Pierre Damas Bel

TW: suicide, racism, fascism

I read a horrifying story yesterday in the news. I’m sure you’ve heard it by now. A young man in Ohio, about the same age as my two youngest kids took his own life. I’m not going to use today’s buzzwords or algorithm avoiders like unalived or suicided or anything that puts the onus on the mental health community, because in my opinion this had very little to do with mental health (or illness), chronic or clinical depression or any other ism other than racism and fascism and both of those are coming directly from our government and the White House. It has moved (a long time ago if I’m being honest) from inappropriate, unpresidential, embarrassing into authoritarianism, hate rhetoric, and quite frankly disgusting and reprehensible behavior from the highest levels of our political sphere including all levels of the executive branch, the Republican side of Congress in both houses, and the six mediocre, hateful, and hypocritical justices on the Supreme Court.

Pierre Damas Bel isn’t the first person to die because of this Administration, and I’m sad to report he won’t be the last. He was a high school graduate with a nearly perfect GPA, an athlete, and because of his Haitian heritage and the Trump Administration’s pointed, nonsensical, and racist policy of removing temporary protected status (TPS) from Haitian immigrants regardless of their conduct, he was forced to wear an ankle monitor while his immigration case continued on. He struggled with the shame.

He was recruited to play soccer but after losing his TPS status he was no longer allowed to play and transferred to another college where he was bullied. He had planned to go to medical school after college.

Even the very-Republican governor of Ohio where Bel lived, stated that it was a horrible tragedy that never should have happened. I would put DeWine in the same category as a Bush Republican, however that doesn’t mean much when the MAGA Republicans are running the Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court and their bots have taken over social media.

This never should have happened. Not the tragic death. Not the end of TPS status. Not the racism. Not the second Trump presidency, but here we are. How many more will die before this country opens its eyes? How can people in this country support the monstrous behavior towards our allies, our friends, and the cozying up to our enemies? How can we support the dismantling of our democracy, our middle class, and our future generations?

Corruption is rampant in the Executive branch. Constitutional originalists forgot what those words mean. They draw on the most misogynistic and racist tropes, and yell loud enough with indignity because that seems to be working, and then walk away. I’m certain Amy Coney Barrett isn’t concerned for her own Haitian children.

No one seems to know what exactly an executive order is used for, least of all the person signing them. The pathetic sycophants are leading us into an abyss that we will never climb out from, and people like Pierre Damas Bel and his family have paid the price for that. At what point is that price too high?

I think we’ve already surpassed it.

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If you or anyone you know are having intrusive, self-harming, or suicidal thoughts, please call or text 988. You will find additional resources at speakingofsuicide.com/resources.
(Thank you to NBC News for the resource link information.)