Here’s the toxic racism and misogyny you let loose with a vote for Trump

This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on November 11, 2024.

If Kamala Harris had won, no Black people would be receiving text messages threatening to make them slaves again, and no women would be being told, “Your body, my choice.” When Trump wins, those things happen. And when Trump loses, insurrections happen.

That is the harsh reality we’re facing in the wake of the 2024 election, thanks to millions of Christians who voted for Trump despite knowing who he is.

Of course, some moderates and supposed independents are poking their heads out to play the “both sides” card. And there are even some liberals, such as Bill Maher, who are blaming the left for going “too woke.” Apparently, asking Americans to use people’s preferred pronouns is considered extreme enough to warrant voting for a rapist who wants to send in the military to remove millions of families from their homes, put Christian nationalists in charge of our schools, and place conspiracy theorists at the head of our public health.

Rick Pidcock

The data are clear. According to the 2024 PRRI American Values Survey, 62% of Republicans believe the 2020 election was stolen and are more than 3.5 times as likely as Democrats to say Americans may need to resort to violence in order to save the country from the other side.

While many Christians who didn’t vote for Trump are claiming Trump supporters are hypocrites, the reality is that they’re not. The reason they’re voting for a violent man is the violent theology they celebrate has conditioned them to embrace violent men. And as we’re seeing through the second coming of Trump, his ascension to power is accompanied by violence against minorities and women.

Selected to pick cotton

The text messages being sent to Black and Hispanic people across at least 30 states as well as Washington, D.C., claim that the recipients were “selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation.”

The messages include personal information, including the recipients’ names. Retired FBI agent Kenneth Gray told CNN, “Whoever is responsible for this did some real research not only putting together the target list, but also crafting a message that had info that made it seem real.”

One 15-year-old Hispanic boy received a message claiming he has been “chosen to be part of group B to go pick cotton at a plantation” and “will be picked up by a black van and to be ready by 6 p.m.” His mother added, “He said a lot of his Hispanic friends have also gotten the message saying that they will be deported, so they’re getting different messages, just worded a little differently.”

A 12-year-old girl received a message that included her personal name and said, “You have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation. Please have your belongings together by ten sharp. Our executive slaves will pick you up in a yellow van.”

“The unfortunate reality of electing a president who, historically, has embraced and at times encouraged hate, is unfolding before our eyes,” said Derrick Johnson, CEO of the NAACP. “These messages represent an alarming increase in vile and abhorrent rhetoric from racist groups across the country, who now feel emboldened to spread hate and stoke the flames of fear that many of us are feeling after Tuesday’s election results.”

Trump administration officials deny having anything to do with the text messages. But their plans for mass deportations remain.

And unfortunately, discovering where these message came from is proving to be especially difficult even for the FBI because the sender is using an anonymizing software that hides their location.

Continue reading at Baptist News Global.