The 'Master of None' star calls Trump's anti-Muslim speech 'visceral' and 'scary,' but he also says it 'makes no sense.'
- Jun 27, 2016
AceShowbiz - Aziz Ansari calls out Donald Trump over his anti-Muslim remarks. In an op-ed on The New York Times, the comedian whose parents are Muslim immigrants says that the Republican presidential candidate makes him scared for his family.
"In our culture, when people think 'Muslim,' the picture in their heads is not usually of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or the kid who left the boy band One Direction. It's of a scary terrorist character from 'Homeland' or some monster from the news," he wrote.
"Today, with the presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and others like him spewing hate speech, prejudice is reaching new levels. It's visceral, and scary, and it affects how people live, work and pray. It makes me afraid for my family. It also makes no sense," the star continued.
"He has said that people in the American Muslim community 'know who the bad ones are,' implying that millions of innocent people are somehow complicit in awful attacks," he went on. "There have been 49 mass shootings in this country, and more than half of those were perpetrated by white males. I doubt we'll hear Mr. Trump make a speech asking his fellow white males to tell authorities 'who the bad ones are,' or call for restricting white males' freedoms."
He also criticized the senate and congress for rejecting gun control reform. "Despite sit-ins and filibusters, our lawmakers are failing us on this front and choose instead to side with the National Rifle Association. Suspected terrorists can buy assault rifles," he wrote. "If we're going to use the 'they'll just find another way' argument, let's use that to let us keep our shoes on."
"This is a guy who kicked off his presidential run by calling Mexicans 'rapists' who were 'bringing drugs' to this country. Numerous times, he has said that Muslims in New Jersey were cheering in the streets on Sept. 11, 2001. This has been continually disproved, but he stands by it," Anzari slammed Trump.
"I don't know what every Muslim American was doing that day, but I can tell you what my family was doing. I was studying at N.Y.U., and I lived near the World Trade Center," he shared. "I was scared for my life as my fellow students and I trekked the panicked streets of Manhattan. My family, unable to reach me on my cellphone, was terrified about my safety as they watched the towers collapse. There was absolutely no cheering. Only sadness, horror and fear."
The Muslim American comedian concluded, "Mr. Trump, in response to the attack in Orlando, began a tweet with these words: 'Appreciate the congrats.' It appears that day he was the one who was celebrating after an attack."
