“It just doesn’t matter”

Author: Mark Diamond

 I don’t disagree with many of the thoughts and essays we are so fortunate to receive from you such as the most current piece  regarding the “Great Anti-Semitism Panic” (which you just sent to me) but my concern is everyone is missing the most important point. Trump should not be in power and the damage he is doing will be felt for years to come and therefore he must be stopped with every legal means possible using the checks and balances in the U.S. system which for once is there to help rather than hurt a challenging situation. The issue is not if Trump has directly caused more anti-Semitism or not, the issue is what does his approach do to the state of the world order for all races and for the safety of person kind and does he perpetuate hatred. 

I think Liberals, Conservatives, left wingers and right wingers, so all of us, always look to the answers which are most consistent with our world view because we are busy and want to believe our views make sense as we do not have the necessary time to do the complete research required to challenge our basic assumptions.  So instead of being critical and questioning of our assumptions, we look for information to support them. But are we not better off to read articles and books that counter our viewpoints?  It’s time for left wingers and right wingers to be open to each other’s ideas because ultimately this makes us a stronger society where we can apply real facts rather than emotions to the world issues.

 So, let us do this now with respect to Trump and let’s not deal in ideology but with facts:

As someone that is just a basic camp director I can tell you that after speaking to 30 families in Mexico in a country that since WW2 has been as good to the Jews as any country worldwide, Netanyahu’s statements about the wall put the Jewish community 50 years back. This community had to take out full page ads indicating they do not support the Israeli Prime Minister in any way since for understandable reasons anti-Semitism spiked because of such comments. This is not helpful to Israel or to the Jewish People nor to the Mexicans. Without Trump in power this clearly would not have occurred. Some of you may feel that this is not a cause of Trump but this is where I feel the biggest point is being missed. As the President of the United States, Trump’s actions affect every other politician worldwide which creates a domino effect. We see this in Europe now where racist politicians are using Trump’s name to garner power as well.  

Closer to home, professionals and experts in Canada and the U.S who work in the Canadian Jewish community say that antecdotal evidence shows an increase in anti-Semitism since the election but the facts will not be available for six more months. But this is a red herring as the only thing that matters is that one of the reasons (not the only reason) that Trump was elected was a result of his intolerant views. The facts do show that the year before Trump was elected there was a spike in racism in North America.  It’s a chicken and egg thing- is Trump increasing racism or was he elected because of it. WHO CARES- IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER!  

For my American friends in New York, I have had three families in New York tell me that for the first time in their lives they are scared and that there is a permissiveness now that makes it acceptable  to be racist, against Jews and against anyone that is different.   They feel that their children have been impacted to a degree that is unprecedented.   

When you see the anti-Islam sentiment taking hold, and where for the first time ever Muslims are murdered in their place of worship in Quebec city (ironically those killed were members of a very tolerant and progressive community ), again this would not have occurred if not for the Trump Era. Those same murderers and racists and anti-semites previously would have talked quietly about their views but in the past would have  decided not to act, but now our world leader is empowering them to act. It seems like Trump is allowing not only the worst of American society to lead us but that it’s empowering the worst of all the world to do the same.

When you see the riots in Montreal and the three bomb threats at Concordia against Muslims, the cemetery desecration, the bomb threats across North America, all since Trump took office, I think this is no coincidence. Whether Trump inherited this situation, or is creating it, we need a leader that will not encourage and exacerbate this horrific situation  When Jewish Community Centers around the world, including in Toronto, have bomb threats it’s easy to say there was no bomb but I cannot imagine the pain and horror in the hearts of mothers and fathers right now wanting to instill in their children the value of a Jewish education but wondering if doing so could put their lives in jeopardy. It doesn’t matter whether a bomb goes off and it doesn’t matter if there have been other years where such threats occurred. Can we dismiss the 120 threats against Jewish Organizations since Trump took office, or we can admit the obvious?   

The issue at hand is not that Trump is anti-Semitic or racist; we can argue that point. It’s the fact that he is a narcissistic and illiterate bully who encourages worst in all of us to come out. It’s the fact that he is ill and says things that are so outrageous that is makes it acceptable for everyday people to act in even more outrageous ways. It’s the fact that he limits freedom of expression and demonizes anyone that does not agree with him. Every dime he made was by not paying his trades, or his taxes and by destroying everyone in his path. Having someone in office with such a weak moral code allows everyone else to rationalize their behaviour. By setting a lower standard, given his position, he empowers behaviour which would otherwise be seen as inappropriate. If there is one key role for a president, it is to maintain the tenuous balance in the world, as there will never be world peace; the goal is to hold that balance in check by acting with intelligence, and a high moral code that the rest of us can try to live up to.  

Thank goodness, we see the money raised by Muslims for the desecrated cemeteries in the U.S.A. and as usual we see the Jewish Community reaching out in Montreal, Quebec and Toronto to show as much support as possible. Maybe that will be the good that will come of this horrific situation. Even the Iman of the Quebec City mosque which was the site of the killings reminded us of the humanity of the alleged killer, noting that this murderer also had ruined the lives of his own family. Trump’s fear and all our fears of terror attacks are grounded in fact but the approach in dealing with those facts whether you agree or disagree must be done in a way that promotes tolerance and is grounded in effective strategies not just angry outbursts (or tweets).

 If you read an excellent book called “The Muslim Tide” you will learn that Canada is a model for the world in terms of how we deal with immigrants and our approach to religious tolerance. This book challenges some basic assumptions on terrorism that are often based on emotion and assumption rather than fact.  And while I don’t have any issue with anyone saying that Trump has some good ideas,  any President must articulate his approach with substance, facts and a proper moral code.   If it comes to pass that there is someone from one of the banned countries who perpetrates a terrorist act, we will hear Trump say “  told you so”, without recognizing that he is in the process of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy by giving excuses for the polarized, and sick segments of society to act out.   In fact, by putting overt bans on immigrants from certain countries, he helps ISIS and Al Qaeda recruit new members, thereby making them stronger!   

Every day we hear of acts that fan the flames of xenophobia such as when a man kicked and assaulted an airline worker for wearing a jihad saying “Trump is here now” and “he will get rid of you”.  Maybe those things were already happening but when you can quote the President whether you are Conservative or Liberal you can easily see the concern. We used to say when Islamic extremists go after the Jews the Christians will be attacked next. Well when every day Americans go after Muslims or Mexicans, and paint any group with one brush then any possible minority is next, whether it be the LGBTQ community or others.

It doesn’t matter if the racism is the same or worse since Trump took office. It matters that the most influential leader of the western world is both explicitly and implicitly endorsing these new behavioural norms.   

The only point that matters is that Trump needs to be limited in every way so that these four years he does as little damage as possible. It is our responsibility to help guide the discourse so that we can limit his ability to effect negative change as a result of his mental disorder that has been described by many professionals as Narcissistic Personality Disorder. (definition attached). 

(note- since writing this article, Trump has accused the former President of wire tapping his phones without having any evidence of it having taken place, and as this situation has unfolded, he has turned to blaming Fox News as the source instead of taking responsibility for his actions.  It only gets worse).  
Note: For a definition and characteristics of Narcissitic Personality Disorder please read http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/narcissistic-personality-disorder/basics/definition/con-20025568