Peter Thiel’s Donation and What It Means for Minority Groups

The recent donation declaration of Peter Thiel, a German-American businessman and the co-founder of Paypal, minorities- Muslims, Jews, Women, Disabled people, Blacks, Asians, and Mexicans- targeted by Trump are feeling uneasy for their turnout if he were to win with such an amount of money to back up such an unfit presidential campaign. Needless to say that the monetary support funding a dictator in rising is making anyone with a conscience worried and uncomfortable. For minorities though, this donation spells more trouble.

MUSLIMS

All Muslims from all races are minorities under the banner of Islam and they are expendable to Trump and his supporters. Muslims as a whole have a multi-billion buying power and they hear, “I will use your money to support someone whom you don’t support but I will 100% vote for.” The message is loud and clear; Thiel is supporting hatred, violence, and islamophobia. To retaliate, many Muslims business owners who use PayPal feel like this is intolerable and are considering closing their PayPal account. They are other alternatives they rather use. Only time will tell how this switch pans out.

JEWS

Jews, you are also expendable. Trump has made swooping accusations toward Jews. Like there are bad Muslims, there are also bad Jews. However, delivering anti-Semitic speeches about ‘elites’ fosters a high anti-Semitic movement and feeling from his brainless supporters toward innocent Jew victims. Thiel by donating millions to Trump is saying to them that he doesn’t care if pogroms are committed against them.

WOMEN

“Women, you deserve disrespect and sexual harassment around the clock.” This is what I take from Trump’s immature comments about women. Thiel by endorsing Trump is confirming that he hates women and sides with the misogynist point of views of Trump. Just because he isn’t attracted to women doesn’t make it ok to be passive toward the disrespect and blatant discrimination this gender is subject to. A woman gave birth to these two ‘geniuses’.

DISABLED PEOPLE

There are over 50 million disabled people in America. And for Trump, there are certainly ‘not great’ since he cracks jokes at them. Why would you support someone like that? Besides, didn’t he say he was so rich? It seems that Trump doesn’t need the money and that Thiel is perhaps doing this just to spite people or be noticed.

BLACKS

$1.25 million is less than 1% of the net worth of Thiel. America was mainly built on their backs but many still face poverty but they are seen as lazy people by the Frumpsters. Thiel, you could have put your money to better use! Trump and his flock are in favor of denying them equal opportunity rights when it comes to housing and employment. Again, this donation is money NOT well spent.

ASIANS

Thiel supported someone who spared no details in being an equal opportunity discriminator. Besides cracking un-funny jokes at women and disabled people, Trump made fun of Asian businessmen and made stereotyping comments like anchor babies goes with Asians. Thus, he also made fun of that community. At least, the people he referred to can speak some English. Can Trump or Thiel speak proper Chinese or even Japanese? I bet not! Trump and Thiel both share some German ancestry, making them foreign and you think that would make them a bit sensitive toward different nationalities. Nope! It doesn’t make them ponder a tad bit! It’s a shame but apparently, they have none.

MEXICANS

Mexicans were amongst the first groups targeted by Trump’s campaign. He called them rapists amongst other names. The money Thiel donated, will that go toward building ‘the great wall’ in question Trump wants to build in the Southern border to keep immigrants out now that Trump is President?

America belongs to the Natives but also to immigrants and minorities in case they hadn’t realized it yet. It was built on the back of immigrants and still continues to be so to some extent. Only time will tell if the minorities are wrong about TRUMP.

Written on 11/15/2016

Martin Luther King Day: A Timeless Dream To Keep Alive

Martin Luther King was a pioneer, a civil rights activist, and many more honorable things. One part of his famous speech particularly stands out in my mind on this day we try to honor his work and legacy. It is:

“…I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character…”

There has been a lot of progress since then and a lot more to go because our great nation is still facing discrimination on all levels while many activists are raising awareness to keep his dream alive, true or simply fulfill it.

Having said that, we shouldn’t fall in the traps of the holy trinity of African-American history that only honors a handful of really well-known African Americans such as Dr. King, Rosa Parks, and Harriet Tubman. Every once in a while others such as Carter G. Woodson, Maya Angelou, Federick Douglas amongst others will also be mentioned especially as we approach Black History Month.

On this day, let’s honor Dr. King’s predecessors, peers and many of his unsung legacy who also made and make it possible for America to have groundbreaking changes. Some of them include:

WARITH DEEN MOHAMMED

Warith Deen Mohammed was muslim and the son of Clara Muhammad. A world peace pioneer, he fought for racial unity as well.

MUHAMMAD ALI

Mohammad Ali doesn’t need any introduction and his support to the civil rights movement was major. His funeral was the epitome of unity he had advocated and portrayed his whole life on all levels as testaments from people of all faith poured in leaving us with teary eyes.

MALCOM X

On this day, Malcom X deserves to be mentioned for his work too. Though Dr. King and him didn’t always see eye to eye, they weren’t that different in what they wanted for the human race; equality and fair treatment.

CESAR CHAVEZ

He is perhaps the most well-known Latino civil rights activist in America. Even though there is a day designated for him; March 31st which is only observed in a handful of American states, this pioneer needs to be mentioned because part of his inspiration came from Dr. King. Chavez was also the first to coin the slogan ‘Yes, it can be done’ paraphrased and revived by the Obama administration.

GWENDOLYN ZOHARAH SIMMONS

A Muslim scholar with a Ph.D. in religion, she contributed in the civil rights movement during the 60s especially in the Southern states of America. Look her up to feel a glimpse of inspiration.

GRACE LEE BOGGS

Boggs was a feminist, an activist, and an American author of Chinese descent. A friend to both Dr. King and Malcom X, she followed more in the steps of Dr. King’s strategies. She constantly denounced racial and economic injustice because she loved America like all the activists before and after her. They want change.

LAYLA ABDULLAH-POULOS

Abdullah-Poulos is the founder of NbA Muslims (Native-born American Muslims). Her work is pivotal as it highlights the societal issues all minorities in this great country still face. She is revolutionary!

This article is written by Papatia Feauxzar and originally published at MVSLIM.

Why I Give Obama a C+ For His Accomplishments

Barack Obama, the 44th President of the Unites States, is leaving the office today on January 19, 2017. And if I had to grade his achievements, I would give him a C+.

Why this grade, though? Some people might think he did a pretty good job, others might feel like he totally failed. Here are the factors that influenced my decision making:

1. His Economic Decisions

When Bill Clinton left the office, the country had an economic surplus which was used by the succeeding President to pay for the war in the Middle East. Normally, when you go to war, there are several ways to finance it and none of which are good for the economy of the country in the long run.

The Bush Administration didn’t really do those, at the expense of the economy of the United States that soon started to plummet. That and other decisions made by the Bush Administration caused the American Economy to enter into a free fall.

Obama stopped this by bailing out Wall Street, the housing industry, and the automotive industry. If he hadn’t, there would have been a domino effect once America had completely plummeted. And inevitably, the whole world’s economy would have followed.

2. His Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

This bill was major for many American women who thought that while they performed the same job as their male colleagues and had the same or more credentials, they were being discriminated against. They were paid less or sometimes, without their knowledge, there was a pay discrepancy.

Since the passing of the act in 2009, women in America who qualify can take their employer to court if necessary for fair pay. The act is equally supported by many men.

3. His Foreign Policies

While Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) helped many underage illegal immigrants become lawful it also had a flip side of mass deportation. The Republicans had called him soft with immigration laws so this mass deportation was his balancing act which caused a loss of supporters. He had to make hard choices and tough decisions. To continue, his use of drones in war also earned him unsavory critics, even from his own party because of the collateral damage they cause.

Obama had also promised to close Guantanamo Bay and that didn’t happen. This prison is a shame for the image of America and used as propaganda by real terrorists to recruits because supposed terrorists also dwell in that cage. This is where my reservations on Obama start.

Nevertheless, he is way better than the future mind the country will inaugurate soon.

4. Obama Care

This act is not perfect but it can’t be annulled because there is nothing to replace it. America, the most industrialized country on earth can’t provide free healthcare for all its inhabitants? It’s not acceptable.

Even the Caliphate centuries ago provided free healthcare to their people. Now, the main reason Republicans want to repeal this act is because Obama Care is pretty much wealth redistribution. For the Black people who complain too much about him, he did this for you!

Sure, his presidency was a small dent in the state of affairs of America but we can’t simplify his term into nothingness. The Obamas were always classy and not petty people. To paraphrase Michelle: “When people went low, they went high.”

Obama, khair! We will miss you for sure.

Originally published at MVSLIM.