The Trump show has officially gone global. In a Monday debate, the United Kingdom’s parliament discussed the possibility of banning Donald Trump from entering the U.K. The Parliament is required to debate any official petition that garners more than 100,000 signatures, and the petition to prevent Trump from entering the U.K. received more than 575,000. The petition applies the U.K.’s outlaw of “hate speech” to Trump’s proposal of banning Muslim immigrants from entering the United States.
The parliamentary debate was mainly a symbolic act, as it didn’t end with a vote, according to CNN. It was simply an opportunity for members of Parliament to share their views on the matter without being accused of slander. It was also a platform for representatives of the U.K. to make an international statement of disapproval.
The most positive takeaway from the debate is that it shows that countries aren’t afraid of addressing global threats of racial exclusion. We now know that the U.K. is a sovereign state with a conscience.
Trump could possibly be outlawed under the U.K.’s Public Order Act of 1986, which states that the country holds the power to ban someone who intends “to stir up racial hatred.”
The U.K. has banned individuals from entering the country under this act before, but their crimes are far more radical than Trump’s political fear mongering. Among those banned from the U.K. include two leaders of the Westboro Baptist Church, a Quran-burning pastor and the leader of a Russian neo-Nazi gang. These people have actually acted on their hateful promises. As Conservative Parliamentary Member Sir Edward Leigh said, “[The U.K. has] welcomed to the country Saudi and Chinese leaders … whose crimes are far worse than anything Mr. Trump can dream up.” Trump isn’t capable of the kind of crimes that would warrant his exclusion from the U.K.
Yet.
While arguing in favor of banning Trump from the U.K., Labor Party MP Jack Dromey said, “Trump is free to be a fool but he is not free to be a dangerous fool in Britain.”
The question then shifts to the actual threat of Trump promoting his agenda in the U.K., which is minimal. Trump can rally all the hate he wants, but until he hurts someone, he’ll be free to travel the world as he chooses.
Though Trump is far from the most accepting individual, it’s not good for countries to start banning people for making hateful comments. Doing so blurs the line between what is acceptable speech and what is damaging. It calls into question just how freely people are able to express their opinions. And that’s a treacherous path to navigate. Simply voicing an opinion should be allowed, no matter how radical it may sound.
Some Parliament members questioned whether banning a presidential candidate would strain diplomatic ties between the U.K. and the U.S. However, Trump doesn’t represent the opinions of a majority of Americans. Not all Americans think Muslims should be shut out of the U.S. Not all Americans can even stand the sight of Trump. The U.K. obviously isn’t anti-American. It’s just anti-hatred.
Just as it has been with everything Trump-related, banning the man would amount to a good news day and nothing more. If anything, it would give Trump and his campaign even more notoriety. If the American media hasn’t been able to destroy his campaign yet, then getting banned from a country surely wouldn’t be able to either.
It’s ironic that the U.K. is looking to ban a figurehead from the U.S., a country that prides itself in its championing of free speech. Trump is free to spew hateful comments in his homeland, and gets either commended or ridiculed for it at home. America must be the ultimate land of the free if other countries are questioning our citizens’ comments while we either cringe or applaud them.
Trump speaking his mind is the most admirable and terrifying thing about him. Although his speech may be offensive, it’s important to remember that it’s just that: speech. Until he acts on his big talk, there won’t be any grounds for banning.
It’s more than alarming that one of the U.S.’s strongest allies debated shutting out a presidential front-runner. Hopefully this opens up a domestic dialogue on what the face of America should be able to say. And hopefully Trump watches himself, though that’s not what he does best.
That’s NOT what Trump said. He was talking about terrorists until the government can work out what’s going on. We do know terrorists are among the refugees and indeed have already committed crimes including murder. So the UK politicians are fearful of retaliation from the Islamic community and that’s the whole point of their exercise. UK politicians want to appease Muslims just in case are couple are not moderate and may kill more citizens.