Haeeah deWeever, contributor

Have you heard about the tasty new dishes being brought to the United States? Well you are in luck! In case you haven’t heard, there is a demand for dogs, cats and even geese in Springfield, Ohio. It is absolutely IMPERATIVE that you hide your precious pets, because according to former Pres. Donald Trump, they are becoming a delicacy to Haitian immigrants. 

Donald Trump has made direct, but completely inaccurate, claims about these peaceful Haitian migrants who have come to the United States seeking the right to life, liberty and freedom that is deserved by all humans. These Haitian migrants are simply trying to find sanctuary in times of war, despair and distress seemingly are in fact “destroying the way of life” for native Ohians. 

Although this seems very, VERY extreme and can even be viewed as funny, former Pres. Donald Trump is pushing this completely intense and severe narrative in order to persuade “common-folk” like us to be afraid of harmless migrants. We should all take a brief moment to explore the dangers being brought forth by this racist rhetoric. We as American citizens have the right to question authority, especially when spreading lies enhancing the underlying racism already prevalent in every part of our country. 

I personally cannot believe that a public figure, let alone a political public figure, could just lie about something so horrific. This alone has shown me how important it is to vote. We can finally put Donald Trump where he deserves to be: on mute. As an immigrant myself, I take this very seriously. Even if you aren’t an immigrant, you probably are friends with one, have been put into groups with us in your classes and probably wouldn’t even bat an eye if you found out that someone you know is one. I just don’t understand why you would want to divide the country even further than it already is divided. I don’t know about you, but I am still trying to recover from the 2016 election! 

Seeing hate being spewed about like a fire hydrant that needs repair has made me that much more dedicated to silencing Donald Trump once and for all. Let’s face it, we need to be united not divided. Instead of finding the differences between us all, let us find the similarities instead. I have not once seen Donald Trump bring about the idea of reunion between the American people. Let us not succumb to the pressure of division. Let us not turn back to the old ways of hatred and racism. 

This idealism is bringing forth xenophobia and an increase in hate crimes. According to an FBI report as reported on by Newsweek, hate crimes increased by 20% during Donald Trump’s time as president. We must begin to recognize the weight of spreading lies and creating a false sense of danger among our immigrants. Let us begin to move forward, not backwards. I will be voting for Kamala Harris, who recognizes the weight of her words and refuses to back down to Trump’s out-of-this-world claims. If you are sick of hearing lies and hateful speech, all I have to say is VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!