What does DHS think of Donald J. Trump?
I’m sure we’ve all heard the “I’m going to make America great again” comment from the red-faced old man who popped into politics out of nowhere. Whether or not you are interested in politics, everyone seems to have a very strong opinion about Donald Trump, the two most popular being: “Trump will fix America” and “Trump is the 21st-century Hitler.”
DHS as a whole appears to have a low number of Trump supporters due to his discriminatory comments towards various groups. “Why would you want a racist, sexist homophobe in charge of the country?” asks a DHS student who wishes to remain anonymous.
Countless students are wondering how Donald Trump is going to make America great if he is so unaccepting of so many of them.
Despite the fact that Donald Trump claims that according to The New York Post, he has a “great relationship with the blacks,” many of his statements contradict this.
DHS freshman Ari Silva finds that comment “completely and utterly ridiculous” as he has been so outwardly offensive to so many people.
According to John R. O’Donnell, the former president of Trump Plaza, Trump has said that “laziness is a trait in the blacks.”
Silva would like to bring to Trump’s attention that there is nothing in a black person’s mind that makes him less superior to any other race. “Donald Trump is obviously targeting poor blacks here, but you could say the same thing about poor whites, Hispanics, etc,” she said.
Trump has also been documented on his Twitter feed that Obama’s “poor” job in office will cause America not to have another black president “for generations.”
Silva saw this quote as being completely idiotic, especially because fellow Republican candidate Ben Carson (who is black) is currently in fourth place. Silva said that Obama’s race has nothing to do with the way he ran his presidency considering “a brain is not determined by a person’s race.” Silva thinks that America is in the best place it has ever been as far as social acceptance and tolerance of different groups of people goes. “His views contradict everything this country is working toward, for the most part. Trump will not make America great again as he thinks; he only knows how to take America steps back,” she said.
Countless women have been caught saying, “I am very offended by Donald Trump.” Aside from Trump calling women he dislikes names such as “fat pigs” and “disgusting animals,” Trump has underestimated the capabilities of women, has sexualized his own daughter, and has made it known that he supports stereotypical gender roles. Known for his comments on how much of a “turn-on” he is to women, Trump disgusts more women than he attracts due to his sexist insults.
“A businesswoman and a wife–that doesn’t exist, obviously,” Trump said to a female contestant on The Apprentice, despite the fact that this stereotype was supposedly eliminated decades ago. Trump seems to have forgotten about all the powerful women who have jobs and – he’d never guess – families.
“Women are just as equal as men. They can have a job and family and be successful and happy with both,” said sophomore Breanna Arruda.
Trump’s comments have notoriously repulsed mothers, daughters, and women as a whole, by pointing out his daughter’s “very nice figure,” and then saying on The View in 2006 that if she weren’t his daughter, “perhaps [he’d] be dating her.”
Arruda said, “It is not right to say that about your daughter.”
All females I spoke to said that if their father had said that about them, they would be not only uncomfortable, but “freaked out” and some even scared. Many women feel not only discriminated against by Trump, but “grossed out,” and “terrified.”
Trump said that he has some “fabulous” gay friends, but claimed on MSNBC that he is “for a marriage between a man and a woman.” Yes, the same man who has talked about dating his daughter thinks that same-sex couples are “weird.”
Junior Maddie Pfirrman feels that even though Trump isn’t the worst of the Republican candidates when it comes to the issue of same-sex marriage, he is not a “smart choice” to be America’s next president. Pfirrman said, “Anyone who can blatantly hate love shared between people makes me very uneasy, especially if that person has the potential to be our next president.”
Although he feels offended, freshman Mathew Alves said that if Trump becomes our president, it won’t have a colossal impact on the LGBT+ community. Alves would not vote for Trump if he were of legal age, but said, “It isn’t like he can just take away the legalization of same-sex marriage. He would probably just continue to make small, critical remarks.”
Alves admits that he doesn’t hate Trump for saying those things, as others in the LGBT+ community do, because he just thinks that Trump is uneducated and can’t help it. “I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion, even if I don’t agree with it,” he said.
On CNN in November 2015, Trump said, “Maybe we should boycott Starbucks,” in response to Starbucks no longer making cups that celebrate Christmas.
Jewish freshman Michelle Sherman said that she doesn’t think it is wrong to have Christmas at Starbucks, but believes that they should have other cups as well for those of different religions who do not celebrate Christmas. Although she doesn’t necessarily disagree with Trump’s opposition to Starbucks ending their Christian tradition, Sherman definitely disagrees with Trump’s running for president. She feels that his discrimination towards various groups have “offended most people; therefore, he probably shouldn’t be allowed to communicate with other lifeforms, never mind be our president,” she said.
DHS could be viewed as a melting pot of all different ethnicities, genders, religions, and sexual orientations, some of which Donald Trump has openly harassed. Although his intention is to “make America great again,” it seems that he wants to make America great for certain people, while leaving so many out.
Why would we want to destroy so many years of progress and go back to the days when all of the power went to straight, white, wealthy, Christian men?
Nicole Sheahan • Mar 4, 2016 at 3:50 pm
Regarding Mr. D’Atri’s comment above and reporting in general on students’ opinions, I think it’s common for high school journalists to end up interviewing others with opinions like theirs because … well, they’re in high school and tend to talk to people who think like them. I, don’t, however, see the article being flawed in regard to misinformation — as Trump has said and done much to upset a whole array of groups, and that perspective certainly belongs in the article. I do, however, see it as a misrepresentation to say that “DHS as a whole” thinks anything based on a few students’ opinions. To truly get the pulse of the school on any topic, I think a broader net should be tossed. Maybe for opinion pieces regarding what DHS thinks about something, The Spectrum could provide links to a Google Form (or similar) that would require students and staff to log in using their school email; respondents could answer questions including one offering the chance to express interest in being interviewed. Then Spectrum staff could pick folks from multiple sides of an issue to interview. One key step would be making sure the questionnaire takes all sides into consideration — to leave room for dissenting voices. Just some food for thought.
What is most important in all of this is that The Spectrum, regardless of whether folks agree with its views, is opening doors to important discussions, and it gets my kudos for that.
Jack D'Atri • Feb 29, 2016 at 9:44 am
You liberals are so one-sided. You ask what DHS thinks about Trump yet you only ask people who hate him. Whoever wrote this only thinks of liberalism and should not write survey articles. We may live in the People’s Republic of Massachusetts where many liberals live, but there are a number of conservatives even in this school. So if you believe that “everyone is included,” then ask people with different opinions, not just misinformed people.