Recently, a series of racist text messages were sent to Black students days after the Presidential Election.
According to an FBI statement, some messages included phrases like, “You have been selected to pick cotton.”
Their statement also said the message recipients expanded to both the Hispanic and LGBTQIA+ communities, with some being told they were selected for deportation or to report to a re-education camp. According to Tiger TV, one of the recipients was a sophomore at LSU.
I believe that the president of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson, said it best in his statement about the racist messages, “These messages represent an alarming increase in vile and abhorrent rhetoric from racist groups across the country, who now feel emboldened to spread hate and stoke the flames of fear that many of us are feeling after Tuesday’s election results.”
The sad fact is that many groups could feel the effects after the election on Nov. 5. I saw multiple TikToks of women upset after the election, and reading the comments made my heart sink.
Filled with messages saying, “your body, our choice,” “make me a sandwich,” and clips of Nick Fuentes, who popularized the phrase, saying “there will never be a female president,” and that “the glass ceiling is made of bricks.”
Statistics calculated by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue show that the use of the phrase “your body, our choice” significantly increased surrounding the election, peaking on November 8th, when it was mentioned 12,238 times.
This situation is horrifying, but sadly, it was no surprise. I have lived in the deep South for the majority of my life and have spent many of those years listening to the racism, sexism and homophobia that seeped out of the student body surrounding me.
Growing up here helped me realize my political beliefs. I believe one of the most important things when it comes to voting and politics, in general, is protecting the rights of all human beings.
I think with Trump being elected, those who hate marginalized groups will feel more empowered to speak their minds because their president does the same. With a president who spreads so much hate, it’s no surprise that his loyal followers and even the country will grow hateful as well.
As the FBI statement says, “Although we have not received reports of violent acts stemming from these offensive messages, we are evaluating all reported incidents and engaging with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.”
Hate crimes are a real thing that people have to fear while going about their daily lives. Even without the violence, though, these hate messages and fear tactics are all about intimidating people who have a rational fear. Such as threatening to control women’s bodies when most already fear being sexually assaulted because of how often it occurs.
I have felt accustomed to this hate for a while. After being the only girl in a shop class, I’ve heard it all at this point.
“Something smells like fish,” after I walk in, “I’m not interested you’re ugly,” after I declined to give out my number and, “You look like a rapeable person; I could hold you down and do anything I want to you,” while holding my knee. All of these were said to me at age 15, in a classroom with only men and no one to defend me, not even the male teacher.
The fact is that this is nothing compared to the vicious hate crimes and bullying people have faced due to their gender, sexuality, race, religion and so much more is difficult to bare. It feels impossible to stop the hate, but all we can do is try to make others understand why something that isn’t violent can still cause violence and hate for groups who are already marginalized.
These racist messages sent only days after the election are a glimpse into the next four years, and those against this disgusting hate should speak out about it as much as they can.
Kate Beske is a 21-year-old journalism senior from Destrehan, La.
