Today, as the racist libel of Haitian immigrants continues to be amplified by Republicans, and unwittingly by liberals*, I saw a link to an interactive data map of sundown towns in the U.S.:
(Clicking to enlarge helps, but the real deal is in the first link, which gives you info on each town.)
It's on a site called History and Social Justice hosted at Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Mississippi. It was created with content by historian James Loewen, author of Lies My Teacher Told Me.
Springfield is not on the map, but Vance and Trump are doing their best to make it one, if it wasn't one at some points in the past. That town's city hall and school were closed because of a bomb threat. Haitian people are not leaving their homes, and are keeping their kids home, for fear that they will be attacked. Their cars have been damaged. The parents of the white 11-year-old killed in a van-school bus crash last year have gotten death threats because they dared to tell Republicans to not use their son's name for hate.
A few comments from BlueSky and one from Twitter:
What's happening in Springfield is LITERALLY Klan shit. Terrorize people until they leave, if they're not killed. Combined with policy-based oppression. It's why millions of Black Americans fled the South for the North and the West.
@nathankalmoe.bsky.social
The top of the GOP ticket should be arrested for stochastic terrorism
@kaikronfield.bsky.social
It’s one thing to live in a Sundown Town, it has to feel like a nightmare to live in a place that has Sundown Town status thrust upon you by the goddamn US Senator of your state.
Nails Nathan @chadstanton.bsky.social
repeating those lies without clear refutation embeds them further into the public imagination no matter the intent. There are studies on this
jj skolnik @modernistwitch.bsky.social
I will never, ever understand conservatives' pathological need to gang up on and abuse the weakest and most vulnerable. It's like... the opposite of morality. It's just so gross. I don't have the words.
David Roberts @drvolts
You can donate to the all-volunteer-run Haitian Community and Support Center in Springfield's PayPal account here.
__
*Too many people are sharing "funny" photos and memes about cats and dogs. They think they're making fun of Trump, Vance, and the Right, but they're trivializing and normalizing the dehumanizing words and images, and the violent and threatening effects those things are having in Springfield. They're also ignoring the fact that this libel has been and still is used on other immigrant groups. It's not funny, it's hurtful to people you know. Stop it.
I am really disappointed in how much news people are laughing about "eating pets" line, WCCO anchors just did now. This is straight up RACISM, and not a laughing matter. Sure its delusional how he completely buys the disinformation he sees in his bubble. But it's a very old racist trope. CALL IT THAT!
@quick13.bsky.social
1 comment:
Yes, I've seen the correlation to the Jewish blood libel also. I don't dare look at Trump's Truth Social account, but I've seen some of the AI images of him with the duckies and kitties reposted on other social media. As if he ever cared for an animal in his life.
Post a Comment