Republican rep Clay Higgins (R-La.) has become what some people have called “the main character on Twitter.” The phrase describes how one person can become the target of a social media cancellation frenzy that brings in thousands or more social media users to pile on the person who made the post.
Higgins is under fire in media and on social media for a post he made on X (Twitter) in which he apparently made comments about Haitians that some find “racist.” Since the post is now deleted, the only descriptions available of what Higgins wrote are selected portions reprinted in the media.
This article from the UK’s Daily Mail is a case in point. The Mail takes the editorial viewpoint (in its news pages) that Higgins is “a racist,” and that American Haitians are the victims of “racist abuse” ever since reports came out of Ohio blaming the glut of 20,000 foreign nationals plunked in a small town for crime, disorder, and the eating of pets and wildlife.
Newsweek took the same approach, calling the accusations against the immigrants “false.” Despite what mainstream media claims, there is indeed evidence for the claim of Haitians eating wildlife from local parks, and credible claims that missing household pets may have been culled and eaten.
So what did Higgins say? We only know a bit, since media has plucked out only the most inflammatory words, and the post is now deleted, so no one can read for context. Higgins apparently claimed that at least some Haitians were “thugs” who ate pets and practiced “vudu.” Voodoo is, in fact, a major religion among Haitians. It is difficult to see how stating that fact can be “racist.”
Higgins surely did speak candidly, and said he wants the “thugs” to get their backsides out of the United States before the inauguration of the new president in January, 2025.
But speaking candidly and negatively about foreign immigrants, legal or otherwise, has strangely become a taboo in the U.S. Congressional colleagues from both sides of the aisle chastised Higgins on the floor of the House.
Steven Horsford, a Democrat who heads the Congressional Black Caucus, said Higgins was spreading “hate” and threatened to draft a censure resolution.
Florida’s Republican Byron Donalds said he spoke with Higgins and told him it was not a wise statement and that he should take it down.Higgins eventually deleted the post, perhaps thinking it was now worth the trouble.
