
The Closing of America - Tulip68
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/opinion/the-closing-of-trumps-america.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region&region=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region
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pfarnsworth
I DESPISE being in the position to defend Trump, because he is an
embarrassment and a buffoon, but the article is filled with half-facts, and is
really disappointing, especially for the New York Times.

Trump doesn't "hate Muslims." He banned Muslims from the known terrorist
states. He didn't ban Muslims from Indonesia and Malaysia (the two most
populous Muslim countries), and Pakistan. So if the author said "Trump hates
Middle East Muslims" then that would be more factually correct.

This sort of twisting of words and half-truths are what got us here in the
first place, and why both sides don't listen to each other anymore. We need to
have honest and truthful conversations, not half-truths that sway the
conversation in one's favor. That's not an honest discussion.

EDIT: The article never accuses Trump of hating Muslims, so that's my mistake.
The article accuses him of not liking Muslims.

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grzm
Thanks for taking the time to dig into the piece. A few additional points:

\- This is an Op-Ed piece by Roger Cohen in the Opinion section. It's not an
article. The NYT has editors of different political persuasions, perhaps not
as diverse as some would prefer, but while they're all published in by the
NYT, I'm sure they're allowed more latitude as opposed to representing the
opinion of the Editorial Board. Of course, that does not justify
misrepresenting known facts.

\- Nowhere in the piece does the word "hate" appear, much less "hate Muslims",
so quoting this is misleading. Cohen _does_ say "The president does not like
Muslims" and goes on to support this claim. (Whether or not you think this is
justified of course is up to the reader.)

\- Cohen also clarifies that the ban does not include all Muslims:

 _It is obvious now as he attempts to justify a planned suspension of visas
for Syrians, Iranians, Iraqis and citizens of four other majority Muslim
Middle Eastern and African countries, as well as a temporary ban on almost all
refugees.

… “It’s not the Muslim ban,” Trump insisted to Muir. No. It’s just a ban on
lots of Muslims._

You're very correct that it's important to maintain the nuance and accuracy of
what is actually happening to prevent further polarization, to which we should
hold the press, and each other.

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masonic

      This is an Op-Ed piece by Roger Cohen. It's not an article.
    

But Cohen is a Times _employee_ ; an _editor_ , in fact. This is not the work
of some random partisan think tank writer merely carried by the _Times_.

These two elements go well beyond the pale of any sense of journalism:

1) "... his cavalier trashing of the alliance and union that ushered the the
Continent from its darkest hours..."

Um, _what_? When has he trashed (cavalierly or not) the USA-Britain alliance
of WW2? Has the P.M. stated anything of the kind?

2) Cohen's piling-on of personal insults. He has _no_ place diagnosing
_anyone_ with "narcissistic personality disorder", let alone claiming that
Trump has a "lust for _torture... and carnage_ ".

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grzm
I believe the references to World War II are due to the history of the phrase
"America First", which goes back at least to the "America First Committee"
which was pro-isolationist and against the US entering the war in Europe
during WWII.

\-
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_First_Committee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_First_Committee)

\-
[https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/trump-a...](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/trump-
america-first/514037/)

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wallace_f
Am I the only one that believes there is a reasonable compromise to be made?
Some groups are still faced with extreme difficulty in immigrating to the US.
Chinese and Europeans find it quite difficult to immigrate here legally. Even
young Europeans have many options to use Working Holiday Visas in many
countries to work abroad outside of the EU and experience cultural exchange,
but America does not participate.

Why shouldn't the US just treat all people equally who want to come here? Why
shouldn't the process be standardized and made legal? If we really are for
cultural exchange, why not participate in Working Holiday schemes for young
people from Europe and Asia to legally come here like so many other countries
do?

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Pxtl
Celebrate holocaust memorial day by telling refugees to go away. Well done.

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grzm
Actual title: "The Closing of Trump’s America"

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crashedsnow
Paywalled

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grzm
Use the "web" link under the submission title.

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crashedsnow
Thanks!

