Conservatism Has a Proud Tradition. Let’s Not Deface It With Lies About Cat-Eating Haitian Immigrants.

There's nothing inherently wrong with being skeptical about immigration -- but don't lose your soul in the process.

Photo by Heather Suggitt on Unsplash

Today I have a lengthy piece out at The Dispatch talking about the last week’s stories about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio.

Those stories even found their way into this week’s presidential debate, with Donald Trump claiming that Haitian immigrants in the town are “eating the dogs. The people that came in. They're eating the cats. They're eating -- they're eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what's happening in our country.”

There is no evidence that any of this happening, at all. In the piece linked above, I go through some of the claims and debunk them — social media-inflamed rumors are taking photos and videos from locations far from Springfield and then blaming the events therein on Haitian immigrants who had nothing to do with them.

But another thing I do in the piece is I make the point that there’s nothing inherently wrong with being skeptical about immigration.

Part of the role of conservatism in society is to defend tradition and preserve what we like about our culture and society. Rapid change can come with real downsides, and not all change is necessarily good. Conservatives are right to offer a skeptical eye towards immigration policy at times.

But there’s a big difference between asking whether immigration should be slowed down or more closely regulated — whether we need to do more to assimilate people or build out the infrastructure from a growing population — and spreading such toxic lies about a whole group of people.

If a national politician spent a week accusing Jewish people of systematically kidnapping and devouring people’s pets, and then said all they wanted was a fair debate about Israeli policy or fair lending, they’d be laughed out of the room — and for good reason. Reckless and racist paranoia doesn’t help us solve real policy problems.

Last night, I was surprised to see Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene set up and denounce Laura Loomer, a far-right influencer who made a Tweet insulting Kamala Harris’s Indian heritage. This is what she wrote:

This is appalling and extremely racist. It does not represent who we are as Republicans or MAGA. This does not represent President Trump. This type of behavior should not be tolerated ever. @LauraLoomer should take this down.

This is a step in the right direction. We know from years of research (and common sense) that people are more likely to listen to people from their own groups. Republicans by and large don’t care about what Democrats think about them. But they do care about what other Republicans say.

The Georgia congresswoman took an important step last night when she signaled to her fellow Republicans that racism is unacceptable. Credit where credit is due.

For once, I can say that we need a lot more of what Greene did last night. I encourage you to read my piece at The Dispatch if you want to see my other thoughts on the Springfield news cycle.