I’ve Been Accused of Eating Cats And Dogs. Attacks Against Haitian Immigrants Are Much Worse.
Specifically targeting a vulnerable population with a presidential platform is just wrong
I saw a meme the other day from another Asian guy. It was a picture of an old, laughing Asian man, with the caption “Asians seeing Haitians getting blamed for eating cats and dogs,” a reference to Trump’s baseless and false claim about Haitian immigrants “eating the dogs” and “eating the cats” in his debate against Kamala Harris.
At the time, I thought it was hilarious, not only because of the ridiculous way Trump said it but because it’s a stereotype that has been targeted at me and virtually every other Asian person I know numerous times. There is a certain dark, crude humor in seeing that stereotype lodged in another group of people, even though it most certainly isn’t a good thing.
Much of this stereotype revolved around perceptions of Asian food as exotic and disgusting to people unfamiliar with it, my friends included. But people have been either accusing me of eating cats and dogs or, as people have grown a little more sensitive, just asked me whether I eat cats and dogs my whole life. It’s not something I’m particularly defensive over or one I took a lot of offense over— I don’t eat…
