DPCC Co-Chair Dingell: We Must Stand Up to Hate and Fear
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), appeared on Morning Joe on MSNBC to discuss the New Zealand mosque terror attacks. She emphasized that everyone, including the Trump Administration and Congress, has a responsibility to stand up to the hateful rhetoric that is fueling these types of attacks and dividing communities. Below are excerpts from the interview. Click here to watch the video
"They are very scared. I was at many of the mosques in my district over the weekend and a vigil at the University of Michigan when there was actually a gun scare. People are scared. This community has been targeted for a long time. I think it's time to stand up. I think some of the younger people are tired of feeling targeted, but we need to take what happened in New Zealand and not forget that it happened in a temple in October here in this country. The rabbis were there with us Friday night, Saturday and Sunday and people want to stand up to this hate and this fear that is dividing the country. They want people to know who they are. They want to be able to go to a mosque or temple or church and worship and not be afraid."
"What do I think? I think the trump administration, every member of Congress, every senator, every house member and every person needs to start to stand up to this hatefulness. I think social media, which was initially a tool to unite us has become a tool of absolutely ugly vitriolic rhetoric, which is feeding into this idea that hate and fear are okay. Yes, I think that the White House and leaders in the Congress have a responsibility to stand up and say enough is enough, but I think every human being has got to start to take responsibility for standing up to this because that's what's happening, our hearts are hardening, we are thinking that it is ok to use this rhetoric. Our young people are growing up thinking this is okay."
"I'm going to answer this honestly. I told you two years ago Donald Trump could become President trump and nobody believed me. There are parts of the district that I believe we have to find a way to talk to each other. John always used to say we have two ears and one mouth for a reason. There are people who are scared and worried about their jobs. Let's be honest. You have union workers who don't think that anybody cares about them and they still think he cares about them. Democrats did a terrible job of talking about trade, but you also see the same people disturbed. They work in the factories with their Muslim brothers and sisters, they know them, they don't like this -- what they're seeing. So I think there's almost schizophrenia some days about – people just want somebody to care about them. They want to have a safe and secure job that pays enough to live in a decent neighborhood. That's what I'm hearing.""
"We are not a split party. I think there was a lot of discussion and I was someone that thought that this needed to be broader and unfortunately New Zealand is an example of why this needed to be broader. I live with that hate rhetoric every single day when I'm home in the community I live in. We are all united against hate. And just like with the Republican party, we have a lot of different opinions but so does the country and we bring us into one where we fight for working men and women every day."