NEW YORK -- The
Not Who We Are campaign is giving ordinary Americans from all walks of life the tools to empower their coworkers, friends and community members to stand up for people threatened and targeted by the ugly forces driving Donald Trump’s campaign. Today, newly launched campaigns from a group of Catholics united against Trump’s attacks and two small business owners show the broad spectrum of Americans who are using the
Not Who We Are platform to organize their friends, neighbors and coworkers.
Below, in their own words, are their reasons for standing up (as always, these are real quotes from real people who started real letters):
“As a hard working small business owner and single mom, I invite all of my fellow entrepreneurs, single parents, customers, employees and neighbors to stand together against the racial, religious and gender intolerance that Donald Trump’s policies and hurtful rhetoric spews. As a young man, my father immigrated to Wisconsin from Iran because he rejected the politics of fear, intimidation and absolutism. He was welcomed into the community and started a local retail business which today serves thousands of people from all walks of life. This would have never been possible in his home country. There is no place for Trump's brand of hate in America.”
--- Laila Borokhim, a restaurant owner and single mother from Madison, WI
“As Catholics we believe in welcoming the stranger, and caring for the least among these. Donald Trump's rhetoric is hateful and racist and he does not speak for me as a Catholic or as an American.”
---Jason Miller, creator of the Catholics Say: "Donald Trump is Not Who We Are" campaign
“As a hard working self-employed hair stylist, wife and mom, I want to invite all my fellow stylists, beauty consultants, general creative types and moms to stand together against the racial, gender, cultural intolerance that Donald Trump’s words and proposed policies promote. I try to embody the golden rule in everything I do to set a good example for my children, neighbors and customers who hail from such a wide variety of backgrounds. Donald Trump stokes fear, anger, bigotry and misguided stereotypes and we must take a strong stand against his policies for the good of our children and our country!”
---Melissa Murphy, a self-employed hairstylist who started her own campaign.
“Not Who We Are” is a movement of people from across the United States who are speaking their conscience by starting open letters as employees, professionals, students, and members of civic institutions to say that Donald Trump’s racially intolerant rhetoric and policies are “Not Who We Are.” The campaign features
NotWhoWeAre.us , an innovative online platform that allows Americans who are disgusted by Trump’s attacks to sign an open letter or create a more targeted one of their own.
To learn more about Not Who We Are, follow us on twitter at @NotWhoWeAre or visit
http://notwhoweare.us/ .
For more information, contact Damien LaVera – 202-276-2029, dlavera@plynchassociates.com.
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