I WRITE to comment on the dire prophesy over what might happen if Donald Trump is elected president, as imagined in your April 10 Ideas section.
You presented the headline “Deportations to begin” across a faux front page reflecting how the first few months of a Trump presidency might look. In fact, deportations are already underway, and President Obama has the dubious distinction of deporting more people than were deported under the administration of George W. Bush.
In addition, US drones have killed many families in multiple nations — at wedding parties and funeral gatherings — and just a few days ago a tribal elder on his way to resolve a land dispute in Afghanistan reportedly was killed by a drone. As people came out to collect bodies, two additional drone passes were made that killed first responders.
These events are already happening, but have been ignored by the media.
There are certainly things to be concerned about in regard to Trump — in particular, his affinity for hate speech, which can be used to incite violence against those who are considered “other.”
However, it is dishonest to portray him as committing sins that were chosen for the Sunday Ideas section — deportations and killings of families — when these terrible acts have been taking place with little public outcry for some years.
Thea Paneth
Letter originally published in the Boston Globe, April 12, 2016.
