Humans of New York creator and blogger Brandon Stanton who
usually lets his subjects do the talking has written an open letter to Donald
Trump. In the letter posted to social media on Monday, 32-year-old Stanton
summed up the many issues he has with the Republican presidential frontrunner,
notably his controversial remarks about Muslims, immigrants and refugees.
The post has since gone viral garnering over a million Likes
and thousands of Shares. Stanton said he has tried to stay away from politics
but he could no longer stand by and not take a stand against "violence and
prejudice"
"An Open Letter to Donald Trump:
Mr. Trump,
I try my hardest not to be political. I’ve refused to
interview several of your fellow candidates. I didn’t want to risk any personal
goodwill by appearing to take sides in a contentious election. I thought:
‘Maybe the timing is not right.’ But I realize now that there is no correct
time to oppose violence and prejudice. The time is always now. Because along
with millions of Americans, I’ve come to realize that opposing you is no longer
a political decision. It is a moral one.
I’ve watched you retweet racist images. I’ve watched you
retweet racist lies. I’ve watched you take 48 hours to disavow white supremacy.
I’ve watched you joyfully encourage violence, and promise to ‘pay the legal
fees’ of those who commit violence on your behalf. I’ve watched you advocate
the use of torture and the murder of terrorists’ families. I’ve watched you
gleefully tell stories of executing Muslims with bullets dipped in pig blood.
I’ve watched you compare refugees to ‘snakes,’ and claim that ‘Islam hates us.’
I am a journalist, Mr. Trump. And over the last two years I
have conducted extensive interviews with hundreds of Muslims, chosen at random,
on the streets of Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan. I’ve also interviewed hundreds of
Syrian and Iraqi refugees across seven different countries. And I can confirm—
the hateful one is you.
Those of us who have been paying attention will not allow
you to rebrand yourself. You are not a ‘unifier.’ You are not ‘presidential.’
You are not a ‘victim’ of the very anger that you’ve joyfully enflamed for
months. You are a man who has encouraged prejudice and violence in the pursuit
of personal power. And though your words will no doubt change over the next few
months, you will always remain who you are.
Sincerely,
Brandon Stanton
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