Derogatory statements on race reflect bigotry; Christians can’t ignore them
Donald Trump has accused Mexican immigrants of being rapists, he has tried to ban people from Muslim countries from entering the United States, and most recently in an asinine flood of scandals from the Trump administration: Trump complained that we get too many immigrants from “s—hole countries” like Haiti and countries in Africa. From a man who is usually incredibly inconsistent in his beliefs and statements, at least we can trust in this one consistency: racism.
It’s almost pointless to go after Trump for being racist anymore. He’s made it incredibly clear. Donald Trump has to tell reporters that he’s “the least racist person you’ve ever interviewed.” Could he be more obvious? If a person has to preface their words with, “I’m not racist, but,” you can be pretty sure they’re about to say something racist. Â This statement is a major misstep on Trump’s part, comparable to Nixon’s infamous “I am not a crook.” If you have to deny it so emphatically, aren’t you basically admitting to it? If Trump really weren’t a racist, couldn’t he display that by his actions, rather than making bizarrely hyperbolic remarks to the press?
President Trump himself claims to be Christian. This is a Christian school. Christians should not be disparaging the fact that people are coming from less prosperous countries, they should be happy this is the case. The Bible encourages us to help people in need. Jesus himself came from a disrespected, crappy place. As was said by Nathaniel in John 1:46 after hearing about Jesus of Nazareth: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”
In case anyone needs clarification about why his statement is racist, it’s helpful to remember he also said he would prefer more immigrants from Norway. I hope I don’t have to explain that Norway is mostly white. You could excuse him for saying it because Norwegians are usually much more well off than Haitians and many people from Africa, and he may just be saying he wants more well-to-do immigrants. If that is your excuse for him, I have only one question for you: do you really believe that?
Trump began his racist career when he was sued by the justice department for trying to avoid renting out apartments to black people in the 1970s. He has said that “laziness is a trait in blacks.” For years he claimed that President Obama was born in Kenya. Trump hired Steve Bannon, who was an executive chairman of Breitbart News, a notoriously racist website. David Duke, the former leader of the KKK, supported his candidacy.
Trump’s comment about “s—hole countries” is not about him wanting better-off immigrants, it’s a continuation of his incessant racist trend. It’s yet another display of xenophobia from our racist president. It is far past time anyone be surprised about something like this. It’s not conjecture, or liberal propaganda, or lies. Trump is a racist.
So what’s the point? Trump is a racist, but what does it matter? The reason this is important is that Trump has quite a lot of power, not just over our laws, but in revealing the way Americans think. He’s president of the United States. He is our representative to the world, he was elected by the people of America to be our leader.
What does it say about our society that we can overlook all the things Trump has said and done? What does it say about us that we are willing to knowingly elect a person who is this racist?
We can condemn Trump as a racist, but now without accepting the fact that it makes the rest of us racists too.