In an short essay distributed by The New Yorker and titled “Living in Trump’s Soviet Union,” Gary Shteyngart comments on the state of present-day America (and much of the Western world for that matter), comparing it to late-twentieth century Russia, drawing on many parallels that continue exist in the Western world today. Shteyngart also draws reference to the American society he grew up in as an immigrant. I think what this essay proves the most is that any apparent progress that has been made in terms of acceptance and equality of races and ethnicities that are not Western and White has been very slow, if there has been progression at all. To quote Shteyngart, “[t]he graffito ‘Russia is for the Russians,’ scribbled next to a synagogue, and the words ‘Vote Trump,’ written on a torched black church in Mississippi, are separated by the cold waters of the Atlantic but united by an imaginary grievance—a vigil for better times that may never have existed.” Despite his claim of surprise, I believe Shteyngart was well aware of this issue well before the 2016 election, or even the Republican presidential nomination campaign. In his novel Absurdistan, Shteyngart tells the fictional, darkly-humorous story of Misha: a Russian Jew that does not want to be considered a Russian Jew at all, but instead yearns for a multicultural identity and craves to be back in America – the land of supposed opportunity, freedom, liberty, justice, and love. And yet, despite Misha’s love and want for America, it rejects him on the basis of his Father killing an Oklahoman man: an event he had no involvement in. Although the circumstances are deeply different, and the novel’s problems are only fictional, there are many parallels to be drawn from Absurdistan, (written over ten years ago in 2006 and set before the fateful events of September 11, 2001) to the present problems that America is facing and has been facing for decades. The book, in my opinion, proves that although many Americans seem to believe that Trump’s rise to power has brought about a new kind of racism and hate, it is simply not true. Racism and hate have seemingly always existed in America, and indeed, the world; it is the same hate experienced years ago in the Russia and U.S. that Shteyngart grew up to know. Trump is no doubt a catalyst, and proponent, and an encourager of such behaviour, but the ideologies themselves are nothing new – they have existed for years and have only been hidden in less obvious ways until recently. Misha, although arguably obnoxious and self-important, is not a real threat to American society, and yet, he is deemed to be one because of his familial ties. This can in many ways be linked to the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis (and other such global issues); America is more than hesitant to accept Syrian refugees because they have apparent ties through religion and ethnicity (although not through senses of empathy or ideology, and even the tie to religion is arguable) to people that have threatened Western society. It is the same reason why Trump wants to build a wall to keep out illegal Mexican immigrants, whom he has previously categorized as “bad hombres,” rapists, and drug-dealers, and also the reasoning behind the more recent, controversial “Muslim Ban.” In closing his essay, Shteyngart says, “[…] I grew up in a dystopia—will I have to die in one, too?” It is a good question to ask, and unfortunately at the present-time (as in the preceding years), the answer does not seem to be hopeful or promising.
Here is a link to the essay, if anyone is interested: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/11/21/aftermath-sixteen-writers-on-trumps-america#shteyngart
I would also encourage you to take a look at Shteyngart's official Facebook page. His post concerning the Muslim Ban, although short, offered a much-needed perspective.
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