South Dakota native gone national conservative talking head Tomi Lahren tweeted yesterday in defense of Donald Trump’s racist characterization of Haiti and African nations, saying we should talk like Trump and “be honest. Call it like it is” Lahren attempts proof by contradiction, asking if these countries aren’t such vile places, “why don’t their citizens stay there?”
CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski points out that Lahren might not want to make that argument too loudly on her next visit to her homeland:
I invite your discussion, but let’s be better than Lahren and Trump and not use the foul language that shows their disrespect for the rest of humanity. Let’s use better language and better logic.
The State Department estimates nine million Americans live overseas.
Related Reading: Dan Santella talks to a gentleman from Ghana who says his homeland doesn’t fit Lahren’s or Trump’s characterization:
“It’s a very peaceful country, has a very rich culture, people are very warm and friendly,” Gyasi said.
Gyasi is now a permanent resident of the United States. He says Trump’s reported comments surprised him…somewhat.
“Initially when I heard the statement last night from the news I was kind of surprised but really not,” Gyasi said.
Now he’s letting that be in the past.
“Now I’m beyond it, ’cause the future is what is more important, so we’re forging ahead,” Gyasi said [Dan Santella, “Local Immigrants React to Alleged Trump Comments,” KELO-TV, 2018.01.12].
Alleged? Come on, Dan: even Lahren says Trump said those racist things.
I left South Dakota. It wasn’t the people made me leave, unless you consider short-sighted politicians and the elites “people.” It wasn’t because I thought SD was a “sh**hole. I love the place, which is why I still fight from afar to make it a better place. I left because I could make double doing the same job elsewhere, have access to a good pension plan, and have more opportunities to move up in what became my chosen field after I burned out on environmental activism in SD.
I blame SD’s economic stagnation on the politicians and the elites. So, I guess I left because of Republicanism. That’s why Lahren left, too, but she wouldn’t admit it.
I found out pretty quickly that the people who considered South Dakota a “sh**hole” were the Republicans, who were always trying to bring in hazardous or nuclear or solid or medical wastes from all over the country. “It’s no good for anything else,” these Republicans would say about the most beautiful places on earth. Look at G. Marky’s CAFO sell-out bill in this year’s Legislature to get a sense of what Republicans think South Dakota is: a cesspool fit only for pig and bull feces. Call that the “Make South Dakota a Sh**hole Bill.”
George Carlin was taken off the air for saying “that word”. Now print and broadcast journalism alike have been printing and using “that word” freely. I’m not suggesting Cory change his policy on using foul language, it is interesting how the use of vulgar language has evolved in the media.
the statute of liberty does not say, “Bring me your rich and powerful”. The Bible says that the stone the builder rejected will be made the head of the corner.
I am intrigued by the evolution of the language we see allowed onto the airwaves over the last 30 years. I am dismayed that Trump’s cultural legacy will now include making the s-word common parlance on NPR and in print media. However, his mainstreaming of such certain vulgar words is minor compared to the harm of his mainstreaming racism.
Tomi and the Republicans win this round,
Dems are focused on a child’s behavior instead of promoting food security, affordable housing, education, energy affordability, and an end to the endless wars- I was going to say open borders but it appears that Dems really do love Trump as they decided to grant him his wall . Oh wait the Dems actually abandoned all those morals. Ok just carry on with the endless school yard antics .
Cory, “the evolution of the language,” which has been further spurred by Trump himself, is just further proof of the abyss which Trump is taking us all into, I am afraid – with racism being just an other gravitational pull, although greater, into this abyss.
Trump is the obnoxious uncle at the Thanksgiving Day dinner, but at least with the uncle you only have to see him once a year, but in the case Trump, we can only ask when will this dinner finally be over with – and will the pull of the abyss end up cleaning the entire table as well?
My feeling is that -it with an sh- in the front is just a word, quite a common word for quite a common thing and used all the time from before Canterbury Tales’ times. Back then you couldn’t get away from it. It was practically under foot anywhere in the city, and all about you in the countryside.
It was my Mom’s go-to swear word, though she never used it all that much. She never said the “f-word” ever, until she lost some of her mental functions in the last 6 months of her life, but the “sh-word” or the Low German equivalent was ready whenever she dropped something in the kitchen. It would be that, if she didn’t think her kids were in hearing range, or if I or my brother was close by, it would be “See what you made me do!”
Debbie, where did you read or hear Dems gave Drumpf his wall? I have yet to see it.
I just watched Letterman’s interview with President Obama on Netflix. It was like finally being able to breathe cool, clean air after running through a burning field of grass. I had not realized how starved I’d become for clever, cogent and statesmanlike conversation from a national figure. How tragically far we have fallen.
I hope someone was babysitting the four year old today- False emergency alert of imminent missile attack in Hawaii due to pushing of ‘wrong button’: Official
ABC News 9m ago
I can only imagine Drumpf’s langwidge if this was real. Sorry about the OT.
mike from Iowa
It hasn’t yet been accepted by 45, but it was leaked on twitter last night that the Dems and Republicans agree to this – will give 45 half of the cost of the wall, Dems will allow an end to protection from deportation parents of dreamers and any immigrant child who is not enrolled in college as of today.
Debbie,
Trump rejected that proposal before going golfing yesterday.
Tomi, you want to “call it like it is”? Let’s talk xenophobe. Misogynist. Liar. Racist. Philanderer. Fake. Combover… Come on, Tomi, call it like it is… in reality, not on Faux Snuze.
Cool clear statesmanship does not feed families. It didn’t work in 2008 and it won’t work now. BTW the battleax Clinton is putting out feelies again for another run SMH –
Brutish ignorance will not prevent nuclear conflict, provide health care, prevent trade wars or get Mexico to pay for a “wall”.
I am thoroughly disgusted and tired of people that bring Hillary into virtually every conversation of Trumphole and his immoral and corrupt behavior.
Trumphole is the president, not Hillary, why is that so damn hard to understand?
JonD, I haven’t seen the Letterman interview yet, buy I did happen to catch Anthony Bourdain’s 2016 chat with Obama in Vietnam. I had that same feeling: we can sit and listen to Obama speak—in this case, of his global experience, his appreciation of local food, and his long historical view of progress—and not worry or cringe. We can listen to an honest man thinking, choosing his words with care, and sharing those words with sincerity. We can listen to a man tell complete stories, not to mention complete sentences, with a point that has nothing to do with aggrandizing himself or belittling others.
Barack Obama represents all that is good about America. Donald Trump represents all that is bad. Barack Obama reminds us of our goodness every time he speaks.
Roger, I’m with you: the 2008 and 2016 elections are over. We have bigger problems to solve than relitigation of historical intra-party personal grievances.
I too saw Letterman/Obama on Netflix. Watch it if you can.
The new motto for the presidential orifice : “e unum feces”
October: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/10/trump-holds-dreamers-hostage-to-a-far-right-wish-list
January: https://www.newsmax.com/politics/kevin-mccarthy-nancy-pelosi-country-hostage-daca/2018/01/11/id/836608/
Is it impossible for republican idiots to tell the truth. Here weak-brained Kevin McCarthy “almost speaker of the house”, hates Pelosi, hates brown skinned children, hates Democrats, and twists hostages back on the military. He has 800,000 dreamers holding the military hostage. jfc. (In fiscal year 2015, military spending projected to account for 54 percent of all federal discretionary spending, a total of $598.5 billion.) That’s without the black budget spending.
Republicans don’t do anything except obstruct progress.
Don’t believe me? “Both sides now are destroying the setting in which anything meaningful can happen,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Its not BOTH sides. Every Republican is a liar and that is demonstrable by news reports. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MSeZUQ-4Wc
Is Tomi Lahren calling the US a craphole because more Americans emigrated to Norway than the number of Norwegians that emigrated to the US in 2016? Let’s call it like it is.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-norway-trump-20180113-story.html
Must be, Darin!
I wonder if anyone mentioned to the Donald about how European colonization contributed to Africa’s woes, including the slave trade, theft of mineral wealth, destruction of culture and society. Of course, this is not unique to Africa now is it.
Excellent historical, reminder, Francis. I caught that on SNL Weekend Update, and it’s true: we’ve created a lot of dysfunction in other countries for our own benefit.
I don’t watch SNL. I have friends who remind me occasionally. The British monarchy’s wealth traces back to colonization as does The Vatican’s.
Francis, you know about history because you’re intelligent and well-read. Trump doesn’t read books, so we can only hope he got some inkling of the destructive history of colonialism from watching SNL the other night.