strollingbones
Diamond Member
Santorum’s statement suggested that the people who practice the faith are somehow distinct, as well. The candidate used the differentiation to justify denying even Americans their First Amendment rights. And he wasn’t alone. That night, candidate after candidate expressed few problems with monitoring mosques, schools or individuals, as well as a willingness to stretch the boundaries of constitutional protections for the sake of national security.
The perspective follows a line that was started by Donald Trump when he claimed that Mexico is sending murderers and rapists into the U.S. Or when Jeb Bush blamed Asian immigrants for exploiting policies to have “anchor babies” in order to become American citizens. Islamophobia has materialized in nefarious shapes and forms throughout the campaign season — almost to the point that racially charged or openly bigoted remarks now seem like the new normal.
“It goes to the fact that they consider Muslims to be a category other than American. Somehow by virtue of their beliefs they are not afforded the protections that are granted to all of us,” said William McCants, a fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute.
That sense of otherness has defined the Republican presidential race and made 2015 the start of a new era of racial politics in America. We’re now clearly seeing the complicated and oftentimes ugly ways that race plays into politics. What’s truly unique though about 2015 is that ethnic and racial minorities — Latinos, Asians and Arab Americans — are being pulled into public discourse in ways we’ve never seen before. Just about none of these issues are new — heated rhetoric toward the most politically marginalized minority groups has been around since our nation’s founding. Even those who ardently believe that we live in a post-racial society don’t have to read between the lines to see overt racism. But we’re now litigating where Americans draw the line on how far is too far.
2015: The year racism made a comeback
The perspective follows a line that was started by Donald Trump when he claimed that Mexico is sending murderers and rapists into the U.S. Or when Jeb Bush blamed Asian immigrants for exploiting policies to have “anchor babies” in order to become American citizens. Islamophobia has materialized in nefarious shapes and forms throughout the campaign season — almost to the point that racially charged or openly bigoted remarks now seem like the new normal.
“It goes to the fact that they consider Muslims to be a category other than American. Somehow by virtue of their beliefs they are not afforded the protections that are granted to all of us,” said William McCants, a fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute.
That sense of otherness has defined the Republican presidential race and made 2015 the start of a new era of racial politics in America. We’re now clearly seeing the complicated and oftentimes ugly ways that race plays into politics. What’s truly unique though about 2015 is that ethnic and racial minorities — Latinos, Asians and Arab Americans — are being pulled into public discourse in ways we’ve never seen before. Just about none of these issues are new — heated rhetoric toward the most politically marginalized minority groups has been around since our nation’s founding. Even those who ardently believe that we live in a post-racial society don’t have to read between the lines to see overt racism. But we’re now litigating where Americans draw the line on how far is too far.
2015: The year racism made a comeback
