Two Americas

Good America:

After fourteen-year-old Ahmed Mohamed was arrested for um, building a clock, there was an outpouring of support for the young man, including President Obama who invited him to the White House, Hillary Clinton who sent a supportive tweet, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg who asked to meet him.  At one point, tweets for #IStandWithMohamed reached two thousand per minute.  Those who understand that Mohamed is symbolic of the best of what America is rightfully called into question the actions of his school and police in Irving, Texas.

Seriously Fucked Up America:

And then there were those for whom the thought that someone with brown skin and a religion not toeing the Christianity line couldn't possibly be up to any good.  An American kid amazingly turning a pencil box into a clock becomes a Muslim terrorist making a bomb.  And they actually defended the absolutely ludicrous actions of both the school and local police.  A perfect example of this is this nonsensical piece written by--who else?--Sarah Palin in which she manages zero coherent sentences and about as much inventiveness and logic as could be created by your average earthworm.  And, as Digby notes in the above link, there were plenty of comments in support of her blaming everything that's wrong in America on Muslims and President Obama, instead of on the backs of folks like her whose hatefulness and ignorance are truly to blame.

There's a meme going around that the support for candidates such as Donald Trump and Ben Carson is merely a reflection of the fringe right and not indicative of the republican party as a whole.  Nothing could be more decidedly wrong--the Tea Party is the republican party in its entirety.

They're just more honest about their beliefs and aims than establishment republicans.

Peace,
emaycee