What do you imagine would happen if a single refugee executed a terrorist act.What would happen if my grandmother had wheels?
When did you stop eating off a knife?
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Even to ask questions like "What do you imagine would happen if a single refugee executed a terrorist act" feeds into an atmosphere of anti-refugee paranoia and racism.
We all know what happens when a man commits a terrorist act. If they are white and Christian or secular, they are a "mental health issue" or a "lone wolf." If a Muslim commits a terrorist act, we need to bomb a country they are not even from. And also, attack some random women wearing scarves or some random Sikh men.
If we were doing real threat asessment rather than pandering to fear, we'd slap 24-hour surveillance on all American men aged 18-30, because they are the highest risk. But we don't. Why is that?
My point is that public reaction would turn strongly against refugees, fair or not. The news out of Europe is making people afraid and the refugees are disproportionately young men. The ease of acquiring fake Serian documents increased concerns and the news that two of the terrorists came in as refugees through Greece made things worse.
The recent attacks against minorities were by ignorant bigots but 54% of Canadians are against taking in the refugees from Syria. Calming fears by differenciating the process by which refugees are selected by Canada from what Europe is experiencing increased support for the refugees overall.
Young single men are being accepted but we know those who are coming have been carefully screened.
I bet support for C 51 increased after Paris. These events are always used to increase security because it makes people more fearful. Telling people they are "profiling" by being suspicious of lone men traveling from the heart of the mid-east turmoil will just lead to them considering you crazy.