To witness courage in the face of terrorism, look no further than the toughness and resiliency on display this week in New York.
The people of New York have refused to give in to fear. They have refused to scapegoat others. They have called on all New Yorkers — and Americans — to come together.
They have proven to be a healthy counterpoint to the small-minded bigotry of President Trump, who has said and done the opposite.
EDITORIAL
Hours after the attack, amid extra police presence, festive costumed ghouls and goblins marched in the city’s annual Halloween parade. On Wednesday morning, schoolchildren returned to classes not far from where Sayfullo Saipov went on a rampage that killed eight people and injured 11.
“Our spirit will never be moved by an act of violence and an act meant to intimidate us,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo offered similar confident words.
Also notable is what de Blasio and Cuomo did not do. They did not heap blame on immigrants, point the finger at the adherents of one religion or use the opportunity for cheap political shots.
Trump, for his part, wasted no time blaming Democrats — Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer in particular — and pushing fears of poorly vetted immigrants, the attacker having emigrated from Uzbekistan in 2010.
On the morning after the attack, Trump noted via Twitter that Saipov had entered the United States through the Diversity Visa Lottery program, which has not been confirmed. The program allows more people to move to the U.S. from countries with historically low immigration rates.
Schumer sponsored a bill in 1990 that included the introduction of the lottery program. The bill drew bipartisan support and Republican President George H.W. Bush signed it into law.
But here’s an important nugget Trump left out of his Twitter blast: Schumer also was a co-sponsor of a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2013 that would have eliminated the visa lottery program. A merit-based immigration system, carefully crafted by Democrats and Republicans, would have replaced it. Republicans never allowed the bill to reach the House floor for a vote after it passed in the Senate.
The terrorist came into our country through what is called the "Diversity Visa Lottery Program," a Chuck Schumer beauty. I want merit based.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2017
Before Trump, presidents were wiser. Maybe just plain more decent. We recall how President George W. Bush rose to the occasion after the 9/11 attacks. “The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam,” he reminded us. “That’s not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don’t represent peace. They represent evil and war.”
But if our president today is letting us down, New Yorkers are not.
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