From slavery to "Indian schools" to internment camps, family separation is nothing new in America

From slavery to “Indian schools” to internment camps, family separation is nothing new in America

Trump had to sweep his ugly twist on an old story under the carpet. It was a reminder of America at its worst

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D. WATKINS
JUNE 22, 2018 11:00AM (UTC)

Donald Trump gave a speech this week at the National Federation of Independent Business, and right after that he hugged the flag “We’re doing well as a country, and you are the ones truly who are making America great again."

Link to tweet

That image hits like a Mike Tyson punch: In the midst of probably the worst week of his presidency, as images of children in prison grab, separated from their parents because of pointless political pandering by him and Jeff Sessions, flood the web – he hugs the American flag and acts as if he’s doing something right. We are approaching two years of this, and nothing is right.

Ultimately Trump signed an executive order this week that at least temporarily ends the family separation policy. We know he never cared about the detained children as he came up with multiple reasons to defend his actions. But he does care about negative press. Reporters and media outlets all over the world have been tearing him apart. Michael Hayden, the former director of the CIA and NSA, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California have both compared Trump’s detainment camps to Nazi Germany. Trump has a need to be liked, and this zero tolerance border policy getting compared to Hitler and Nazi Germany definitely won't fill that need.

Jeff Sessions went on with Fox News host Laura Ingraham to combat the comparisons. “Well, it’s a real exaggeration, of course,” Sessions said, “In Nazi Germany, they were keeping the Jews from leaving the country.”

I agree with Sessions for the first time in my life because we shouldn't be comparing America to Nazi Germany. In fact, the eugenics policies implemented by the Nazis had American origins. If we are going to have a conversation about the historic events leading up to children being detained, or a culture of dehumanizing people of color, we need to start right here at home in America – land of the fee, home of the slave.

American has a long history of tearing families apart–– a history stretching to before the founding of the republic.

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https://www.salon.com/2018/06/22/from-slavery-to-indian-schools-to-internment-family-separation-is-nothing-new-in-america/