“They’re Eating the Dogs…..They’re Eating the Cats” – Former US President and Republican Nominee for President – Donald J Trump

 

One of the great highlights of the most recent presidential debate in the US came when the Republican Nominee, Donald J Trump went on a rant about Haitian Immigrants eating dogs and cats in Springfield, Ohio. The former President got very upset because the moderators proceeded to inform everyone that the Mayor of Springfield Ohio had confirmed that there was not a shred of evidence to suggest that Haitian immigrants were eating dogs and cats.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5llMaZ80ErY

 

 So, if there was no evidence that Haitian immigrants were eating the pets of Springfield Ohio, why then did the former president go on this particular rant? There are two clear elements to this.

Firstly, the former president has always had a relationship with the truth that one can compare with his relationship with his wives.

Then, there’s the fact that he has a proven genius for brining out irrational fears in people and he’s not wrong in taking the view that immigration will be a hot topic. Nothing scares people more than the idea of being overwhelmed by people who don’t look or sound like them.

Unfortunately, this isn’t limited to the USA. Far Right parties have found that having electoral success on an anti-immigration platform. Even here in “multicultural” Singapore, it’s now impossible to escape complaints about the “unhygienic” and “uncouth” Chinaman or the “snooty” Indian expat.

Let’s face it, having an “influx” of people into any given area is never going to be easy. Resources meant for a million are bound to be stretched when you have an additional two million using them. In Singapore’s coffeeshops there is a direct correlation between the complaints about new arrivals and the complaint about the rise in prices of things like housing and the decline in public services like our public transport. Now, this is in Singapore, where things are heavily controlled (mainly very wealthy expats and the movements of lower waged workers are highly controlled). One only needs to multiply that many times over when you talk about places where things are not so well controlled.

So, I don’t disagree that immigration can be a problematic issue. However, is it acceptable for public figures to “target” ethnic groups for their own gain? I mean for me; the answer should be no. I got put off Trump when he started the “Mexicans are Rapist” thing. What’s shocking is the number of people, specifically the young who defended it with things like “Oh, he didn’t really mean it and didn’t say it very well.”

I also agree that free speech is often ugly but you still need to defend a person’s right to say ugly things even if it offends you.

However, there has to be a line somewhere between someone being an a***hole and someone targeting specific, vulnerable groups for personal gain. In a way, this line comes from who you are. If I (and I am guilty of it) make awful remarks, I’m just an a***hole. My irrelevance helps in this case. However, if I was a famous person running for the most powerful office in the land and started making derogatory remarks about a particular group, it would be a different story. That should disqualify one in the mind “voters” and the fact that it does not, should be worrying. Let’s put it this way, if you accept that Mexicans are rapist, you should also be able to accept that Hitler wasn’t wrong when he said that the Jews were economic criminals.

What makes the dogs and cats story even more disturbing is the fact that the politicians are quite comfortable with making things up as Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate, Mr. JD Vance was happy to do:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/15/jd-vance-lies-haitian-immigrants

 

 Once again, we all accept that public figures are bound to stretch the truth. As humans, we’re bound to silence our flaws and play up our moments. Politicians in particular, are prone to sprouting “BS” on a regular basis.

However, there has to be a difference between “bs” and “exaggeration” and a downright lie and making things up to suite a narrative against a particular ethnic group. One only has to watch the interview where Mr. Vance admitted that he was happy to “make up stories” in order suite his need. He provided virtually no verification to any of his claims other than what he claimed he was hearing from constituents.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djpTr5r0zMQ

 

Many of us, myself included, are guilty of believing what we want to believe. We tend to use facts to confirm our preconceived notions and prejudices. However, most of us are not running to become what is effectively the understudy to the most powerful man in the world. Surely, our expectations should be higher when it comes to judging public and powerful people. Yes, they’re human to. They’re entitled to their prejudices in their private lives. However, should those prejudices be the formation of policy? The answer should by all accounts be no.