Gov. Greg Abbott tried to send a strong message to the rest of the country by withdrawing Texas from the federal refugee resettlement program. Now it seems that he has given up on that fight.
Abbott said the withdrawal is necessary in order to “continue to prioritize the safety of all Texans,” a laughable statement made no sense at all. He did it to raise some proud conservative flag that, he thought, represented our state, but that bigotry is dying in Texas.
U.S. was built on the backs of immigrants. Let’s continue that tradition by welcoming Syrian refugees that want nothing more than to make a positive impact to our society.
We can help
While Texas has rescinded their appeal, putting one in the first place shows that Abbott is spreading Islamophobia instead of welcoming refugees.
I refuse to give into the Islamophobia that will rage in the comment section of this column. Terrorism threatens this country and it can come from anyone at anytime — not just the Muslims coming to the U.S. for a better life.
We can’t be that stupid as a society that we will turn away these people, who are being killed and destroyed by a war they want no part of, because of an unfounded fear that their religion will make them want to harm us.
Most people don’t, or don’t care to, understand the amount of death and violence due to the civil war that has raged for over five years and claimed more than 250,000 lives in Syria.
The conflict started when the government arrested and tortured 15 school children for writing anti-government graffiti on a wall.
The government action prompted protests and eventually led to officials killing more people, followed by retaliation from rebels and more death. Among all this conflict and war are people who are suffering.
We are the greatest superpower in the world. These people need our help.
We can’t let fear mongering and bigotry decide our actions when there are people all over the world who are being terrorized by real evil. The acts of a few individuals among 1.6 billion Muslims does not define a religion.
Abbott’s withdrawal will not stop the resettlement of refugees in Texas. Not-for-profit groups still plan to settle refugees in Texas without government support since there is no law preventing people from crossing state lines once in the U.S.
Can’t cave in
Texas has already resettled 7,479 refugees as of 2015. Abbott’s fear of resettlement program makes no sense and only serves to push the stereotype that we should be scared of Muslims instead of welcoming all regardless of race or religion.
Terrorist attacks are not just done in the name of Islam like 9/11 that killed 2,996 people and was orchestrated by Osama bin Laden. We have seen countless people die, including children, at the hands of terrorists like Dylann Roof, James Holmes and Adam Lanza.
None of them have claimed Islam as their reason to kill so many.
The will to kill is something that is still completely misunderstood in our society today. It is clear, however, that anyone, despite their race, religion or creed can commit mass murder.
We need to work on things like stricter gun laws, enforcing and bolstering our current immigration laws and background checks to ensure that almost everyone entering the U.S. is here to make a positive impact.
Abbott’s statement and withdrawal will not define us. It certainly won’t stop those trying to help refugees resettle in Texas.
Don’t be scared of a religion; seek out ways to welcome these people in our country. Show them that we are not all cowards who try to push fear and hatred on to those who look and act different from us.
Opinion editor Frank Campos is a multimedia production senior and can be reached at [email protected]
The vetting is highly suspect at best. To not call out the radical Islamists for what they are, terrorists, is to assume an ostrich mentality, particularly when they have openly stated they they WILL infiltrate the refugees. Set up a “safe space” in their own country and deal with the situation there.
Indeed and even more frightening than this is that in Europe it is often second and third generation Muslims who are committing the crimes. Crimes they commit in the name of Allah.
Frank wrote, “Abbott said the withdrawal is necessary in order to “continue to prioritize the safety of all Texans,” a laughable statement made no sense at all. He did it to raise some proud conservative flag that, he thought, represented our state, but that bigotry is dying in Texas.”
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Frank, do you live under a rock? Do you not see what Muslims are doing across the globe? Do you not read about the out-of-control rape crisis in Europe, or of the bombings, shootings, truck-driver-killing rampages that have now become common to that continent?
Do you not read about the genocide mof the Animist community in Sudan during the 1990s or of the ethnic cleansing of Christians in Nigeria happening today?
Do you not read about the complete and utter genocide of the Hindus of Pakistan that has occurred over the last thousand years? Or of what happened to the Berbers of North Africa?
Frank, you call yourself a journalist, do I have that right? If so could you tell me what is the role of a journalist?
Frank writes, “While Texas has rescinded their appeal, putting one in the first place shows that Abbott is spreading Islamophobia instead of welcoming refugees.”
Now why would anyone in their right mind be fearful of Muslims? If we could only talk to the tens of thousands of people killed by Muslims since 9/11 we might know.
Seriously, Frank, is your article a satire?
Frank writes, “We can’t be that stupid as a society that we will turn away these people, who are being killed and destroyed by a war they want no part of, because of an unfounded fear that their religion will make them want to harm us.”
Frank, I think you should put your money where your mouth is. Specifically I think you should insist that your parents take in a couple of male Muslim refugees and put them up in the bedroom you once occupied.
You so readily give US advice to follow, why don’t you follow your own advice first before telling us what we should do?
What’s wrong with spreading Islamophobia?
Does any Progressive girl on campus cross out of the way if a gang of Black men are walking in her direction?
Do LBGTQIAers now when gathering keep an eye out for the potential Radical Muslim Terrorist trying to take them out?
We’ve resettled more potential terrorists in Texas than ever before. And all it takes is for just two or three to hate us enough for Texas to have some bad days. And if Hillary Clinton wins she’ll continue the policies and corruption of Obama that gives terrorists an equal opportunity to kill us.
I think that all of this will come back to bite the Progressives. Even after Orlando, many gullible Progressives still advocate for Muslim’s, whom either tolerate the Gay lifestyle or abhor it.
Check out this video of Obama flaunting his erection:
You forgot the Oklahoma City Bombing and what inspired that. Timothy McVeigh was a home-grown terrorist who performed a direct attack on the government. But he got a pass on the terrorist label because, well, white privilege. The truck bomb McVeigh ignited that morning in a matter of seconds obliterated the front third of a nine-story reinforced concrete building. Some 324 buildings, cars, and windows in the 16-block blast radius were damaged or destroyed; 168 occupants, including 16 children died –most by falling debris, many by flying glass. In the seconds that it took to concuss a nine story building, McVeigh went from being a white supremacist bomber to – at worst — just “very angry,” according to Pennsylvania’s Head of Homeland Security, James Powers. So how come Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bombers — who did comparative far less damage — weren’t deemed just “angry.”? It’s amazing how some Americans grant a pass to their own insider terrorists but get obscenely self-righteous about radicals from elsewhere as a flimsy excuse to engage in wholesale racism.
The Game:
Bringing other religions down to the level of Islam is a favorite tactic of apologists confronted with the spectacle of Islamic violence. Remember Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber? How about Anders Breivik, the Norwegian killer? Why pick on Islam if other religions have the same problems?
The Truth:
Because they don’t.
Regardless of what his birth certificate may or may not have said, Timothy McVeigh was not a religious man (in fact, he stated explicitly that he was agnostic and that “science” was his religion). At no time did he credit his deeds to religion, quote Bible verses, or claim that he killed for Jesus. His motives are very well documented through interviews and research. God is never mentioned.
The so-called “members of other faiths” alluded to by Muslims are nearly always just nominal members who have no active involvement. They are neither inspired by, nor do they credit religion as Muslim terrorists do – and this is what makes it a very different matter.
Islam is associated with Islamic terrorism because that is the association that the terrorists themselves choose to make.
Muslims who compare crime committed by people who happen to be nominal members of other religions to religious terror committed explicitly in the name of Islam are comparing apples to oranges.
Yes, some of the abortion clinic bombers were religious, but consider the scope of the problem. There have been six deadly attacks over a 36 year period in the U.S. Eight people died. This is an average of one death every 4.5 years.
By contrast, Islamic terrorists staged nearly ten thousand deadly attacks in just the six years following September 11th, 2001. If one goes back to 1971, when Muslim armies in Bangladesh began the mass slaughter of Hindus, through the years of Jihad in the Sudan, Kashmir and Algeria, and the present-day Sunni-Shia violence in Iraq, the number of innocents killed in the name of Islam probably exceeds five million over this same period.
Anders Breivik, who murdered 77 innocents in a lone rampage on July 22nd, 2011, was originally misidentified as a “Christian fundamentalist” by the police. In fact, the killings were later determined to be politically motivated. He also left behind a detailed 1500 page manifesto in which he stated that he is not religious, does not know if God exists, and prefers a secular state to a theocracy. Needless to say, he does not quote any Bible verses in support of his killing spree, nor did he shout “praise the Lord” as he picked people off.
In the last ten years, there have been perhaps a dozen or so religiously-inspired killings by people of all other faiths combined. When such a small handful or loners act in isolation, it can legitimately be chalked up to mental illness or (at best) genuine misunderstanding.
By contrast, Islamic terror is organized and methodical. Islamist groups span the globe with tens of thousands of dedicated members, despite intensely targeted counter-measures, and supporters numbering in the tens of millions. They are open about their religious goals and they kill in the name of god each and every day of the year. Verses in their holy texts arguably support them. There are none who will even debate them.
No other religion is doing this. So while some Muslims may pretend that other religions are just as prone to “misinterpretation” as is their “perfect” one, reality says otherwise.
Arafat: the topic I was addressing was domestic terrorism in America and how, that label is always reserved for Arabs. As you can see by your own case, the Norwegian was not committing terrorism in America. While the Norwegian nor McVeigh may not have self-identified with any religious values, that does not alter the fact that Mcveigh was given a pass by being labeled “very angry,” after the bomber was IDed as a white american. It was originally suspected as being the work of Arab terrorists in period news reports. That pass continues today, inherent in commentary like yours which tries to draw false equivalences as a form of defection from the central issue of defining terrorism in America as being acts — many less horrific than McVeigh’s — as being the exclusive province of Arabs. The public record shows this to be completely untrue.
This entire article is an insult to everyone that has been killed or raped by one of these things. (I dare not call them people) Islam is known for 4 things: significantly increasing rape crimes wherever they go, sharia law, al quaeda,and isis. Let’s send these muslims back to syria; you say they’ll die, I say all of islam needs to be wiped from the face of the earth. Send them back, let them die. I’d rather see my loved ones safe then let these animals bring my country into the third world with them