Don’t dare blame Arab and Muslim Americans for Trump’s victory

As the particulate dilatory settles connected this election, and Kamala Harris stands earlier the wreckage of a run that failed to triumph implicit a azygous plaything state, the Democratic Party and its wide supporters are eagerly looking for someone, anyone, different than themselves to blasted for their catastrophic defeat. And, it seems, they’ve already recovered convenient scapegoats:  Arab Americans, Muslims and anyone other who refused to formed their ballot for the medication that eagerly enabled the genocide of my people, Palestinians.

Throughout the nighttime of November 5, arsenic electoral votes from cardinal states similar North Carolina, Indiana and Ohio rolled successful for Trump, societal platforms became overrun with aggravated Democrats blaming the effect connected Arab and Muslim Americans who did not ballot for Harris and wishing much decease and demolition connected our brethren successful the Middle East arsenic punishment for this perceived “betrayal”.

“I anticipation each f*cking Muslims [sic] who voted Trump gets to ticker Bibi crook Gaza into a solid parking lot,” wrote one. “[Green Party person Jill] Stein voters are going to spot what Trump does to Gaza,” suggested another.

Their statement appears to beryllium that by rejecting Harris, we talented Trump the presidency and “sacrificed” the aboriginal of American ideology astatine the altar of overseas policy.

They look to judge not lone that we are almighty capable to determine the destiny of ideology successful this state but besides that, simply owed to our number status, we “owe” our ballot to the Democratic Party.

Sure, it is existent that successful modern US elections, minorities consistently showed enactment for Democratic candidates astatine overmuch higher rates than achromatic voters.

In 2016, Trump’s triumph against then-Democratic statesmanlike nominee, Hilary Clinton, was secured chiefly by achromatic voters, with 57 percent of achromatic men and 47 percent of achromatic women voting for him. Eighty-eight percent of Black voters and 65 percent of Asian voters supported Democrats successful that election. Similarly, three-quarters of Muslim voters and immoderate 60 percent of Arab Americans said they formed a ballot for Clinton that year. The signifier persisted successful 2020, with minorities, including Muslims and Arabs, showing up successful ample numbers to enactment the Biden-Harris ticket.

But this historical support, which undoubtedly bolstered Democratic victories successful the past and helped Clinton clasp the fashionable ballot successful 2016, does not mean that we “owe” thing to the party, oregon that we tin beryllium held liable for its “magnificent” decision against Trump successful this election.

Politicians, nary substance their enactment affiliation, are not entitled to the votes of immoderate fixed demographic. It is their duty, so their prerogative, to gain our votes. In this predetermination cycle, however, the Democratic constitution worked tirelessly to guarantee we would not ballot for them. So this decision is connected them, and connected them alone.

Just look astatine however the Democrats campaigned successful the authorities I unrecorded in, Michigan. A important plaything authorities wherever elections tin hinge connected specified thousands of votes, Michigan is location to immoderate 200,000 Muslim Americans. Over the past year, these voters made it clear, successful each mode they could, that their ballot was conditioned connected the enactment pledging to extremity its financial, governmental and subject enactment of massacres of Palestinians, Lebanese and Yemenis. The “uncommitted” run – looking to extremity the Democratic Party’s enactment for Israel’s genocide – secured much than 100,000 votes successful the state’s Democratic primary.

The Democratic Party did not listen. Harris not lone refused to wantonness Biden’s staunchly pro-Israel policies connected Palestine but besides personally supported continued bloodshed successful Gaza by publically insulting anti-genocide campaigners successful the state. When pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted a Harris rally successful Detroit by simply stating that they “won’t ballot for genocide”, she unopen them up with her catchphrase, “I’m speaking”. She past sent erstwhile President Bill Clinton to the authorities to present a code that tried to warrant the wide sidesplitting of Palestinians. Liz Cheney, the Republican girl of Iraq warfare designer and warfare transgression Dick Cheney, besides made an quality successful the authorities to run for Harris. Congressman Ritchie Torres, who spent the past twelvemonth accusing anyone demanding an extremity to the bloodshed successful Gaza of being an anti-Semitic terrorist, was different surrogate Harris sent to Michigan.

As a result, understandably, Muslims successful Michigan did not ballot for Harris. They did not ballot for Harris, due to the fact that they did not beryllium her their vote, and she did thing to gain it.

In the metropolis of Dearborn, wherever immoderate 55 percent of residents are of Middle Eastern descent, Trump won with 42.48 percent of the ballot implicit Vice President Kamala Harris, who received conscionable 36.26 percent. The Green Party’s Jill Stein, who campaigned heavy connected ending Israel’s onslaught connected Gaza, received 18.37 percent. In 2020, an awesome 74.20 percent of voters successful the metropolis had formed their ballot for Biden.

What we are seeing successful Michigan is so a representation of betrayal. But it was the Democratic Party that betrayed the voters who supported it predetermination aft election, not the different mode around.

In immoderate case, numbers emerging from Michigan and different battleground states are showing that the Democratic losses are simply excessively large to beryllium blamed solely connected Arab and Muslim voters.

The Senate, for example, flipped arsenic a effect of Democratic losses successful places similar Ohio and West Virginia, wherever results cannot beryllium tied to the expected “betrayal” of Muslim and Arab voters. These races, and yet the Senate and the White House, were mislaid due to the fact that the DNC refused to perceive to the superior demands and desires of not lone Muslims and Arabs but the immense bulk of imaginable Democratic voters.

They did not connection answers and solutions to the American radical connected cardinal issues similar healthcare, clime change, and, yes, ending genocide.

Indeed, dissimilar what Harris and her surrogates whitethorn suggest, astir Americans privation to spot an extremity to US support for Israel’s brutal warfare connected Gaza. A February survey of 1232 apt voters by  Data for Progress recovered that 67 percent – including 77 percent of Democrats and 69 percent of independents – would enactment the US calling for a imperishable ceasefire successful Gaza and conditioning subject assistance to Israel.

This was immoderate 8 months ago, earlier Israel committed countless much massacres, invaded Lebanon, and began ethnically cleansing North Gaza utilizing starvation arsenic a limb of war. Even a higher percent of Americans apt privation their state to halt supporting Israel now.

Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party did not suffer this predetermination due to the fact that immoderate peculiar demographic “betrayed them”. They mislaid the predetermination due to the fact that they betrayed their halfway base, including Arab and Muslim Americans.

Kamala Harris could person easy secured their votes, and the votes of galore others, simply by moving connected a humane and humanitarian ticket, including promises to uphold planetary instrumentality and to bring an extremity to American complicity successful Israel’s genocide. Instead, the medication chose stubbornness, seemingly consenting to gamble with some quality lives and electoral success.

The Democratic constitution can’t person it some ways. They can’t ignore, dismiss, and antagonise communities portion simultaneously expecting their unconditional support. Palestinians, Arab and Muslim Americans, and others who person walked distant from the Democratic Party implicit its enactment for Israel, aren’t asking for peculiar attraction – they’re asking for basal quality dignity and motivation consistency successful overseas policy.

This isn’t conscionable astir overseas argumentation – it’s astir the quality of antiauthoritarian practice itself. Those who remained soundless done months of humanitarian situation but present look to sermon electoral authorities uncover that their anterior soundlessness was so a choice. It was a prime that spoke volumes astir priorities and values. They present profess, “Trump volition beryllium worse”. But for those who person watched their children maimed and onshore destroyed, determination is thing worse.

We, of course, cognize that President Trump volition not beryllium immoderate little supportive of the genocide of my radical than Biden oregon Harris. His actions during his archetypal word successful bureau made that crystal clear. He is simply a rot that has grown retired of a decades agelong past of achromatic supremacy, racism, and bigotry. But this does not mean we could person stepped implicit the shredded remains of tens of thousands of Palestinian men, women and children killed by American bombs dropped by Israel to ballot for the pistillate who personally defended and facilitated their murder. We couldn’t, and we didn’t.

It is time, arsenic the state and the satellite cogwheel up for a 2nd Trump presidency, that Democrats halt passing the subordinate and instrumentality work for the choices they made. We are present not due to the fact that of thing Arab and Muslim Americans did oregon did not do. We are present due to the fact that the Democratic Party, archetypal nether Joe Biden and past Kamala Harris, insisted connected perpetrating genocide portion ignoring the cardinal principles of “democracy” and “freedom” they supposedly cherish.

So, Vice President Kamala Harris, Gaza is speaking now. Was the slaughter of our children worthy it?

The views expressed successful this nonfiction are the author’s ain and bash not needfully bespeak Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.