Tag Archives: Immigration

Imagining the Poor as Breeders

By Robin Bates | Published: June 27, 2018

Donald Trump has been using words like “infest” and “breeding” to dehumanize people of color. Swift’s Modest Proposer does the same.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , | Comments closed

Blake on Bible-Citing Politicians

By Robin Bates | Published: June 17, 2018

William Blake would strenuously oppose Jeff Sessions Immigration policies.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , | Comments closed

The GOP and Trump’s Modest Proposals

By Robin Bates | Published: June 12, 2018

The practice of separating immigrant children from their asylum-seeking parents is reminiscent of the Modest Proposer’s solution.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , | Comments closed

America, Racist and Revolutionary Both

By Robin Bates | Published: January 15, 2018

In America, Jamaican immigrant Claude McKay reminds America what makes it great, even as he exposes its dark side.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments closed

Tolstoy on Resisting a Narcissist

By Robin Bates | Published: August 17, 2017

If Trump is like Napoleon in Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” can he be defeated by popular resistance, as he is in Tolstoy’s novel?

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , | Comments closed

Dear Trump: America Contains Multitudes

By Robin Bates | Published: July 4, 2017

To celebrate July 4, do not listen to Donald Trump, who preaches paranoia and exclusion. Read Whitman’s “Song of Myself.” His America contains multitudes.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , | Comments closed

On Reading Pride & Prejudice 100 Times

By Robin Bates | Published: June 1, 2017

Teaching a classic too regularly can lead to its losing its luster for the teacher. I share how I keep that from happening.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , | Comments closed

Brown & Gold & Blood vs. Trumpian White

By Robin Bates | Published: March 2, 2017

In the face of white nationalists, we need poems like Fatima Asghar’s celebration of South Asian diversity in America to remind us who we really are.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments closed

Our Version of Plague Maddened Villagers

By Robin Bates | Published: February 7, 2017

Donald Trump’s attacks on the Affordable Care Act and on immigrants could well end up hurting many of his supporters. A similar irony is described in Geraldine Brooks’s “Year of Wonders,” where 17th century villagers, maddened by the plague, kill two midwives.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments closed