Readers React: Donald Trump’s Islamophobia has poisoned the Republican Party

To the editor: I am a victim of Donald Trump. My political party has been hijacked, turning the Grand Old Party into a grand joke. I registered as a Republican because I believed in some of the core values of the party, but Trump has completely bastardized the concept of a free election determined by informed voters.

He beats his chest to drum up votes. He completely ignores the prospect of educating the public and instead panders to the narrow-minded.

Trump claims that he will make America great again, and the only way he can do that is by dropping out of the election. But he won’t because we the people are giving him a spotlight.

Instead of feeding his fire, the media should report on thoughtful, informed candidates with platforms that weren’t stolen from “Mein Kampf.” Right now, more polarized than ever, I don’t even recognize this country.

Will Dawkins, Orlando, Fla.

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To the editor: The upside of Trump’s demagogic behavior is to expose a dark part of the American psyche driven by fear and hate.

This may be a leading indicator of an ominous cultural shift riddled with symptoms like the staggering incidence of shootings unrelated to terrorism, mindless opposition to providing affordable healthcare, the infusion of obscene quantities of money into the election process, and a rancorous, deadlocked Congress.

To be sure, radical Islam is another symptom, albeit one that has infected the world, not just the U.S.

I pray for an eventual demise of the Trump candidacy that might signal a turnaround toward a healthier and more effective response to the many threats that challenge our sense of fairness and security in this troubled time.

Roger Schwarz, Los Angeles

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To the editor: The historian Richard Hofstadter referred to the “paranoid style in American politics.” We can follow this style from the “Know Nothings” of the 1840s and ‘50s through the post-World War I and post-World War II “red scares,” the illegal and unconstitutional internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and now into Trump’s bigoted ravings about restricting Muslim immigration.

As an American and as a Jewish American who lost almost all of my European family to the Holocaust, I cannot remain silent about these hateful and highly inflammatory incitements to violence.

A few days after 9/11, I saw a Japanese American senior as a patient who had been interned as a little girl. She was terrified that she and her family would be rounded up again and put into a new internment camp.

Hate is a virus that lies dormant and revives when people are very afraid. It is best treated with calmness.

Ken Levy, Los Angeles

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To the editor: In the 19th century there was widespread fear of a Roman Catholic conspiracy. Yet earlier this year our nation enthusiastically embraced Pope Francis — a testimony to America’s ability to move beyond religious bigotry.

But how ironic it is that only two months later we are exhibiting some of the same religious intolerance and over-generalized anxiety toward another faith by listening to the trumpeting calls to exclude all Muslims from our shores.

Steven Mailloux, Long Beach

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To the editor: Trump’s latest outrageous behavior regarding Muslims has convinced me that he doesn’t really have any desire to be president. He never dreamed he would lead the polls for so long, considering his hateful comments about so many things.

I believe Trump will continue to say things that are offensive in the hope that his poll numbers will go down.

Greg Bristol, Santa Barbara

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To the editor: I agree with Trump. Instead of fighting Islamic State, why not become Islamic State — narrow-minded, discriminatory, ego-inflated, judgmental and enraged?

Stay away from the Kool-Aid, people; it will rot your mind.

Janet Ashley, San Pedro

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