Right after Trump said those words during the 2024 Presidential Debate, tons of cat and dog memes were uploaded by Twitter users. Most of them directly insult the “cat ladies” they so despise.
As much as I want to laugh at the memes, I can’t do it in good conscience. No, it has nothing to do with the orange cat I have at home.
In reference to Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, Donald Trump said, “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of people that live there.” If this was said outside of a presidential debate, the recipient of this message would call the cops.
Trump’s claims are unfounded. He cites the “news” as a reference before getting fact-checked in the debate by moderator David Muir. “ABC News reached out to the city manager there [in Ohio], and he told us that there have been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured, or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.” Nevertheless, Trump doubled down on the racially fueled allegation, stating, “The people on television said that my dog was taken and used for food.”
The exotification of food
Trump has used this example of immigrants eating pets to paint an image of savagery. He doesn’t bother checking if these rumors are true. Even his running mate, J.D. Vance, welcomed the possibility of these allegations being false. By the time these are proven otherwise, the damage would’ve already been done to the Haitian community.
Haitians aren’t the first to receive this type of treatment upon immigrating to the U.S. Before K-BBQ and dim sum became trendy, Asian immigrants were often the targets of this dog meat stereotype. Several would opt to hide their cultural food for lunch to fit in with the dominant culture. Many more would choose crackers over their cultural dishes in fear of offending their white peers. Maybe Trump didn’t know about this, but his words can incite the bullying of immigrant children.
Filipino restauranteurs feel ashamed about their cuisine once they immigrate to the U.S. Restauranteur Nicole Ponseca said in an interview from 2014, “It is because when you’re colonized over so many years, you don’t value your own culture, even though we have so much pride.” She pointed out that while people aren’t disgusted with boudin noir, a blood sausage from France, this acceptance doesn’t apply for duck embryo (balut) or blood stew (dinuguan) from the Philippines.
Food is deeply tied to heritage and a people’s cultural DNA. It’s the last piece of history many immigrants carry with them when they leave for the U.S. When Donald Trump made unfounded statements about immigrants and their food, his messaging was clear: Immigrants are not civilized, and there is no room for cultural acceptance. They’re so alien from us that they eat things we, civilized people, would never think of eating.
Published: Sep 12, 2024 02:05 pm