Filipino Americans and the Slur of Immigrants Eating Dogs and Cats

When I watched the Trump Harris Presidential debate, I laughed when I heard Trump talk about Haitian immigrants kidnapping dogs and cats and eating them. But the next morning, I saw a Facebook post that reminded me how dangerous it is to make crazy racist allegations like that against a vulnerable minority group.

This racist trope of immigrants eating dogs and cats has been used against many Asian American communities. When I was young, I remember this being used against Filipino Americans and my Vietnamese American friends. We all hated it.

During the early 20th century, these racist allegations had terrible effects on the Filipino American community. Across the west coast of the U.S., there were incidents of violence against the Filipino American community. A famous case occurred in Watsonville, California, where in 1930 for a week a white mob attacked the Filipino American community because a group of Filipino Americans danced with white women. Stores would have signs saying "No Filipinos or dogs allowed".

Until yesterday's debate, I didn't know the Haitian immigrant community was being targeted for this same type of racism. We need to speak out for the Haitian immigrant community from this type of racism or they will become vulnerable to far worst discrimination and violence.

"Republicans spread baseless slurs about ‘cat-eating migrants’ in Ohio city. Police reject suggestion by Trump campaign and JD Vance that Haitians in Springfield are eating pets and local wildlife" by Rachel Leingang for The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/sep/09/republicans-hai…

"The stereotype of immigrants eating dogs and cats is storied — and vitriolic as ever" by Jasmine Garsd for KVPR NPR Network
https://www.kvpr.org/npr-news/2024-09-10/the-stereotype-of-immigrants-e…

"Asian Restaurant in US Battles Racist Stereotype of Dog-Eating" by the Associated Press for VOA
https://www.voanews.com/a/asian-restaurant-in-us-battles-racist-stereot…