Trump’s tweets: The racism is the point

On The Listening Post this week: It has been nearly three years into the Trump era and United States media finally use the “R” word to describe him: “Racist”. Plus, the war criminals turned best-selling authors in Serbia.

Trump’s tweets and the ‘racist’ debate

The coverage of the Trump White House is caught up over one word, “racist“, and whether or not it should be used to describe the US president.

After Donald Trump told four Congresswomen of colour to “go back” to the countries they came from – even though three of them are American born – some media outlets are still stopping short of using the “R” word.

Ahead of the 2020 elections, the US is a nation of opposing political narratives, where Trump’s white nativist message is facing push-back from a new progressive force on the political left.

Contributors:

Ryan Devereaux – immigration reporter, The Intercept

Suketu Mehta – author, This Land is Our Land

Mary Frances Berry – professor of American Social Thought, University of Pennsylvania

Crystal Fleming – associate professor of sociology, Stony Brook University and author of How to Be Less Stupid About Race

On our radar

Richard Gizbert speaks to producer Tariq Nafi about the BBC’s decision to accept Iran’s demand not to broadcast its coverage on BBC Persian.

Serbian war criminals turned authors rewriting Yugoslav history

It hasb been roughly 20 years since the war finally came to an end in the region once known as Yugoslavia. The important narrative of Serbia‘s role in the decades-long conflict – Europe’s deadliest war since World War II – is hotly contested.

The evidence, as per the United Nations and multiple other investigative bodies tells a tale of disproportionate Serbian aggression, brutality and ethnic cleansing.

The alternative version of that history is now being told in book form by men convicted of crimes including genocide, and whose rewriting of history serves the nationalistic narrative favoured by today’s Serbian elites.

The Listening Post‘s Johanna Hoes explores the historical revisionism in former Yugoslavia and the inmates who have gone from convicted war criminals to published authors.

Contributors:

Aleksandar Brezar – journalist

Emir Suljagic – professor, International University of Sarajevo

Vladimir Petrovic – historian

Natasa Kandic – founder, Humanitarian Law Center