Thanks for a thoughtful response ! I ' m not sure what you mean in your first and second paragraphs . How and why would those institutions hammer those people ? And what did you mean about that entire loose lips thing ? You assume in your third paragraph that prejudice won ' t become the law of the land , which may be so , or may not . Even if it never happens though , that ' s not what I ' m talking about . The legitimisation of racist ideology at least in the minds of a great many people isn ' t something that requires a legislative change . Trump isn ' t president yet and already we see multiple indications that bigots are empowered right now . The other factor , I think , is that there are several mechanisms by which activity breeds organisation , and organisation allows for agendapushing and stronger activity . People start attending rallies where they network with other people who have similar ideals and motivations . Political organisations know this and specifically work towards it . I know I ' ve done it many times . Trying to build a movement to fight for marriage equality ? Hold a marriage equality event and people willing to contribute will come to you . Plus , think about the people who decided that maybe socialism isn ' t all that bad if Sanders calls himself a socialist . Trump has never called himself a white supremacist , but I can imagine a similar effect where people think , These white supremacists who I ' m encountering for the first time just want the same thing as me ! So even if Trump throws the bigots among his supporters under the bus , the damage is done . One final point I agree that some small number of people may suddenly realise that racism is a problem in the USA . But given that the majority of people who hold that view seem to me to either just be voicing their own prejudice or displaying their superhuman ability to ignore what ' s right in front of their faces , I doubt many will be convinced .