

Out of nowhere my ass. They’ve been here. You’ve addressed them. And then you acted as if they’d go away. They and their millions of voters who feel slighted and ignored, as they are.

The European Union forced its countries to realize and really deal with these issues, because the EU Parliament takes a country’s raw number of votes and gives the country seats accordingly. But the USA likes its 3 years of peace between elections. 3 years of burying one’s heads, and then acting surprised when the unruly neighbourhood of last election, and the one before them, and the one before? That he’s still here.

You want to not have another Trump? Then you must actually deal with the people he’s representing. You must actually deal with xenophobia and mistrust of government, and lack of proper education. And if he loses, you won’t. Because this is hard stuff.

Check out my latest pieces:

• The Mute Poet
• “Git Gud” – You Don’t Want An Objective Review, You Want Your Opinion Parroted
• Poem of Protection - Words of Warding

_{^{This has originally been posted on my tumblr account here, and had been updated and reformated for Steemit.
Image source.}}

© Guy Shalev 2016.