I was just reading the New York Times online and came across Aziz Ansari’s essay, Aziz Ansari: Why Trump Makes Me Scared for My Family.
I’ve been trying to stay away from writing about current politics on Swirl Nation, but after so much xenophobic rhetoric being used in the presidential campaign, I feel it is appropriate to finally address it. We live in an increasingly multicultural world, and an even more increasing multicultural country. America was founded on immigration. People came to this country to escape religious persecution, economic and social troubles, and the pursuit of happiness. So when a presidential candidate feeds off of fear, condones violence, and comes from a place of negativity to advance his agenda, especially when he is utilizing negative racial, ethnic, and even female stereotypes to do so, it truly worries me.
In Ansari’s essay, he expresses his fear for his family in this country. Aziz Ansari’s family are practicing Muslims. He cautions his mother to stay away from mosques and partake in prayer at home. He knows that many Americans, when thinking about Muslims, do not see Nobel prize-winning teenager Malala Yousafzai, but a bomb-wielding Jihadist. And this is what is so troubling when you have a presidential candidate, or anyone, lump a group of people in to one category and perpetuate these negative stereotypes. Ansari writes, “According to reporting my Mother Jones, since 9/11, there have been 49 mass shootings in this country, and more than half of those were perpetrated by white males. I doubt we’ll hear Mr. Trump make a speech asking his fellow white males to tell authorities ‘who the bad ones are’, or call for restricting white males’ freedoms.” Think about that for a moment.
Ansari isn’t the first celebrity to express concerns regarding Donald Trump’s speeches. Louis C.K. wrote a letter voicing fear of having a bully for a president. He compared him to Hitler, writing “Please stop it with voting for Trump. It was funny for a little while. But the guy is Hitler. And by that I mean that we are being Germany in the 30s. Do you think they saw the shit coming? Hitler was just some hilarious and refreshing dude with a weird comb over who would say anything at all.” Jenn sent me a particularly moving clip of Brandon Stanton, curator of the popular website Humans of New York , reading a letter he wrote decrying Trump:
I’ve previously written about language and the words we choose; and how words can be dangerous. Please listen to the words Donald Trump is using. He chooses the words he uses, so when he says:
"Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don't want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!" –Donald Trump, tweeting a humble brag about the Orlando shooting massacre, June 12, 2016
The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics!" –Donald Trump on Twitter, Cinco de Mayo, May 5, 2016
"I think the only card she has is the women's card. She has got nothing else going. Frankly, if Hillary Clinton were a man, I don't think she would get 5% of the vote. And the beautiful thing is women don't like her, ok?" –Donald Trump, victory press conference, New York, April 26, 2016
"Just so you understand, I don't know anything about David Duke, OK? I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. So I don't know. I don't know -- did he endorse me, or what's going on? Because I know nothing about David Duke; I know nothing about white supremacists." –Donald Trump, refusing to condemn former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard and noted white supremacist David Duke, who endorsed Trump for president, February 28, 2016
"It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep.” –Donald Trump in a tweet quoting fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, February 28, 2016
"We won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated." –Donald Trump on his performance with poorly educated voters who helped him win the Nevada Caucus, Feb. 23, 2016
"There may be somebody with tomatoes in the audience. If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously. Okay? Just knock the hell -- I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees." –Donald Trump, encouraging violence at his rallies, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Feb. 1, 2016
"For a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian. … If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS' ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened." –Donald Trump, in response to remarks by Pope Francis saying that "a person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian." (February 18, 2016)
"That was so great. Who was the person who did that? Put up your hand, put up your hand. Bring that person up here. I love that." –Donald Trump, praising two audience members who tackled a protester at his rally in South Carolina, Feb. 16, 2016
"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, okay? It's, like, incredible." –Donald Trump, speaking at a rally in Sioux Center, Iowa as the audience laughed, January 23, 2016
"Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." –Donald Trump campaign statement
"You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever." –Donald Trump, insulting Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly over questions she asked during the first Republican primary debate
"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have lots of problems...they're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime. They're rapists." –Donald Trump
"Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president I mean, she's a woman, and I'm not s'posedta say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?" –Donald Trump on Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina
I could have posted many more insane quotes he’s made, from dating his own daughter to confusing 7/11 with 9/11 and denouncing John McCain as a war hero because he was caught; but his appeal boils down to fear-mongering, racism, and sexism.
I’ve tried to write this whole post being as civilized and level-headed as possible, but this is where I need to stop, or the remainder would be expletives… However, on a funny note, this is what I imagine a state of the union would be like if Trump was president:
“South Carolina, wassup?”