American must now get very tough, very smart and very vigilant. We cannot admit people into our country without extraordinary screening.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2016
Where Trump was born (red) versus where the Orlando shooter was born (blue). pic.twitter.com/a564arL0PX
— Philip Bump (@pbump) June 13, 2016
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump wasted no time turning Sunday’s mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, into a campaign issue, using the tragedy to push for a crackdown on Muslims both at home and abroad. As part of that mission, Trump is working to portray gunman Omar Mateen as an immigrant, a refugee and a foreign menace. Mateen never would have been in the U.S., Trump argues, if we had listened to him and enacted a ban on all Muslims entering the country. In a national security address on Monday, Trump even said, seemingly in error, that the shooter was born “in Afghan,” a statement that makes such little sense that it wasn’t technically a lie. But his intention is clear.
In a nation of ~250 million people, it’s no stretch to say that America is many things. One thing America is NOT is a nation built on hatred and exclusion. This country was built by immigrants- Chinese, Irish, Korean, African (slave and free), etc.- who found their way here from all corners of the globe. They may have fled tyranny, oppression, poverty, war, and other privations too numerous to mention, but they came to America because they thought they could make a better life for themselves and their families. ALL of us- save for Native Americans- originated from somewhere else. In my case, that’s Germany, Bohemia, Ireland, and Scotland. In Erin’s case, it’s Norway and Sweden.
America is a melting pot in the best possible way. Immigrants have brought with them the drive, courage, desire, ideas, and passion necessary to make the best of the opportunities that came their way. We should celebrate and honor that heritage…because without it, America would be a very different place.
Terrorism is something all Americans should be concerned about. We all need to be smart and vigilant…but I do find it interesting that Trump has yet to acknowledge the most pressing clear and present danger America faces: White Christian terrorism. The biggest terrorist threat America faces comes from within and from people who look like you and me. Of course, recognizing and acknowledging the truth about terrorism would be horribly inconvenient and not at all congruent with Trump’s argument that radical Islamic terrorism is the REAL danger America faces. It’s so much easier to put a swarthy Brown face on the problem, instead of acknowledging the oh-so-inconvenient truth that White Christians pose a much larger threat to the Homeland than anything radical Islamofascists could possibly hope to mount. Between “patriots” and “sovereign citizens” and white power activists, there’s enough malevolence and appetite for destruction to make radical Islamofascism seem like a day at the beach.
Trump is attempting to use this brutal act of terror — which, let’s not forget, specifically targeted the LGBT community — to drum up the sort of anti-immigrant, anti-Islam sentiment that has fueled his campaign over the past year.
“The bottom line is that the only reason the killer was in America in the first place was because we allowed his family to come here,” Trump said Monday. Mateen’s parents are Afghan immigrants.
What Trump really seems to be suggesting is that we can’t let Muslims into this nation because they — and even the American children they give birth to — are an inherent threat to national security. That, or he wants to go back in time a few decades and impose his Muslim ban.
People on both sides of the aisle have criticized Trump by pointing out that his rhetoric and proposals are dangerous and un-American. Telling people that they must turn on their Muslim neighbors only plays into the hands of Islamic extremists who are trying, with some success, to spread their toxic ideology among disaffected Americans.
Immigration is not something to be feared, nor should immigrants be held up as what’s wrong with this country. Are there a few bad apples? Of course; how could there not be in a nation so large, populous, and diverse? The idea that immigration is bad and dangerous, and that we must bar immigrants who look different or worship a different flavor of God is the worst, most insensitive, and unAmerican thing I’ve heard in quite some time. That it’s coming from the presumptive Republican nominee for President is as astonishing as it is shocking and disappointing.
News Flash: Omar Mateen was born, raised, and lived his entire life in America.
If we believe that our immigrant heritage has paved the path to our future, we cannot allow Donald Trump to win through fear-mongering. We cannot allow him to spread scurrilous lies and disinformation in order to satisfy his win-at-any-cost lust for power.
We can either pull together in recognition of our shared humanity…or we can hang separately. There’s little question but that Trump’s appeal is based on stoking the fires of hatred and fear of The Other. We cannot reward his dishonesty, lack of integrity, and fear mongering and make him the one putting his hands on John Roberts’ Bible next January 20th.
We deserve better.
