Clearly, the final solution is to require all Muslims in America to wear some sort of easily identifiable symbol. Maybe, say, a red crescent moon pinned to their shirts at all time. And then we can make sure they all live in the same area of each city where we can keep an eye on them.
I think Trump would look great with a toothbrush moustache.
That’s the problem with government regulated racism. It’s all so regimented.
Most people prefer the more traditional bottom-up forms of racism. A lynch mob here, a cross burning there, maybe just some random racist threats shouted out a car window when you’re not feeling ambitious - let’s keep racism spontaneous and fun.
I’m completely confused. Why is it bad to oppose the government keeping lists of people?
Some lists are necessary – Census rolls, tax records, etc. But some lists are rotten, like Nixon’s “enemies list.” The sex offender registry is a scary case, because it is being used to deny rights to people. Anti-abortion extremists have their “Nuremberg List,” of doctors they intend to prosecute when Roe v. Wade is overturned. That’s scary.
A mandatory registration of U.S. citizens on the basis of religion is extremely uncomfortable. Opposing such a list seems to be wisdom, not cowardice.
Oh, they disavow it in principle, all right – just, on a different and less important and really far less defensible principle. (How is government to get along without keeping “lists”?! The DMV database of licensed drivers is a list. The county property tax rolls are a list. The database of registered voters, against which RWs demand every would-be voter’s ID be checked, is a list.)
Just in case this is not a disingenuous question, let me try to explain:
Sure, they can oppose the list on the grounds that they oppose all government-kept lists of citizens (except those, no doubt, of certain troublemakers). But, even if they (and not only you) were simply being disingenuous by opposing the proposal on anti-government list grounds, they might have hastened to add a few words to the effect of, “and, of course, all Americans have the right to practice their religion and worship their god without the government singling them out for doing so”.
But they don’t elaborate on the principle at all in the linked article–though Cruz’s position is characterized by the writer as a religious-liberty stand.
Paul’s campaign isn’t even actually quoted.
It’s not clear that they haven’t (or wouldn’t) say what you want to hear.
One bonus of having hate mongers like Trump, Carson, and Cruz around is that it makes for a nice exercise trying to anticipate how their apologists will spin their latest racist screed.
On the other hand, they are such abundant and relentless sources, you could write this off for some non-partisan Broder cred, and there would be very little loss.
… leaving the only place left for Trump to go: “We should smash the windows of every Muslim-owned business in America! All in one big night of patriotism!”
I won’t dispute that some of Trump’s supporters probably think of this as a racial issue. I expect some of them to be pig ignorant fucks that don’t understand that the correlation between the world’s second largest religion and any single race is FAR from perfect. Labeling his statements as clearly racist in any kind of objective reality takes accepting and reinforcing that thoroughly incorrect and pig ignorant stereotype to make it a racial issue. We now expect Republican candidates to display pig ignorance of reality in denouncing the plan as racist?!? Seriously? Hell none of the Democratic candidates labeled it as racist hate in denouncing it. Sanders was the closest with bigoted. Can’t we just bask in a moment that brought us Trump taking a position that has the overwhelming majority of candidates on both sides in general agreement? Can we just link arms across the aisle for a sing along for a moment before we go back to silly tribal squabbling? I promise the sing along won’t last long. My voice is horrible. Everybody will want that moment to end quickly.
Oh I can think of plenty of places he could go:
Muslims required to wear Golden Crescent sewn to their clothes
the ever popular deportation (he’ll apply management to figure out where to deport the ones who’ve never held other citizenship…trust him!)
careful monitoring. To be effective that will take concentrating them into religiously monocultural camps… er ghettos…neighborhoods!
allow them to demonstrate loyalty by “volunteering” for risky medical testing
Never underestimate the limit of Trump’s ability to find new, stupid, and un-constitutional ways to make America tyrannical again.