Lightning rods keep us safe. By absorbing the powerful bursts of energy coming out of the sky, they transfer electricity into the ground to be safely dispersed, leaving the larger structure intact. Lightning rods as a metaphor carry a similar meaning. In moments of intense social pressure, specific individuals and demographics absorb the brunt of the vitriol, leaving the larger system intact. The problem is that these metaphorical “lightning rods” are not grounded. They themselves absorb the damage and are left to deal with the consequences.
During the most recent presidential debate, Donald Trump firmly planted a lightning rod in Springfield, Ohio--more specifically, in their immigrant community. By claiming that Haitian immigrants were “…eating the dogs…eating the cats… [and] eating the pets of the people that live there”, he turned Springfield and its immigrant community into a lightning rod.
The fallout from the ensuing “lightning strikes” has been intense. A frankly unserious moment in the debate has led to very serious consequences for the people of Springfield. Just how serious? As of September 24th, the community has experienced 33 bomb threats targeting schools, hospitals, universities, and government offices leading to their subsequent evacuation. All of these threats exhibit some tie to directly threatening the Haitian and broader immigrant communities in Springfield.
The Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) has filed suit against J.D. Vance and Donald Trump for the violence and discrimination that their community has faced in recent weeks. As they have been forced to ground the attention that Trump and Vance have sought with their words, Hatian immigrants are the ones paying the price for whatever political gain Trump and Vance get out of the attention and fear that they seek.
There is a broader discussion worth having about how this “lightning” gets grounded, because Haitian immigrants are not an isolated community. They are interconnected with the rest of the people in their cities and towns, meaning that they are not the only ones that get hurt due to the carelessness of others. Hospitals and schools aren’t just closed for immigrants, they evacuate everyone when a bomb threat is imminent, taking resources away from everyone in the community.
Heather McGhee probably best articulates this reality that black authors have commented on for years, that racism is a poison drunken by its own concoctors. That is to say, everyone is hurt by racism, not just the people that are targeted by it but everyone in the community and even the very people that perpetuate it.
While it remains unclear whether Donald Trump and JD Vance will pay the price come November, this is not an isolated problem. All too often, minority populations are used as lightning rods by those seeking power and then left to pick up the pieces once the lightning strikes. That pain is absorbed into society and hurts us all, regardless of whether we were the intended targets. We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard and not dismiss dangerous rhetoric, but call it out when we see it and refuse to empower those who perpetuate it.