Can we just say it already? Donald Trump is a racist.

The president's racism has become too blatant to ignore

Donald Trump meets with Native Americans who served in World War II.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Back in the 1970s, there was an oft-aired public service announcement featuring a boy and his granddad down at the fishin' hole that taught an important lesson about the seamless tapestry of humanity. The boy asks what "prejudiced" means, because his friend Jimmy called him prejudiced. Prejudiced, Grandpa explains, "is when you react to someone because of their religion or their color." "I don't do that!" says the boy, but Grandpa is smart enough to know a lie when he hears one. He asks who Jimmy is, and the boy says, "Jimmy's one of my Jewish friends." Then Grandpa goes in for the kill. "Then you are prejudiced," he says, "because you think of Jimmy as your Jewish friend, and not your friend." Case closed.

It may look a little simplistic in retrospect, but the ad highlights something important about minority status: When you're in the majority, you don't have to worry that people look at you and see first your religion or race or sexuality. You don't have to worry about being forced to wear a cloak made of other people's sins or other people's assumptions. One of the things we mean when we talk about "privilege" is the privilege to be only your individual self.

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Paul Waldman

Paul Waldman is a senior writer with The American Prospect magazine and a blogger for The Washington Post. His writing has appeared in dozens of newspapers, magazines, and web sites, and he is the author or co-author of four books on media and politics.