The suspicious November 2016 election not only gave us the Trump nightmare, it exposed the rampant fear of immigrants harbored by many Republicans. Riding the wave of gaslighting Americans against foreigners -- especially Mexicans and Muslims -- several hateful Republicans were able to earn a seat in Congress. One of these xenophobic fear-mongers is 'patriot,' Rep. Clay Higgins, the man who proudly issued a kill-all-Muslims decree on his very own Facebook page.
Leave it to a Republican to gaslight fear of foreigners from Auschwitz's gas chambers, in the very same country Trump is visiting before the G20 Summit. He attempts to elicit fear of foreigners in the American people by using the example of the Nazis, who were home-grown, an enemy from within, so to speak.
Higgins broadcast his misguided and offensive message from various locations in the notorious concentration camp at Oswiecim, Poland. The Germans claimed that part of Poland belonged to the Fatherland, so they weren't invading anyone. Rep. Higgins graphically detailed the process of dying and death for over 1.1 million innocent people, mostly Jews, in the gas chambers, but doesn't understand that horror was not perpetrated by a gang of foreigners.
Why would he use one of the worst genocidal facilities in history? He claims that he wants to make damned sure Americans stay vigilant and mindful of the dangers of letting in those who look and worship differently from folks like Higgins. He has no sympathy or respect for the millions of Jews who died or lost family in the Holocaust, some right wingers still deny it ever happened!
Rampant militarism and an economic collapse, frighteningly similar to Trump's fast-moving dystopian plan for America, were the conditions that facilitated the Holocaust. His example is offensive, inappropriate and laden with false equivalencies. America needs to be protected from the enemy within, the demagogues like Donald and Adolf. Any dissent or protest will be met with brutal force, eventually.
If you need some modern day examples, think of Erdogan or Putin, who0act as if they are popular because they silence any dissent, especially journalists. The Louisiana Congressman leaves the viewer with a dramatic and totally idiotic warning based on his own ignorance of history.
HIGGINS:The world's a smaller place now than it was in World War II. The United States is more accessible to terror like this horror, like this. It's hard to walk away from gas chambers and ovens without a very sober feeling of commitment, unwavering commitment to make damn sure that the United States of America is protected from the evils of the world.
Sadly, the evils of the world are very much present in today's Republican leaders and their misinformed minions. The once Shining City on a Hill that welcomed immigrants now fears those who made America great, in the first place. This won't change until the Republicans no longer control the message.
UPDATE: Higgins has apologized and pulled the video. But for the wrong reasons, honestly. We will keep a copy of it here on the site as a reminder of how craven and devoid of morals these Republicans can be. - Karoli
