A witch hunt is brewing in Springfield, OH
“They’re eating the dogs…They’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” are the now-famous words uttered by candidate Donald Trump at the presidential debate on Sept. 10. Trump was referring to the debunked theory that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, OH are stealing and eating people’s pets, a theory that was peddled by his running mate, J.D. Vance, who claimed that residents of Springfield were sending him letters describing such crimes. Despite the fact that these claims are demonstrably false, the rise in misinformation and xenophobia surrounding the “illegal Haitians that eat the pets of white people” has set Springfield as the perfect stage for a modern-day witch hunt.
In the wake of Donald Trump’s publicized comments at the debate, Springfield has been the target of over 30 bomb threats to government buildings, private residences and even elementary schools. Festivities celebrating diversity have been canceled and Haitian immigrants have been the victims of several violent assaults. The same immigrants have also been referred to as “sand monkeys” by anti-immigrant residents, “gangsters” by Republican House representatives and “illegals” by Trump and Vance on their social media. Every single Haitian immigrant in Springfield was brought to the country through legal means, and both Trump and Vance know it. Whether they vocalize it or not, they are deliberately inciting violence and hate against a minority that they know they can easily target. Their goal is to make their base subconsciously associate “Haitian” with “illegal and un-American,” thus ensuring that there is a group they can paint as a scapegoat for America’s woes.
Anyone with a brain can see the violent hate that Trump’s comments have brought to Springfield’s Haitian community. The real issue isn’t that people didn’t seriously consider the ramifications of what he said, the problem was that it was hilarious. The fact that “eating cats and dogs” was a complete non-sequitur to the question posed before it, the way David Muir had to casually correct him about the facts and its inherent quotability make it easy to view it as another “classic” Trumpism, rather than the very real call to hate that it was. I know it’s tempting to treat what Trump said in a joking manner, and I’m definitely not saying that jokes can’t be made about it. Even I made a comic in this very issue joking about his awkward phrasing. However, making it “only a joke” defangs what is obviously racially-charged fear mongering, and opens the door for people to say things like “I know it sounds funny, but it’s true.”
Republicans need to be aware of the floodgates that may be opening as a result of Trump’s negligence, and take accountability for spurring it on.
