TOM EATON: Why Trump and the Jihadis prove the world is a better place
Hateful reactions are fearful reactions, and when bigots are frightened, it usually means that the world is moving, albeit slowly, in the right direction
WANT evidence that things are getting better? Two words. Donald Trump. It's true. The fact that Trump got elected is a sign of real progress in the world. Jihad, too, is evidence that we are moving forward. And the surge in online racism and sexism is definitely good news. I know that sounds sarcastic, but it isn't, and here‘s why.Most bigotry goes unexpressed because it doesn't need to be expressed. If their lives are comfortable and their world view goes unchallenged, people can sit on their prejudice for a lifetime: we‘ve all heard of the dying nonagenarian, a beloved great-grandmother and pillar of the community, whose tongue has been loosened by dementia or drugs, suddenly, shockingly, revealing a seething anti-Semitism or racism or homophobia.Why didn't it come out sooner? It didn't need to. She lived in peace and relative happiness, far away from those she feared. Because they were only in her mind rather than in her street, she could keep them locked up there; her sinister m...
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