On September 9th, 2024, at a campaign rally, Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate J.D. Vance promoted false claims of Haitians eating pets and ducks in Springfield, Ohio. At the time, the evidence for such a statement consisted of a photo of a black man carrying a duck, a video of a black woman being arrested for eating a cat, and a Facebook story of a woman’s neighbor’s daughter’s friend who saw someone eating a cat. Despite the first two incidents being proven to have been done by African Americans and the woman apologizing for sharing her baseless story, the damage had already been done.
Schools, hospitals, public buildings, and businesses were met with a wave of bomb threats, often with anti-Haitian messaging attached. Far-right hate groups and organizations, including the Proud Boys and the Ku Klux Klan, marched in Springfield, spreading racist propaganda and intimidating many legal, Haitian residents. The Haitian Times and NAACP were hit with a barrage of racist emails and hateful messages. An editor for The Haitian Times was even swatted.
However, this is not a one-off incident. There are many examples throughout America’s history of racial fear-mongering producing often deadly results. From the murder of Emmett Till to the Tulsa massacre to even the Buffalo mass shooting, racism has played and continues to play an active part in everyday life. However, it is necessary to make clear how to put things into perspective.
February 15th, 2024, a couple was arrested in Fort Myers by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. The wife had engaged in multiple sexual encounters with 4 dogs the two kept at their residence. The husband captured the activities on video and stored them on his phone. Despite this heinous crime, there was no major backlash or news coverage following this revelation. No one tried to use this incident to paint a negative picture of white people. This event was universally recognized as isolated and not a part of a larger trend.
The same cannot be said for rumors revolving around Haitians eating household pets. Yes, some do. However, the situation has been blown way out of proportion, branding every Haitian immigrant in not just Ohio, but across the world, as regular pet-eaters. The violence and harassment following these claims exploding in the media is reminiscent of white mobs in the early 1900s, burning down and massacring entire neighborhoods at the mere instance of rumors of black violence.
Solving this will not be easy, but it is necessary for breakthroughs in race relations in the United States. To break away from our past wrongdoings, all we need to do is embrace our future.
