The Truth And Hypocrisy About The Trump ‘Muslim Ban’ Protests

Mass demonstrations in London have taken place over the controversial executive order banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries from travelling to the US and suspending the nation’s refugee programme. On both sides of the Atlantic, the political discourse is spearheaded with Donald Trump’s so-called “Muslim Ban” – with headlines such as:

The Independent “Washington becomes first state to sue Donald Trump over ‘Muslim ban’“

Salon: Trump’s “Muslim ban” could provoke a constitutional crisis“

CNN: “Trump’s immigration ban sends shockwaves“

(Petitions image taken 04.48am 01/02/17)

The Guardian reports that “The British parliament will hold a debate on calls to cancel Donald Trump’s state visit, due to be hosted by the Queen this year, after 1.6 million people signed a petition in support of scrapping or downgrading the invitation.The debate will be held in Westminster Hall on 20 February and will also consider a rival petition in support of the US president’s visit, which has 114,000 signatures.”

These simplistic half-truths fall directly into the lap of so-called ‘fake news’ stories that have predominantly been whipped up by the same mainstream media who have been complaining about it.

As far as the petition is concerned the heartlands of this campaign as seen from the petitions map is Oxford, Cambridge and central London – hardly representative of the Muslim community of Britain. It should be noted that in Britain, no-one is allowed into the country from those same countries. A visa is required after a vetting process, the same exists in the EU.

As far as the USA is concerned, Trump has clearly stated those refugees coming from anywhere in the world will be decided on merit. That is no different to what existed before in the US under Obama. The order does NOT ban all Muslims indefinitely – only those from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen – temporarily, whilst Trump decides from his own experts what should happen permanently. The ban is for 90 days whilst this advice is being considered.

Trump is also carrying exactly what he was elected to do, something of a rarity these days.

Part of the Executive Order, says the following: “In order to protect Americans, the United States must ensure that those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward it and its founding principles. The United States cannot, and should not, admit those who do not support the Constitution, or those who would place violent ideologies over American law. In addition, the United States should not admit those who engage in acts of bigotry or hatred (including “honor” killings, other forms of violence against women, or the persecution of those who practice religions different from their own) or those who would oppress Americans of any race, gender, or sexual orientation.”

One assumes that most intellectually functioning people would agree with that statement.

Largely unreported though is the other side of the story exposed by ‘NewsBusters‘: “Mainstream media networks devoted 57 times more coverage to President Donald Trump’s temporary “ban” on travel from seven terror-prone countries than they did to President Barack Obama’s permanent ban on Cuban refugees to the U.S.” It is estimated that over 70,000 Cubans were killed by Castro and his forces. Where were the protestors and their placards?

Like the presidential race to the Whitehouse, Trump was given a huge boost by the media because, as they admitted, it sold papers and drove massive volumes of traffic to their websites – revenues rapidly increased.

In 2013 ABC News reported that “State Department stopped processing Iraq refugees for six months in 2011,” after the discovery that two al-Qaeda operatives had used the program to enter the U.S. and move to Bowling Green, Kentucky. The ABC report goes on to say that  “even for many who had heroically helped U.S. forces as interpreters and intelligence assets. One Iraqi who had aided American troops was assassinated before his refugee application could be processed, because of the immigration delays, two U.S. officials said.” Where were the protestors and their placards against Obama’s 6 month ban?

And here’s another strange fact, this time From the BostonGlobe: WASHINGTON — As a senator, Barack Obama offered measured praise for the border control legislation that would become the basis for one of Donald Trump’s first acts as president.

“The bill before us will certainly do some good,” Obama said on the Senate floor in October 2006. He praised the legislation, saying it would provide “better fences and better security along our borders” and would “help stem some of the tide of illegal immigration in this country.” Obama was talking about the Secure Fence Act of 2006, legislation authorising a barrier along the southern border passed into law with the support of 26 Democratic senators including party leaders like Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Chuck Schumer. Where were the protestors and their placards?

In the meantime, France, still struggling to assimilate immigrants and their descendants from its former North African and sub-Saharan colonies, has forced many French Muslims to feel discriminated against who see themselves as aliens in the country where they were born or grew up. According to a report in The National, 15,000 French Muslims have left for the UAE alone in the last year, with many more migrating as a direct result of the way they have been treated. Placards anyone?

Germany’s Chancellor Merkel is to throw out 100,000 Muslims straight back into the very war torn countries they escaped from purely for her own political reasons – she is standing for re-election. Any protestors in London?

And when David Cameron stood grandstanding in Tripoli after the extremely violent assassination of Gaddafi that saw an oil producing sovereign state, who was threatening no-one, especially not Britain, with less poverty than Denmark ended in a failed state with 30,000 Muslims killed, 50,000 Muslims wounded and hundreds of thousands of Muslims displaced from their homes – where were the protestors?

The Child Victims of War campaign to stop Britain attacking Libya didn’t reach 100 signatures.

The highly publicised Change.Org campaign for “Justice for the UK Victims of Libyan Terrorism” attracted just 13,500 signatures.

The PetitionParliament campaign to “Stop UK companies from profitting from Libyan crisis” attracted just 1 signature.

The PetitionParliament campaign to “No UK military intervention in Syria or Libya” garnered just 45 signatures.

The PetitionSite campaign “UK: Don’t Abandon Libya!” managed just 1,462 signatures.

Where were all these protestors when people were appealing for real help?

In the USA a petition by Change.Org “Speak Out Now To Stop US Intervention in Libya” gathered 140 supporters.

The PeaceInIraq Centre instigated a petition: “President Obama: Put Iraq Back on the Agenda” that managed just 11,600 signatures. All they wanted was a plan for a stronger humanitarian effort to be made in Iraq.

A petition called “Stop the War Machine. A Petition for Peace” to Congress achieved just 3,784 supporters.

Trump displays a type of malignant narcissism rarely seen in the leaders of modern democracies and the press and been keen to label him. We have yet to see what Trump actually achieves. I suspect not much given the American constitution other than executive powers that Obama created and abused like no other President before him (see Obama: Legacy of Ashes Video)

Lastly, it might not have occurred to many of the same protestors that Britain’s vote to leave the European Union has left the country in desperate need of trading partners. Last month Britain exported £4.4billion and Imported £3.4billion from America. If Trump gets the hump and decides he is more welcome elsewhere, the liberal left will have done for the working population of Britain exactly what they have done in the last 4 decades. They abandoned the very people who needed their help at the start of a right-wing neoliberal ideology four decades ago that has done nothing since but hollow out the industrial heart of one of the greatest trading nations that ever existed and pushed much of the the working and middle classes into a completely new class – called the working poor. Where are these protestors and their placards when it’s really important?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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