One of our hometowns made the news last week thanks to Donald.
Charleroi has haitians –
If you haven’t been there in 10 years you wouldn’t know whether Donald was telling the whole story or one that fit his narrative. If you have been to Charleroi at least monthly over the past 5 years you would know that there are no longer empty storefronts in the business district on Fallowfield Avenue. Right now downtown- Magic City is going through a transformation that hasn’t happened since I graduated high school. New business are filling up the store fronts and while they may not be Orange’s, Romito’s, Gene’s or Ducuer’s they are new faces bringing items that the new residents of the town need. Crawford and Phoebe now get to walk past business that are open again. The dogs still aren’t happy that the town planners back in the 1950’s who decided to not put green space between the concrete and state highway 88, but they definitely have more humans to say hello to on their walks to the park and to get coffee. Every week I have people offering to help me with my situation, even though I’m not looking for help. There is a new spirit of HOPE in Magic Town.
In waging rhetorical war on the Haitian immigrants of Springfield, Ohio, Vance has clarified the meaning of his convention speech. It does not matter, to Vance, that these Haitian newcomers came here legally, under the Temporary Protected Status program. It does not matter that they filled a valuable need. It does not matter that they reversed a slow collapse that has already sapped the life from so many former industrial towns. It does not matter that they work hard and seem eager, by all accounts, to establish themselves as productive members of the community.
What matters to Vance is who they are, where they come from and what they look like. They don’t belong to this soil, he might say, and therefore they don’t belong. Right now, the most Vance can do to wage this war is use his words. I shudder to think what might be possible if he had the authority of the state to wield as well.
Mr. Kristof, thank you for identifying the source of the divisions among us: a lack of respect for Americans whose lives have taken different paths than our own.
Scorn is a powerful weapon — one that Donald Trump excels at wielding. But it’s one of the most painful and divisive rhetorical tools that, like sarcasm, cuts to the emotional quick and then builds scars that don’t heal.
As a divided nation, we’ve been using scorn, sarcasm and bullying to belittle one another since Donald Trump rode down his golden escalator. It’s past time to stop. Divided we will not survive, and the basest parts of human nature will be the thing that destroys our two-and-a-half-century experiment in governance.
Janet Spaulding Stratham, N.H.
How Democrats Treat Trumpites
Readers discuss Nicholas Kristof’s column urging Democrats not to demean Trump supporters.
Sept. 14, 2024
NY Times editorials regarding Hatians in springfield oH
Thanks for publishing this. Demeaning anyone for any reason is a form of bullying, even if we fail to understand their motivation or dislike the words they use. Most likely someone feels the same way about me. Instead, work hard for what you believe in, and extend the first hand.
Phoebe and Crawford are two Bridge to Home rescue dogs living their best life together in Aspinwall. They get out daily in nature, take their humans for walks and coffee. Peloton and Place is Crawford’s training game. When we are not sleeping on a couch, we are chasing squirrels and birds in our backyard.
Response
Thanks for publishing this. Demeaning anyone for any reason is a form of bullying, even if we fail to understand their motivation or dislike the words they use. Most likely someone feels the same way about me. Instead, work hard for what you believe in, and extend the first hand.