Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:38 pm
In the latest hate crime to take place in Donald Trump’s America, a New York transit worker who just happens to be a Muslim was pushed down the stairs on Monday by a man who called her a “terrorist” and said she shouldn’t be working in the city.
According to CBS News, the woman was on her way to work when the man pushed her down the steps at Grand Central Terminal.
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The assault took place on Monday morning as the victim, 45, was heading to work on the subway, CBS New York reported. The suspect followed her off the train and shoved her down the stairs, police said.
Sources told CBS New York the suspect allegedly called the victim a “terrorist†and said she shouldn’t be working in the city. She was wearing a Muslim head covering at the time of the assault, and was treated at a Manhattan hospital for ankle and knee injuries.Â
The incident is disturbing, of course, but it’s also becoming the new normal in a country filled with so many people that support a man who spent an entire campaign season painting Muslims and other minorities as enemies.
As CBS reports also reports:
On Saturday, a man harassed and threatened an off-duty police officer who was wearing a Muslim head covering in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, authorities said.
The officer, Aml Elsokary, had encountered a man who was yelling and pushing her 16-year-old son. She tried to intervene, according to police.Â
Police said the suspect, 36-year-old Christopher Nelson, said to her, “ISIS [expletive], I will cut your throat, go back to your country,†CBS New York reported.Â
Obviously, not all supporters of Donald Trump would engage in or condone such behavior; many would likely denounce it, in fact. But those in America who have a deep-seated hatred toward Muslims and other minority groups are only emboldened by Trump’s candidacy and subsequent electoral college victory.
After all, the president-elect spent an entire campaign season claiming that Muslim-Americans aren’t patriotic and should be put under intense surveillance. Those living abroad, he said, shouldn’t be allowed to enter the country.
Whether Trump will admit it or not (Hint: He won’t), this anti-Muslim rhetoric is at least partly responsible for these disturbing incidents that have taken place in places all across the country, from schools to workplaces to train stations.
His continued refusal to forcefully condemn the actions of his own supporters speaks to something that has been true about Donald Trump throughout his entire political career: If you support him, it doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, or who you hurt.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
