Donald Trump attended the Atlanta Braves baseball game against the Houston Astros on Saturday. Suddenly the former US president joined in the cheering gesture of the fans. A gesture that was perceived as deeply racist.
Donald Trump shocked with a racist gesture at a baseball game.
Image: dpa
While the Atlanta Braves are heading for the title win in North American Major League Baseball, the former US President caused horror at the game against the Houston Astros on Saturday in Truist Park in Atlanta. The reason: a controversial hand gesture.
Donald Trump shocks with “Tomahawk Chop” at baseball game
Videos on social networks show how the 75-year-old joins the fans’ “Tomahawk Chop”. While the cheering gesture is extremely popular with supporters of the Atlanta Braves, Native Americans see it as racist. In the “Tomahawk Chop”, the arm imitates the beat of a tomahawk. However, this gesture is seen as an insult to the cultural heritage of the indigenous people. It fuels racist stereotypes.
National Congress of American Indians criticize the use of racial stereotypes in baseball
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has criticized the Atlanta Braves for repeatedly using their mascot and performing the “tomahawk chob” gesture. “We have repeatedly and unequivocally made our position clear – indigenous people are not mascots. Degrading rituals such as the ‘Tomahawk Chop’, which dehumanize and harm us, have no place in American society,” said NCAI President Fawn Sharp. NCAI urges the Atlanta Braves to follow the example of the Cleveland Guardians. The team had decided to delete the name “Indians” and also to retire its mascot. However, Major League Baseball boss Rob Manfred countered that Native Americans in Atlanta were okay with the Braves’ program.
Nazi comparison! Donald Trump’s hand gesture triggers debate on the Internet
That the former US President Donald Trump doesn’t think much of political correctness, should be clear. The 75-year-old and his wife Melania have been heavily criticized on social media for the “Tomahawk Chop” gesture.
President Trump! Tomahawk chop at #WorldSeries Game 4 tonight in Atlanta. ???? pic.twitter.com/OPcW5D7eVc
— Suburban Black Man ???????? (@goodblackdude) October 31, 2021
Some online even compare the gesture with the Nazis’ Hitler salute. “Squint your eyes and that’s Germany in 1938,” it says in a tweet.
Squint your eyes and that’s Germany 1938. pic.twitter.com/6NGeLiX6zd
— IAN (3,3) (@iancairns01) October 31, 2021
Anyone else have the chills watching this? ???? pic.twitter.com/oMfRAsnq8K
– Jo (@JoJoFromJerz) October 31, 2021
“It’s not even remotely the same gesture. You should be ashamed of it. Millions of Atlanta Braves fans have been doing this for decades and it has never been associated with it,” said one Twitter user against the Nazi comparison. “Just because ‘millions of people’ do it doesn’t mean it’s right,” says another.
ESPN editor Jeff Passan explains on Twitter why the gesture is discriminatory. “It is important, especially for those who are firmly entrenched in this matter and who find any discussion of the” Tomahawk Chop “insincere, to understand the abuse of indigenous people in Georgia to understand why the” Chop ” is so annoying for many, “said the tweet. Passan tells the story of the Muscogee who were evicted from their land in the 1830s and sent on a 1,200 mile march by the government. Thousands died. “There are no recognized tribes in Georgia today. Zero. Truly racist American policies eradicated them. Remember, the Braves are not called Braves to honor history.” But the Braves fans don’t want to know anything about it. They claim that they have nothing to do with it and that they do not associate anything negative with performing the gesture.
Also read: That is why you should delete “Indians” from your vocabulary
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