Things that happened at the Trump Rally on the Yorktown you didn’t know about

By Mark A. Leon

The stage  was set for a momentum building patriotic moment on the Yorktown on Pearl Harbor Day, 2015.

• South Carolina, the most patriotic state in the United States; Check
• The USS Yorktown, a symbolic of naval power and pursuit of freedom; Check
• The leading Republican candidate for president; Check
• Pearl Harbor Day; Check

Nothing could taint this event.  Maybe a bombshell announcement from Donald Trump about banning Muslims from the US borders.  That did sound shock waves through the media, but much of the disgust of the evening happened beyond the scope of the camera lenses.

This event was free to the community, a set number of tickets were allocated, TSA offered their service and equipment and the evening was a set for a structured and historic political event.  Families, students, couples and veterans waited patiently on line to witness history.

Mistake #1 – They over allotted tickets and 300 plus people could not get in after some waited over two hours on line.

The honor of the political system was celebrated with hats, bumper stickers, shirts, hoodies and other memories of the event.

Mistake #2 – A group of nomadic opportunists travel from event to event seeing as much high profit merchandise as possible.  Hats started the evening at $20.00 each and ended at $5.00.  Hoodies were $40.00 initially and $20.00 at the conclusion and instead of bumper stickers that read “Trump for President” many read “Hillary for Prison” and “Bomb the Hell out of ISIS”.  It was a poor representation of our nation.  After many were cut off from being a part of the event on the Yorktown, organizers offered ground signs as a consolation.

The audience was comprised of civil minded individuals with open minds and strong supporters of the political process.

Mistake #3 – The traditional archetype of a Republican is a middle-upper class or upper class white professional with conservative views.  Let us look at the current atmosphere of our nation.  We have had a black president for two terms who has bailed out large corporations, forced healthcare and paid premiums on all Americans that do not have healthcare, opened the doors for the world to enter and failed in many foreign affairs.  Now we have a very large disgruntled population:  White, poor, now further enhanced racists who no longer want to support the liberal Democratic front and need a voice to follow.  Take an out-spoken politician who believes every event should be a circus and now this large group of racially drive white trash has a leader. 

As we stood on line, the mood got slowly worse until one statement was made that turned the tides for us and really set the stage for an embarrassing ending of the night.  Right behind us, in front of his wife and children a father said “If if wasn’t for these dang Muslims, we wouldn’t be waiting here.”  This statement was in reference to the TSA machines and the security check.  We were embarrassed for Charleston and America in less than ten seconds.

Shortly after, a small group of protesters organized at one end of the parking lot.  As the line continued to wait and people got impatient, pockets of attendees, mostly young adults started screaming “Get a job” or “Go home and get a job” (there were added profanities as well).  To keep in line with the circus theme many got in front of the protestors, signs and police and began to take selfies to mock the event and get some much needed attention on Facebook.

It didn’t take long to walk away from this event and realize how bad we are letting ourselves become.

I have no opinion for supporters of Donald Trump.  We are in a democratic society where we each have the right to vote and all I can say is that we need to exercise that right.