Racism, Mythology and Universal Condemnation

“We should have people from places like Norway.”  

Donald Trump at a Bipartisan Meeting on Immigration (1/11)

“@realDonaldTrump, your mouth is the foulest shithole in the world. With what authority do you proclaim who’s welcome in America and who’s not. America’s greatness is built on diversity, or have you forgotten your immigrant background, Donald?”  

Tweet from former Mexican President Vincente Fox reacting to Donald Trump’s purported putdown of El Salvadorans, Haitian and Africans in general

Though he admitted using some “tough language” in his January 11^th  comment, it took Donald Trump until the next day to deny that he described the above as “shithole” countries, despite Congress people, standing right next to the President, who affirmed that he actually used that vulgar word in that context. While there might have been a legitimate issue to be discussed – whether US immigration policy should shift towards a skill-set bias in admitting foreigners to US residence and potential citizenship as many countries already do – given Mr. Trump’s clear pattern of unyielding deference to the most racist elements in his base, that most of his bans and exclusions are focused on “other than whites,” there is little doubt that he has solidified his status as the world’s most prominent racist in the eyes of most of the rest of the earth… including a whole lot of Americans, myself definitely included.

As Russia cozies up to Iran, building a barrier to US policies in the Middle East, and as China seems to follow American insults around the globe, stepping in to replace the United States as the main power broker in those countries, and as the President continues to withdraw from global commitments and embrace exceptionally unpopular global policies, the United States is losing influence and stature by the ton. The U.S. is the only country in the world to refuse to accept the Paris climate accord, one of only two nations currently recognizing multi-religious Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state of Israel, and the only Iran-nuclear accord signatory to condemn that UN-sponsored treaty, etc., etc. It is clear that the United States is (i) intentionally isolating itself in world where isolation has serious long-term economic and political consequences, and (ii) forcing the rest of the world to design rather inadequate “work-arounds” to enable commerce and political power to continue without the United States.

Considering that most of the world is not Caucasian, Trump’s white supremacist views and policies, while popular with his angry and frustrated under-educated base, have made him the effective “bully bad boy” to most of the world. His calls for other countries to work with the US on true global pariahs and threats are increasingly falling on deaf ears. As he has decimated the legions of experts in the State Department, he is increasingly forced to rely on military threats where diplomacy once sufficed, a very risky and profoundly expensive alternative. That South Korea could engage in conflict-reducing talks with North Korea, while the United States can only bluster for a de-nuclearization plan that the North will never accept, demonstrates the corner that Mr. Trump has painted us.

Global reaction to the plain meaning of Trump’s unambiguous putdown from the countries to which he directed his immigration comments poured in… in addition to the massively negative reactions here at home… except from his cheering base.

“President Salvador Sanchez Ceren of El Salvador also unleashed his displeasure on Twitter… ‘The declaration of the president of the United States strikes at the dignity of the Salvadoran public,’ he wrote in Spanish, adding in a second tweet that the country formally protests and energetically rejects such statements.

“On the eighth anniversary of Haiti’s devastating earthquake, Haitian Ambassador Paul Altidor said Trump’s comments were ‘misinformed’ and ‘misguided.’… ‘We’ve been a partner, we’ve been a strong neighbor, we’ve been a good friend of the people of the United States,” he said on National Public Radio. ‘And today Haitians are still here working hard contributing to the social and economic fabric of this country.’  …

“As for Norway, Trump’s admiration wasn’t mutual — at least on Twitter, where users pointed out that Norwegians enjoy benefits such as universal healthcare, free higher education and paid parental leave that would not entice many to leave for the U.S… ‘As a Norwegian, the idea that anyone from Norway would consider moving to the USA strikes me as rather hare-brained,’ wrote Johannes Brodwall, a software developer in Oslo… ‘I’m a Norwegian who enjoyed studying & working in the US. The only thing that would attract me to emigrate to the US is your vibrant multicultural society. Don’t take that away @realDonaldTrump,’ wrote Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

“Africans felt especially aggrieved… At a bustling market in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, some saw Trump’s remarks as highly insulting. Others thought the comments would make the U.S. a less attractive destination for Ghanaians and help solve the country’s brain drain… In Kenya, where a young urban generation is technically savvy and active on social media, some posted pleas for understanding, while many tweeted their outrage.

“Political activist Boniface Mwangi from the Kenyan capital of Nairobi called on Trump to distinguish Africans from the country’s political leaders. ‘Please don’t confuse the #shithole leaders we Africans elect with our beautiful continent,’ he tweeted.

“Botswana’s government was the first on the continent to condemn Trump’s statements, referring to them as ‘highly irresponsible, reprehensible and racist.’… Botswana summoned the U.S. ambassador to express its displeasure over the remarks and to inquire as to whether Botswana was a ‘shithole country’: … ‘The government of Botswana is wondering why President Trump must use this descriptor and derogatory word when talking about countries with whom the U.S. has had cordial and mutually beneficial relations for so many years.’… Botswana called on the African Union and regional leadership bodies in Africa to condemn Trump over his comments.” Los Angeles Times, January 13^th.

And here’s the big reveal: knee-jerk racism here in the United States on the part of too many of us makes the assumption that most of those African immigrées to the United States are unskilled, barely-literate dark-skinned travelers seeking to become leeches of American economic blood. Really? Sure we admit third world refugees escaping repression and extreme disasters, but the picture is vastly more complicated than that. Not to mention that on average, immigrées from sub-Saharan Africa are better educated that their average American counterparts.

The January 13^th Los Angeles Times explains: “Lots of the news from sub-Saharan Africa is about war, famine, poverty or political upheaval. So it’s understandable if many Americans think most Africans who immigrate to the United States are poorly educated and desperate… That’s the impression that President Trump left with his comments to members of Congress opposing admission of immigrants from “shithole countries” in Africa and elsewhere.

“But research tells another story…While many are refugees, large numbers are beneficiaries of the ‘diversity visa program’ aimed at boosting immigration from underrepresented nations. And on average, African immigrants are better educated than people born in the U.S. or the immigrant population as a whole.

“‘It’s a population that’s very diverse in its educational, economic and English proficiency profile,’ said Jeanne Batalova, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute think tank in Washington and coauthor of a report last year on sub-Saharan African immigrants in the U.S. ‘People came for a variety of reasons and at various times.’

“Overall, their numbers are small compared with other immigrant groups but have risen significantly in recent years. The U.S. immigrant population from sub-Saharan Africa (49 countries with a total population of more than 1.1 billion) grew from 723,000 to more than 1.7 million between 2010 and 2015, according to a new report by New American Economy , a Washington-based research and advocacy group. Still, they make up just half a percent of the U.S. population…

“The Refugee Act of 1980 made it easier for people fleeing war zones to resettle in the U.S., and today there are tens of thousand of refugees from Somalia, Sudan and Congo. About 22% of African immigrants are refugees, according to Andrew Lim, associate director of research at New American Economy.

“At the same time, the diversity visa program — also known as the visa lottery — has opened the door to immigrants from more peaceful places. Of the sub-Saharan immigrants who have become legal permanent residents, 17% came through the program, compared with 5% of the total U.S. immigrant population, according to Batalova.

“Applicants to the program must have completed the equivalent of a U.S. high school education or have at least two years of recent experience in any number of occupations, including accountant, computer support specialist, orthodontist and dancer.

“As a result, the influx includes many immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa who are highly skilled professionals… Batalova’s research found that of the 1.4 million who are 25 and older, 41% have a bachelor’s degree, compared with 30% of all immigrants and 32% of the U.S.-born population. Of the 19,000 U.S. immigrants from Norway — a country Trump reportedly told lawmakers is a good source of immigrants — 38% have a college education.

“The New American Economy study found that 1 in 3 of these undergraduate degrees were focused on science, technology, engineering and math — ‘training heavily in demand by today’s employers.’…That report also found that African immigrants were significantly more likely to have graduate degrees. A total of 16% had a master’s degree, medical degree, law degree or a doctorate, compared with 11% of the U.S.-born population, Lim said.

“African immigrants were more than twice as likely as the U.S. population overall to work in healthcare, Lim said. There are more than 32,500 nursing, psychiatric or home health aides, more than 46,000 registered nurses and more than 15,700 doctors and surgeons.

“‘Overwhelmingly the evidence shows that [African immigrants] make a significant, positive economic contribution to the U.S. economy,’ both at a national level and in districts where they are concentrated, Lim said. ‘They contribute more than $10.1 billion in federal taxes, $4.7 billion in state and local taxes, and most importantly, they have significant economic clout to the point of $40.3 billion in spending power.’… That $40.3 billion pays for housing, transportation, consumer goods and education for their children — ‘things that actually stimulate the economy around them,’ Lim said… The biggest beneficiary is Texas, where their spending power is $4.7 billion, followed by California, Maryland, New York and Georgia.” And people with those skills and training are the greatest job creators in this great nation.

Oh, did I mention that Haiti, occupied by the US (1915-34) and seriously taxed and exploited into near-insolvency by the United States, banned slavery in 1804. It took the United States nearly 60 more years to do the same thing.

I’m Peter Dekom, and so Mr. Trump, before you open your foul racist mouth and utter words that make the United States an unwelcomed global bully-pariah, would you ever consider researching the facts first… even though that has never been your style?