In our current society there is a myriad of sociological concepts taking place every moment. With the advent of the internet and social media these concepts are played out before us over and over again. One of the biggest sociological phenomenon taking place before our eyes is the Donald Trump rallies and the violence which is taking place within them. A Vanity Fair article written by Tina Nguyen outlines the violent outburst that have happened at the rallies between Trump supporters and those who are protesting at the rallies, as well as Trumps reactions to the violence. These events have taken place all over the United States and look as if they will continue until the Presidential race is over. Examining the dynamic between Donald Trump, his supporters and the protestors unveils several sociological concepts at work creating the violent dynamic which has taken over headlines.
Donald Trump has managed to form a social movement, and has put a lot of momentum into encouraging this movement. A social movement is “an organized effort to encourage or oppose some dimension of change” ("Key Sociological Concepts", 2016). His followers are angry with the current status quo; they are tired of politicians lying and not following through with their words. Many believe illegal immigration must be sent back, and that drastic measures should be taken to keep Mexican citizens on their side of the border. While the Trump supporters are part of this social movement, there is also a social movement taking place where many people are opposing the elements of change which Trump is proposing. It is this dichotomy of ideas of change, mixed with some egging on from the presidential candidate himself, which has created an environment primed for violence.
As these social movements have erupted together, a subculture has been created among Trump supporters. A subculture has cultural patterns which make a segment of a society’s population different ("Key Sociological Concepts", 2016). The unique cultural pattern that the Trump subculture adheres to is a callous disregard for law and decency when it comes to anyone with opposing ideals. Trump has added to this with comments such as stating in a Las Vegas rally what he would like to punch a protester, as well as referencing what he called the “good old days” when protestors would be removed on stretchers (Nguyen, 2016). At an Iowa rally he said, “So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of ’em, would you? I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise. I promise” (Nguyen, 2016). Since the ability to protest is protected by the first amendment, the idea of meeting protestors with violence goes against our laws and societal norms, or the “rules or expectations defining acceptable or required behaviors of individuals in social situations” ("Key Sociological Concepts", 2016). This subculture is so accepting of this abnormal behavior that when a Trump supporter punched a protestor, Andy Dean, a Trump supporter who often appears on the news, said, “That guy’s 78 and throwing a punch like that? At his age, we must say that that is very, very interesting” (Nguyen, 2016). This is in contrast to what one would expect; societal norms would dictate that the violent actions of the Trump supporter be called out as unacceptable. While this would be true in our normal culture, this subculture of Trump supporters are all for violence as long as it is not against them.
It would not be exaggerating to suggest that the birth of this social movement and subculture is an example of the Social Conflict Theory at its finest. The Social Conflict Theory is “a theoretical orientation emphasizing the opposition among individuals, groups, or social structures” ("Key Sociological Concepts", 2016). While it easy to brush Trump off as a racist, and to also say that is why his supporters follow him, which is not the entire truth despite what the media would like us to believe. Many blue collar workers have turned to Trump because their needs have been ignored for so long, and other candidates still have not recognized the issues which affect them most. Trump spends most of his time addressing trade agreements that have allowed so many good jobs to be sent overseas (Frank, 2016). In fact, trade agreements may be at the very root of the conflict between the working class and the one percent. While these trade agreements are a benefit to the rich business men and women out there, they are causing the middle class to shrink, and the lower class to sink lower. If one looks at a map of zones that have been deindustrialized and are in despair, it is almost a perfect match to where Trump is receiving the bulk of his support from (Frank, 2016). This social conflict between blue collar workers and the professional class has practically created a breeding ground for anger and contempt, which leads to violence.
While some supporters of Trump have chosen to do so because of social conflict, and their desire to level the playing field, others have flocked to Trump’s blatant discrimination of everyone who is not a white man. Discrimination is “overt, unequal, and unfair treatment of people based on their group membership” ("Key Sociological Concepts", 2016). Trump has said he will get rid of illegal immigrants, force Mexico to build a wall between us and them, keep track of every Muslim in the country, and degraded women at every turn. This may explain some of the violence, since many of the protestors are not white men. This would exacerbate the reactions of Trump supporters, since they are not only looking at those who they discriminate against, but also those who oppose their own viewpoint.
One of the ironies of the violence at Trump rallies is that it is almost always perpetrated by the Trump supporters; despite this Trump tries to justify the violence by attaching a stigma to the protestors. A stigma is a “powerful negative label” which changes ones social identity ("Key Sociological Concepts", 2016). For instance, Trump has said the protestors are “very, very bad protestersnobody mentions when the protesters are violent protesters. It happens. Not often but it happens” (Nguyen, 2016). He has also called the protestors “bad dudes” and accused them of coming to the rallies in order to seek confrontation (Nguyen, 2016). Of course this may be true of a minority of the protestors, most are going to protest Trump in peace, doing no more than holding signs and chanting. This peaceful protesting has caused them to get manhandled and punched by Trump supporters, partially because Trump has created a stigma surrounding the protestors and so has allowed his supporters to justify their actions.
There is no doubt that the violence surrounding Trump and his followers is phenomena that should be closely looked at by sociologists. Many of the negative aspects of our society which we once thought were dead or dying we have found very much alive, such as blatant racism and disregard for other people. Perhaps the phenomena is justice for the social conflict which we have sat back and watched become greater and greater in the past thirty years. With many people stuck in dead end jobs and making barely livable wages, it is little wonder that they would be so open to someone who does not fit the mold of those who have used them and lied to them previously. Nonetheless, the amount of violence that takes place at Trump rallies is mostly caused by having so many, including Trump, defend the violent actions. It ultimately is not a reflection of the majority of our society.
References
Frank, T. (2016). Millions of ordinary Americans support Donald Trump. Here's why | Thomas Frank. the Guardian. Retrieved 8 April 2016, from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/07/donald-trump-why-americans- support
Key Sociological Concepts. (2016). Sonoma.edu. Retrieved 8 April 2016, from https://www.sonoma.edu/users/l/leeder/pages/concepts.htm
Nguyen, T. (2016). Donald Trump’s Rallies Are Becoming Increasingly Violent. Vanity Fair. Retrieved 8 April 2016, from http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/03/donald-trump- protesters-rally-violence
