Last week it was black college students, now it’s expanded to a larger audience. A series of harmful text messages have been sent to minorities nationwide.
November 6th not only marked former President Donald Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, it marked the start of a racist text campaign. Dozens of Black American students from Clemson University, the University of Alabama, Ohio State, and more universities across the nation have reportedly received racist messages following the election. While the wording differs slightly, they all uncoincidentally followed the same parameters: stating the student had been “selected” to pick cotton at “the nearest plantation.” As if weaponizing America’s dark history of slavery wasn’t fear evoking enough, each student was addressed by name, making the attacks all that more personal.
This week, the number of victims have only increased. Now there have been reports of Latinos, LGBTQIA+ members, and high-schoolers receiving similar dehumanizing messages. Latinos received messages claiming they were selected for deportation, and for LGBTQIA+ individuals, their messages stated they are required to report to a re-education camp.
Some of these texts were sent through TextNow, a messaging service. The company has now informed the public they have since disabled the accounts believed to be connected to the texts and announced their further cooperating with law enforcement. Additionally, the FBI has released a statement: “Although we have not received reports of violent acts stemming from these offensive messages, we are evaluating all reported incidents and engaging with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. We are also sharing information with our law enforcement partners and community, academia, and faith leaders.”
Is it a coincidence these messages appear directly following the election outcomes? Many think not. Some claimed these messages have come from “a Trump supporter," but that has yet to be verified. Regardless, the intensified emotions following the election is likely the cause of this hate crime. “Alarming increase in vile and abhorrent rhetoric from racist groups across the country, who now feel emboldened to spread hate and stoke the flames of fear that many of us are feeling after Tuesday’s election results,” says NAACP President Derrick Johnson. Seeing that many critics of Trump argue he ignores the issue of systemic racism, many are fearful that these messages are a glimpse of the hardships minorities will face in these coming four years.
Whether or not Donald Trump influenced the situation, some blame him for a political culture in which this kind of hate is normalized. Many, as expressed by Johnson, believe that in light of Trump’s win, some individuals may feel empowered to express such hate. This reflects the growing concerns among many minority groups that such hate will be embedded into political socialization, increasing similar behavior. Regardless of the suspected motives behind these messages, it is troubling that an election could serve as a catalyst of hate. Yet, also a reminder of the unity and equality our country must aim to uphold.
For more information:
https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/fbi-statement-regarding-offensive-text-messages
https://abcnews.go.com/US/text-service-shut-accounts-allegedly-racist-texts/story?id=115619141
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/11/15/hispanic-lgbt-offensive-texts-fbi/76341947007/
8 comments:
I thought this was a really interesting article because I had not actually heard about this yet. I am so shocked that anyone would go as far as sending such dehumanizing texts to people. Especially going as far as addressing people by name makes it especially horrible. I agree that it has connection with the recent election results. With all of this happening directly after the election and after Trump's win, it just makes me wonder if this is something that will continue throughout his term. Will there continue to be incidents like this? His term has not even started yet and this has already happened. This just raises major concerns of what could possibly happen when Trump does begin his term.
I wasn't aware of this hate campaign but following such a turbulent election it doesn't surprise me. Trump as you said, has built his platform on hate and division rather than unity and a connected culture. He aims to deport and oppress minorities and bring back the ideas of white supremacy that were so popular with Nazis, a group that almost 80 years later is still a social taboo that is not to be associated or supported. Yet our incoming president spouts many similar beliefs and sows discrimination into society, a process that is undoing hundreds of years of civil rights work. I hope that the FBI investigates this incident and punishes those behind it to show that hateful and racist rhetoric cannot continue in a country about equality and liberty.
The greatest problem with the current political system is that it is a devolution of civility and dignity in this nation. The message of having a convicted felon as our president sends a message to the American people, and it's not a positive one. While Trump may not have incited the hate directly, the language on both sides (one side calling the other side a fascist and authoritarian dictator compared to the likes of Hitler, and the other side actually displaying fascist-like qualities), and looking at previous presidential debates highlights how far we have fallen. The election perhaps is not itself to blame, but rather, the culture of America has simply devolved.
This article was fascinating, as I had not seen reports about it yet from any major news organizations. The breach of security and blatantly racist rhetoric is terrifying. One must wonder if threats, and white-supremacist language exhibited in these texts, will worsen into more physical violence. Moreover, with Trump serving in the highest office in the country, as an individual who has gotten away with racist remarks, sexism/sexual assault allegations, inciting violence; it sends out the rhetorical message that is mirrored in this text; that all these wrong acts, are "ok", and will not be punished, which is disheartening, and scary for our nation, and the safety of those within it.
This article demonstrates the sheer amount of prejudice in our country, but one has to wonder how people keep getting away with these acts of hate speech. Something interesting to consider here is that the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division is overlooked by the DOJ, who Trump has just appointed as Matt Gaetz. He's had a quite corrupt past, and has been investigated for sexual misconduct, accepting a bribe, and using campaign funds for personal use. Combined with his relationship and loyalty to our president, it worries me that these acts will become something bigger, as there is a possibility that Gaetz and Trump turn a blind eye to these harmful texts. Freedom and equality is what our country is based on, but the question has to be asked: will this be lost due to this new regime?
This article was fascinating to read, as I hadn’t heard about this issue before. It’s unsettling to think about how much worse these threats and hateful messages could become as Trump’s presidency progresses. With him as president, it’s uncertain how far this behavior might escalate, especially given that many Americans were unbothered by electing someone with allegations of sexual assault and racism. I also wonder if Trump will address this issue, particularly if it’s revealed that many of those responsible for these acts are his supporters. It also raises concerns about how such behavior could become normalized in political and social spaces, further dividing the nation.
The personalized text message, with name and a dehumanizing language about their identity, is frightening to see. The fact that whoever the sender had all of this personal information along with their phone number means that it is all leaked, or someone with high authority has access to it. Whether or not, if the intent to execute these actions were related to elections, I believe that election gave the ability to execute this action. Also, the fact that to this day no additional informations are found, makes me think that all of this was somehow involved behind the government.
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