Brandon Stanton, Creator of ‘Humans of New York’, Pens Open Letter To Donald Trump
After the violence and protests were seen at Donald Trump’s aborted rally in Chicago, Humans of New York creator Brandon Stanton penned an open letter to Trump on the HONY Facebook page.
“I try my hardest not to be political,” Stanton wrote. “But I realize now that there is no correct time to oppose violence and prejudice. The time is always now. Because along with millions of Americans, I’ve come to realize that opposing you is no longer a political decision. It is a moral one.”
Bernie Sanders is lying when he says his disruptors aren't told to go to my events. Be careful Bernie, or my supporters will go to yours!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2016
Stanton is referencing when Trump told his supporters at his Iowa rally that there may people in the audience that had tomatoes to throw at Trump.
“If you see somebody with a bag of tomatoes, just knock the crap out of them, would you?” Trump told supporters, according to Real Clear Politics. “I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees, I promise. I promise.”
On Sunday, Trump even told Chuck Todd on NBC’s Meet the Press that he “actually instructed [his] people to look into” paying the legal fees for the man who punched a black protester being led away by police at the North Carolina rally last Thursday.
In his letter, Brandon Stanton then went on to describe how Trump has expressed using violence and torture against Muslims and terrorists’ families. Brandon also mentioned Trump’s reference to refugees as “snakes” and Trump’s claims that “Islam hates us.”
“I am a journalist, Mr. Trump,” Stanton wrote. “And over the last two years I have conducted extensive interviews with hundreds of Muslims, chosen at random, on the streets of Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan. I’ve also interviewed hundreds of Syrian and Iraqi refugees across seven different countries. And I can confirm — the hateful one is you.”
https://www.facebook.com/humansofnewyork/photos/pb.102099916530784.-2207520000.1457977587./1155494721191293/?type=3&theater
“Those of us who have been paying attention will not allow you to rebrand yourself,” Brandon Stanton concluded. “You are not a ‘unifer.’ You are not ‘presidential.’ You are not a ‘victim’ of the very anger that you’ve joyfully enflamed for months. You are a man who has encouraged prejudice and violence in the pursuit of personal power. And though your words will no doubt change over the next few months, you will always remain who you are.”
Brandon Stanton’s post has been up for only two hours, and has already been shared over 260,000 times and over 755,000 people have liked and reacted to it on Facebook. Brandon and his HONY community has had a huge impact in the past. Together with Stanton, his followers have raised $1.4 million for students at Mott Hall Bridges Academy, $2.3 million to help Syeda Ghulam Fatima end bonded labor in Pakistan, and $750,000 to assist 13 Syrian refugee families get selected for American resettlement.
Based on Brandon Stanton’s past campaigns and continued push for the rights of people everywhere, it’s no surprise that Stanton penned this open letter to Trump and that it’s quickly going viral. With the great reach that Stanton and his page has, there’s no doubt Stanton’s letter will have an impact.
You can check out Brandon Stanton’s complete open letter to Trump below.
https://www.facebook.com/humansofnewyork/posts/1207382856002479
[Photo by John Sommers II/Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images]
