Reza AslanVerified account

He got triggered by Spanish, then busts out the “us” and “them.” As an ESL teacher, I’ve spent my career teaching “them,” and guess what? They are us, too. They’re working in restaurants and fighting in our wars and spending $ at Target and living next door. They’re America.

You know what's weird to me? Even in Oklahoma, my mom (who isn't totally a racist but could be described as racially insensitive) always told me how important it is to learn Spanish bc it's good for your career to be bilingual. Why is this considered "elitist" now?

I mean, JFC, now anything associated with education or empathy or being open-minded is now deemed as "elitist" by conservatives. These are the same people who voted for trump because they're "sick 'n tard of havin' to press 1 fer English!"

I see people still mistake Reza for something other than a clown. Calling people that aren't white nationalist white nationalists is about as unsophisticated a criticism as one can make. Yet, here we are

Even worse is calling people who are white nationalists, like Bret Stephens, white nationalists. Remember. The only true racism is pointing out racism.

I call you a white nationalist, therefore you are a white nationalist is not a coherent argument.

That's not fair

Yes it is. The "need" for politicians to ignore social justice concerns & bend over backwards to appease white people is a textbook white nationalist talking point. The fact that it's also a mainstream GOP talking point in 2019 tells you all you need to know about today's GOP.

He could've summed all of this up in 14 Words.

You seem to have missed the point that this was an rhetorical device to articulate the reaction he believes many voters will have to these campaign messages. It wasn’t really all that confusing, but I suppose some minimal subtlety of thought was required.

We got it. That’s why he’s being criticized: “Some people say...” is a hack’s way of saying “I think...”. You know who else uses that line all the time?

If “American” excludes nobody, it means nothing. In American elections, pandering to non-Americans more than to Americans is a losing strategy, go figure.

Oof. And from a German...

I’m not just German, just live here, but way not to engage in stereotypes and ancient thinking here

Nope, no stereotype and not ancient thinking, it’s a relevant fact, and an ironic one; if you applied for refugee status here, or for citizenship, would you expect to be arrested and put in a crowded, cold holding pen with no bed? If not, why is it okay for Central Americans?

If he showed up without a passport or any documentation at all, he’d probably...opt to just go back to Germany.

Not under death threats from armed gangs.