Left Behind Already - Why Mr. Trump's Bullying Works

Like a lot of pundits, CNN’s Michael D’Antontio almost gets to the heart of the matter assessing Mr. Trump’s recent racist tirades against sitting members of Congress.  He seems to correctly diagnose Trump’s bullying for what it is, and then extends it to his followers thusly:

The fear of being targeted, excluded -- or even sent away, like the President was as a youngster -- may also lurk in the hearts of voters who accept Trump's behavior. With his attacks on the four members of Congress, his coldhearted crackdown on America's immigrant families and asylum seekers, and his repeated effort to demonize those who disagree with him, Trump has demonstrated what happens if you step out of line.

What he misses, however, is the fact that many if not most of Trump’s supporters ALREADY feel thrown out – out of the economy, out of social and cultural superiority, out of the ability to control their own destiny.  Mr. Trump’s attacks against a vast array of “others” on their behalf gives them the feeling of being back in, of achieving power stripped from them by a world and systems that evolves without their input, much less their permission.  They might well have decided Rep. Ilhan Omar was worthy to be an American (albeit a second class one in many eyes), but no one asked their permission directly, and since they have bought 4 decades of stories about brown skinned people taking from them (again based on bully fear mongering), they now demand to be heard. There will be no peace until they are, but the cost to the nation until then will be dear.