title:  CBS Reporter Describes Racism At Donald Trump Rallies
text: CBS reporter Sopan Deb has been speaking out about the level of racism he has personally encountered at Donald Trump rallies.As Addicting Info reported here, Deb, a U.S. citizen of Indian descent, was arrested earlier this week while covering Donald Trump s canceled IUC rally.His unconstitutional arrest by Chicago police is now helping to draw attention to deeper issues that define the Trump campaign.Deb reports that he has encountered a shocking amount of racism from Trump supporters, during the time he has been assigned to cover Trump s rallies.For example, in January he describes a man accusing him of recording a Trump rally for ISIS. A Trump supporter just asked me at Reno event if I was taking pictures for ISIS. When I looked shocked, he said,  yeah, I m talking to you.  Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) January 10, 2016He went on to describe the encounter in more detail, writing on Twitter,The man then repeated the accusation multiple times. I told him, politely, I was with CBS and that what he said was inappropriate.  Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) January 10, 2016The same man then told him  This is America, be glad you re here. I have a couple of guesses what he meant by that,  Deb said on Twitter.He says that during a different rally, held in December, another Trump supporter told him to  Go back to Iraq. It should come as no surprise to anyone to learn that Trump s rallies are a magnet for the lowest common denominator. If there is any sort of diversity among Trump s supporters, it s only in the slight difference between proud white supremacists with swastika tattoos, and semi-closeted racists, who prefer to hide behind crosses while crying that their  traditional Christian values  are under attack. Politically speaking, however, there s very little difference between the Tea Party platform, the platform of the American Nazi Party, that of the KKK or any other white supremacist organization.As the Washington Post reported here, membership in white supremacist groups grew at an enormous rate after the election of President Obama in 2008. There were 194 such groups in 2000, a number that dropped to 149 by 2008, but after President Obama s election, the number jumped to more than 1,000 Trump has capitalized on the right wing s seething race hatred, and in doing so, he s been propelled to the head of race.Knowing that, it s no surprise that the candidate has refused to condemn the KKK, or that white nationalists have been robocalling voters on behalf of his campaign.In 2016, voters will decide which direction our country will move in. Should Donald Trump, or any other right-wing racist win the presidency, racial tensions are likely to explode across the country.Now s the time to keep our country moving forward, challenging racism and right-wing extremism at every turn. A great battle was won during the historic 2008 election of President Barack Obama, but the war is far from over.Image credit: Darron Birgenheier via Flckr; screen capture, Sopan Deb via Twitter