16,000 NYT readers share their stories of being told to 'go back'

"Why don't they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came," he wrote.

Illegitimate, popular vote losing, obviously unfit President of the United States Donald Trump recently tweeted this attack and others against four reps in Congress who are women of color, saying they should "go back" to the countries they came from.

The New York Times today reports that 16,000 readers have since shared their own experiences of being told the same racist thing.

Excerpt:

For many, the pain of past encounters throbbed again after President Trump attacked four Democratic congresswomen of color in a series of tweets this week.

(...)When we asked readers if they had been told to "go back," some 16,000 responses flooded in on our website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Readers recounted the insults they've heard as African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Native Americans and Jewish Americans. Many recalled first becoming aware of their "otherness" as young children and said that slurs have followed them into adulthood. Their stories span decades, with notable upticks after 9/11 and Mr. Trump's election. And several readers expressed regret after telling others to "go back."

We chose 67 of the most representative stories to feature here, lightly edited and condensed. If you've been told to "go back," please share your experience in the comments.

MORE: '16,000 Readers Shared Their Experiences of Being Told to 'Go Back.' Here Are Some of Their Stories.' Lara Takenaga and Aidan Gardiner / NYT