Fear of Home and Home May Help Trump – NRK Urix – Foreign News & Documentaries

Marc McCrey points to a burned house:

– There lived a grandmother and her granddaughter. Fortunately, they got out before the house caught fire. But they lost their home. They are homeless now, she says with tears in her eyes.

The ravages of bullying

Marc was there that night when the mob set fire to neighborhoods of homes and businesses in the center of the small town of Kenosha in the state of Wisconsin. Vandals followed peaceful protests against the police who shot and disqualified black Jacob Blake.

Marc himself is black.

– I support protests against police violence. But not the devastation that followed. What have those who lived in these houses done wrong? Those who had their companies here.

He believes that the looting and destruction could have political effects:

“More people will now support President Trump,” he said.

It can be a political turning point

For three months, American cities have been devastated by demonstrations and subsequent destruction. On television, voters have seen cars and shops go up in flames day after day. Police forces with helmets, clubs and tear gas in street fights with protesters also well equipped with violent tools.

But it has happened in city centers. Where no one lives and no one needs to move at night if you want to avoid noise. Vandalism in Kenosha has transferred the devastation to middle-class residential areas. The fear of losing home or family members in the mafia fire has loomed. It could lead to a turning point in the election campaign.

The fear of the small town and the petty bourgeoisie

Kenosha is a small city by American standards, with just 100,000 residents. Here, people live right in the center of the city, in modest houses with small gardens close to shops and businesses.

All, absolutely all, commercial buildings have particle board in front of the windows and doors. People cannot do that with their homes. Then it will be uninhabitable there, like in a bunker. Instead, many have posted signs in the windows, begging for mercy on the ravages of the mob: “We support BLM (Black Lives Matter). We have children in the house.” They then hope that these prayers will prevent firebombs from being thrown at their homes. .

But the fear is there. This fear has not only reached Kenosha. The ravages in the small town have shown that everyone can be a victim of the mafia. Also those who live in small towns and suburbs. Those who until now have felt safe now feel fear.

Trump offers help

Yesterday, President Trump visited Kenosha. Despite the fact that both the mayor of the city and the governor of the state of Wisconsin asked him to stay at home. But he kept a fairly low profile and did not make provocative statements.

Instead, he visited one of the businessmen who saw his livelihood destroyed. And he offered financial help to start over. Many of the companies here have bad insurance, and several are denied payment because the damage is caused by what the insurance companies call “acts of terrorism.”

The aid, and the message of law and order, reaches Kenosha’s rather conservative lower middle class. Most of them live here, not so many rich liberals.

In the 2016 election, Trump won by just 255 votes. This year there may be many more. It could help the so-called state of Wisconsin fall to Trump’s side. Which in turn can lead to him winning the election. What is happening in Kenosha could be important to the future of America.

Biden distances himself from violence and destruction

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden delivered a speech yesterday in which he vehemently distanced himself from the violence, destruction and looting. And he believes that Trump has helped sharpen contradictions in the United States to increase the use of violence.

But of the most extreme protesters, there is no support for the Democrats. They hate the politicians of the two major American parties with almost the same force. Yesterday, they attacked with fires in front of the house of the mayor of Portland, Oregon. On the same birthday as Mayor Ted Wheeler, they demanded his resignation. Although Democrat Wheeler has always supported peaceful demonstrations against police violence.

There is little indication that Biden and the Democrats can benefit from the unrest that is now devastating America’s largest and smallest cities. But President Trump can get a vitamin pill on the campaign trail and present himself as a savior of the middle class. At the same time, it takes the focus of the crisis away from the crown and the country’s miserable economy. The feeling of fear is a powerful weapon.