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Do you have any evidence that this just started ~30 days ago after Trump's inauguration? It's entirely possible -- likely even -- that this has been going on fo

by nilkn 10y ago

Do you have any evidence that this just started ~30 days ago after Trump's inauguration? It's entirely possible -- likely even -- that this has been going on for quite some time and the media is just more interested in reporting on it right now because they know it'll play into the Trump narrative. That doesn't justify the actions in any way, but it shows you how powerful the media are at forming narratives -- and how easy it is to fall for the trap.

alphonsegaston 10y ago
There's no trap to fall into, I can literally pull up YouTube clips of Trump scapegoating immigrants at a moment's notice. Awful shit that happened under Obama (of which there is no shortage) is on Obama. Now? Trump owns it.
nikdaheratik 10y ago
I don't know, and neither does anyone else because the people who are able to look into this are either running the show (the administration) or don't want to investigate (the Republicans in Congress). The best that the media can do is collect anecdotes and submit FOIA requests to see what they can find out.
tomlock 10y ago
I think Trump may have kickstarted that narrative, because of that whole thing about Mexican immigrants (and some of them I'm sure are nice people), and how he banned the citizens of 7 countries from returning or entering the US. I think its fair to say this kind of treatment of people is nothing new - but to say the media is "forcing" a narrative here is hard to swallow. Trump has made it, at the very least, incredibly easy to create a narrative of racism for his detractors and the richard spencers of his supporters.
- briandear 10y ago
  Let's back up a second: "Mexican Immigrants != Illegal Immigrants" One is a subset of the other and Trump's rhetoric was directed at illegal aliens and not "Immigrants." Allowing an innacurate narrative to propagate is part of the problem.
  - tomlock 10y ago
    "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. ... They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people," Commencement speech quote. "When Mexico sends its people" doesn't sound particularly specific to illegal immigrants. Trump at the very least made it easy to form this narrative. ed: “Trump is a white nationalist, so to speak, he is alt-right whether he likes it or not,” Spencer in a recent interview on “The David Pakman Show.” http://www.haaretz.com/us-news/1.768982 http://www.haaretz.com/us-news/1.768982 Its true of the MSM and the far right.
    - yongjik 10y ago
      Trivial observation: I suspect Trump deliberately chose the words to cover both bases. (Well, to the degree he can deliberately do anything, that is.) It sounds like he's referring to all Mexicans, which satisfies his alt-right supporters. Meanwhile the more scrupulous supporters (or even unscrupulous ones when they want to play semantic games) could plausibly interpret the words to mean only "illegal immigrants", thus denying racism at the heart of Trump's campaign. "Take him seriously, not literally." Worked wonders for him.

by nilkn 10y ago

alphonsegaston 10y ago

There's no trap to fall into, I can literally pull up YouTube clips of Trump scapegoating immigrants at a moment's notice. Awful shit that happened under Obama (of which there is no shortage) is on Obama. Now? Trump owns it.

nikdaheratik 10y ago

I don't know, and neither does anyone else because the people who are able to look into this are either running the show (the administration) or don't want to investigate (the Republicans in Congress). The best that the media can do is collect anecdotes and submit FOIA requests to see what they can find out.

tomlock 10y ago

I think Trump may have kickstarted that narrative, because of that whole thing about Mexican immigrants (and some of them I'm sure are nice people), and how he banned the citizens of 7 countries from returning or entering the US. I think its fair to say this kind of treatment of people is nothing new - but to say the media is "forcing" a narrative here is hard to swallow. Trump has made it, at the very least, incredibly easy to create a narrative of racism for his detractors and the richard spencers of his supporters.

briandear 10y ago
Let's back up a second: "Mexican Immigrants != Illegal Immigrants" One is a subset of the other and Trump's rhetoric was directed at illegal aliens and not "Immigrants." Allowing an innacurate narrative to propagate is part of the problem.
- tomlock 10y ago
  "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. ... They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people," Commencement speech quote. "When Mexico sends its people" doesn't sound particularly specific to illegal immigrants. Trump at the very least made it easy to form this narrative. ed: “Trump is a white nationalist, so to speak, he is alt-right whether he likes it or not,” Spencer in a recent interview on “The David Pakman Show.” http://www.haaretz.com/us-news/1.768982 http://www.haaretz.com/us-news/1.768982 Its true of the MSM and the far right.
  - yongjik 10y ago
    Trivial observation: I suspect Trump deliberately chose the words to cover both bases. (Well, to the degree he can deliberately do anything, that is.) It sounds like he's referring to all Mexicans, which satisfies his alt-right supporters. Meanwhile the more scrupulous supporters (or even unscrupulous ones when they want to play semantic games) could plausibly interpret the words to mean only "illegal immigrants", thus denying racism at the heart of Trump's campaign. "Take him seriously, not literally." Worked wonders for him.