-Great Falls, Mont.
In the summer of 2018, Trump paid a visit to Great Falls in an effort to bolster the Senate campaign of Matt Rosendale. The rally was accompanied by a group of about four hundred anti-Trump protesters. As the rally attendees and protestors shouted back and forth, the MAGA crowd was joined by neo-nazis waving white supremacist flags, including the “national flag of Kekistan.” In a disturbing foreshadowing of the insurrectionists of January 6th, it was clear the white supremacists were aligned with Trump.
With Trump’s win this November, the far right crowd is energized again.
In a skin crawling rallying cry, trolls are posting “your body, my choice” and other misogynistic attacks on social media. The likely originator of the “your body, my choice” slogan, Nick Fuentes, reportedly claims it was a ‘joke’. Hahahahhaa. So funny that men love rape jokes. As Nicky gets to deal with the consequences of his actions, what the hell is wrong with people cheering this on?
As explained in a Vox Op-Ed:
“The spike in sexist hate is a reflection of one of the dominant narratives of the election: that it was essentially a triumph of men over women. Trump tailored much of his campaign to disaffected American men — especially young men, many of whom feel they are victims of discrimination and who have expressed resentment against feminist movements like Me Too. For a lot of these men, the election feels like vindication, and for some, it’s more than that: a chance to put women back in their place.”
Nothing screams “protecting women” like letting them know they have no control over their own bodies.
As disturbing as the post-election joyous celebration by the worst people is, it’s not a surprise.
In addition to the anti-feminist backlash, we have seen a rise in the visibility of white supremacists, anti-immigrant sentiments, anti-LGBTQ attacks, and the list goes on. And Montana is certainly not immune. White supremacists have plastered their stickers all over Great Falls multiple times as we’ve previously reported here and here. The Republican majorities that Montanans keep electing, love passing laws to restrict women, the LGBTQ community, more! All of these flavors of hate, just part of the shit sandwich emboldened by electing bigots.
Sometimes the worst people win.
Sometimes the bullies don’t get the comeuppance they deserve. But our push back makes a difference. I was at that 2018 Trump protest. I remember my disgust when I saw those flags and I started shouting and pointing at them, “nazis, nazis!” And when other protesters joined in shouting down those white supremacists, do you know what those cowards did? They quickly rolled up their flags. With Trump returning to office they think they can come out of the shadows. We don’t have to accept that. Hate has no home here.
