I've never been an unironic, serious Trump supporter. But this isn't a joke anymore; Trump is
scaring me. His rhethoric is increasingly bombastic and most importantly, divisive. And anyone who knows anything about history knows this is
bad. The notion that a candidate can demand ordinary American citizens of a specific background register for a "list" and retain frontrunner status for the GOP is
horrifying. This is the kind of rhethoric that started internment of Japanese-Americans during WW2, all the way to the Holocaust in Germany.
You may not like Islam; I certainly don't. That's why you need to understand why Trump's demand for a "Muslim Registry" should instead be seen as a demand for a registry of any kind, and why this is so terrifying. Trump is pandering to an
angry majority when he says this. There's nothing to say he won't come for
you after he makes all the Muslims sign up, much less what he's going to do with this information. Or what he
can do with such a list. There can be a Mexican List, a Black List, I would say it's most likely he'd make the Gay List. Anyone the angry-redneck-powered GOP doesn't like stands their own chance of being targeted for a "list". Are
you ready to sign up for who you are or what you believe in?
I have the resources to get the fuck out of here if the shit hits the fan and I become one of the GOP's shitlisted minorities, for whatever I am or believe in. But many, if not most people, don't. If you've been on the fence about Trump, it's time to hop off onto the opposing side after his calls for a Muslim registry. You are already witnessing a dark new turn in American politics and the heralding of an era of persecution and misery.
The writing has been on the wall since the signing of the Patriot Act and the revelations of parallel construction. American civil liberties are now beginning to be unabashedly eroded, 30s European-style. Even if Trump doesn't retain his lead and win, the fact he's been able to grow in popularity after saying such shocking things says a lot about how dangerous my country is becoming. It's not an exaggeration to say that we are headed in the direction of an ultranationalist Christian dictatorship; people have lost their civil liberties on-by-one, people are being convicted and spied upon without due process, and registries for innocent groups are now a popular political platform. All by popular request, the hallmark of ultranationalism.
The writing's on the wall for an atheistic gay weirdo like me, and I don't think I'm nuts for inferring that from calls to make a Muslim registry. People like Albert Einstein knew when to get the fuck out. I'm
really now beginning to make plans to move abroad. Perhaps
@Null isn't so crazy for going globetrotting himself.