Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: What Donald Trump and ISIS Have in Common

[smilesammich 10,727]

as usual, kareem nails it.

While Trump is not slaughtering innocent people, he is exploiting such acts of violence to create terror here to coerce support. As I have written before, his acts could be interpreted as hate crimes. He sounds the shrill alarm of impending doomsday even though since 9/11, about 30 Americans a year have been killed in terrorist attacks worldwide — as The Atlantic pointed out, “roughly the same number as are crushed to death each year by collapsing furniture.” Trump’s irresponsible, inflammatory rhetoric and deliberate propagation of misinformation have created a frightened and hostile atmosphere that could embolden people to violence. He’s the swaggering guy in old Westerns buying drinks for everyone in the saloon while whipping them up for a lynching.

About 30,000 foreign fighters have gone into Syria to join ISIS, thousands of them from Europe and at least 250 from the United States. What most of us in these bountiful countries can’t understand is how our young, raised with such opportunity, choose to abandon our values to embrace a culture of pitiless violence. Before going, many of these recruits spend much of their time on social media being brainwashed by propaganda videos. One 23-year-old woman, a devout Christian and Sunday school teacher, was recruited via Skype. The recruiter spent hours with the lonely woman teaching her the rituals of Islam. Maybe that’s because, according to some psychologists, the brain’s default setting is simply to believe because it takes extra work to analyze information.

The same process works for Trump’s supporters. They are impervious to facts or truth because their (understandable) frustration and anger at partisan greed and incompetence have fatigued them out of critical thinking. Like deranged newscaster Howard Beale in Network, they are mad as hell and they aren’t going to take it anymore. To express their outrage, they have rallied around a so-called “outsider” with no political experience, no detailed policies, and whacky ideas that subvert the very Constitution that he would be required to swear to uphold. Electing him would be like asking the clown at a child’s birthday party to start juggling chainsaws.

But understanding and even having sympathy for his followers’ feelings of political impotence doesn’t excuse their dangerous behavior. There is never an excuse for people blindly following a leader who consistently lies to them, who exaggerates threats and who proposes remedies that are unconstitutional. It’s shameful enough that Trump’s solutions run contrary to American values, but it’s more shameful that his followers refuse to acknowledge it. Such brainwashed behavior is demeaning to them and harmful to the country. Perhaps that’s why Trump enjoys the endorsement of several white supremacist groups, one of which proclaimed on their website: “Heil Donald Trump—The Ultimate Savior” and called for him to “Make America White Again!” Don’t worry — he’s trying his hardest.

Trump’s latest enemy du jour are Muslims. He’s the schoolyard bully rallying classmates to make fun of the skinny kid with glasses. When President Obama said that “Muslim-Americans are our friends and our neighbors; our co-workers, our sports heroes,” Trump quickly tweeted: “What sport is he talking about, and who?” The press immediately provided him with a list, as well as photos of Trump with prominent Muslim-American sports figures, including Shaquille O’Neal, Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali and, yes, me. What makes his statement even more insidious is the suggestion that, even if there were no Muslim sports heroes, Muslims would somehow be lesser people, less worthy. This cruel and dim-witted thinking is not the stuff presidents are made of.

http://time.com/4143003/kareem-abdul-jabbar-donald-trump-isis/

[Dakine10 5,452]

Broncos' Ryan Harris says Donald Trump's Muslim comments don't deserve a response, but he has to

6:50 PM, Dec 9, 2015

6:49 PM, Dec 9, 2015

denver broncos | muslim | ryan harris | donald trump

Copyright - 2015 The Denver Post, MediaNews Group.

JOE AMON

SHOW CAPTION

Denver Broncos' offensive tackle Ryan Harris, a Muslim, says remarks made by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump don't deserve a response, but he feels like there isn't a choice.

Harris told USA Today Sports that murders are against the tenants of Islam and plenty of athletes in the United States are strong role models who represent his religion.

“You talk about Muhammad Ali, you talk about in Houston — Hakeem Olajuwon. Every single sports fan in Houston knows about fasting, Ramadan, and Islam because Hakeem fasted. You know what I mean? In Kansas City, people know Husain Abdullah. It's such a contrast to what you're seeing with the xenophobic hate speech. But it's having an effect, and it’s unfortunate," he told reporter Lindsay Jones.

Thousands sign petition to keep Trump out of England

In his time at Notre Dame and on professional football teams, Harris expressed he's never felt discriminated against by coaches or teammates. However, Harris fears the recent phase of national intolerance.

“I'm 300 pounds, I'll be OK. But for the Muslim woman who wears a hajib and goes to work, or the Muslim kid in school right now, it's tough.”

Harris tweeted regarding a Trump response to President Obama's address this weekend. The president said athletes are among the Muslims we respect in America. When Donald tweeted, "What sport is he talking about? Who?" Harris retweeted others who endorsed him.

In his Twitter biography, Harris writes "one person can change the world."

Obama said in his speech that Muslims are our sports heroes. What sport is he talking about, and who? Is Obama profiling?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2015

@MuhammadAli @kaj33 @DR34M @salaams_from_68@mowilkerson https://t.co/r1ZT96NSNi

— Aamna Khan (@aamnakh) December 7, 2015

@realDonaldTrump Muhammad Ali. Shaquille O'Neal. Oday Aboushi (@Oday_Aboushi75). Ryan Harris (@salaams_from_68).

— John Daws (@grajillas) December 7, 20

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/sports/broncos/broncos-ryan-harris-says-donald-trumps-muslim-comments-dont-deserve-a-response-but-he-has-to

[smilesammich 10,727]

remarks made by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump don't deserve a response, but he feels like there isn't a choice.

i completely agree.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Trumpacist

[smilesammich 10,727]

trumpacyst is a good alternate spelling

[Pitaya 2,577]

Kareem, the dream...right-on !