The trumposaurus of the 21st century

America has become “Jurassic Park.”

You know the movie’s plot. Dinosaurs thought to be extinct are resurrected, brought to life by an evil man whose goal is to amass emoluments by displaying them in a zoo-like habitat. Predictably the plan goes terribly wrong. Ferocious predators prove to be what ferocious predators have been since the beginning of time.

The thought-to-be extinct creatures wreak death and destruction. Before the dinosaurs are brought under control, they cause a great deal of drama and suffering.

Most thought the country had evolved. We thought the dinosaurs of racism and bigotry were mostly extinct. We were aware that some Neanderthals still hid in caves but responsible political leaders were always able to keep the ugliness under control. We couldn’t imagine the nation had become so polarized that it would elect a trumposaurus whose goal was to bring back dinosaurs and divide the country along racial and cultural fault lines.

If you don’t think that which we thought extinct has returned, listen to the vicious threats a loathsome Stegosaurus aimed at a 12-year-old Oklahoman transgender girl. Named for a small- brained creature from the Mesozoic Era, it called her, “A half-baked maggot” threatening caveman-like violence. “If he wants to be female,” this creature from our past said, “make him a female. A good sharp knife will do the job.” Another urged his son to beat the girl until she left their middle school.

Jurassic Park’s dinosaurs were resurrected using ancient DNA. Today’s were resurrected with Tweets.

The trumposaurus was not the first to revive the dinosaurs. Richard Nixon had his Southern Strategy, restoring life to dinosaurs who were fast dying off in 1968. George H.W. Bush had the Willie Horton dog whistle. The trumposaurus found fertile ground in the undergrowth of the American jungle. There he was aided by feckless politicians and state-controlled media.

Abetting the trumposaurus are fearful members of Congress, known as Spinlessopoluses. This timorous species walks softly, making no noise even in the face of danger. Playing starring roles in this Jurassic Park sequel, they refuse to exercise their Constitutional obligation to provide checks and balances.

Alas, it is our system of checks and balances that is becoming extinct, allowing dinosaurs to thrive.

Right-wing media also deserves credit. The Jurassic era’s celebrity dinosaur, Laurasaurus Ingrahamopolus, set aside the dog whistle, openly touting the prejudicial fears of her ilk. “The America we know and love doesn’t exist anymore.” She blamed “massive demographic changes” which “have been foisted on the American people,” adding, “They are changes that none of us ever voted for, and most of us don’t like.” The Ingrahamopolus blamed legal as well as illegal immigration.

These dinosaurs may be blind but they are not color blind.

The America she and others seek thrives in the resurrection of extinct dinosaurs and their ability to instill fear. “Make Jurassic Park Great Again” is a plea to turn the dinosaurs loose on people of color.

Remember Charlottesville? The trumposaurus said there were “some very fine people” among the neo-Nazis. One of those “very fine people” is a deplorasaurus, appearing on CNN, proudly displaying swastika tattoos and Nazi paraphernalia, boasting that the trumposaurus resurrected the hate and how the cause of neo-nationalism was bolstered by his election.

This trumposaurus gave new life to dinosaurs. They came out of their caves to roam America once again. Parts of the USA are as threatening to people of color as Jurassic Park. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) tracks hate crimes and reports what it calls a “Trump effect.” That term refers to the “uptick” in dinosaur-based violence against racial and cultural minorities since November 2016, causing havoc, death, and destruction just as could be expected of resurrected dinosaurs.

According to SPLC data, “after Trump’s election, bias incidents became a daily reality and hate crimes targeting the nation’s most vulnerable communities became a national nightmare.”

The dinosaurs are real. The time has come to decide whether to restore American ideals or live in Jurassic Park.