Josh Mandel, a Ohio Senate candidate, is anti-Afghan refugees despite the fact that his grandparents came to this country as refugees. He calls the Afghan refugees "alligators". I guess that means if you take them in, eventually they will eat you. He said there are terrorists among them, that they will bring COVID here, and there will be many child brides. As if we don't have domestic terrorists, lots of COVID cases and many teenage single moms ourselves. He said there should be zero refugees allowed in.
When confronted with the fact that his grandparents came as refugees on a military ship in 1949, his campaign doubles down and say that it is "nonsense" and "degrading" comparing Holocaust refugees to the refugees of today. Well, yes, in 1949 the Nazis were out of power and couldn't kill the Jews anymore. The Afghan refugees, many of whom worked for the U.S., are in grave danger if left behind because the Taliban is in power today. We defeated the Nazis but we lost Afghanistan back to the Taliban. So I think it is degrading for Mandel to call these refugees terrorists and want to leave them in Afghanistan to die.
All of us in this country are either immigrants or have ancestors who are immigrants. So to be anti-immigrant or anti-refugees is to be anti-American. I think Mandel's grandparents would be turning over in their graves if they know their grandson's stand. But Mandel is far from the outlier, there are many in this country who think like him. But prejudice is not confined to any race. I know of Asians and Latinos who are anti-immigrants. Shame on those people.
What is with these guys from Ohio? He sounds like he's could be Jim Jordan Jr. Guys like him and Jordan have no shame. They pretend to be tough guys and are toxic. I don't know if he truly believes what he says, which is the most dangerous type of person. Hopefully this guy won't win. But who knows how they will vote in Ohio. There seems to be a surge in support for these Trump wannabes there.
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