If we don’t explicitly reject LePage’s racist assertions, we are complicit.
If we don’t explicitly reject LePage’s racist assertions, we are complicit.
Not just in the implicit violence and culture of fear that these words visit upon people of color in our communities. But in our own diminishment. Racism and hate don’t just hurt people of color. They dehumanize us all.
There is plenty of room for individual offense in Gov. LePage’s coarse bullying and foul-mouthed threats. But all of that seems quaint when he asserts that “the enemy right now…are people of color or people of Hispanic origin. I can’t help that. I just can’t help that. Those are the facts.”
Aside from being untrue, such words, with the weight of the highest elected office behind them, are not merely careless, leaving a sting of offense in our ears.
They are reckless. They are violent. And they have real impacts for all Mainers.
Most urgently, they contribute to what constitutes a “hostile environment” for people of color in our communities.
That must be sufficient for us to stand up and respond. Period. Full stop.
(image source: Veterans Today)