This series was inspired by words – President Trump’s lies about the Haitian immigrants in Springfield. I’ve decided that I should try to include words in the images I’m creating. I should use my words to combat those of the president.
Lies and slander are part of the president’s schtick, the comedic style he uses to entertain his followers. Wikipedia lists more than 80 of his derogatory nicknames, like calling his predecessor “Crooked Joe.” The president uses those nicknames to demean other powerful people. It’s different when his slurs are directed at the most vulnerable.
When powerful people direct hate speech against the vulnerable I hear echoes of some of history’s worst events. Calling Haitians criminals who eat people’s dogs and cats makes me think of the Tutsis who were called cockroaches before the killings in Rwanda, or the Jews who were called vermin before their German citizenship was stripped away. Words aimed at dehumanizing the vulnerable can be a first step towards abuse. When we hear those words we need to shout them down.
Miguel’s parents brought him here to escape the violence in his native country. He has no documentation, so the president labels him a criminal. We cannot let that label stand. It can be used to justify abuses, claiming they were acceptable because they were directed only against criminals.
If the president wants to label some people as criminals, we should insist that he use the word accurately. A criminal is a person who has been found guilty in a court of law of committing a crime. The president is a criminal. Miguel is not.
