From Waldo to Trump

In the Netflix series Black Mirror, the episode "The Waldo Moment" focusses on an anthropomorphic bear named Waldo who, as the episode progresses, unwittingly becomes the official voice for political dissenters.  Waldo, voiced by two civilians with absolutely no political experience, first catches the public’s eye on “Tonight for One Week Only,” a show comparable to the Daily Show or the Colbert Report; as a special guest the bear gains popularity with viewers through his wit and vulgarity, which he eventually uses to benefit his accidental political platform. In spite of hurling insults and swears towards the other presidential candidates, as well as having no actual agenda, Waldo still manages to get thousands of votes, even surpassing his opponents. At one point the bear – voiced by his creator at that moment – incites physical violence, provoking the crowd and prompting them to assault the former voice of Waldo, as he had tried to deter passersby from voting for the bear, and instead turn their attention to one of the other candidates, who at least has somewhat of a desire to run for office and a plan for the people. Even in this situation, when the bear’s sentiments threatened someone else’s safety, and overall existence, Waldo still had an avid, almost cultish support group.

Watching the Black Mirror somewhat disturbed me, as it made me realize just how much this fictional presidential race resembled our own. Waldo reminded me a lot of Donald Trump, a reality star who somehow made his way to the White House, despite running a racist, sexist, homophobic, and xenophobic campaign. Like Waldo, Donald Trump earned his fame on television and gained popularity in this election simply because he was and still is offensive, and thereby entertaining to so many.

Even though several reputable sources made mention of Trump’s violent and vulgar banter, the fool still got elected. As written by CNN reporter Jeremy Diamond, Trump insinuated at one point that he could “shoot someone and not lose voters,” and claimed that he and other men could “grab ‘em [women] by the pussy.”  Though I do not agree with this sentiment in the slightest, I can somewhat understand why people would want someone controversial in office who can approach politics from an unconventional angle, but under no circumstances should that person have been a bigot who has the potential to ruin the lives of so many. While I am not sure of Trump’s capability to actually follow through with all of his proposed policies, I can definitely tell anyone who asks that tensions in this nation, primarily race relations, have gotten worse due to Trump’s being elected; they will get progressively worse until Trump is either impeached, until he resigns, or until there is a rebellion of some sort.

During the final days of the presidential race, I have seen so many people reposting, reblogging, and retweeting memes, some in an attempt to make themselves feel better about the results of this presidency, and others mocking marginalized groups, perpetuating the racism, sexism, xenophobia, and homophobia that Trump made his platform on. There was one in particular that read something like “So what are y’all wearing to the slave auction?” Even though I know that no one is about to reinstate slavery, it does worry me to see how many closeted bigots there were, who never did and probably never will realize the gravity of this election, and who find all of this to be one big joke. However, teens on the internet are not a major source of anxiety for me; what truly worries me is that fact that there are teachers, bosses, human resourcing mangers, and lots of other people who actually have an opportunity to discriminate against and harass marginalized groups in large numbers, and because of how vast their audiences are, these people have a greater potential to indoctrinate other people who look like them. By no means were these ideals eradicated during Obama’s terms, but at least some of these people felt a degree of shame in showing their true colours and kept it on the low. During the entirety of Trump’s campaign, however, it has been a 180, with Klansmembers and Neo-Nazis literally rejoicing in the streets, spewing vile, hateful remarks and with no repercussions at that, while actual peaceful protesters are being dismissed as rioters, terrorist groups, and thugs, and as a result are being physically attacked and restrained by the very groups of people that are meant to protect them.

When Donald Trump first announced that he was running for president, very few people took him seriously, but rather viewed it all as a joke. Well, unfortunately Americans let this “joke” go on for too long, and it is with deep regret and shame that I, and so many others, have to sit back and just let this whole debacle run its course.

I have so much more I want to say, but this has already gotten twice as long as intended so I will cut it off here.

Works Cited

Diamond, Jeremy. "Trump: I Could 'shoot Somebody and I Wouldn't Lose Voters'" CNN. N.p., 24 Jan. 2016. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

Diamond, Jeremy. "Trump Issues Defiant Apology for Lewd Remarks -- Then Goes on the Attack." CNN. N.p., 8 Oct. 2016. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.