The Other Shoe: December 2015

(Donald J. Trump - June 16th, 2015)

Welcome back My Dear Shoevians to The Other Shoe. A long and difficult absence is ending. With Christmas a little under two weeks away, and the New Year just around the corner, I have elected to begin my renewed presence here on the web. As well, recent comments by Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump I feel compelled to stand for those he seeks to oppress and against the resurgence of a level of social hatred and racism I have not seen since when I was six years old.

Even before the race riots of the early sixties, America had faced another trial by fire, the xenophobia and hatred of the McCarthy era. Honestly, My Dear Shoevians, I really had thought… hoped and prayed, that I would never see such racism and xenophobia infect our national dialogue again. I know that a majority of Americans do not agree with Donald Trump’s racist and xenophobic remarks about Muslims.

As a matter of fact, just today ( December 14, 2015) a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll showed that 57%of Americans do not agree with Trump’s racist remarks against Muslims, or with his plan to halt all American travel based on a individuals religious preference. I was quite happy to read this poll, and have my faith in the American people restored. Only 25%, of Americans polled, agreed with Trump’s religiously insensitive remarks and his xenophobic plan.

“Fifty-seven percent of all adults disagree with Trump's proposal, versus 25 percent who agree.

But views are mixed among Republicans: 42 percent of GOP respondents support Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the U.S., while 36 percent oppose it.

And among Republican primary voters, it's 38 percent support, 39 percent oppose.

By comparison, 75 percent of Democrats and 55 percent of independents disagree with Trump's proposal.”[1]

This is, My Dear Shoevians, one of the times when I am very glad that a growing majority of you, My Dear Shoevians, are international readers and not Americans. Our nation, America, has become so very divided, so very negative and so very hurtful. As I mentioned above, when I was but a boy of six years old, I watched in horror as policemen used fire hoses to beat down African-American protesters fighting for equal rights. I watched in revolution as Southern police unleashed attack dogs on said protesters. It was a shocking site to see angry, obviously mistreated, dogs bark and snarl right in the face of frightened African-American citizens.

I had seen the pictures of the lynching, happening in states close by, and witnessed the burning crosses in my own hometown. I knew of the institutionalized racism that was so prevalent all through the ‘Bible Belt’. ‘How oxymoronic’ I thought to myself, self-proclaimed Christians acting and performing in such very UN-Christian ways against their fellow Americans. I was very happy when the ‘Civil Rights Act of 1964’[2] and the ‘Voting Rights Act of 1965’[3] were signed into law. I had hoped that with these anti-discrimination laws, on the books, that America had decided to leave a very ugly and dark episode of our history… behind. That is, until recently and the Presidential run of one Donald J. Trump.

It all began with this:

“The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems. … When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists”[4]

This statement was made, by Donald J Trump, in early June 2025. Over the coming weeks Donald took opportunity after opportunity to double down on this remark. Never once did he retract his; hateful, hurtful, racist sweeping generalization of Hispanic Americans. And, why should he? On that, fateful, day Donald J. Trump hit a magical cord in the hearts and minds of a very vocal and hateful minority of Americans. Again, for my international Shoevians? We, Americans, do not all agree with the hateful/hurtful/racist and xenophobic remarks. A great many Americans, like myself, find these words not only objectionable? We find that they are indicative of a time long past. A very dark and insidious time in America’s recent past, within my lifetime.

Donald Trump ‘Doubling Down’ on Racist Remarks Against Hispanics

Donald’s actions, his racist actions against Hispanic Americans, landed him in hot water with NBC and Univision.

“At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values,” the company said in a statement on Monday. “Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBC is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump.”[5]

And Univision:

“Last week, Univision decided to end its relationship with Trump by dropping his Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, and now NBC has followed suit. The move comes after a Change.org petition asking NBC to get rid of Trump garnered more than 200,000 signatures.”[6]

Then, just this past Sunday on ‘Face the Nation’ Donald J. Trump flirted with McCarthyism like no politician has since the end of the McCarthy Trials in 1956. In a statement made on CBS’ ‘Face the Nation’ Trump proclaimed that he would “go after the wives” and even families of terrorists.

“I’d go after the wives…”

“What I’d do, I’ll leave to your imagination…”[7]

You see, My Dear Shoevians, this is the slippery slope of “going after” secondary and tertiary people. It starts digressing into “naming names” and all the sudden, we have McCarthyism all over again! This kind of institutionalized social paranoia, this xenophobic hate and vindictiveness is what lead our great nation down the dark and bloody halls of a ‘Witch Hunt’!

Even more recently, just seven days ago (on ‘Pearl Harbor Day’, December 7^th, 2015) Donald Trump, when asked if he would “get rid of Muslims”, took his statements of September 17^th, 2015;

““A lot of people are saying that and a lot of people are saying that bad things are happening out there, we’re going to be looking at that and plenty of other things,”[8]

A step further and Trump called for:

““a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”[9]

Over the next week Trump has taken every opportunity to double down, again and again on this racist rant. OK! I know that, some, of my American readers (mostly, again ironically from the ‘Bible Belt’)have taken issue with my use of the word “Racist”. Stating that “Muslim is not a ‘race’”. Oy vey, if only they had been here when Americans were doing this same thing to Hebrew Americans at the turn of the 20^th century! However, since this ilk has an unquenchable hatred for anything; multi-national, international, ‘Other-Than-White-American’ they have (#epicfail) failed to read or acknowledge the United Nations - International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination of 1962.

“Article 1 of the Convention defines "racial discrimination" as

...any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.

Distinctions made on the basis of citizenship (that is, between citizens and non-citizens) are specifically excluded from the definition, as are affirmative action policies and other measures taken to redress imbalances and promote equality.

This definition does not distinguish between discrimination based on ethnicity and discrimination based on race, in part because the distinction between the ethnicity and race remains debatable among anthropologists.^[25] The inclusion of descent specifically covers discrimination on the basis of caste and other forms of inherited status.^[26]

Discrimination need not be strictly based on race or ethnicity for the Convention to apply. Rather, whether a particular action or policy discriminates is judged by its effects”[10]

So, as far back as 1962, the international community concluded that “racial discrimination’ (aka racism) is not based on race, in part because the distinction between the ethnicity and race remains debatable among anthropologists.”! Meaning, that ‘racism’ has the distinction of being any overt social action that seeks to separate for the means of demeaning/degrading another cross-section of humanity, while promoting themselves as superior to those targeted! That is‘racial discrimination’ and that = RACISM!

Now, I understand that this makes some Americans… uncomfortable, and because of that lack of comfort that they reject the drawing of parallels between; racial discrimination and ‘racism’. What is funny, to me, is that they freely engage in racist acts… IN PUBLIC… but shy away from being‘labeled’ as racist. Seems to me, that if you don’t want to be perceived as ‘racist’ then one should put a wide breath between their; actions, words, posting, writings and anything that even remotely resembles RACISM! However, they would rather run from the truth, vainly attempt to turn the tables on their accusers and seek refuge among only like-minded individuals. This is the way it was during McCarthyism. This is the way it was during the Race Riots and the beating of African Americans in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Little has changed, but the faces of those offending.

Now, on with ‘Trump the Fraud’.

(Trump University Promo Image - NEVER Existed!)

Some of the materials that I will share in the remainder of this article come from the November 16^th, 2015 edition of Time magazine. Starting on page #42, of this edition, Time reporter Steven Brill outlines, “What the litigation over Trump University reveals about the man who would be President.” Now, My Dear Shoevians, I had seen the advertisements, even received one of his‘invitations to attend’ one of the ‘Opening’ “seminars’ that were held in Los Angeles. My Dear Shoevians, I (like most Americans) would love to ‘Strike it Rich’. However, I spent from age 8 to age 13 watching my father attend ‘Dare to be Great!’ seminars, and seminars on ‘How to Make Your First Million in Real Estate’ and more that I cannot even remember the names. Yes, my father worked very hard at two jobs from as early as I can remember, until he left the family when I was 13. Trump University is, in my educated and informed opinion, just another ‘Dare to be Great’ SCAM!

[11]

(Advertisement Image for Trump University)

Now, My Dear Shoevians, in order to get this article up for everyone to read today? (December 14, 2015) I am going to have to cut this part of the article… a little short. I have more than a half-dozen pages of the Time article to boil-down to its salient points, and a ton of material from the internet to research and condense. Here is the crux of the lawsuit, and the problem, with Trump’s ‘Trump University’.

1. Trump claims, from onset, that it will be a “University better than any other…” However, there was NEVER ANY structures EVER built… ANYWHERE!
2. Claims it’s “The Next Best Thing” to being Donald Trump’s “apprentice”. Though, in FIVE YEARS not ONE SINGLE STUDENT ever; met, studied under, or was ‘mentored’ by Donald Trump.
3. Targeted emails and letters stating “Trump University was ‘Their Ticket’ to avoiding spending their final years working as greeters at their local Walmart”. Though in FIVE YEARS NOBODY EVER GRADUATED!
4. Lured 7,000 consumers to PAYING $1,495.00 to $34,995.00 for courses where “Donald Trump’s Hand Picked instructors” would teach them Trump’s “insider success secrets”. NO ONE EVER OBTAINED ANY “success secrets” some paying more than $50,000.00 for NOTHING!
5. Sold a $1,495 “Three Day Seminar Program” that was NOTHING MORE than a THREE DAY PITCH to purchase the $9,995.00 package or the “Ultimate Package with ‘Trump HANDPICKED Mentor’. That was ONLY another HARD SELL for the $34,995.00 package.
6. Trump University STOLE $34,995.00 from Boyce Chait (84) and his wife Evelyn (80) that live in New Jersey. Boyce claims (in court papers under oath) that the course was “to be worth nothing. When it came to the nitty-gritty, there was nothing there.” Their money was NEVER refunded by Trump or Trump University.
7. Donald Trump ‘claims’ that he made “no money” from the venture. However, the court discovered a TENDERED $500,000 check FROM Trump University to Donald J Trump
8. Promised ‘students’ “tricks to flip distressed properties with NONE OF THEIR OWN MONEY…” that “Banks would open doors for them to lend money…”. Only to be marched into bank after bank and being REFUSED LOANS with Trump’s “Hand Picked Mentors” standing right beside them!

My Dear Shoevians, I will be back later this week to flesh out all this information. I just really want to get this article published… TODAY!

I would like to take this time to say “Thank you!” to all of you, My Dear Shoevians, for dropping by and reading and watching. As always, if You have enjoyed your stay and this article? Please remember to ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ this article (and my blog) via any/all of your social media outlets. This way more and more people get to enjoy what you have enjoyed, here today.

Adieu!

Thank you!