By Mark Naison (January 12, 2018)
“We’re letting in people from Shithole countries”
Just the latest outrageous comment from Donald Trump, and one of the most damaging.
Make no mistake about it, if you are an American of color, the message is coming across that your President despises you and thinks people like you do more to undermine the nation than strengthen it. Anyone who thinks that this perception is without consequence is not a very serious student of history.
The people hurt by these remarks are not just the bulwark of our work force from health care to education to technology to fast food- they are essential components of our armed forces and law enforcement.
Those of the President’s party who stand by without denouncing such speech and behavior bear a fearful responsibility for the division and mistrust they inspire, consequences that will be felt for years, and perhaps decades to come
Their silence is the shame of a nation.
