Now, more than ever, the Syrian Refugee Crisis is more or less reaching its climax here in the United States and abroad. Everywhere around the world these refugees have been greeted with open arms and hatred all the same. In light of the House's decision to limit the amount of refugees, Donald Trump has come out and proclaimed that he would not be opposed to a national database that contained a name and number for every Muslim in America. With this, every Muslim would receive an identification card in accordance with the 'drastic measures' that would take place, additionally stating "we're going to have to look at a lot of things very closely". Come to think of it, his ideas are eerily similar to a particular dictator from mid-19-century Europe who maniacally ordered the killing of over 6 million Jews, named Adolf Hitler. You may have heard of this guy; I know I have. The former point aside, Trump also inconceivably stated that he would consider shutting down and implementing surveillance technology within the many Mosques that call America home. Not only is this incredibly unrealistic, it's useless. Fundamentally, A Mosque is a building where Muslims gather in prayer, that’s it, there is basically no other significance. Unfortunately, radical “Islam” (I use quotes because these men have no part in the Islamic faith and practice a faith that is in no accordance with the Qur’an) is a threat to all societies, not only the West. Even with this threat, Trump has gone a little far with his statements, such actions are unthinkable, just as the terrorism itself. Keeping this in mind, the strategy he has proposed is probably more for the ‘wow’ factor and media attention (which I am feeding right now) as opposed to a viable strategy to defeat terror. Get mad, Trump.
I actually know many Muslims. How could they possibly feel about this? What can the American people do to prevent such discrimination from ever occurring? Is America a haven for freedom anymore? If at all? How would you respond to this if you were a Muslim?
http://irregulartimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/donaldtrumphitler.jpg
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34873057
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/19/politics/donald-trump-barack-obama-threat-to-country/index.html
9 comments:
One of your questions ask whether or not America is a haven for freedom or not anymore. America has been a haven for centuries, representing an almost promised land for immigrants who fled from persecution and economic turmoil. But what is it now? Sure, a couple thousand refugees can make it past the intense screening process, but what do they arrive to? They are safe from threats of Isis, but they have just stepped into a country full of people telling them that they are terrorist and constantly fear from prejudiced. While this is only in extreme cases, first-hand accounts of this immigration have shown this danger. Imagine this. World War II is raging on and the United States decides to stop taking in Jewish refugees because they were German. How many more Jews would have died in the Holocaust? This scary thought is coming to fruition today in terms of the Syrian refugee's fleeing their countries. The best thing for American's to do is to refuse to prejudice against Muslim's just because a group claims that they are following the word of God (which is obviously a falsity).
https://reason.com/blog/2015/11/17/this-isnt-americas-first-freakout-over-r
http://mediamatters.org/research/2011/03/09/expert-calls-claim-that-85-percent-of-mosques-a/177395
I agree with "your pal" I find Trump's proposition absolutely appalling. To document people based on their religious beliefs and to make them carry ID cards goes against fundamental American values. These ideas are sparked from the fear of terrorist attacks which is consuming our nation currently. I believe the key way to combat these bordering on racist remarks is through eduction. According to intelligence agencies around the world the estimated amount of "radical muslims" with in the muslim population is between 15% and 25%. This is clearly a small aspect of their population. To deny the majority of this culture refuge and to single them out based on their religious values is simply unacceptable. I understand that we need to protect our citizens, but we also have a global responsibility to these people who are simply fleeing for their lives. If they can't come here, where are they to go? People must understand that the situation these refugees are in is horrible, fleeing for their lives, and losing loved ones, only to be villainized in a country which is supposed to be the original representation of freedom of religion, is simply unjust. The United States should be doing what ever they can to help these refugees.
I agree with a lot of what Your Pal is saying, but I think these families are going to be faced with prejudice wherever they go. However, the United States will undoubtedly provide them with the best opportunities to live unmarginalized and rebuild their lives. It is no secret that some areas of this country are more open-minded to people of different religions and ideologies, and these refugee families can certainly find homes among these people. Also, I definitely found what Trump was saying to be quite Hitler-y. That is definitely not a man you want to emulate, yet there are some parallels in their mobilization of the people's unhappiness with their current government. I don't think Trump is planning any sort of genocide, of course, because I can't even comprehend the level of psychosis necessary for such ideas, but marginalization and dehumanization are very real threats and Trump is planning to engage in both of them. Also, if I could relate back to the original post, many of these extremists are not Muslims. They are privileged social deviants that were not religious before their "radicalization" and have never read the Quran. Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the so-called 'mastermind' of the Paris attacks was found dead amidst the rubble in the Ste Denis raid yesterday was raised in Belgium. He was never religious. He didn't read the Quran. He went to Catholic school. His family prayed for his death and yesterday their wish was granted.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/11/19/france-chemical-attack-risk/76036204/
I would say I am not one to agree with Trump's plan, because screening every single person would be ridiculous, but I am not exactly prone to agree with Your Pal and Katie. I say that refugees should be allowed in, but the US can't handle having a large population of people come into the country. Most people focus on the threat factor and that it could be dangerous to let them in, but I'm more concerned about where the refugees would go, and how would we be able to support them. The US has enough of its own problems supporting those who are needy that currently live in this country, but bringing in even more people who need serious attention would not help. I know other countries have stepped up and are letting refugees in, but I think they need to take more than we do. The US can't always be the solution for foreign countries that are in need. I think that sometimes we need to focus on bettering out country first, which has its own problems.
Obviously any plan that is either too extreme or simply rejects the refugees is a little bit much, and Trump's plan is no exception. It shouldn't come as a surprise that Muslims would feel offended by such a thing. People aren't being cautious, they are letting themselves get gripped by the fear that ISIS hopes to inflict on them. When such issues break out in a certain area though, it is hard to remove the fears and stereotypes that emerge. We simply have to work as a people to rise above it and fight against a common enemy, and become better people after.
I agree with Your Pal that Trump's proposition is ridiculous and that the United States has a responsibility to aid the refugees in need. However, we must be careful who we are letting into our nation, especially after the recent tragedies in Paris. For this reason, there should be a deep vetting process to decide if the Syrian is a threat to our country. I know it is awful to have to single out a single ethnicity, but it is necessary because of the situation. Trump's idea of keeping track of every one of these people and marking them is extremely conflicting with America's values and will never happen. It clearly shadows what Adolf Hitler did in the Holocaust to the Jews. I also agree with Matt when he says that he is concerned with how America would support these thousands of refugees when it struggles to support many Americans currently. American needs to think of itself for once; not always for foreign countries in need. We must do everything we can to help without crossing the line and endangering American lives. On the flip side, we must not cross the line like Trump did and threaten to deny these refugees basic rights and liberties.
If I were a Muslim hearing Trump saying that there should be a national database containing a name and number for every Muslim in America, and that every Muslim should receive an identification card, I would be beyond offended and scared. Not only that, but non-Musims should also be extremely concerned for the reason that this man is running to become the POTUS of our country, why do we want to elect a man who has HItler-like policies? Not only that, but many Muslims are saddened by the fact that they are being stereotyped for ISIS actions even though ISIS's views do not align with most of the Muslim people. To answer the second question, America can prevent discrimination by simply not electing Trump as president. I have not heard of a recent Presidential candidate to come up with such blasphemy. Furthermore, the only people who would support Trump are people similar to the Know-Nothing party. Sadly, I do not believe America is a safe-haven anymore, we have become to afraid of what might happen to us versus what might happen to Syrian refugees. It's a sad sight that no countries are willing to take in the refugees, and I though that just maybe America would set an example and at least take in a couple thousand refugees but that does not seem to be the case. I've stated that if I were a Muslim and I heard about what Trump had to say, I would personally write him a letter expressing my anger, and possibly start a movement showing the world that regular Muslims do not believe in the same radical beliefs as ISIS, and that they are normal people just like Jews, Christians, Protestants, etc.
Trump's supposed plans are not only useless and disrespectful, but also dehumanizing. However, Trump is the least of our problems where preventing prejudice is concerned. Many people, not just Trump, view Muslim people and those with brown skin in general with baseless suspicion. In fact, the picture of a Sikh man from Canada was edited and a Spanish newspaper claimed that it was a selfie of one of the Paris bombers. While this incident happened in Europe, there have also been many cases of racial profiling and religious profiling in airports and planes. Not to mention the stir a couple years back that a mosque was to be built near the 9/11 memorial. As Jefe Gilberto has said, America isn't all that safe for refugees and immigrants anymore due to not only the outspoken bigots, but also the underlying paranoia so embedded in the American psyche. Where our enemy used to be Communism, now it's Terrorism, marginalizing our fellow human beings and retaining the witch-hunt mentality of the McCarthy era.
Trumps plans are egregious and as the4th3rd said they are extremely dehumanizing as well. When I read this article the first thing that came to my mind was the holocaust. As Hitler did trump is suggesting that we give all Muslims in america a number instead of their name. During the holocaust Hitler assigned all of the Jews a permanently tattooed number on their arm which haunts them forever. Trumps plans are inhumane and how anyone could possible support this idea does not deserve to live in this country. The people of the U.S can do something about this. As of now with ISIS in the forefront people are starting to criticize the Islamic community as a whole and this only encourages the type of behavior Trump is exemplifying. Instead we need to realize that we can't blame Muslims as a whole for what ISIS is doing we need to support those who are being criticized. I still believe america is a safe haven for freedom but if we continue one the path we are currently on then the U.S will not be a safe haven anymore. I hope people can see that no man who thinks the way trum thinks should be in charge of our government ever.
I agree with the4th3rd and her point that Trump's plans are dehumanizing. I am disgusted that Trump wants to put Muslims into a "database". He is treating Muslims like a piece of property, instead of a human being. As King Pash stated, Trump's plans are similar to Adolf Hitler's treatment of the Jews in the Holocaust. The holocaust was a horrific period in history and the fact that Trump thinks its okay to treat the Muslims like this angers me. In addition, Trump is one of the Republican front runners in the presidential campaign. If the news about Trump's Muslim database does not turn people away, I honestly do not know what will. I also agree with Jefe Gilberto that if I was a Muslim I would be beyond offended and scared in this situation. I would probably react to this situation by getting together with a large group of my Muslim friends and discuss how we want to display our feelings. Furthermore, as social media plays a large role in today's society, I would definitely post messages and pictures on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to promote how inconsdierate Donald Trump is.
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