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For days, #Trump & his allies have zeroed in on #Springfield, #Ohio, [knowingly] amplifying *baseless claims* [LIES] that #Haitian #immigrants there are eating others’ pets. The promotion of such rumors, which thrust the city into the national spotlight [& made it a target for #WhiteNationalist #DomesticViolentExtremists], is rooted in a centuries-old #racist trope of #vilifying newcomers to the #UnitedStates & highlights the country’s present-day divides, historians say.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/14/trump-immigrants-eating-pets-racist-stereotype/
His remarks were the latest in a swirl of canards that #Trump has spread about #Haitian #immigrants, despite [#law enforcement], #local [+ #state & #federal government] officials debunking the claims [over & over & over]. Leaders in #Springfield have said the claims are harming the #community, which has been forced to #evacuate #schools, #CityHall & other buildings after receiving #threats due to Trump’s remarks.
…#Trump has also incorrectly said that #Haitians in #Springfield are in the #US illegally, though local officials have rebutted that as well. The migrants were granted temporary protected status #TPS in the #UnitedStates after fleeing #violence at home.
The claims are the latest instances of Trump using #dehumanizing language when talking about people who immigrate to the US. They also mirror stereotypes some Americans have used against foreigners in the US for nearly 1½ centuries.
Since the 1st wave of Chinese #immigrants arrived in the 1800s, they—along w/others from European, Asian or Latin American nations—have been the subject of cartoons, newspaper articles, caricatures & books that were used by some in #politics & #media to spread anti-immigrant rhetoric & instill #fear in other residents, experts said.
“My first thought was: Here we go again. This is a trope we’ve seen time & time again that is used to ‘other’ people of color [&] new immigrants.” said Anita Mannur
dir of American University’s Asia, Pacific & Diaspora Studies program.
#Immigration & #border #security has been a [favorite issue of Republicans] leading up to the Nov election; [going so far as to block strong new #bipartisan #Immigration #law just to keep it an unsolved issue to campaign on]. #Republicans have singled out #Springfield, which has seen an influx of #Haitian #immigrants in recent years after a boom in #manufacturing jobs attracted new residents.
…#Trump repeating the #lies about #Springfield residents’ pets—which #Republican Party leaders picked up from a Facebook post [remarkably questionable source to base a #terror campaign on]& #JDVance elevated Mon—fits into Trump’s record of portraying #immigrants broadly as threats. His attempts to #vilify immigrants & people of color, including his campaign’s use of #racist tropes, align w/tactics that #populist & #authoritarian leaders have used throughout #history, scholars and historians say.
Such leaders win support by creating fear about certain groups, then portraying themselves as the only person who can address the problems they cause, said Florida International University #law professor Ediberto Román, who studies #xenophobia & #immigration.…
@Nonilex "Leaders" creating fear then saying they can address the problems they created themselves reminds me of what Robert Sapolsky said about religion: It is remarkably good at soothing people's anxieties. Unfortunately, those anxieties religion addresses were created by religion in the first place!