The arrest of former President Donald J. Trump is a clear demonstration of retributive karma. Or, as we like to say in Kreyol: Sa’w plante, se li ou rekolte.
Trump’s presidency was marred by a constant stream of inflammatory, bigoted rhetoric about black and brown immigrants. Who among us can forget the particularly derogatory comments about Haitians and Haiti being a “shit*ole country” that made our blood boil? His discriminatory policies against Black and brown immigrants — including his campaign promise to build a wall in Mexico and his attempts to block Haitian immigrants from entering the United States, his disregard for human rights and his cluelessness about the value of diversity surely have their place in the annals for xenophobia.
Six years later, Trump’s impunity may finally be coming to an end. In the court of public opinion at least, his arrest by Manhattan District Attorney Allan Bragg proves that open season on people of color is coming to an end. It’s time for racists and misogynists like Trump to go back into their hovels – aka what Truth Social masquerades as – and stay there.
Let’s face it. Six years after taking office, Trump’s star is much diminished among Republicans, despite what he and his base would have folks believe. Despite the crowds of supporters he might enjoy this week, along with the millions in fundraising from his die-hard fans, too many moderates and independents have left him behind in the past few years for him to sweep through 2024.
In general, too many people are seeing him for the shitt* human being he is, much less a world leader. Even those who thought he couldn’t be “that bad” – including some delusional Haitians who made a hard right to teach Hillary Clinton a lesson – are starting to see the light. It’s about time.
As a news organization committed to reporting on issues affecting the Haitian community, we will continue to monitor the developments in this case and others that may impact our community.
- Firstly, we still need Haitians to speak out against all-out racist comments like Trump’s and their cousin, microaggressions, when we encounter them at school, the workplace and even within our own families against anyone whose origins, creed or lifestyles are different. If a post-George Floyd has taught us anything, it’s that it’ll take us all to put the Karens of the world in their place. It’s the only way to build an inclusive society that appreciates the value of immigrants and the worth of individual human beings.
- Secondly, our elected officials and leaders must still use their positions to advocate for an inclusive immigration policy that doesn’t ostracize Black and brown immigrants and that sets up newcomers for success.
- Lastly, don’t you dare sit out your primary elections or the 2024 Presidential Election.
For now, let’s breathe a sigh of relief that with this arrest, there’s no way Trump will glide into a third term. No way can he continue polluting civil spaces, government policy and social perspectives with the same ease he slid down that escalator when he first announced his run for the U.S. presidency. No way can he drag down America, the same way Haiti has been, because people like him are allowed free reign to spew filth.
Lock him up.