Haitians eat plantains.
I must rush to add that Haitians eat other things too. I remember langouste, from my visits to Haiti, a kind of spicy French lobster dish. In “Breath, Eyes, Memory,” Edwidge Danticat’s lovely, meticulous novel, they eat cinnamon rice pudding, on special occasions.
In all the continuing fallout from Donald Trump’s shocking slur about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, uttered during his debate with Kamala Harris — “They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the pets” — I have not seen mentioned what Haitians actually do eat. Understandable — with the state police being called out to protect children going to school in Springfield, dozens of bomb threats and the Proud Boys boldly marching, cuisine would naturally get pushed aside.
Pity. Food has a way of bridging divides. I remember the coffee — I’d never had such excellent coffee — and of course the rum, Jane Barbancourt. Best in the world.
It goes without saying — well, no, actually, I have to say it — that Haitians also eat sushi and meatloaf and apples and every other food that anybody else eats. Culture is a guide, not a rule.
As to why the spurious pet-eating claim should shock, coming from Trump and his wingman, JD Vance, that’s on me, on all of us. We should expect it by now. But something must make people — regular, non-bigoted people — assume the best about others. Like Anne Frank, we believe people are basically good at heart; a dangerous notion, given how that worked out for Anne.
Never forget that racism is a form of ignorance. Stupidity rampant. People imagine bigots come to their beliefs the way most of us do, through experience and consideration. They don’t. What happens is they try to mold their real life experience to fit their narrow, poisonous personal beliefs. As Vance said, they make stuff up to prove a point.
Prejudice also is a form of cowardice. Nobody is a bigot because they are brave. Thus, hating people directly is rare: “I hate the Dutch and their stupid wooden shoes.” Instead, harms must be postulated to justify the hatred: “The Dutch are running over children with their careless bike riding.”
This is where the lying comes in. False rumors, that bulwark of medieval villages, transfer directly to 21st century technology. “The Jews poisoned the wells” finds a direct corollary in, “They’re eating the pets.” People we hate are doing something awful! So it’s safe to hate them.
There’s always a slur to hurl at a group. In Danticat’s novel, Sophie flies to New York to find Haitians are called boat people. They are rumored to carry AIDS, and to stink.
Harris smiled when Trump unleashed the pet slander. I smiled too, partly discomfort, partly the joy of the lepidopterist — butterfly collector — at finding a new specimen. I’m a collector of sorts. We’ll pin “They’re eating dogs” next to “There’s leprosy in Oak Park.”
Don’t know that one? It was a long time ago. A half a dozen concerned suburbanites phoned the Chicago Examiner in late January, 1910. That’s what people did before the internet — they phoned the newspaper, to pass along information, or confirm it. One caller said a Chinese laundryman was dying of leprosy, and “a girl in the very best white society has got it.”
The story, as it is teased out, was this: two weeks earlier, a girl was walking home when she hurt her elbow. A clean handkerchief “newly laundered” by a Chinese person was applied to the wound. Leprosy ensued. Digging further, the reporter found Oak Park Chinese laundries were being boycotted and the chop suey shop business was ebbing “to the vanishing point.”
There was never any afflicted girl, or any leprosy.
Why do people believe such nonsense? Because it feeds their prejudices, what they already are certain is true. Foreigners carry exotic diseases. They’re criminals. They eat strange stuff. I think that was the shocking part: to hear the eating pets calumny come out of Trump’s mouth. The former and perhaps future president said it. He may even believe it.
The thing to do when confronting baseless ignorance is to educate. Replace Haitians eating cats with what Haitians actually eat. Maybe give it a try yourself. Slice the plantains, brown them in hot oil, then soak the slices in a mixture of water, vinegar and salt for a few minutes. Smash the fried plantains by pressing them with a heavy pan, re-fry them and then set the patties out on paper towels to drain away the excess grease. See? It’s tasty and filling — and it might even make you less afraid. Food can do that.