Thomas Whatley, I have no patience for name-calling either. “Primitive” is not a term I’ve lobbed at anyone. I don’t know you and would not call you that. Ad hominem attacks never improve communication. Nor would I tell you whom to like or what to believe. And you’re right — they certainly will not help us grow in humanity together.

But I will unequivocally say that the hateful bigotries I listed in the original article— racism, sexism, xenophobia, Islamophobia — are base hatreds for the “other”. That is the stand I take against Trump. I assume that’s what people mean when they say “primitive”?

All I’m saying is that the humane response to white nationalism, mass violence and children in cages is outrage. This should be automatic and unflinching. And too often I see basic human decency, (the kind we like to retroactively accuse German citizens of lacking in the 1930s and 40s), being derisively labeled as “too PC” or “snowflake”. I think this is where a lot of the communication breakdown happens.

I would have a discussion with anyone about “strong borders” and “controlled immigration” provided that we talk about current State Dept. policies, federal immigration courts, eminent domain, jurisdiction, economic impact, etc.

But I wouldn’t discuss “strong borders” and “controlled immigration” with anyone who has only vague concerns about “they’re taking all our jobs” or “Mexicans are rapists and drug dealers”.

The difference between those two conversations is everything.

Thank you for reading and for advocating for growing in our humanity. I like how you phrase that.