Our Bureau
Washington, DC
Democrat Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi on Thursday (local time) condemned white supremacist slogans, including “Go back to India” and “You will not replace us”, outside a Texas city hall, saying such hate targeting any community has no place in America.
Krishnamoorthi urged unity against bigotry.
In a post on X, he said, “Go back to India.” “You will not replace us.” Those were the chants of white supremacists outside a Texas city hall just weeks ago. Whether directed at Hindus, Muslims, Jews, or any other community, hate has no place in America. We must stand shoulder-to-shoulder against bigotry, prejudice, and discrimination wherever it appears.”
In a similar vein, earlier during his visit to India in May, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio strongly defended the United States as a welcoming country while dismissing racist comments targeting Indians in the United States as the actions of “stupid people”, saying such remarks do not reflect America’s broader character as an immigrant-friendly nation.
Addressing a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi, Rubio responded to a question on racism against Indians in the US and said he takes such concerns seriously, but emphasised that offensive remarks made by individuals do not reflect the values of the United States.
Rubio reiterated his stance of how “people say stupid stuff” when asked about racist comments targeting Indians in the United States, following a question raised at a press conference in the national capital on Sunday.
Clarifying his response, Rubio said he was referring to online comments and suggested that some of them could be posted by trolls or bots.
Noting that he did not know the exact context of the question being referred to, Rubio said he assumed it was about online activity.
“I assumed that he was talking about people posting stuff online. Some of those could be a troll, a bot,” he said.
He further reiterated that such behaviour is not unique to any one country. “People say stupid stuff all the time on social media and in every country in the world, unfortunately,” Rubio added.
In his remarks, Rubio also emphasised that the United States remains a welcoming country and said that offensive comments made by individuals should not be seen as reflective of the nation as a whole.
