I’ve been thinking about this for a few days and wondering why this issue about Trump and the Mexican, as he referred to him, seems to be the thing that has caused people to walk away from Trump.
It seems most people are angry because he called a Mexican-American a Mexican. At least that is what you find on the internet and elsewhere. It could be that he should have said Latino or Hispanic (I couldn’t even tell you which is correct or incorrect any more) but he chose another word.
Here’s the thing… I’m not sold on the notion that he meant it as an insult and I’m curious how many actual Mexicans might wonder why Americans are so upset about it and might even be a bit insulted. I mean, what’s wrong with being called a Mexican?
Growing up, I lived around several groups of people at different times. Some were Hispanic/Latino, some were Native American, and some were African-American. But you see, back then (and it wasn’t THAT long ago) people weren’t going by those specific labels. People who were Hispanic/Latino often referred to themselves as Mexican (if their ancestors came from Mexico, of course) or Spanish, if appropriate. People who were Native American referred to themselves as Indian. Those who were African-American referred to themselves as black. Now, of course, that is just in the region I lived in… there could be others who considered themselves differently than what I witnessed.
So I wonder, did Donald Trump mean this as an insult or was he referring to the man as Mexican in the way some might describe another person. He’s Chinese, he’s Welsh, he’s African, he’s Indian, he’s Japanese. Granted, I have not searched the Internet for pictures to verify whether or not I would see this man and automatically thing he was Mexican or Hispanic/Latino or anything else. I’m often oblivious to what a person’s nationality is by just looking at them.
My question is this, do any of us actually think that Trump could have said anything about this situation and NOT been attacked for something or another? If he had called him Hispanic or Latino, would that have caused a different outcome or would people still call him racist simply because of the man’s heritage. What if he hadn’t addressed the heritage at all? Would that have made a difference? I’m pretty certain that no matter the outcome… a Mr. Trump or a President Trump… people will accuse him of an endless barrage of horrific things, true or untrue, until the end of his days. That is the world we live in now, where people attack and re-attack until they’re finally tired of it or have ruined a person’s life. These are the same people who will accuse Trump of bullying or racism when they themselves are full of hate that the normal person can never imagine.
This post was originally seen on Alexandria (aleksandreia.com).
