The Humans of New York Facebook page is one of the Internet’s most positive spaces. It’s a place where the President of the United States will leave an inspiring comment to a Syrian refugee.
Through it all, Humans of New York founder Brandon Stanton has tried to keep his project non-partisan. In “An Open Letter to Donald Trump,” embedded below, he even says, addressing Trump directly, “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.”
But after doing things like encouraging violence at his rallies, and then offering to pay his violent supporters’ legal fees, Stanton writes that enough is enough:
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.’
Stanton then goes on to write that out of all the refugees from the Middle East that he’s interviewed, when it comes to them and Trump, “the hateful one is you.” And then as a powerful parting shot, “And though your words will no doubt change over the next few months, you will always remain who you are.”