I found this video on YouTube yesterday of the Governor of the state of Washington condemning Trump’s Muslim ban for its cruelty, its unconstitutional racism, the economic damage it is threatening to inflict on his state, and the chaos it has created at Seattle International Airport.
The governor states clearly that it has caused problems in the state’s premier airport, as it has been imposed without clear instructions how it is precisely to be implemented. It is cruel, as it affects people coming to the US as refugees. Many of these have relatives already in the US, ready to welcome them to their new country. He talks of one gentleman, who was hoping to join his wife in the US. He was not stopped when he boarded a flight to the US in Germany. But now that he has landed, he cannot cross the six feet which would take him to his wife’s embrace.
The governor also attacks the ban as constitutional, in that it puts Muslims at the bottom of the pile and other religions on top. He states that America has not passed such legislation in 200 years. He also draws parallels between the Muslim ban and Japanese internment. The governor lives on the island of Bainbridge, which is where the American government interned many Japanese Americans during World War II, based on nothing more than fear and demagoguery. Now, 75 years later, that fear and demagoguery has returned.
He also states that the local economy in Washington is being harmed, as Muslims are afraid to go abroad in case they are refused entry when they try to return. Many of these, he points out, are businesspeople and physicians, people who will benefit and contribute to the economy. And this is unacceptable.
He also talks about his attempts to contact the Trump administration and the Attorney General to register his opposition to the ban and attempts to overturn it.
This is a powerful speech from a leading American local politico. The man is clearly, and very rightly, angered at the damage the ban is inflicting on the state’s economy, the efficiency of its airport, and the huge harm and cruelty it is doing to innocents, whose only crime is their religion.
His anger is mirrored by hundreds of thousands across America and Britain. There are demonstrations planned in major cities across the UK today. After the rise of the Alt-Right and other Fascist groups, people are beginning the fightback against Trump’s racist policies. Hopefully it won’t be too long before they’re overthrown, along with the wretched demagogue that created them.
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