They’re Eating The Dogs…
TFG really said “they’re eating the dogs” during the debate.
They’re eating the dogs
OK, this isn’t funny. Well, it shouldn’t be funny. It’s a horrible situation in Springfield, OH. Some woman made up shit about the local Haitian community there and how they stole pets to eat them. Haitians get a bum rap from whyte America for a couple of reasons. First, they’re black. Black refugee communities are incredible fodder for racists. Christianists look down on Haitians because they believe everyone from the island practices Voudon and are satanic, demonic, etc. Ask your average whyte person why Haiti is so messed up, they’ll tell you it’s demonic. So, once you’ve established demonic, animal sacrifice isn’t a stretch. Eating the sacrifice, just another step.
Non-whyte people eating animals generally regarded as household pets is a well-established trope in whyte America. When the Carter administration re-settled Vietnamese refugees along the Gulf Coast, the jokes abounded. Why were there no dogs and cats on the streets in New Orleans East? They were in the kitchens.
Weird Al
Then there was “Cat in the Kettle,” by Weird Al. Yankovic parodied Harry Chapin’s lovely father-son song, “Cat’s in the Cradle” by joking how Chinese restaurants served cat. It was kinda gross, but, hey, a lot of people laughed (including me). Folks accepted the song as parody, naturally. Nobody stormed the local Chinese takeaway, demanding they stop turning Mittens into Kung-Pao.
Still, Yankovic capitalized on whyte prejudice, just like all the Vietnamese jokes. It took decades for Vietnamese cuisine to go mainstream. So many jokes about dog and cat, those folks opened “Chinese” restaurants. Their wonderful food stayed in the closet until food critics sang its praises. Now, in New Orleans, there are more pho places than Chinese. That should have happened a decade earlier.
Weaponization
Republicans weaponized prejudice against Haitians. Vance parlayed a small-town lie into a national talking point. What his handlers forgot is that the guy at the top of the ticket is Ron Burgundy. Drumpf will read anything on the teleprompter. He delivered during the debate. The terrible right are beside themselves as they work to clean up the mess on Aisle Drumpf.
While most folks that laughs/laughed at ethnic jokes weaponize them, we all contributed to the culture that enables the evil.
