Racism and xenophobia are, sadly, as American as apple pie. So bigoted attitudes and language spilling out of the mouths of authority figures, including presidents, are nothing new.
One example of many: President Lydon B. Johnson, who signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act a year later, often used the “n word” and used the phrase “n——- bill” for the landmark legislation.
While coded language has been more of a go-to for some elected leaders in more recent history, dog-whistling now seems to have taken a backseat to in-your-face ugliness.
Former President Donald Trump, who has disparaged Muslims and Mexicans, amplified the anti-immigrant talking point of Haitians eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris last week.
As Trump’s vice presidential pick, JD Vance continued to double down and defend the false claim, other Republican leaders flexed their Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian muscles during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Sun-Times Washington Bureau Chief Lynn Sweet reported.
The GOP senators suddenly became mute Tuesday when given the chance to offer their condolences to Hanan Shaheen, the mother of 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi, who was stabbed to death near Plainfield in what police said was a hate crime days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
That these politicians couldn’t muster any sympathy for Shaheen, a Muslim Palestinian woman, was heartless and shameful. But matters got worse when one of them questioned another Muslim woman.
U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., repeatedly asked Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, if she supported Hamas and Hezbollah. Then he suggested to Berry, that she “hide [her] head in a bag” while she testified as a witness
Leaders who behave this way give a wink and nod to constituents with those same prejudiced views, telling them it’s OK. Leaders should be better than that.
Other leaders must step up and speak out, as Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling is doing in the case of a veteran detective who posted hundreds of offensive social media posts targeting Black people, Muslims, immigrants and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Snelling, in a letter to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, wrote that he is poised to fire Shawn Popow, as the Sun-Times’ Andy Grimm reported.
Getting rid of all blatantly bigoted elected leaders and others in positions of authority is worth the effort, one step forward at a time.
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