American documentary filmmaker/political activist Michael Moore, known for his vocal criticism of the Clinton and Bush administration, has now turned his hawk-eyed glare towards business tycoon and Presidential candidate Donald Trump, whose recent anti-Muslim statements have caused a furore in the United States and the world.
Moore has launched a #WeAreAllMuslim campaign to counter Trump’s call for a ban on all Muslims from entering the United States.
He kicked off the campaign by standing in front of Trump Tower in New York, the 68-storey skyscraper owned by Donald Trump, with a sign bearing his campaign slogan.
He subsequently released an open letter to Donald Trump, in which he related their first meeting in 1998, in which Trump had been “nervous” to face Moore on a talk show:
Moore begins his letter thus, “[We] met back in November of 1998 in the green room of a talk show where we were both scheduled to appear one afternoon. But just before going on, I was pulled aside by a producer from the show who said that you were ‘nervous’ about being on the set with me. She said you didn’t want to be ‘ripped apart’ and you wanted to be reassured I wouldn’t ‘go after you.'”
He continued: “I went up and introduced myself to you. […] You […] said to me, ‘I just didn’t want any trouble out there and I just wanted to make sure that, you know, you and I got along. That you weren’t going to pick on me for something ridiculous.’
“‘Pick on’ you? I thought, where are we, in 3rd grade? I was struck by how you, a self-described tough guy from Queens, seemed like such a fraidey-cat.
“And now, here we are in 2015 and, like many other angry white guys, you are frightened by a bogeyman who is out to get you. That bogeyman, in your mind, are all Muslims. Not just the ones who have killed, but ALL MUSLIMS.”
He went on to inform Trump of the changing realities of the United States:”Fortunately, Donald, you and your supporters no longer look like what America actually is today. […] Here’s a statistic that is going to make your hair spin: Eighty-one percent of the electorate who will pick the president next year are either female, people of color, or young people between the ages of 18 and 35. In other words, not you. And not the people who want you leading their country.
“So, in desperation and insanity, you call for a ban on all Muslims entering this country. I was raised to believe that we are all each other’s brother and sister, regardless of race, creed or color. That means if you want to ban Muslims, you are first going to have to ban me. And everyone else.
“We are all Muslim.”
He also made an apt suggestion to Trump:”If you don’t like living by these American rules, then you need to go to the time-out room in any one of your Towers, sit there, and think about what you’ve said.”
Moore invited all like-minded Americans to sign the “We Are All Muslim” statement on his website and post a photo of them bearing a sign that said the same on social media. The campaign is off to a decent start:
Moore intends to send the photos to Trump. “Feel free to join us,” he says to him.
