.@GovAbbott leads Texas in moment of silence for #ParisAttacks as cathedral bells ring in background #txlege pic.twitter.com/iUw9ZeWrY7
— Mark Wiggins (@MarkW_KVUE) November 16, 2015
Texas will not accept any Syrian refugees fleeing their civil war-torn country, Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday, specifically citing the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris last week and a separate shooting in Texas earlier this year. He has ordered the state’s Health and Human Services Commission’s Refugee Resettlement Program not to participate in any resettlement program for Syrian refugees, and pressed President Barack Obama to stop his plan to take in 10,000 refugees over the next year…. “Neither you nor any federal official can guarantee that Syrian refugees will not be part of any terroristic activity,” Abbott wrote in a letter to Obama. “As such, opening our door to them irresponsibly exposes our fellow Americans to unacceptable peril.”
In the aftermath of last week’s attacks in Paris, Republicans have shown, in very public fashion, their considerable (if somewhat hypocritical) solidarity with France. Of course they’re going to stand with the good, God-fearing (and Caucasian) French. They’re like us…in that they look like us. Beyond that, the Far Right cares for the French only insofar as they can be used to advance their narrow, fear-based agenda.
Those expressions of compassion, at least for Republicans, have their limits…especially when it comes to Syrian refugees, who some are now (inaccurately) blaming for what happened in Paris. That one of the biggest reasons for the large Syrian diaspora is the desire to be free of ISIS/ISIL oppression seems lost on Republicans, some of whom see a swarthy complexion and a devotion to Islam and immediately see “TERRORIST.”
As of yesterday, 24 Republican governors have made it clear that they won’t allow Syrian refugees to be resettled in their states. Claiming fear of terrorism, and determining it appropriate to paint all Syrians with the same broad brush, these brave patriots have decided that compassion is for losers, Liberals, and those who are soft on terrorism. No terrorists- potential or otherwise- will be allowed in their states on their watch. Never mind that this ban on accepting refugees is something they lack the legal authority to do. Governors don’t set immigration policy; the federal government does. The short version is that 24 Republican governors, who clearly don’t know how government actually works, are far more interested in posturing to the haters and religious zealots in their party than in showing compassion for those fleeing oppression. Because all Muslims are terrorists, don’tchaknow??
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who made a very public show of praying for France, made it clear that he doesn’t trust the Obama Administration and assumes no provisions will be made for protecting Americans from the threat of terrorism. Not surprisingly, much of America assumes Abbott is a puppet beholden to Texas’s Rabid Right…and they’re correct.
What’s next? Advocating for shutting down mosques? Oh, wait…never mind; that’s already happening. Remember, if God had meant for them to live in America, they’d have been born White and Christian. If
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence issued a statement saying his state “has a long tradition of opening our arms and homes to refugees from around the world but, as governor, my first responsibility is to ensure the safety and security of all Hoosiers.. Unless and until the state of Indiana receives assurances that proper security measures are in place, this policy will remain in full force and effect.”
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley acknowledged Sunday there are no plans to settle refugees in his state, or credible terror threats directed at Alabama. But he issued a statement saying he would “not place Alabamians at even the slightest possible risk of an attack on our people.”
“Please continue to join me in praying for those who have suffered loss and those who will never allow freedom to fade at the hands of the terrorists,” Bentley said.
Right; praying, even it actually does nothing of value for those fleeing oppression, will certainly make one feel more Christians. It’s so much easier to pray for someone than to actually make an effort to help them.
Never mind that millions of Syrians are among “those who have suffered loss and those who will never allow freedom to fade at the hands of the terrorists.” Millions of innocent civilians have left their homes and risk the lives to find freedom and safety. Of course, they’re not Caucasian and most aren’t Christian, which in the minds of Republicans can mean only one thing- they’re either actual terrorists or terrorists waiting for the command to strike.
Also Sunday, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s office released a statement saying the state would not be accepting any Syrian refugees until the Homeland Security Department fully reviews its procedures.
“Michigan is a welcoming state and we are proud of our rich history of immigration,” Snyder said in the statement. “But our first priority is protecting the safety of our residents.”
It would appear that welcome only extends to White Christians, because as any good, God-fearing, Conservative patriot can tell you, all Muslims are terrorists.
Hmm…I wonder how that explains Scott Roeder, Rev. Paul Hill, Timothy McVeigh, Paul Rudolph, and…well, you see where I’m going, right? An American citizen is far more likely to be killed on U.S. by a White Christian male terrorist than by one of the Islamic variety…but this inconvenient truth is ignored by Republicans, who know that in order to keep their jobs, they MUST look tough on terror while keeping the sheeple scared. Who better to paint as terrorists than those who look and believe differently than you, right?
OF COURSE THEY HATE AMERICA; THEY’RE NOT EVEN CHRISTIAN!!
The truth is that Islam holds no copyright on terrorism, which in no shape, manner, or form justifies or advocates for the taking of innocent lives in the service of the faith. Those on the Far Right who refuse to recognize and accept the truth ignore the reality that terrorism is no more a core tenet of Islam than it is characteristic of radical Christianity.
Yeah, I know; facts can be SO inconvenient sometimes….
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses, yearning to breath free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door
Unless it’s inconvenient for Greg Abbott’s politics.
At its most basic, the collective refusal of Republican governors has nothing to do with protecting Americans from terrorism. It has everything to do with racism, ignorance, and pandering to those ignorant of the truth and who refuse to live in the reality-based world.
Compassion isn’t a sign of weakness, nor is it an indication that one is soft on terror or doesn’t care about the safety of Americans. If that was true, these Republican governors would be working to create a world in which Christian terrorists didn’t have such easy, unfettered access to guns and other implements of mass murder.
Oh, but that would mean ignoring the Divine Truth that the 2nd Amendment is the Holy, Inviolate, Word of God granted to patriotic Americans in order to protect us from Liberals those who would curtail our constitutional rights and freedoms.
Unfortunately, in today’s GOP, operating in the realm of facts and reality isn’t politically expedient. The truth is what sheeple can be convinced to believe. Republicans will stick to repeating the Big Lie that Muslims are terrorists. Eventually, it becomes the truth and sheeple will begin to forget, if they ever even knew, the truth that radical Christian terrorism is a much greater clear and present danger on American soil than radical Islamic terrorism.
Who needs compassion when fear-mongering, disinformation, and xenophobia can advance your agenda of hatred, religious intolerance, and exclusion?
