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Springfield is now a national talking point after Trump claimed immigrants there are eating pets.
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Local residents say the allegations have created a tense and, some say, dangerous atmosphere in the Ohio city.
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They described what it is like to live in a city that has been catapulted out of anonymity.
“I think the last time we were in national news was when they were trying to decide which Springfield in the U.S. would be the official home of ‘The Simpsons,’” Sara Bear, a 39-year-old Springfield resident, told Business Insider.
“We lost,” she added with a laugh.
But now the once-quiet Ohio town between Dayton and Columbus has faded from obscurity for a very different reason.
Former President Donald Trump’s comments during this week’s presidential debate about unsubstantiated claims that Haitian immigrants eat pets have created a tense and, some say, dangerous atmosphere in Springfield, according to several residents who spoke to BI.
Much of this tension is playing out online.
The Facebook group “Springfield, OH Community” was once a forum where people could post restaurant suggestions, discuss store closings, and share local news.
Now chaos has ensued as the town has inadvertently become a political talking point and a role model for the heated national debate over immigration.
Seemingly innocent posts on Springfield’s Facebook group are now leading to heated discussions, name-calling and the spread of misinformation.
The chaos reached a fever pitch Tuesday night after Trump mentioned Springfield during his presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
In a now viral moment, he said, “In Springfield, they eat the dogs. The people that came in, they eat the cats. They eat — they eat the pets of the people that live there.”
Trump was fact-checked, with the moderator noting that city officials have said there are “no credible reports” of the Haitian community doing such a thing.
But according to Bear, the damage has already been done.
According to Bear, the heated atmosphere in the city has become so heated that restaurants are getting calls asking if cats are on the menu.
On Thursday, Springfield City Hall was temporarily closed due to a bomb threat that included “hate speech” directed at Haitian immigrants in the community, the mayor told The Washington Post.
Bear fears that the place where she has always lived, with a population of about 60,000, “will only be remembered as a cat meme town full of hateful bigots.”
Like many residents, Bear has genuine concerns about the impact of immigration on Springfield, particularly the strain on social services, housing and traffic safety.
But she said she believes the heated rhetoric has drowned out any opportunity for nuanced debate “in favor of clicks and memes.”
She added: “These are real people, and we’re going to have to live with the real consequences of this.”
One of the consequences of the current climate is increased racial tension, said Jessica Eikleberry, a 35-year-old IT technician.
She used to describe the town to outsiders as a quiet and friendly community, but now she fears it has become not only a laughing stock but a dangerous place to live for a person of color.
“It’s scary”
Eikleberry, who is of Korean descent, has a Mexican fiancé and a mixed-race child, expressed concerns to BI about her family’s safety because of their racial identity.
“It’s scary,” she said, adding that she no longer feels welcome in the city where she has lived all her life.
“The tensions among the residents of Springfield are so high that you’re too afraid to leave your house,” she says, adding that she’s seriously considering moving her family out of the city.
Olivia Parkinson, a 24-year-old therapist who has also lived in Springfield her entire life, told BI she now fears the city will gain a reputation as a hotbed of racism.
“The fact that they actually wanted to name them and eat our pets will also apply to the other people of color in the city,” she said.
Parkinson noted that protesters carrying Nazi flags marched through Springfield last month, emboldened by anti-immigration rhetoric online.
“There is a college in this city, and I have been there. I wonder if people still want to send their children to this school,” she said.
In the Facebook group, residents regularly express their concerns about the city’s bad reputation, which is causing people to move away and negatively affecting local businesses.
According to Parkinson, the city’s potential is now being overshadowed by its meme status.
“There are a lot of good things about Springfield,” she said. “I still choose to live here, despite the flaws.”
One of the good things, she added, is the work some residents do to support the Haitians living there.
Author Marjory Wentworth, who runs cultural projects with Haitians in Springfield, is one of those volunteers.
Wentworth expressed concern that the local Haitian community is being “used” and “demonized” by outsiders, such as Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance, for their own political gain.
The Haitian community in Springfield is, against their will, the unintended damage.
“They’re trying to work hard and just do the best they can for their families, just like everybody else,” Wentworth told BI. “So this is just all very tragic.”
For Marco Lapaix, a Haitian immigrant who has lived in Springfield for the past five years. The promise of “a better life” in Ohio came with great challenges.
He says he is treated unkindly by strangers and feels his Haitian identity leads to discrimination, such as being denied a lease for a restaurant.
Lapaix said he just wants to be a law-abiding citizen who can provide for his livelihood and be tolerated in the city he now calls home.
However, recent national rhetoric has only made this endeavor more difficult.
“I’m angry, I’m scared, but I know we have to fight to be accepted,” he said.
Read the original article on Business Insider
