Is hate rising, or has it been here all along?
Last week in Portland, two Americans died while taking a stand against hate speech. This incident is a tragic reminder of the rhetoric spreading across the country, and the attitude some Americans have toward people they consider to be the “other.”
Is this type of behavior a result of the hateful speech spewed from the campaign trail and the White House? Or has it been happening all along?
“Get out of this country.”
We’ve been hearing this phrase a lot lately in stories like this one. And this one. These words point to a dark side of America, one filled with images of the Ku Klux Klan marching down Pennsylvania Avenue, or the forced relocation of up to 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II: Fear, distrust, and ultimately, entitlement.
Experts often cited economic anxiety as the driving factor behind Donald Trump’s win in November. As time has passed, however, data from PRRI and The Atlantic reveal it was more cultural anxiety, i.e. fear of displacement, that drove a majority of white voters in the United States to the polls to “Make America Great Again.”
Though Donald Trump capitalized on this fear and brought it to the mainstream with his references to a “big, beautiful wall” and deportation promises, it was here long before he made immigration a defining issue of his campaign.
In fact, nearly identical themes about border walls, bans and “dangerous” immigrants and refugees can be found in the philosophy of the Immigration Restriction League, a sort of think tank formed in 1894 in Boston, Massachusetts, by three nativist Harvard graduates. Along with allies in Washington, they helped pass the Immigration Act of 1917. This law expanded the list of prohibited “undesirables.” It also imposed a literacy test to hinder non-English speakers from entering the U.S., pledging “America must remain American.” Many of these anti-immigration efforts elicited horror in progressive New England circles at the time.
Sound familiar?
At AJ+, we’re working with more than 50 news organizations to track hate in America. We’ve received more than 2,000 reports from people describing hateful encounters across the U.S. Sadly, a number of these submissions described how the president himself was the catalyst for violence directed toward them, since assailants cited the president’s name.
Several people recount being told to “speak English,” and “go back to where you came from.” People have had insults hurled at them from cars, on the subway, in dance clubs, in the classroom, at stores and while walking on the street. The language ranges from racial epithets and Islamaphobic rants to threats of physical assault and death. People describe seeing the N-word and swastikas spray-painted on everyday objects.
We’re committed to fostering safe, online communities, like our Facebook group Rise, where people can share personal stories of injustice and empower one another.
A few months ago, after a shooting in Kansas left one Indian engineer dead and two other men injured, we asked Rise members if they’d ever been told to “get out of this country.” Many of them had.
We recently asked our audience on Twitter the same question.
Again, lots of responses.
In the days since the tragic events in Portland, it turns out that the suspect did, in fact, shout “Get out of my country!” at the two young women. And after much public outcry, President Trump finally denounced the stabbing in Portland and praised the victims’ actions.
But let’s not forget about his other Twitter account. @realDonaldTrump has retweeted white supremacists, called for and defended an unconstitutional Muslim ban, pushed conspiracy theories and blamed undocumented immigrants for basically all crimes committed in the U.S.
What do you think? Has Trump’s presidency resulted in more hateful, anti-immigrant sentiment? Let us know in the comments.
And if you’ve experienced harassment and discrimination, we want to hear from you. Submit your story here: https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/hatecrimes-form?source=ajplus
