By Azizat Sadiq
Insolent Words
“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” These were the disgusting, disrespectful, and hurtful words that were uttered from President Trump’s mouth. Trump doesn’t want immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador, Latin America, and African countries to live in the United States. Trump went as far as creating a Muslim immigration ban and requesting that Mexico pay for a border wall so that he can keep immigrants out of the United States. Osmani Simanca political cartoon above-titled “Words and Thoughts,” focuses on Trump derogatory comment. Simanca’s cartoon captures the imagery in Trump’s criticism. Haiti, El Salvador, Latin America, and African countries all have improvements that need to be made for the countries to aid and assist their citizens; however, Trump doesn’t have the right to refer to these countries as “shitholes.”
This cartoon demonstrates Simanca opinion of Trump’s “shithole” comment. Simanca goal for this cartoon is to allow his audience to comprehend his point of view of the comment. Trump is depicted in the sketch as an angry man with a stiff face. His eyes are puffy, and he has wrinkles throughout the circumference of his face. Trump’s mouth is drawn small, round, and slightly plumped. He is obese with small hands and large feet. He is wearing a suit with a button-down collared white shirt, and he has on a red tie. Also, he has a slick back comb over blonde hairstyle. He is holding a stick against a brown board. The board has drawings of tornado shaped feces that says Haiti, El Salvador, and Africa. Around the feces, there are many flies. There is a speech bubble over Trump’s head that states “SHITHOLE COUNTRIES!” Also, Trump is pointing straight up at a thought bubble that shows two drawings of feces: one of them labeled Latin American, and the other one is blank. The imagery of the cartoon allows the audience to see Simanca’s view of Trump and his comment.
Symbolism in this cartoon allows the audience to connect and further understand the meaning of the comment. While viewing the animation, we can see that the man drawn resembles Trump. The suit and red tie demonstrate that Trump is a Republican political figure. In the image, Simanca is portraying Trump’s views of foreign countries. The speech bubble above his head informs the audience of Trump’s offensive comment. As Trump point to the countries on the board, it tells us which countries he considers a “shithole.” The thought bubble shows the feces of Latin America, and above it is a blank feces that seems to resemble North America. The North American feces is blank because Simanca is implying Trump knows that his nation is also a “shithole” but won’t admit it. By pointing at his thought, it’s as if Trump wants us to recognize that both Latin America and North America are just as worthless as the countries on the board. For instance, the United States government shutdown because political officials couldn’t agree on the deportation status of people under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival, DACA, program. However, making such comment will go against his quest to make “America great again.”
Trump considers all countries that are not predominantly white “shitholes.” Many people who are from the countries that Trump is talking about took offense to the comment. He claims that he is not a racist, yet he made a disrespectful comment towards the countries of people of different races. Several people of color were disappointed that Trump dared to speak badly about their countries. Africans were brutally taken from their homelands and were forced to do hard labor in America.
Additionally, colonies invaded African countries and forced their westernized cultures on them. Also, the United States took and continues to steal natural resources from nations that Trump refer to as “shithole” for their benefit. Others had a different opinion about Trump’s comment. An African man made audio saying that Africans shouldn’t be offended about Trump’s criticism. He indicated that he would most likely agree with the message depicted in Simanca’s cartoon. The man stated that African leaders and the ruling play a part in other seeing the continent as a “shithole.” He explained that there could be people working for months at a time and they won’t receive salaries. Also, he talks about police officers taking bribes from local citizens on the street because they are not making money salary to sustain the family. The man partially agrees with Trump, and he said that African countries must improve their current situations.
Osmani Simanca’s “Words and Thoughts” cartoon informs his audiences of the current event about Trump’s comment about foreign countries. His sketches convince his viewers of his negative view of Trump. In some African countries, students who graduate from college and often struggle to find jobs in their respective fields or find it financially challenging to provide for their families. This result in hopelessness to search for green pasture somewhere else. Many immigrants came from countries where corrupt governing leaders flourish, and the welfare of the average citizen is the least of their concern. The government of Haiti, El Salvador, and African countries need to improve their predicaments to help their citizens remain in the countries of their origin. However, Trump doesn’t have the right to call their beautiful countries “shitholes” since every nation has its challenges. Furthermore, Trump should learn self-control and be aware of the impact of his words and actions.