The
Great Embarassment’s description of some African countries and
Haiti did not take long to get from one end of the Earth to the
other.
It’s
one thing to hear outrage from heads of state and leaders of
education and business in the countries targeted by the president,
Donald Trump, but it’s another when the representatives of
working men and women express their outrage at being so
scatologically described by what is supposed to be a leader of the
world.
This
time, it was the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), which
represents more than 92 million workers in every part of the world,
which expressed “its unequivocal condemnation of the U.S.
President D. Trump declarations of hatred, who during a discussion
with lawmakers at the White House, complained about immigrants coming
to the United States from ‘shithole countries.’ At the
same time, he attacked in a vulgar manner, immigrants from El
Salvador, Haiti and African countries.”
It
has been pointed out by innumerable politicians, national leaders,
human rights advocates, and many others, that the countries selected
for Trump’s invective are predominantly black countries and he
went a little farther and said that the U.S. should try to get more
immigrants from places like Norway, which is predominantly peopled by
whites.
The
outcry has prompted Trump, once again, to proclaim that he is not a
racist. He has felt the need to do this frequently and the very act
of saying “I am not a racist” would lead even the casual
observer to believe that he is, indeed, a racist. The old saying
about paying attention to what someone does, not what they say, holds
here. His acts and utterances indicate his racism, at least on a
weekly basis, if not daily.
The
WFTU has put Trump’s character and that of his country in the
starkest terms: “These
xenophobic, racist and discrediting descriptions have become an
‘ordinary practice’ of the imperialist U.S. government,
which at the same moment when it shows contempt for these peoples
with its words, it keeps bombing, murdering and sowing death with its
imperialist interventions. The WFTU declares that the workers and the
trade union movement of all countries have to condemn the statements
of the U.S. imperialism, to deploy a wide solidarity network with
every people who suffer from the NATO hawks and imperialist
interventions, by standing up against monopolies and their policies.”
Although
the feelings and opinions of the workers of the world are not heard
by the powerful of the world, they should be paying more attention.
Ninety-two million workers’ voices, spoken through their labor
federation, will give the powerful, including Trump, an idea of the
sentiments of the general population of their nations, the
overwhelming majority of which are resentful of the attitudes of rich
nations and their leaders, who stride about the world as if they own
it.
In
reality, they do own so much of it. In so many ways the rich nations
are in control of those countries disparaged and insulted by Donald
Trump, who is commander-in-chief of the most formidable military and
weapons systems that the world has ever seen. And, hegemony over the
small nations involves economics (think global economy) and politics
(rich countries’ interference in elections, governance, and
physical control of the poorer countries).
Trump’s
outburst at a recent meeting certainly indicated his true feelings
about people of color and their nations. To him, they are lesser
human beings. While he may insult them and their countries, he is all
too willing to exploit their labor (low wage) to do things like make
his “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) hats and his
daughter, Ivanka’s, clothing lines. Isn’t that what poor
countries are for? Trump and others of his wealth and power obviously
think so and they never hesitate to look for the lowest wages to cut
their production costs, so their profits are maximized. MAGA might be
a code for “make America white again,” and Trump is doing
his best to rid his country of people of color, to the extent
possible in such a diverse nation. In this, however, he has the
backing of the Republican Party, since it apparently has tied its
future to Trump’s coattails.
The Republican party should
be paying attention to what’s happening in their own country. A
small indication that the GOP is losing some of the people who
supported them and voted for Trump, but the small indications could
be harbingers of the abject decline of the party. In Wisconsin,
Democrats have just won in a state legislative race in a district
that Trump won by 17 points. The polls also indicate that Trump and
his party are in a downward slide. He is one of the least popular
presidents after the first year of his presidency, if not the least
popular.
The
GOP should be paying attention to its rank-and-file, as well. A
letter to the editor of the Chicago Tribune on Jan. 17 is at least an
indication of the danger of their fellow partisans’ leaving the
fold. Paul Best of Lake Forest, Ill., wrote the letter, saying that
he was a lifelong Republican and adhered to the (long past)
principles of the GOP, such as small government, but since the advent
of Trump, he no longer can support the party that supports Trump.
Best
wrote: “He
has brought disgrace to the most consequential office in the world.
Over the past year, current events have turned into a bad comic
strip. And after the comments Trump made during a discussion with
legislators on immigration policy, referring to “s-------
countries,” there is absolutely no way I can belong to the same
party as this person. I never supported Trump, but now I can’t
support the party that nominated him. Beyond wealthy white males, it
is very clear based on his behavior and comments that Trump has no
respect for humanity. What a frightening thought for a person with so
much power. One of the most important lessons I was taught by my
parents and have passed on to my children was always to be respectful
toward yourself and other people. Unfortunately, our nation’s
chief executive doesn’t meet this standard.”
This,
from a lifelong Republican, so it is not only workers around the
world and their unions who recognize the contempt with which Trump
views them, but it’s members of the party, itself. The
secretariat of the WFTU perhaps best summed up the solution:
“Solidarity is the peoples’ weapon!”
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