Several reports have framed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ stunt, in which he sent migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, as a „protest.“ It’s really just a racist charade.
In the past two days, popular media outlets have carried Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ water by portraying his cruel stunt, in which he sent people seeking refuge in America to Martha’s Vineyard, as a “protest.”
DeSantis, along with Republican Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Doug Ducey of Arizona, have made a show of busing and flying people seeking to enter the U.S. through its Southern border to liberal-leaning regions. The conceit is that the experience will be so dreadful for these regions that they’ll demand the Biden administration take up extreme measures to curb immigration.
Several news organizations have all used “protest” to describe what some Democrats have suggested is literal human trafficking. And now is a critical time for anyone who has used the term to consider their potential complicity in this act of racist bigotry.
“Protest” is a misnomer for this aimless (and, as far as we know, endless) campaign that uses migrants as props to terrorize.
Protests are acts embarked upon by disempowered people to message things to the powerful. People use protests to evoke change that they don’t have the power to bring about themselves.
