Thursday, July 18, 2019

“Send Her Back"



On July 14, ,Donald Trump wrote on Twitter that four progressive democratic congresswomen “come from totally broken and crime infested places (and that they should) go back (there).” 

The four congresswomen are Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Lihan Omar (D-MN), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez D-NY) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). All four are Americans, and three of them are US-born, which means that they would be entitled to run for the presidency.

Since then, this latest outrage has metastasized: During a Republican rally on July 18, the crowd erupted in a vicious chant saying “Send her back.” Trump stood by silently for a considerable amount of time. He never attempted to silence or re-direct the mob behavior. Only at a later press conference did he try to mildly disavow the crowd’s conduct. Meanwhile, all his sycophantic republican supporters - Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, Senator Lindsey Graham, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, etc. - continue to turn a blind eye to the blatant and vicious racism, xenophobia and misogyny exuding from the President and shared by much of his base.

The “send her back” is a new iteration of the vicious “lock her up” chants that erupted at rallies throughout Trump's 2016 presidential campaign against Hillary Clinton (That rant is now also being revived by the die-hard Hillary-haters)

 Are we surprised that it is once again WOMEN on whom this coward picks? Or people of color? And foreign-born Americans? Why on earth are people still debating and posing as a QUESTION whether or not this President is a racist and a misogynist?

The July 18 political rally was also reminiscent of the annual Nazi Nuremberg rallies in Germany during the 1930s, and of Joe McCarthy’s red-baiting speeches during the 1940s and 1950s.

I relate to this in a very personal way, because I am an immigrant, and I have also been told several times in my life that if I don’t like it here, I should go back to where I come from/where I belong. 

Some years ago, I published a letter in the Wall Street Journal criticizing US gun policy, and contrasting it with what I saw as more reasonable policies prevailing in many of the other highly developed countries. A few days later, the Journal published a comment to my letter, (written by a Texan, a gun lover no doubt): The fact that his position was diametrically opposed to mine is neither here nor there. What really hurt me was his admonition that if I didn’t like it in the US, I should get the hell out and return to where I came from.

During the Vietnam War, I had a peace sign posted on my front lawn. It was vandalized and replaced with a sign saying: AMERICA: LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT. I suspected one of my neighbors.

Being told that I should, as an immigrant, put up and shut up, or else leave the country, has happened to me on several other occasions.

As an immigrant to the US, I have paid my dues, and I have often expressed my great love and appreciation for this country, both in private and in public, and at some cost to myself, I should add. 

© Tom Kando 2019;All Rights Reserved

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