Steven Gern, an American contractor currently living and working in Iraq (one of the countries currently listed on the president’s most controversial executive order) took to Facebook this morning to share some tough love with his fellow countrymen who are actively wigging out over Trump’s decree — and quickly went viral. His anecdote (which at the time of this posting has over 700,000 shares), can be seen in the video below and involves a recent conversation he shared with some co-workers (who happen to be Iraqis), their outrage at Trump’s newest order, and a question he asks them in response to that outrage.
“I listened to what they had to say, and after they were done yelling and screaming about their opinion of things,” said Gern, “I asked a simple question; and I got an answer to that simple question without hesitation. My simple question was, as an American, if I went out into town right now, would I be welcome? And they instantly said absolutely not you would not be welcome. And I said, ‘OK what would happen if I went out into town,’ and they said the locals would snatch me up and kill me within an hour. I would be tortured first and after they tortured me I would probably be beheaded. It would go on video for everyone to see as an example. So, I already knew this was going to happen, but I wanted to hear it from them. And you know, the point I’m trying to make is, this is the local populace that would do this. This isn’t ISIS. This isn’t Al Qaeda … This isn’t a militia from the Iranians. This is the local populace that would do this. So my question to them then was pretty simple after that: If you would do this to me in your country, why would I let you in my country? Because all this means to me is that, if you had the opportunity to take the life of an American, you would do it. So, maybe that’s something y’all need to think about back there. If this is the way that some of these cultures feel. If this is the way that these countries feel about Americans, why would you be so naive to believe that, if they came to the United States, they would do anything any different than what they would do right here in their own country. I don’t know man. I’m just tryin’ to inform you on what’s happening on the ground in one of the banned countries. Something you should probably think about. I can’t go out into town here. Why should they be able to go into my country?
What do you think? Is Steven Gern correct in his assessment? Is this simply a philosophy of reciprocity (i.e. “an-eye-for-an-eye”)? Or do his observations represent a legitimate threat that many Americans are turning a blind eye to? Let us know on Facebook or in the comments below.
