Immigrant, black, and brown communities are afraid, and that’s no exaggeration. Donald Trump has unshackled a mass deportation force and brought white supremacists and other extremists into the mainstream fold, and now Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie is trying to cater to those same people though his string of misleading, racist, Willie Horton-style ads. There’s no understating the danger of embracing these extremist forces, yet Gillespie has been trying to do just that:
As Splinter noted, “in the past, a campaign ad featuring a Confederate flag-waving pickup truck running down a group of young children would have seemed alarmist. Unfortunately, post-Charlottesville and Muslim ban, a new minute-long campaign spot for the Virginia governor’s race seems all too plausible.”
Of course, this ad has pissed off plenty of right-wing sites, and that’s because racists hate being called racist but don’t actually mind being racist. Remember, Joe Arpaio openly defied a court order in order to keep racially profiling drivers but had a fit over being labeled a racist. Not to mention the lack of outrage from these same people regarding Gillespie’s awful ads. What these folks seem to be more angry about is communities of color daring to hit back.
As immigration activist Alida Garcia tweeted, “anyone debating Latino Victory’s ad hasn't talked to an elementary teacher in an immigrant neighborhood this year.” Latino Victory added in a tweet storm “that if you watched our ad and refuse to acknowledge the very real fears that many in our community have, we suggest you look in the mirror. We will not shy away from calling racism for what it is. Our community deserves champions. That's why we're in this fight. We won't stop.”
