An open letter to Donald Trump

In support to Brandon Stanton and “Humans of New York,” The Yucatan Times is posting the following open letter.

An Open Letter to Donald Trump:

Mr. Trump,

I try my hardest not to be political.  I’ve refused to interview several of your fellow candidates.  I didn’t want to risk any personal goodwill by appearing to take sides in a contentious election.  I thought: ‘Maybe the timing is not right.’  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.

I’ve watched you retweet racist images.  I’ve watched you retweet racist lies.  I’ve watched you take 48 hours to disavow white supremacy.  I’ve watched you joyfully encourage violence, and promise to ‘pay the legal fees’ of those who commit violence on your behalf.  I’ve watched you advocate the use of torture and the murder of terrorists’ families.   I’ve watched you gleefully tell stories of executing Muslims with bullets dipped in pig blood.   I’ve watched you compare refugees to ‘snakes,’ and claim that ‘Islam hates us.’

Humans of New York is a blog which reports to have 8 million followers on social media.

I am a journalist, Mr. Trump.  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.

Those of us who have been paying attention will not allow you to rebrand yourself.  You are not a ‘unifier.’  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.

Sincerely,
Brandon Stanton

Humans of New York (Click here to view their Facebook page)

My name is Brandon and I began Humans of New York in the summer of 2010. I thought it would be really cool to create an exhaustive catalogue of New York City’s inhabitants, so I set out to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers and plot their photos on a map. I worked for several months with this goal in mind, but somewhere along the way, HONY began to take on a much different character. I started collecting quotes and short stories from the people I met, and began including these snippets alongside the photographs. Taken together, these portraits and captions became the subject of a vibrant blog. With over eight million followers on social media, HONY now provides a worldwide audience with daily glimpses into the lives of strangers in New York City. It has also become a #1 NYT bestselling book.. It’s been quite a ride so far. Feel free to follow along.