By Felicia J. Persaud
This past weekend, after listening to another anti-immigrant diatribe from the second brown GOP presidential candidate in a hopeless race, I asked CHAT GPT to define for me the legendary term “mental slavery.”
This is what came back in seconds. “Mental slavery is a concept that refers to a state in which an individual or a group of people are controlled or constrained in their thinking, beliefs, and behaviors by external influences, often to the detriment of their own well-being and autonomy.
“In the context of mental slavery, individuals may adopt and internalize the values, norms, and ideologies of a dominant group or system, even when those beliefs are harmful or limiting to their own interests or identity. This can manifest as unquestioning loyalty to a particular ideology, self-hatred, or a refusal to challenge oppressive systems.”
I’m no psychologist, but I have come to recognize instances of mental slavery that show up especially in formerly colonized peoples – black or brown. It is my non-expert opinion that Vivek Ramaswamy, the Brahmin, Hindu son of immigrants from Kerala, India, is obviously mentally enslaved.
Why else would he adopt plans and talking points that are obviously White Supremacist in nature?
On Friday, September 8th, Ramaswamy, whose parents support Donald Trump and who like many Asian Americans, closely align with the disgusting diatribe of the indicted Donald Trumpeto, went further than even The Donald has gone before.
Ramaswamy, whose qualifications to run for the office, many in his own adopted party are questioning despite being born in Cincinnati, USA, said after a town hall in Iowa that he believes the 14th Amendment does not confer birthright citizenship and as such children born to undocumented immigrants, should also be deported.
So far, Ramaswamy is getting away with this diatribe far more than Ron Death Santis would. Why? The answer lies simply in the fact that the Brahmin roots Ramaswamy, is brown and the son of immigrants.
It is this fact that he likes to use when it is convenient to differentiate himself from the other GOP candidates in the Primary run-up. Yet, at other times he stays right on spewing the harmful Xenophobic, White Supremacist talking points, like any mentally enslaved person would.
For instance, at the GOP’s first Primary debate, Ramaswamy opened with: “My parents came to this country with no money 40 years ago. I have gone on to found multibillion-dollar companies.”
It was convenient then, but Ramaswamy, whose father came here on a student visa, then quickly went on to lambaste undocumented migrants crossing the southern border, which he described as an “invasion.” Another White Supremacist talking point that this brown boy has adopted as his own.
Mental Slavery?
“We will close the southern border where criminals are coming in every day,” said Ramaswamy, 38, at the debate, while also advocating for the use of military force to secure the border. He has also advocated for getting rid of lottery-based visas in favor of “meritocratic admission.”
In his quest for power, Ramaswamy is nothing but a confused, mentally enslaved Indian American, who has proven he would do anything to succeed, even if it means spewing Massa’s theories.
It is why the once Libertarian is now a GOP candidate, spewing anti-immigrant theories that White Supremacists are happy to cheer on as they undoubtedly snigger behind his back.
This is the same man who won a $90,000 award from the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, which was founded by Daisy and Paul Soros, the late older brother of liberal billionaire financier George Soros as a first-year law student at Yale.
At that time, he had been working for several years as an investment analyst at the hedge fund QVT Financial and reported $2,252,209 in total income, according to his tax returns. He had also reported a total of $1,173,690 in income in the three years prior. That means, Ramaswamy, an American who could more than afford college, lied to take money that should have gone to a real “New American” in need.
Now Ramaswamy has set his sights on the most powerful office in the world and shows he will do and say anything to get up the ladder. But Ramaswamy, in all his self-proclaimed brilliance and millions, is a fool if he believes that White GOP America will elect a Hindu and dark-skinned son of Indian immigrants with a name few can pronounce, to be president of the United States.
Mental slavery will only take you so far and in this case, “President Ramaswamy” is definitely not on the cards of the alt-right GOP voters.
