Ben Carson: Refugees Can't Come to the U.S. Because Our Racism Could Turn Them Into Terrorists
Last month, The Onion ran an article with the headline “GOP Warns Refugees Likely to Be Driven to Terrorism by Way America Treats Them.” Ha ha!, we said. What a funny and absurd idea—what a farce! Now, two weeks later, that Onion headline has been given the gift of life. And it would like you to call it “Ben Carson.”
As first noted by Twitter user @BestoftheMail, the original Onion headline:
And the real, significantly less funny Buzzfeed headline that followed:
In an interview with Breitbart Radio, Carson explained how our apparently immutable hatred and hostility could drive these potential refugees straight into the arms of ISIS:
You bring a lot of people here from another culture and what they will tend to do is congregate together, that’s a natural thing, which makes them much easier targets for radicalization. Particularly if you bring them into an environment where a lot people of are resentful of the fact that they are here. That’s just going to create incidents that will increase further the likelihood of radicalization.
Then, just in case you forgot he was also a brain doctor who knows about science: “We have brains for a particular reason—we’re supposed to use them.”
Now, compare the above to this fake, satirical quote from The Onion just weeks earlier:
We absolutely cannot provide a safe haven to these Syrians due to the very real threat that the abusive and hateful conduct of Americans will push the refugees toward radicalization and recruitment by extremist militant groups.
They are, for all intents and purposes, nearly identical.
At the time of publication, Ben Carson is holding fast in second place with nearly 20 percent of the vote. Everything has lost all meaning, and nothing you do has consequences unless you work for The Onion as a goddamn oracle.
