New York – Normally, at the
Not Who We Are campaign, we focus on the stories told by real people in their own words, based on real letters they started on our platform. But today is different.
Cleveland.com reporter Henry J. Gomez wrote a powerful story detailing the kind of bigotry and racism given voice by Donald Trump and his campaign. Not Who We Are is a movement of people all across the country, of all backgrounds standing together to say that these kinds of attacks are not who we are. Below, in his own words, are excerpts of
Mr. Gomez’s story:
“Call it bigotry. Call it racism. Call it xenophobia. As a writer – especially one who covers national politics – you chalk it up as coming with the territory, as hurtful and as menacing as it can be. This year, though, it is coming far more frequently. There is no mystery why…
“I don't think it's a coincidence that, recently, readers have told me I should be ‘on the other side of the wall’ and that my background should ‘disqualify’ me from covering this election…
“It strikes me, though, that Trump, whether he means to or not, has fostered a hostile moment in our politics when his supporters feel entitled to racially denigrate others. Sadly, simply being a Gomez is enough to make you a target…
“Lately I have struggled with how to cover Trump. Not because I'm a Gomez, but because I'm a journalist who knows the difference between right and wrong… But when a candidate says things that are, at best, offensive to minorities and, at worst, racist, we have a duty to report precisely that. There are not two sides to racism…I have wondered how I can objectively point out that Trump encourages hate…
“One online reader recently accused me of allowing my ‘enthicity’ to cloud my judgment. Another asked if I was here legally. A third asked, tauntingly: ‘What makes you the expert, Enrique?’"
--- Cleveland.com reporter Henry J. Gomez
To learn more about Not Who We Are, follow us on twitter at @NotWhoWeAre or visit
http://notwhoweare.us/.