Stephen Lendman

American exceptionalism, the “indispensable nation,” an “empire of liberty,” the “leader of the free world,” a “shining city on a hill,” and other patriotic slogans mask hard truths about the most ruthlessly dangerous regime in world history.

America is only beautiful for its privileged few alone. For most others it’s hell, increasingly getting worse, fundamental freedoms disappearing. A scoundrel media supported permanent state of war exists.

Trump’s phony campaign slogan about making America great again inspired 22-year-old Krystal Lake to order and wear a custom-made hat with the phrase: “America Was Never Great.”Its sordid history from inception proves it, today more than ever with megalomaniacal aims for world conquest and dominance.

Lake, like many others, justifiably got sick and tired of hearing Trump supporters repeat his duplicitous slogan, knowing America was never great, serving wealth, power and privilege exclusively, most others grievously harmed by regressive policies.

She got the hat a week ago, wore it the next day at work. The day passed uneventfully, she said. In short order, things changed. An image of her wearing the hat was posted online.

She got bombarded with social media criticism, including racial pejoratives (she’s Black) and death threats.

Critics “were actually threatening to kill me over a hat,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it…How is this happening.”

Many critics complained to her employer, Home Depot. Workers stopped answering phones. She expected to be fired.

Without addressing her hat, company spokesman Stephen Holmes said employees aren’t allowed to wear clothing or insignia in any form expressing political or other personal opinions. Termination could follow refusal to comply.

Lake said Home Depot employees wear supportive Trump t-shirts and badges without comment or criticism. “No one ever says anything to them,” she explained.

Asked why she dislikes Trump, she cut to the chase, saying “(i)f you’re not the race that he would want, or whether it’s sexual preference, if you have any disabilities, your financial status, race, everything, all of that combined, or even if you don’t think like him, he will automatically write you off.”

She has supporters as well as critics. She’ll graduate with a degree in media studies from the College of Staten Island in two weeks.

She seeks a career in music, radio, social media or journalism. She intends buying more copies of her hard-hitting hat.

She can do much better than work for notoriously anti-labor/anti-worker Home Depot. An earlier leaked video discouraged employees from joining unions. Corporate America deplores them. Large retail chains want them eliminated.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.