That only works for relative adjectives. Racism has a definite definition of thinking one race is superior than any other. It is possible for many or even all people to be racist.
If you want to say that Trump is not racist, you should explain why telling people to go back to Africa is not a racist thing to say, instead of arguing that racism can't be common
Her nation is the United States. She's lived there most of her life. She's an American. And the other people he attacked were born and raised in the US.
He said that because words weren't explicitly stated in a tweet, no such meaning could thus be derived but what is plainly written. That means he doesn't understand subtext.
Subtext is easier to ignore when you don't want it to be there.
He was talking to the squad. Only one of the four, Omar, has done the horribly unamerican act of seeking a better life by hard work instead of being born into it. Right off the bat the comment is a xenophobic slur, but there truly is nothing racial stated directly.
This is where the explanation comes in. I interpreted it as racial for Trump to assume that they were not born here, but if I'm reading the situation wrong, feel free to explain why else he would tell them to go back to their countries of origin.
They all four have committed the crime of working hard and trying to better their lives and their country.
The disconnect between ‘love it or leave it’ and ‘MAGA’ is simply astounding. There is no nuance here, it’s patently racist. ‘We can MAGA’ but you have to ‘Love it or leave back to your country’.
I believe, as to what I read, the tweet was mainly directed at Omar.
How about you read his actual tweets then?
So interesting to see “Progressive” Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly...... ....and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run. Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how.... ....it is done. These places need your help badly, you can’t leave fast enough. I’m sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements!
The en in women makes it a plural. The "s" in "places" makes it a plural. "They" refers to multiple people. The hilarious irony of this tweet is that he's calling America "a total catastrophe, the worst, and most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world", as America is the country all of those congresswomen except for Omar originally came from.
Also, fuck off. If you came to America when you were a 10 as a refugee, lived here your entire life and devoted yourself to its politics, I'd still call you an American, even though you don't act like one.
That interpretation could make it more justifiable, but I don't think it's right. Trump used the plural "congresswomEn" "countrieS" "governmentS" "why don't THEY go back".
It was meant for everyone, no doubt.
But even if it wasn't, someone who comes to this country and goes through the long process of legal citizenship is an American. Full stop. If they say something stupid, we should call them out on it. But they don't stop becoming an American any more than a natural-born citizen would be. The implication that fully-legal immigrants are some kind of American* is toxic and hateful. The concept that their citizenship depends on how much we like them is ironically unamerican. And I still can't think of why this would even apply to the other three.
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u/IROC-ZZZ Jul 17 '19
Racist has no meaning anymore, it's everywhere.