GOP Presidential front-runner Donald Trump is firm in his conviction that he will win over Hispanics in America, even while his approval numbers among the country's largest minority tend to hover near "you're kidding, right?" Say what you want, but Trump's suggestion that the Mexican government is sending its worst to the United States can't be called pandering.
Given the somewhat disconcerting prospect of a Trump presidency among some Latinos, it's not surprising that his name showed up on several of the Tenn Words forms submitted on Sunday during Knoxville's Hola Festival. For some, yes, Donald Trump keeps them up at night.
Among the comments:
- A 24 year-old man from Knoxville offered this simple evaluation: "Es malo Donald Trump (Donald Trump is bad)"
- A 50 year-old Knoxville woman suggested it's not just Trump, but his supporters causing her sleepless nights: "Los que siguen a Donald Trump (Those who follow Donald Trump)"
There were English-language critiques of the Donald as well:
- "Donald Trump's popularity" (from a 21 year-old Knoxville woman)
- "The fact that Donald Trump could be president :( " (from a different 21 year-old Knoxville woman)
- A 27 year-old Louisville man says he's spent time at night thinking about ways of "Trumping Trump"
Of course, there were a lot of other issues, concerns and thoughts that festival attendees brought to the Tenn Words booth:
- From two teenage girls from Knoxville who filled out a form together: "Escuela, notas tambien (School, and also grades)"
- One of a couple comments about immigration reform: "Pasar el DREAM ACT y falta de amor al estranjero (passage of the Dream Act and the lack of love for foreigners)"
- A series of global concerns from this 60 year-old Knoxville woman: "La desintegracion humana, la violencia mundial y falta de respeto al ambiente (Human breakdown, global violence and the lack of respect for the environment.)"
- This sweet concern from the 38 year-old father of a young girl: "Como inculcar valores en mi hija 15 meses (How to instill values in my 15 month-old daughter)"
- And I'm not sure exactly why this submission from a 29 year-old Knoxville man struck me as much as it did, other than it's one of those sentiments that transcends culture and ethnicity: "El tiempo esta pasando rapido (Time is passing quickly)"
If you haven't had the opportunity to respond to our Tenn Words question (What keeps you up at night?), you can answer it anonymously online. You can also subscribe to our Tenn Words podcast, follow our Twitter feed and see every form we receive on Instagram.
