American xenophobia


Donald Trump and JD Vance are campaigning on xenophobia. There’s no evidence that immigrants are any sort of threat to America, and the data show that immigrants commit crimes at *lower* rates than American citizens. Sadly, though, fear of the other seems to work in America:

“Jeffrey Balogh, a resident of Erie, said at that event that he feels strongly about Trump’s proposals on immigration. He shared that he felt uncomfortable recently when he went to rent chairs from a business and five men who spoke a foreign language were standing outside waiting for a bus.

“Not one spoke a lick of English,” he said. “You see a whole different environment.”

Actually, Jeffrey doesn’t know whether these men do or don’t speak English. He only knows he didn’t hear it during the brief time he was in earshot. If he heard me speak, he probably wouldn't know that I can speak some French.

Look, I’ve traveled to plenty of places where I don’t speak the language—Spain, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Greece, Russia—and wasn’t in the least bothered by not hearing English. If you hike out more than a couple hundred yards on most national park trails, you’ll hear lots of different languages. Most of the English speakers stay in the parking lots.

I often encounter people on my walks here in Rhode Island speaking Portuguese, French, Chinese and Arabic. Doesn’t bother me at all, nor should it.

America has been strengthened by immigration, and we will remain strong by encouraging immigration. Shame on Trump and Vance for encouraging xenophobia.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/10/11/nation/donald-trump-colorado-immigration/

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