Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., appearing on talk radio this week to discuss his opposition to resettling Syrian refugees, said the “first thing” that needs to be done is to “get away from” referring to the individuals fleeing Syria as “refugees.”
Perry explained that while “some of them” are leaving a civil war, he would have stayed.
“With all due respect, if there’s a civil war in my country, I stay and fight for my country,” Perry said during a discussion with Clarence M. Mitchell IV, known as “C4,” the host of a program carried by WBAL radio in Baltimore.
“There is absolutely no reason they need to be coming to America,” Perry continued.
Listen to the exchange here:
Who Perry thinks they should fight for is not clear. Does he think they should join the ranks of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad? Or is he referring to any number of Syrian rebel groups, including ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra, among others? I sent a request for clarification to Perry’s spokesperson but did not receive any word back.
He presumably is not suggesting that children and the elderly take up weapons. Of the over 4 million Syrian refugees counted by the U.N., 38 percent are under age 11, more than half are under 17, and only 22 percent are men between ages 18 and 59.
Perry currently sits on both the House Homeland Security Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., Perry’s colleague on the Homeland Security Committee, also dismissed the dangers faced by Syrians. In a letter to President Obama this week, Barletta referred to those fleeing Syria as “so-called ‘refugees.'”
Elected officials around the country have used the terrorist attacks in Paris to call for rejecting Syrian refugees. Today, House Republicans plan on bringing a vote on legislation designed to curb refugees entering the United States from Syria.
Top photo: A Syrian man reacts while standing on the rubble of his house while others look for survivors and bodies in the Tariq al-Bab district of the northern city of Aleppo, February 23, 2013.
I wonder how many of these assholes have ever been in combat? They certainly don’t respect the tenets of war as we specifically target civilians. I’m so ashamed of my military service. Talk about a wasted decade. This country is an embarrassment to any self-respecting, decent human being. To hell with this guy. Maybe this idiot should go over there and provide himself as an example.
Liar.
Coward.
Chickenhawk.
American.
Big words………these are the punks that send people to war, but hide in the corner when danger comes. Big words, small man.
Forgot to mention that blacks, the former slaves of America who had lost their cultural source and had NOWHERE to go! They stood and fought and changed America for all!
When the SHTF we’ll find out soon enough if he’ll stay and fight or flee.
When the British discovered that King Charles 1 had hired Scottish troops to oppress the British people, the British didn’t swim across the English Channel to France and say “Let us in! Let us in!” They arrested the King and cut off his head! Things got a lot better in their own nation after that!
When the French living under King Louise XVI realized their were being systematically looted by the French monarchy, they didn’t swim across the English Channel to Britain and say “Let us in! Let us in!” They arrested the King and sent him and his money-junky friends to the guillotine! Things got a lot better in their own nation after that!
When the Italian people realized that Benito Mussolini had gotten them into a war on the side that was going to lose, the Italians didn’t flock to the border of Austria and say “Let us in! Let us in!” They arrested Mussolini and shot him! Things got a lot better in their own nation after that!
When the Romanians lived under a repressive regime, they didn’t flock to the border with Serbia and scream “Let us in! Let us in!” They took responsibility for the future of their nation, and machine-gunned Ceausescu live on Romanian National TV. Things got a lot better in their own nation after that!
We the people of the United States are not responsible to make the lives of Bolivians, Nicaraguans, Peruvians, Brazilians, etc. better. We have plenty of our own problems. Our current government doesn’t even want to take care of America’s homeless and hungry who are LEGAL citizens!
So, instead of flocking to our borders and screaming “Let us in! Let us in”, maybe you need to man-up, show some courage, and fix your own problems.
That being said, Scott Perry seems to be unaware that many of the refugees pouring into Europe have admitted they were lured to Europe with promises of lots of free stuff being made by the various Soros-sponsored NGOs fueling this migration. Promises which have not been kept, which is adding to the hostility and friction.
I should think that history is slightly more complicated than that. I could easily bring a bunch of historic examples to your attention which point at the exact opposite of your thesis. At times, resistance is a viable option, at times it isn’t. But I reckon you’d find them on your own, so I leave that up to you. However, there’s one aspect of your comment I find troubling: You pass rather generalized judgements about millions of Syrian refugees, which seem to suggest that they are cowards, furthemore misguided by some NGOs etc. Maybe you’d wish to deepen your insight into what is going on in Syria.
As a starter, you might be interested to read the following:
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Research/Files/Papers/2015/09/syrian-refugee-international-challenges-ferris-kirisci/Turkey-Policy-Paper-web.pdf
https://d2zyf8ayvg1369.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/Mercy%20Corps%20Testimony_HFAC.pdf
Yep, this guy is an idiot. History was my major and if he knew just how idiotic he sounded to someone who DID know history, hopefully he would just do the honorable thing and remove himself from the gene pool. Yet another example of the failure of the public school system, producing idiots for well over a hundred years.
I wonder how these demagogues would qualify their very own “Founding Fathers”, who fled religious intolerance instead of resisting it on their home turf, in their countries of origin. Nice topic for forthcoming Thanksgiving.
By his own logic, would Perry suggest that American homeless take up arms against law enforcement officers, against the bankers and politicians such as himself?
Stupid, ignorant, callous, moron–like the overwhelming majority of US pols. Of course, if his home were reduced to rubble, if he were left penniless in a shattered environment, and if his wife and daughter had been raped, and his sons killed or kidnapped, he would sing another tune.
Naturally he’s blind to his country’s moral imbecility and perfectly criminal “wars”–illegal invasions–abroad.
With all due respect, Congressman, on which side?
This, from Perry’s website:
“Most notably, Lieutenant Colonel Perry commanded the 2-104th General Support Aviation Battalion, which deployed to Iraq from 2009-2010. During this deployment, Scott flew 44 combat missions.”
In other words, the Congressman helped create the rise of ISIL and had a hand in the refugee crisis. But he’s a ‘war hero’ , so it’s OK!
Ramp up the propaganda Intercept, you will soon get boots on the ground in another country.
For fucks sake try harder to tell the facts and stop being fools.
American hawkish strongmen caused the shit in Syria as they have done all over the world.
Grow a brain you moron.
Does this representative live in a gated community or a district with a relatively low crime rate? If not, he needs to “stay and fight,” if not, he needs to move outside his gated community or district and “fight” to gentrify it.
How shallow can politicians be? The Syrian refugees (who aren’t interested in terrorism) are arguably suffering because of the U.S. gov.’s bipolar regime change addiction.
Was it Rambo III where Rambo was fighting w/ mujahadeen against Russia; we need more Rambo movies to keep up with the other real life war scenarios (it’d be really confusing movies though). Who’s our enemy now? Maybe that should be the title: Rambo X – Who’s our enemy of our enemy now?
To abuse an old phrase, the U.S. government is at that awkward phase where it is too late to believe in the people’s revolution and too early to start cheering for Syria’s one true and eternal ruling family.
By Republican logic, what the Syrian refugees really need is guns.
“Republican logic” is a contradiction in terms.