Daily Tribune (Philippines)

RACISM AND TRUMP

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Over 2,800 incidents of racist attacks and discrimina­tion targeting Asians were recorded in the United States (US) from March to December last year, according to the Stop Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Hate.

A website collating incidents of race-related aggression against the said minority groups in the US, Stop AAPI Hate reported that Filipinos are the fourth most targeted among Asians in America.

Early this month, such an attack left FilipinoAm­erican Noel Quintana badly scarred across his face after a Caucasian kicked his backpack and, when admonishae­d to stop, slashed him from cheek to cheek.

It could have been any other Filipino or Asian suffering the fate of the 61-year-old Quintana because the appalling act of violence that took place inside a subway train in Manhattan was apparently motivated by racial hatred.

An elderly Filipino woman last week was also struck unprovoked by a man in San Diego, California. The attacks have prompted the Philippine Embassy in Washington to warn the about four million people of Filipino descent in the US to protect themselves.

While lauding the “swift action taken” by local authoritie­s to stop the attacks or apprehend those behind them, the embassy issued a “call on federal, state and local authoritie­s to further ensure the protection of persons of Asian descent, including Filipinos.”

Asians in America are being blamed for the spread of the coronaviru­s disease 2019 that has reached 28.6 million cases and claimed over 512,000 lives there, resulting to the ever-increasing incidents of assault victimizin­g them.

It may be conceded that racial divide has always been a big problem in the US, even throwing northern and the slave-utilizing southern states into a Civil War from 1861 to 1865. Notwithsta­nding the supposed abolition

of slavery that emancipate­d

“Asians in America are being blamed for the spread of the coronaviru­s disease 2019 that has reached 28.6 million cases and claimed over 512,000 lives there.

“Biden cannot possibly undo overnight the damage the brutish Trump has wrought singlehand­edly on America’s decaying fabric as manifested by the attacks on minorities.

Americans of African descent, they have remained the favorite targets of white supremacis­ts like the shadowy Ku Klux Klan.

But now Asians and other minority groups in America are falling victims to racial bigotry made stronger and vicious during the presidency of the ultimate racist, ex-president Donald Trump.

Over the weekend, conservati­ve politician­s pandered to Trump’s ambition to seek the US presidency anew after Joe Biden’s term by praising him to high heavens for his “America First” policy that has fueled the racial pandemic.

Biden cannot possibly undo overnight the damage the brutish Trump has wrought singlehand­edly on America’s decaying fabric as manifested by the attacks on minorities.

It speaks a lot on how shallow the Republican pool of talents is after it was manifested by a lot of its leaders that Trump would remain at the helm of the party.

Trump was scheduled to address his minions tomorrow at the Conservati­ve Political Action Conference with his rah-rah boys Senators Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley and Reps. Steve Scalise and Matt Gaetz having already sung praises to his imagined achievemen­ts.

“Let me tell you something: Donald Trump ain’t going anywhere,” said Cruz, in picturing Trump rising from the ashes like a phoenix four years down the road.

The CPAC being a Trump show was confirmed when a gold-colored statue of the former president, dressed in a jacket, red tie and Rocky Balboa boxing shorts, went on display at the conference site.

Immediatel­y, some Republican­s who want Trump retired permanentl­y derided the show of force at the CPAC. One of them, Rep. Adam Kinzinger twitted that “idol worship isn’t conservati­ve.”

The Trump statue was likened to the golden calf idol being worshipped by the Egypt-liberated Israelites that caused Moses, coming down from Mount Sinai, to throw and smash to pieces the Ten Commandmen­ts written on a tablet of stone.

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