Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 15
Trump taps the tool kit of racism once again
The “go back where you came from” message is especially ignorant, hurtful.
Early on Sunday morning, when many American families were preparing for church, sleeping in, sipping coffee, or perhaps already hard at work, President Donald Trump decided to hop on Twitter for a particularly ugly Two-Minute Hate.
This time he unleashed an unapologetically racist, xenophobic spew against four Democratic congresswomen of color, whom he accused of having come from countries that were “a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, the most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world.” And then he told them to “go back there … you can’t leave fast enough.” On Monday, he not only rejected calls to apologize but said condemnation of his remarks “doesn’t concern me because many people agree with me.” In the fashion of a true bully, he then demanded an apology from those whom he attacked.
The “go back where you came from” insult is one of the oldest in the racist’s tool kit. It is intended to hurt, to otherize, to elevate the one hurling it and to demote the recipient to second-class status. It has been employed regularly by those who are ignorant and fearful and looking for someone to kick. This time a U.S. president attacked duly elected officials, three of whom were born in this country while one, Minnesota’s Rep. Ilhan Omar, came here as a refugee, attained citizenship and then election to Congress.
Trump uses racial slurs to foment hatred, to demonize and dehumanize, to turn Americans against one another at every opportunity. It shouldn’t matter whether Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley and Omar are “from” here or not. They are Americans. They belong here. They owe Trump no apology, and they should be secure in the knowledge that in this country they can voice criticism without fear of retribution from the nation’s leader.
This should not be treated as just another Twitter rant by someone who has made the demonization of immigrants part of his stock in trade. The continual barrage of insults and assaults on Trump’s perceived enemies at home and abroad is taking a serious toll. Americans who cherish this country’s values and immigrant history shouldn’t allow him to determine litmus tests for who qualifies as the right kind of American.
World leaders have put Trump on such notice already, with several issuing statements condemning his words. Asked about Trump’s comments, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “That is not how we do things in Canada. A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian, and the diversity of our country is actually one of our greatest strengths and a source of tremendous resilience and pride for Canadians. We will continue to defend that.” There was a time when U.S. leaders from both parties spoke that way.
Criticism from congressional Republicans has been slow, but it’s coming. Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio was one of the first to say that Trump’s comments “were racist and he should apologize.” Republican Rep. Will Hurd, of Texas, called the tweets “racist and xenophobic” and “behavior that’s unbecoming of the leader of the free world. He should be talking about things that unite, not divide us.”
Disappointingly, none of the condemnations came from any of the Republican members of Minnesota’s delegation, even though their colleague, Omar, was a specific target of Trump’s ire. The Star Tribune Editorial Board contacted Reps. Tom Emmer, Jim Hagedorn and Pete Stauber early Monday but had received no comment by the end of the business day.
Minnesota should expect better from its congressional representatives. Voters entrust these leaders to represent them on issues important to the state, but also to reflect its values. Minnesota has worked hard to welcome immigrant and refugee communities and has benefited greatly from what those communities have added. We expect our elected representatives, whatever their party, to uphold this state’s commitment to those values, and to stand up to the hate that can spread like contagion through a community and country.
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St. Cloud Times, July 12
What are you doing to mend the St. Cloud community?
Later this week, St. Cloud will mark one month since The New York Times published its assessment of how our fast-growing community faces tension, bigotry and worse thanks to some people opposing the presence of immigrants and refugees, especially those with roots in Somalia and who practice Islam.
The report did a thorough job of presenting how a “loosely connected network of white, anti-immigration activists” - the report’s description - can foment fear and mistrust.
What the New York Times report did not report thoroughly was how this community has worked hard on many fronts for years to counter that poison.
Yes, the report did mention #UniteCloud, which has been a leader recently in building a welcoming community and, more importantly, educating residents about Muslim practices.
It also shouted out the St. Cloud Times’ immigration fact check series, which started in October 2015.
However, those are just two efforts created to educate and promote interaction and civility. Here are just a few others:
United faith leaders
For at least five years, more than a dozen leaders of different churches and faiths in the St. Cloud area have been leading the charge to build relationships and encourage religious acceptance.
This group - commonly referred to as the Greater St. Cloud Area Faith Leaders - has been especially supportive of the local Muslim community. Its members include the St. Cloud Diocese, First Presbyterian, Bethlehem Lutheran, Higher Ground to name just a few.
The support from these faith leaders, especially when local Muslims are faced with opponents bent on ignoring the First Amendment, is invaluable.
Create CommUNITY
With roots going back about 20 years, Create CommUNITY is essentially a joint public/private organization providing front-line leadership in protecting human rights and making this a welcome place to live, work and visit.
Similar to (and often in conjunction with) the faith leaders group, Create CommUNITY brings together key leaders of private, nonprofit and public organizations to address racism and other forms of discrimination.
While its best known for its annual Conversation on Race event, its deep connections through all sectors of Central Minnesota make it a driving and expansive force for equality and acceptance.
And then there’s …
While groups like those mentioned above stand out as organizations focused solely on these issues, there are countless other entities - private, nonprofit and public - systematically working to replace negative stereotypes with facts, figures and friendliness.
Witness the Islamic Center of St. Cloud’s iftars held earlier this year. It marked about the 10th year the center has invited the public to the evening meal when Muslims break fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
The whole point is to bring non-Muslims together with Muslims so people can learn about each other and how being different does not have to be divisive.
As for facts and figures, look no farther than the Stearns County Human Services department’s April report “Refugee Resettlement and Public Assistance.”
For the fourth time in five years - and to silence continued (and debunked) rumors - the department provided a detailed report on primary refugees it helped, assistance programs available to refugees and ALL residents, and costs and funding sources for these.
Not to be overlooked, too, the report again noted that after three years on state assistance, more Somali (80.5 than white (72.9%) and African-American (51%) residents were self-supportive.
Similar reports and fact sheets have come in recent years from the city of St. Cloud based on federal and state data along with the expertise of local economics experts.
And that is just scratching the surface.
What are you doing?
Clearly, there are many other organizations - public, private and nonprofit - working across this area to promote acceptance and respect and educate people about cultures, traditions and religions with which they may not be familiar.
The Times Editorial Board invites you to share your actions - or those of your group or business - through the Times Opinion section. In 200 words or less, explain what you’re doing or have done to show acceptance of refugees and immigrants new to this community.
Submissions must include your full name, city of residence and a daytime phone number.
Send them to letters@stcloudtimes.com or mail them to SC Times Opinions, 24 Eighth Ave. S, St. Cloud MN 56301.
The Times will work to publish them online and in print as space allows.
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The Free Press of Mankato, July 15
ICE abuses use of facial recognition technology
Increasingly law enforcement is turning to automatic facial recognition technology, usually without any clear rules about its use.
As one British civil rights group put it, facial recognition is “arsenic in the water supply of democracy.”
Indeed many of the fears about abuses of the technology have come true and things will only get worse without more pressure on local, state and federal governments to lay down clear guidelines.
Last week it was disclosed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has used facial recognition technology to comb through millions of driver’s license photos.
That violates the privacy of immigrants living in the U.S. legally and illegally as well as all other legal citizens.
ICE contacted several states to make the searches, sometimes getting subpoenas and sometimes just making written requests. (Minnesota officials tell Minnesota Public Radio that ICE has made no requests to search Minnesota’s data base.)
But neither Congress nor the states have laws allowing law enforcement to make facial recognition searches through databases filled with innocent people.
The ICE searches were often for low level criminals and for people who overstayed their visas.
Ironically, such overreach by ICE will only push more undocumented immigrants to break the law. Many states allow and want them to get driver’s training and driver’s licenses for the public’s safety and to allow them to work and contribute to the economy. Now, knowing that driver’s license photos may be searched and used against them, more are likely to bypass licensing and other contact with government officials.
Local law enforcement is also stepping up facial recognition technology with many cities plastering the town with cameras scanning anyone and everyone who walks by.
While people have less expectation of privacy in public places, they still expect and deserve basic levels of privacy.
Most of the cities using the technology have no clear written policy on how it can be used and the public is told to trust that it won’t be abused. The crime-fighting benefits of the technology pales in comparison to the civil rights violations it brings.
It does not have to be inevitable that cameras will spy on you and recognize you anywhere you go. San Francisco has banned the use of facial recognition by law enforcement and all other government agencies.
It’s a position other cities should follow. And legislatures and Congress need to work more diligently on ensuring civil rights and privacy protections keep up with the new technology.
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