Conservative pundits who selectively “extort” MLK’s memory only days after defending Trump’s Shithole sentiment, would have been vehemently at odds with him, were MLK alive today.
Donald Trump is racist. Even if he doesn’t think he is (no racist does).
“I’m the least racist person you’ve ever interviewed at 4pm on a Sunday that weighs 278lbs.”
Here’s a man who’s called for all Muslims to be banned, labeled Mexicans rapists, thinks Nigerians all live in huts, that Haitians all have AIDS, and that Kaepernick and other black players were “Sons of Bitches who deserve to be fired,” that Puerto Rico should be grateful for America’s help despite being a part of America, and most recently, Donald said we should stop letting in people from “Shithole countries” like Haiti and El Salvador and start letting them in from places like Norway instead. The only consistency within Trump’s rhetoric thus far has been paying homage to white-supremacist ideals, a group he has called “very fine people” after an incident of domestic terror.
MAGA boys, but in the 60s
So on this day, let’s remember the irony of Trump's base justifying his “shithole” sentiment and then following that up with quotes about tolerance from Martin Luther King Jr. 2 days later. Even though, the MAGA mentality is the most similar brainwave we’ve seen thus far to the anti-civil-rights protestors, and admin officials who’d find token reasons to discredit the civil rights movement in the 60’s. And now in honor of that found themselves on the wrong side of history, the MAGA boys and girls work tirelessly to whitewash MLK as they forget that the FBI was targeting him, that MLK was in opposition to US military intervention abroad and that it wasn’t until much later that bigots started pretending to love him while watering down his messages of economic justice. So on this day, and every other day, we need to open our eyes to the reality that MLK died fighting the same systemic injustice that has unfortunately bled its way into the Trump Administration.
Trump’s immigration policy derives from casual white supremacy. And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It’s not merely a preference for a merit based immigration system if “merit” is determined exclusively by the color of your skin. So the fact that Trump and others who rushed to defend his “shithole” statement can turn around two days later and celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. day is ridiculously hypocritical. They’re treating you like idiots.
For example, champion conservative gladiator, Ben Shapiro, who invokes the idea of MLK freely for whatever political message he has to push, was performing mental jiu jitsu only 24 hours prior, as he woke up at 4am to defend Trump’s racism on Fox and Friends
Stop trying to put the dog whistle back in Trump’s mouth when he’s already barking.
And when Trump barks, his supporters are quick to join the chorus and start barking just as loud, like the good ol’ boys they are.
“This is how the forgotten men and women in America talk at the bar. This is how Trump relates to people.”
Yeah, except Trump’s not at a bar, he’s the leader of this nation, talking to a room full of politicians and immigration policy experts where his sentiment will impact the lives of almost 300,000 immigrants.
A nation’s GDP, or government has nothing to do with the quality of the person who goes through intense scrutiny just to come here seeking opportunity. So-called “shithole countries” have great people, and great countries have “shithole citizens” - look no further than this great country, that produced the likes of David Duke or his favorite, the silver-spooned, egomaniacal shithole manbaby - Donald Trump.
But the most laughable attempt at trying to defend Trump’s white supremacist bullshit had to be trying to invoke the ol’ “economic reasons”
Okay here are some facts instead
Turns out, 275,000 shithole country Temporary Protected Status holders are parents of US citizens - they work in construction jobs, and in nursing homes - they’re skilled laborers who would be supremely difficult to replace. It would cost American businesses almost a billion dollars in turnover costs to just to find and hire replacements.
It would cost you and me, the American taxpayers, $3.1 Billion just to deport them.
Ending this immigration program would also take away $6.9 billion dollars from social security in a decade.
So remember these economic consequences, (very similar to DACA) next time someone tries to mention “economic reasons” for why these immigrants must go.
It’s almost like even the more principled republican pundits try to cram these talking points down your throat so you can justify your bigotry, and continue this “facade of politeness.” Kind of similar to tweeting about how “BLM is the KKK,” making a career out of yelling at a black athlete blackballed for his peaceful protest, and then posting an MLK quote about tolerance as a defense mechanism. I mean who would do that?
Change is scary, but Immigration is not the real threat, it’s just a rehashing of the same brand of intolerance the British/Germans pilgrims perpetuated against the Irish, Jewish, Italian immigrants that came after them. But I guess the fear of immigrants/refugees coming to take your land, steal your property - ruin your culture, and kill you is not so unfounded when considering the history of Native Americans.
The future is coming to your neighborhood, no matter how hard you cling to the white faces around you, it’s coming, in fact it’s already here. So while Trump and his cronies work hard to make you hate your neighbor, don’t forget that we all experience the same economic anxieties - we all have similar problems, and when your brown or black neighbor is doing better, America is doing better as well.