Full disclosure: I did not live in New York City until the final two years of Giuliani’s reign. However, before I moved back to New York City, his race-baiting reputation proceeded him. His passive acceptance of NYPD officers calling former Mayor David Dinkins a “nigger” and his overall disdain for people of color in this city made me less than a fan of “America’s Mayor.” Giuliani never passed up an opportunity to criticize President Obama, inflate crime statistics in an increasingly safe NYC or remind people that the ills within the Black community had no structural or historical factors, rather they were merely the problems of Black-on-Black crime. So the recent iteration of Giuliani, his last gasps at relevance, seem to be as sad as they are offensive.
It appears the former mayor has attached his rusty rocket to the bandwagon of hatred and lunacy of the Republican nominee. Giuliani cannot seem to pass up an opportunity to praise the orange one, denigrate Obama and Hillary Clinton whenever possible and turn the racist dog-whistle politics of 2016 into a full racist bark on any media outlet that will take him. To quote the young people, “Somebody better come and get your boy!”
During his tenure as mayor, Giuliani did have some redeeming qualities pertaining to his relatively early acceptance of the LGBT community, his denunciation of anti-immigrant sentiments post-9/11 and his abortion rights stance as a Republican. However, those progressive qualities have all but disappeared now that he is courting the lowest common denominator in American society. Giuliani now finds himself at rallies praising building a wall to keep immigrants out and co-signing the draconian policies toward immigrant families currently residing in America. Might we remind Rudy Giuliani that he himself is the child of first-generation immigrants from Italy?
So Giuliani’s perpetual quest for relevance continues, and we must witness the implosion of a man who seems to have left his moral compass somewhere in Florida. I teach, know and work with several level-headed and thoughtful Republicans. However, almost all of them view this election season and the hateful rhetoric as a bridge too far. Many are either going to vote for Clinton, vote for a third-party candidate or sit out the election altogether. They are left scratching their heads as to what has happened to their party. When did the term Republican become synonymous with racist? Such was not always the case. In American democracy, difference is healthy. Just because we do not share the same party or some fundamental beliefs does not mean we cannot work together toward better local, state and national policies. However, what Giuliani, the orange one (see previous columns where I refuse to give him any more free press)unfortunately , and so many Americans, are expressing are antithetical to progress on any level.
So if anyone has Giuliani’s ear, please tell him to save himself from himself. He is waving a flag of white supremacy and we will never forget.
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University and the author of “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream.” You can find her on Twitter @Dr_CMGreer.