I wonder if ‘My Turn’ led to smashed window
Thank you for printing my letter in the “My Turn” section Nov. 22. After it appeared I was prepared for some flaming in the letters section and perhaps a phone call or two, but not the smashed window which happened the next day. The police officer said he couldn’t associate the vandalism with the letter but he included a copy of the newspaper in his report. Perhaps a coincidence. Perhaps a display of the bigotry I decried in my opinion piece.
I stand firmly by my original criticism of the petition to turn away refugees fleeing the violence in Syria. Its signatories display a lack of compassion and an irrational, racist fear of Syrian refugees believing they are about to come flooding into the U.S. and Hawaii, plotting mayhem.
This foolishness has become disturbingly widespread due mainly to the echo chamber of the 24/7 broadcast media in conjunction with far right politicians. Because the info-tainment anchors are required to keep spewing dramatic, important sounding stuff around the clock, even when there is nothing to report, it’s easy to see why they end up talking nonsense. That’s how they get paid. Donald Trump has the indecency to lift the veil on this garbage and reveal that he just hates Muslims and non-Caucasians. Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz advocate admitting only Christian refugees. Incredibly, these are actual candidates for president of the United States, declaring in advance that they do not believe in or intend to honor their oath to uphold and defend our Constitution! (Please see Constitution, Bill of Rights, Amendment 1) An impeachable offense a year before the election. Astounding!
But back to the alleged issue of refugees being terrorists, here are some actual facts, which I encourage readers to research for themselves.
1) The United States already has a very thorough vetting process in place that is far better than Europe and is further aided by the geography of the situation.
2) Prospective refugees go through four stages of vetting that lasts 18 to 24 months.
3) There is no evidence that any refugee from anywhere (i.e. Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, etc.), currently in the United States has ever been involved in any way with a terrorist plot.
4) It is a near certainty that no refugees will be placed here in Hawaii where the cost of living is among the highest in the nation and jobs are scarce.
5) State governments have no legal jurisdiction over where refugees are settled. The federal government is the entity that decides where to place refugees, so ranting against Gov. David Ige for expressing humanitarian sentiments only serves to show the ranter’s lack of compassion and charity for their fellow human beings. Sorry, no Jesus points for that one. Remember, Jesus said, “Love your neighbors, as you love yourselves” and he wasn’t just talking about the ones that look the same as you.
6) Extra Credit: Were it not for one particular family of likely “terrorists” who managed to sneak through the screening process not long ago, America would not have been the birthplace of personal computers, iPhones or any of the other wonders of Apple Corporation: Steve Jobs was the son of Syrian immigrants.
Aaron “Jake” Jacobs
Kailua-Kona