Donald Trump: Radical Islamic Terrorist = All Muslims
Everyone knew the Republican hysteria over President Obama (and others) not using the exact words “Radical Islamic Terrorists” was the stepping stone to condemning all Muslims. They needed those words to be said in order to morph Radical Islamic Terrorist into Muslim. Donald Trump just sped up the morphing process.
Via TPM:
GOP frontrunner Donald Trump released a statement Monday calling for “a total and complete shutdown” of Muslims immigrating into the United States in light of recent terrorist attacks.
“Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension. Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine,” Trump said in the statement. “Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life. If I win the election for President, we are going to Make America Great Again.”
Trump spokesman Corey Lewandowski confirmed to the AP the proposal would apply to Muslims who are tourists as well as those seeking immigration visas. Another campaign spokeswoman told The Hill the ban would also apply to Muslim-Americans traveling abroad.
And with that… my bet is Trump wins the GOP nomination.
You know, for a group that goes on and on about the Constitution they sure haven’t read it.
I’d chalk this up to fear, and that is part of it, but most of this racism and bigotry is due to hate. Donald Trump has tapped into this fear and hate and every vile, racist, bigoted thing he spews forth (to cheers and increased polling numbers) brings him one step closer to winning the nomination. He knows his base.
There’s been a lot of discussion on DL, and elsewhere, about Islam and terrorism. I haven’t waded into that discussion too much. Something keeps holding me back. First, I don’t think there can actually be an honest discussion when we lump all Muslims (or blacks, gays, Hispanics, Jews, etc.) together. To me that’s lazy and extremely unfair. Second, we do not apply this standard to Christians. If religion (or race) is a reason for San Bernardino then it is a reason for Planned Parenthood shootings and black church shootings and school shootings. If the religion of the shooter matters then it has to matter across the board. And that’s why I hesitate in these discussions. Christian terrorists get a pass on their religion because most people in this country are Christian, or know Christians. It’s familiarity with Christianity that allows us to distance ourselves from that sort of terrorism. It’s why every single time a white guy shoots up the place we say, “We can’t believe that happened here!” even though it always happens here. Cities have their gang violence, but suburbia is the domain of mass shootings. Perhaps we should be discussing that? No? Why not?
And that’s really my point. We are quite selective in discussing these events. White suburban/rural males and access to guns is not open to discussion – that’s a mental health issue. Imagine if most mass shooters were Asian women. How do you think that conversation would go? Would it be mental illness? A lone wolf? LOL, of course not. We’d be drowning in discussions about Asian culture and tiger moms.
Hmm… I sorta went off track. Sorry. Back to The Donald and his latest toss of red meat to his ravenous supporters. No more Muslim immigrants or tourists. And if you’re a Muslim American who has left the country (for vacation? for business?) then you don’t get back in. My husband travels abroad for work. A lot. What if he were Muslim? He has Muslim co-workers, what of them? I have Muslim friends who vacation in Cancun, what about them? If you’re an American Muslim are you under country arrest?
But… we can’t have people on the No Fly list unable to buy guns? WTF???? And it’s not that I have faith in the No Fly list, it’s that if we are as afraid as we claim to be, then banning people on the No Fly list from purchasing guns is a no-brainer.
Muslim registries for American citizens, monitoring Mosques, limiting travel (and probably gun purchases by Muslim Americans because we all know the 2nd Amendment really only applies to white people) stuns me. These things are exactly what Republicans have been screeching about when it comes to themselves and their guns and their “War on Christmas” and Christians. And yet, here they are, turning their faux nightmare into somebody else’s reality. And I think that’s the reason they are so afraid of any sort of gun control and the phrase Happy Holidays. They’re afraid because it’s on their to-do list for others. It’s why they can see it happening.
This fear and hatred oozing from the Republican base is what’s dangerous. Seriously, if we can’t manage more than a shrug for white male Christians shooting up the place then I’m not comfortable with us losing our minds over Muslims – and please notice how Donald Trump has pulled back the curtain and showed the world that the concern isn’t about Radical Islamic Terrorists. It never was, and that’s probably the reason I avoided certain discussions. I heard the dog whistle, loud and clear.
My Muslim friends are afraid and I don’t blame them. Donald Trump, the GOP front runner, has put a target on their backs.
I’ll leave you with this comment posted by Rick on Frank Knotts’ post at Delaware Right:
And we’re supposed to reley on our government to “vet” the refugees. The San Bernardino killer made multiple trips to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. That should at least cause a blip on the Homeland Security radar. Did it? No.
There was a time when the United States was pretty much immune from Islamofacism. In these times of international travel and mass communication, that is no longer the case. They are coming for us, and more are coming- many are already here. Eventually, we will be seeing events like this weekly. Islam, in accordance with the Koran, is at war with the infidels of the West.
Muslims are not moving to Europe for economic opportunity. They are using the power of demographics to conquer Europe. The head of the Muslim Brotherhood said as much. That is the plan. And, barring an epiphany within the European population if not their governments, the plan will succeed. Europe will join the Caliphate.
Islam is dedicated to the Koran’s call for conquest. And they will never, ever stop. The West had better recognize that fact. “Liberals” and other deniers had better understand that all of their pet causes- abortion, gay rights, women’s rights, artistic freedom and so on- are not recognized by Islamic states. As a matter of fact, engaging in the aforementioned is punishable by death.
The Christian church was reformed centuries ago. There are no more Crusades, no more conversions at the point of a sword. Conversely, Islam has not changed one iota. Submit or perish.
Oh, the irony. Like the GOP “recognizes” abortion, gay rights, women’s rights, and artistic freedom as rights. Is he for real? Banning these things is the Republican agenda. They’ve been very clear on this. Did he type this with a straight face? Funny how the GOP’s to-do list once again has more in common with the tactics of those they claim are a threat. If Islam is a threat due to their views on abortion, gay rights, women’s rights, and artistic freedom then so are Conservatives. They really do agree on a lot. If they were on a dating website they’d be matched up for having so much in common.
I want my country back.
Tags: Bigotry, Donald Trump, Muslims, racism
Trump must constantly raise his own crazy bar. I have to keep reminding myself that his fans are the same 20% who thought George Bush was a great President.
There is no way any Republican with a shred of decency, or a glimmer of a notion of what America is supposed to be, can support Trump. My sanity rests on thinking that this is a virulent, but contained outbreak of madness.
The question is not whether or not Republicans “with a shred of decency…can support Trump”, but why are they silent? I do not know if Trump believes any of what he spews, but I do know that spewing hate is the last thing we need in this cpuntry. I know quite a few decent Republicans, including elected officials. They need to speak out or through their silence they will share culpability in the outcome of this hate.
If your buddy Governor Elect John Carney is too chicken to speak out, why should actual Republican office holder?
If someone’s intellectual capacity won’t allow them to make the factual claim that ISIS inspired terrorist violence like what occurred in California last week or in Paris the week before has a clear religious motivation while also making the obvious claim that this doesn’t apply to all Muslims in general then there’s really no reason to even have a discussion.
Same goes for this silly game of defining what terrorism means or conflating all terrorist acts together. Shameful pretense. If you can’t appreciate and explain how the Roof, Lanza, Dear brand is markedly different from the Islamist jihadi variety there’s no reason to have a conversation.
All of this is to say that I immediately knew this entire post was fatally flawed after the first sentence. Labeling this category of terrorism “Radical Islamic” isn’t a stepping stone to anything. It’s a statement of fact.
I do not support any of the draconian immigration ideas of Trump, et al. For example, I hope as many Syrian refugees can be relocated to safety as possible here in the US. I am not suspicious of any of my Muslim friends. I also support much more strict gun regulation. But the illogical gymnastics that are required to pretend that ISIS (and Al Qaeda and Boko H and Al Nusra, etc.) aren’t recruiting and motivating within an Islamic context is, quite frankly, naïve and ridiculous.
I think some people are so invested in other political and cultural issues they can’t allow themselves the intellectual space to make plain statements of fact.
Your critique is fatally flawed by your overweening desire to turn every thread into some version of “I’m smart, you are dumb.”
You eventually agree with the premise, but you needed to get the “I’m smart, you are dumb” preamble in there.
I was speaking in generalities…
You’re way too absorbed by what Donald Trump says and how all the little political characters respond or fail to respond (plural ‘you’ – don’t take it personally). It’s boring & it’s dumb & it’s very strange. If you’d stop putting every issue into that context it would be more challenging & interesting. (Plus you’d address your troll issue – 2 birds, single stone.)
If there’s typical boilerplate “commentary” here I feel like I should have the right to say so.
Remember months ago when we were suppose to pretend these attacks had nothing to do with religion? I’m done pretending. I’m trying to challenge you (again the plural) to stop writing the same fucking story over and over and over.
If you choose to make the banal and the repetitive public than I don’t know what to tell you. Actually, those of you I know aren’t dumb. That’s what makes th is so troubling.
The Planned Parenthood shooter was radicalized. Dylan Roof was radicalized. Elliot Rodgers was radicalized. The San Bernardino shooters were radicalized. Ideology was behind all of these shootings. Even Adam Lanza was radicalized by an environment of guns and life with a doomsday prepper.
These are motives that apply to the few not the many. And that’s the line Trump, and his supporters, keep crossing with Muslims.
I’ve already said in other threads that the San Bernardino attack was Islamic extremist terrorism – just like the Paris attack. The motive was different than the PP attack, but the end result was the same. Dorian, I’m not sure what you’re looking for. Nobody is disagreeing with you as to the ideology. What are we doing wrong, or not doing enough of?
See above…
Everything is framed in this bizarre political Trump thing. No thinking person cares about Trump. He never had a chance. He has less now. I mean he’s funny like a clown is funny… but every fucking day 3 times a day… it’s so old.
We are a country that can, and recently has elected a funny clown in the person of George W. Bush.
Since we don’t have a parliamentary system, our Presidential elections are extremely high stakes elections. The notion that Trump is even being considered as a potential President is a topic that interests me.
So… your problem with us is that we’re calling out the leading Republican Presidential candidate? I thought it was about not calling the San Bernardino shooters Islamic terrorists. I’m really trying to follow you. That’s not snark. I really am trying to figure out what you’re saying.
I think the problem here is the focus on Donald Trump and that what he says is actually relevant. Donald Trump is more of a Kardashian than a GWB. Trump has taken stupidity to the next level and makes GWB seem like a quasi intellectual (and I am hardly a dubya fan).
As far as the terrorists, whether they be Islamic, Christian, or just plain mentally ill. The one thing that is a common theme amongst all of these shootings is guns. We, as a nation, need to have an intelligent discussion (something that can’t fit in a meme on facebook) and determine realistic laws/regulations for gun ownership. A gun can’t kill someone until it is in someones hands. We need rational regulation.
As far as the actual shootings, we need perspective. One shooting is too many. That said, I will not allow an individual or groups of individuals to control my life and how I live it. That is terrorism. I will not let the hysteria around the shootings or political rantings of those that wish it were still 1954 bring me to a frenzy like Jerry Springer’s audience watching “My Sister Slept with My Boyfriend”.
When D.T. wins the nomination, I will take him seriously not a minute before.
Whether one takes Trump seriously or not, one had best take seriously the tens of millions of Americans who will vote for him, for Carson, for Cruz, or for Rubio as the nominee … all of whom feel much the same way whether they say it out loud or not.
Who are we as Americans that agree on many things as the power of 1?
The issues, facing us, in the near future is our amendment rights as women when so many from various background will become a force to be considered that will move to negate the rights of women and suppressing our gains to run for political offices and to opening lead. Those with religious beliefs that shape other countries can become ingrain in our culture. There is suppression of christian beliefs being devalued and a fear to call things evil in a blatant public forum in certain islamic groups that are bent p calling evil good with the propensity to butcher lives. Christians for the most part are not trying to spread Christianity by terrorizing and threatening to kill murder people that know the God who loves justice mercy and rigteousness. in life there are measures to learn and ro unlearn and to grow. The world will never be perfect and depends on one human view of perfection which is still tainted by immature thinking. But, many come to America to capitalize on the benefits without offering loyalty to our constitution and yet as Americans we can lack the maturity of honoring the true spirit of our constitution -bill of rights. As Americans from the poor rich and in between must have their voices heard as Americans..HOW can we accomplish this task? Nationalism for our country and what we dare to believe. Murdering people because we are against abortion is not a condone methodilogy.many dont agree with that outcome that becomes blindsided.
From France:
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/623926/Three-mosques-shut-down-in-anti-terror-raids-as-officers-seize-330-war-weapons
Is this going too far, to protect a country and it’s citizens??
it is simple really. The answer to that question depends on whether or not the raids were based on investigations and police work, or a blanket policy of viewing all mosques as possible terror cells.
“If you can’t appreciate and explain how the Roof, Lanza, Dear brand is markedly different from the Islamist jihadi variety there’s no reason to have a conversation.”
Explain “marked” difference. Other than a religious component that is overtly, rather than covertly, violent, what’s the difference — and why is that difference important?
“Is this going too far, to protect a country and it’s citizens??”
Moot point. That country does not guarantee freedom of religion.