Padma Lakshmi calls Donald Trump a ‘racist buffoon’

[struggle4progress]

Apr 08, 2016 | PTI | New York

... Even if he wasn’t the racist buffoon that he is making himself out to be, I probably wouldn’t vote for him ... We are a country of immigrants, so to say you should put a wall up or limit certain ethnicities is sort of antithetical to what this country is about ... Unless you are from the Cherokee nation .. there you are, squatting on someone else’s land ...

http://www.asianage.com/newsmakers/padma-lakshmi-calls-donald-trump-racist-buffoon-790

[Shrike47]

1. Haven't we all?

[Albertoo]

2. Funny how the ex-wife of Salman Rushdie misses half the point

to say you should put a wall up or limit certain ethnicities is sort of antithetical to what this country is about

Padma should ask Salman how Muslim immigrants reacted to his book in Britain.

In the very country of Habeas Corpus and of the Magna Carta, burning books?

For a trivial offence, a free man shall be fined only in proportion to the degree of his offence, and for a serious offence correspondingly, but not so heavily as to deprive him of his livelihood. In the same way, a merchant shall be spared his merchandise

- See more at: http://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles/magna-carta-english-translation#sthash.AFTjE1Ld.dpuf

[JI7]

3. what point is she missing ?

[Albertoo]

7. When she writes "antithetical to what this country is about"

She neglects the fact the Islamic faith is antithetical to what the secular US is about

Quote: Islam has nothing to do with democracy:

[bemildred]

9. She neglects it because it is irrelevant.

The USA is not Islam and it is not about Islam. The USA is about religious freedom, not religious control.

[Albertoo]

13. Certainly quite relevant to a discussion of Trump's racim

What has been called Trump's racism essentially covers what he said about Mexicans and Muslims.

So I was addressing
- the issue of Trump's racism(s) in the case of Muslims
- her quote I highlighted about American values, and
- the tension between Rushdie/western democratic values/religious Muslim values.

Pretty much on topic, I'd say

[bemildred]

14. Let's try to follow the conversation:

Last edited Fri Apr 8, 2016, 08:22 AM - Edit history (1)

You quote her: "to say you should put a wall up or limit certain ethnicities is sort of antithetical to what this country is about".

Then you say:"When she writes 'antithetical to what this country is about' She neglects the fact the Islamic faith is antithetical to what the secular US is about".

And I said she did that because what you said is irrelevant to the issue whether "to say you should put a wall up or limit certain ethnicities is sort of antithetical to what this country is about", because it is antithetical to what this country is about, and because what Islam is about is irrelevant to what the USA is about, they don't tell us what to do here, and we don't intend to be intimidated about it.

[Albertoo]

15. Then I fear I lost you at "Salman Rushdie"

Specifically when you write in your post #14:

because what Islam is about is irrelevant to what the USA is about, they don't tell us what to do here, and we don't intend to be intimidated about it.

This is exactly what I was referring to:
Islam (brought by immigration from 'Muslim countries') was the reason people started burning books in Britain. In your words, they were trying to tell Briton what to do there, and Britons were intimidated about it as they could not prevent book burnings on the streets.

[bemildred]

18. Right, we aren't intimidated here, that's not the problem.

I thought I made that clear.

[Albertoo]

19. There is evidence to the contrary

Were the Danish cartoons posted in the US? Sparsingly. Not by any major national media.
Better still, the innocent cartoonist lady who got the idea of 'draw muhammad' day had to have an ID change and be relocated: Threat on Molly Norris's life, forced into hiding.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everybody_Draw_Mohammed_Day#Threat_on_Molly_Norris.27s_life.2C_forced_into_hiding

[bemildred]

20. Yeah, what do I know, I just live here.

We are awash here with people with guns who would like nothing better than to whack a muslim.

[Albertoo]

23. What has it got to do with the issue?

I just illustrated through suppressed cartoons and press folks having to change their ID the contrary of your claim that the US was different from Rushdie's Britain.

[hfojvt]

5. well Rushdie himself

was a Muslim immigrant

[Albertoo]

8. You should read Rushdie's bio

[hfojvt]

4. I had to google that name

woof. She is certainly welcome in my house, and my country.

But it is kinda funny for somebody who has only been living here a couple decades to tell me "what this country is about".

Okay, she has been here since the age of 3, but still, SHE is an immigrant, her mother is an immigrant. I, however, am NOT. Since I am part of this nation, and in fact, I would say that it is more my country than it is hers, I don't need immigrants telling me this nonsense that we are a "nation of immigrants".

To call me an immigrant, because at some point in the distant past I have ancestors who were immigrants - is just rather ridiculous. By that definition, the Cherokees are immigrants too. Even more so are the Apaches, since they may have been living in Canada as recently as 1300 AD. (Maybe not, I have it that they came from the north perhaps 500 years ago - that could mean Montana).

Most people in this nation are like me - we have American ancestors going back over 100 years and many, like me, have lines going back almost 400 years. Joseph Loomis was an immigrant in 1630. I am in the 11th generation of his descendants born in this country - one of millions. We are NOT immigrants, and we are the majority of this nation.

[Myrina]

21. How Trumpish of you.

[hfojvt]

22. What, to rely on facts?

Somebody who moved here from another country = immigrant

Somebody whose great grandparents were born in this country = NOT immigrant.

You disagree? Why?

[Hekate]

6. A couple of the posters in this thread are certainly reaching hard to miss the point....

....which is about Donald Trump's racism and not about them.

[bemildred]

11. Ms Lakshmi has a sharp wit. nt

[bemildred]

10. Exactly. nt

[romanic]

12. When Trump loses

I want her to get up on stage and tell him to "Please pack up your knives and go". (I hope someone gets the reference lol)

[MadashellLynn]

16. Big Top Chef fan here so I get it.

I hope she tells him to pack those knives somewhere sensitive

[Dorian Gray]

17. Ha ha

Or she could just go with his old: "You're Fired!"