‘I bet all you do is smoke weed all day’
What happened when Trump supporters met his protesters in Pittsburgh
As soon as I heard The Donald was coming to Pittsburgh on April 13th at the David Lawrence Convention Center, I jumped on the opportunity. I decided to go to the rally with an open mind, clear of preconceived notions.
The atmosphere near the event was basically mutiny. My friend and I approached the convention center from the parking space several blocks from the north entrance, where groups of protestors were gathered with signs. Moments later, the protesting crowd mobilized behind us roaring “Shut Down Trump” as the banner bearers marched on purposefully with “Shut Down White Supremacy.”
Thought I was aware of their political stance, the protesters’ presence felt somewhat threatening.
When my friend and I finally reached the line going into the rally, we were met with another group of protestors just as, if not more fervent, as the first.
A crowd of what must have been around 600 people convened at the junction of Penn Ave and 10th avenue, where they came face to face with the Trump supporters and street vendors selling witty Trump merchandise. My Hispanic friend and I were definitely among the minorities in the line waiting to go in. Almost no people of color were seen in the line of Trump supporters.
Unfortunately, I was only a few feet away when the doors closed promptly at 7pm. However, it was nonetheless a noteworthy experience, and I was able to get a more holistic perspective on this enigma that made many of my peers question why anyone would support Trump.
My friend and I made polite conversations with a couple in their 50s standing in line behind us and first asked the unavoidable question: “Why do you support Trump?”
One replied: “He is a successful businessman, and he will bring that into the government.” Evidently, many Trump supporters are impressed by Trump’s business experiences and are tired of the inefficient way things are run today.
On immigration, the same couple simply said, “We’re willing to take care of anybody, as long as they’re here legally!”
A doctor in the crowd wanted Trump to “appeal Obama care and let companies compete for prices so we have more affordable healthcare.” She lamented that “with Obamacare, doctors aren’t paid enough.”
A woman of possibly Philippino decent chimed into the conversation. “My kids started being Republicans once they started paying taxes,” and some bystanders chuckled in agreement.
Some younger people standing in front of us talked about National Security. “We need to become stronger as a country and we don’t need to take crap from ISIS.” I asked them how they thought Trump was going to go through with all his policies, since he did not outline very specific strategies. “Everyone’s running all over us now, and Trump is good at taking control, and he knows the right people to get things done.”
Needless to say that I’ve only brushed upon the surface of why these voters have decided to support Trump, but I can almost confidently say that very few is spurred by their endorsement of hatred of Muslims and Hispanics.
The line of protestors ushered forward toward entrance once the doors were closed. The heated chants only got louder as the division of the two parties thinned, and many insults were heard thrown back and forth.
From my observations, the Trump supporters stayed nonchalant and whipped out their phones to Snapchat the scene.
Nervous to be in the frontline, I was squashed behind a man of at least six feet four and 250 pounds, possibly in his 20s. I reached up, tapped him on the shoulder, and asked “What’s happening?”
He told me there didn’t seem to be danger in sight. We then had a very pleasant conversation when I asked him what he thought about the protestors. He shrugged and just said, “Why? Just, why are they so angry?”
“You don’t think Trump is racist and sexist?”
He shrugged again. “No, I don’t think so. He’s not very careful with his words, and people might get offended by that. But he just wants to do what is right for this country, to keep us safe and prosperous. He’s not racist against Mexicans. It just happens that Mexico is right next door, where most of the illegal immigrants come from.” He continued to explain that Trump “wants to keep the money within the U.S, and since he’s a successful businessman and carried on his father’s legacy, he’d be able to do this very well.”
As my friend and I decided to exit the scene since there was no hope of getting in after twenty more minutes of waiting, I looked back and saw some protestors holding flares and a few topless girls. Scurrying past the line of supporters, I heard some yelling at the protestors, “Get a job!” and “I bet all you do is smoke weed all day!”
Though I was quite disappointed I couldn’t get the live experience, I briefly viewed the rally on YouTube.
Trump made this the perfect opportunity to inform the crowd of all his endorsements and his friends. He listed endless statistics of how this country is in a dump, and how he will make it great again, without much supporting evidence. I can’t say my opinion has changed, but it’s always a good idea to remember that whom we support does not define us.
Maybe we’ve got to cut the Republicans some slack and admit how tough it’d be to cast the most appropriate vote at this election.