A lot of people say that if you swear all the time, it loses its effectiveness. You’ve got to reserve it for situations where it’s really warranted. I’ve tried to write my blog according to that rule.
With that in mind, take a look at this fucking bullshit.
No, the U.S. isn’t permanently banning all Muslims from coming in. Not yet. But we have institutionalized religious intolerance.
This isn’t going to happen, it has already happened.
The authors of this news article seem calmer than I am, so I’ll let them explain:
President Trump on Friday closed the nation’s borders to refugees from around the world, ordering that families fleeing Syrian carnage be indefinitely blocked from entering the United States, and temporarily suspending immigration from several predominantly Muslim countries.
So far, this is a geographical test, not a religious one — at least nominally. If that’s all it was, I’d only be regular angry: the ordinary, moderate amount of anger I feel every day when I look at the news. But keep reading.
Declaring the measure part of an extreme vetting plan to “keep radical Islamic terrorists” out of the country, Mr. Trump also ordered that Christians around the globe who are seeking entry into the United States should be granted priority over Muslims, for the first time establishing a religious test for refugees.
I don’t think I can adequately express how furious I am at the phrase establishing a religious test for refugees.
Okay. Breathe.
Out of curiosity, what are these countries we’re so concerned about?
Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
To be fair: These are, of course, dangerous and unstable places, and of course we should be careful about who we let into our country. (It wasn’t exactly an open-door policy before this order.) Also, to be fair: Many predominantly Muslim countries, such as Indonesia, are not on the list.
The main thing is that we prevent another 9/11 from happening. Right?
Announcing his “extreme vetting” plan, the president invoked the specter of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Most of the 19 hijackers on the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pa., were from Saudi Arabia. The rest were from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Lebanon. None of those countries is on Mr. Trump’s visa ban list.
Oh. Well, um. Hm.
Saudi Arabia was the home of 15 of the 9/11 hijackers, as well as Osama bin Laden. It is an absolute monarchy in which Sharia law dominates and women aren’t allowed to vote.
Egypt was the home of one of the 9/11 hijackers, has been racked by violence, and is run by a dictator.
Not to mention, Turkey — another predominantly Muslim country — has been racked by violence, and is run by a president with strong authoritarian leanings.
By Trump’s logic, these are also very scary places, right? Kind of weird that they’re not on this list. But then, I’m sure he has his reasons. It’s not like he has business interests in —
Oh wait, just kidding. Trump has business interests in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey. (And, incidentally, Indonesia.)
At this point you may be wondering if there’s a complete list of Mr. Trump’s business interests. Haha, nope! Because he still, somehow, still hasn’t released his tax returns. And he’s not planning to. (Reminder: There’s a petition.) But if you’re curious, Time has a good list of the business interests we do know about (or have reason to suspect).
So, to summarize:
- Muslims are dangerous
- But not the ones who can help make Trump rich
- Christians are not dangerous
- Torture is fine
- If you’re fleeing the ravages of war and torture, and you think the U.S. is some sort of haven of peace and liberty, you’d better find Jesus in a hurry
- Jesus was a Middle Eastern refugee
Stay tuned. We’ll be talking about more ways to fight back in the days and weeks to come.
Brian D. Buckley 