How Ohio freight train disaster was racialised by the right

Until 2 February it was business as usual in the small rural community of East Pales-tine, Ohio.

-  ED PILKINGTON

The next day it all went up in flames. “Train derailment sparks massive fire, prompts evacuations,” read the headlines. “Videos show major fire raging after tanker train derails.”

The derailment of a 50-car freight train carrying toxic materials shattered daily life in East Palestine. Potentially lethal chemicals spewed into the air, ground and water. A month on, a new set of headlines has billowed up from right-wing outlets and commentators. Now the tragedy of East Palestine has morphed into a racialised lament for the “forgotten” people abandoned by the uncaring “woke” Biden administration. For “forgotten”, read white.

Leading the charge is Fox News star Tucker Carlson. “East Palestine is overwhelmingly white, and it’s politically conservative,” he said. “That shouldn’t be relevant, but it very much is.”