Democrats can be fairly criticized for being too tolerant of the anti-Semitism of the Hamas supporters within their ranks. But Republicans, through their tolerance of a Holocaust denier and the propagation of lurid tales about the alleged dietary habits of Haitian immigrants living in America, are making themselves more vulnerable to accusations that they, too, are too tolerant of violence.
As noted in an earlier column the Democratic Party’s platform, to the party’s credit, expresses strong support for Israel’s right to defend itself. Yet Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and other Democrats have all too often spoken of “both sides” in Israel’s war to defend itself against Hamas’s aggression and terrorism. Without explicitly condoning Hamas’s violence, they nonetheless seem to imply a rough moral equivalence between aggressor and victim.
But the GOP is losing the moral authority to attack the Democrats on this matter. Indeed, the failure, to date, of GOP leaders to repudiate comments about the Holocaust and Haitians may increase the chances for violence. Consider:
Earlier last week it was revealed that right-wing online commentator Tucker Carlson had expressed admiration for, and conducted a flattering interview with, right-wing crackpot and pseudo-historian Darryl Cooper. Cooper blames World War 2 on Churchill rather than Hitler and argues that the Holocaust—the systematic mass murder of six million Jews—was the result of poor planning and not of the deliberate implementation of an unspeakably evil policy of planned extermination: The Nazis simply captured too many civilians too early in the war and were not prepared to care for them adequately; hence they died, presumably of neglect.
Those who deny the Holocaust are either mentally ill and delusional, or simply evil, or both. And Holocaust denial presents a special existential challenge to the Jews and Israel. Israel was founded on the premise that in light of the Holocaust, European Jews needed a special refuge from further efforts at extermination. To deny the Holocaust happened is to deny the reason for Israel’s existence and grants more legitimacy to the efforts of those who would destroy it.
Unfortunately, Donald Trump has allowed Tucker Carlson to get too close to him. He allowed Carlson to sit with him at the Republican National Convention in July and accepted Carlson’s advice that he make JD Vane his Vice-Presidential running mate. He should now repudiate Carlson’s views on Cooper and the Holocaust lest the more gullible members of the public consider those views as legitimate and reduce support for Israel.
And speaking of JD Vance, his accusations that Haitians in America are eating pets are grossly irresponsible and a profound disservice to Haitians and everyone who values fairness and opposes bigotry. Vance has defended his actions by saying he was merely reporting on what his Ohio constituents have reported to him, and that the stories he’s repeating are simply showing the dangers of illegal immigration. But police have found few instances in which people have actually reported that Haitians are eating cats or dogs or geese, and no evidence that Haitians are actually doing so. Besides, most of the Haitians in Ohio are there legally anyway.
Students of the history of Christianity and Judaism might see parallels between current accusations against Haitians and accusations made against both Christians and Jews: Christians participating in Holy Communion were accused of cannibalism; Jews were accused of murdering Christians to use their blood in various rituals, including the baking of matzos, or unleavened flatbread, to be eaten at Passover. These false accusations led to widespread violence perpetrated against both Christians and Jews. The threats to bomb hospitals and schools in Springfield, Ohio, where thousands of Haitians live, are the result of the falsehoods being told against them. As someone on Facebook said, “I wonder how it feels to be a Haitian kid showing up to school in Springfield, Ohio, today. Rumors are not victimless.”
Vance, having started this story, and Trump, having kept it alive, must repudiate it immediately lest the Haitians of today, like the Christians and the Jews, become the targets of violence. If not, and if violence does result, they will bear partial responsibility for its occurrence.
In essence, all candidates for office must have the right to present the best possible arguments on their own behalf, as well as to point out the flaws in their opponents’ positions. But to downplay the violence of the guilty or promote, whether through negligence or malice, violence against the innocent, is utterly irresponsible and those who do so, without retracting and repudiating their statements must be held accountable by the public.
Malcolm L. Cross has lived in Stephenville since 1987 and taught politics and government at Tarleton for 36 years, retiring in 2023. His political and civic activities include service on the Stephenville City Council (2000-2014) and on the Erath County Republican Executive Committee (1990-2024). He was Mayor pro-tem of Stephenville from 2008 to 2014. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Stephenville
Economic Development Authority since 2018 and as chair of the Erath County Appraisal District’s Appraisal Review Board since 2015. He is also a member of the Stephenville Rotary Club, the Board of Vestry of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, and the Executive Committee of the Boy Scouts’ Pecan Valley District. Views expressed in this column are his and do not reflect those of The Flash as a whole.
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