A 35-year-old man from Waterford, Connecticut, was charged with public intoxication following the May 3 incident in South Padre Island. While a Muslim family was enjoying the day on the beach, Alexander Downing, allegedly drunk, was in a mood for quarrel. Video description on YouTube reads: “My father was approached by two [women] who were also enjoying their time. The women asked him to help with talking to a stranger who was harassing them. All my father said to the guy was, ‘Please enjoy your time and have fun and let everyone else here enjoy their time.’ The guy seemed to listen and walked away. He then came back to my father and started throwing racist comments.”
He said: “Guess what? You will never, ever, ever stop my Christianity from rising above your Sharia law,” Downing said. “Your Sharia law don’t mean s–t to me! Guess what? Guess what? ISIS don’t mean s–t to me, motherf–kers!” Downing then began ranting for the family to beware of President Donald Trump. “Donald Trump! Donald Trump got you, motherf–ker,” Downing said. “Watch … watch!”
Downing already has a criminal record and was previously arrested for drugs and violent behavior. “First and foremost, we are Americans who happened to be Muslims. Never have I ever experienced such a thing,” Noria Alward, who recorded the video, told the newspaper. “We did not do anything to provoke him.”
Background of this case is even a bigger problem because since the election of Donald Trump bigots, bullies and racists feel more freedom to express their hatred louder. “The Trump effect” is an alleged increase in school bullying in the United States caused by the rhetoric Donald Trump used during his 2016 presidential campaign. Teachers have reported nearly 2,500 “negative incidents” of bigotry and harassment at U.S. schools in the first 10 days since Donald Trump’s election as president. The teachers reported a noticeable increase in verbal harassment, the use of slurs and other derogatory language.
A survey of teachers by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) claimed that Trump's language was being used by students in classroom settings, having the effect of increasing bullying, especially against youth of color. It seems that “The Trump effect” has spread from schools to all other spheres of life. Trump’s campaign rhetoric is widely used especially in the form of threats to black, Latino, Muslim and members of other minorities. "Mr Trump should take responsibility for what's occurring, forcefully reject hate and bigotry," the SPLC organization said.
SPLC’s count by number of hate incidents:
Photo Credits: Southern Poverty Law Center
