Mayor Peduto Wants The Syrian Refugees To Come To Pittsburgh (Penn: middle-class, 2015)

[erieguy]

That explains it. Thanks.

[PghYinzer]

These terrorists had backgrounds and papers. Heck the majority of them were from France and Belgium, and the one accomplice looks like he came through with the refugees. The issue seems to be with the travel back and forth to Syria, which is not as much of a problem (still a problem though) in the US. Of the 23 people that have traveled to Syria from the US, nine were killed in Syria, nine are still there, and five were arrested upon their return. Europe has hundreds if not thousands of people traveling back and forth to Syria. Granted it only takes one, but the problem in Europe is drastically worse than here.

We do understand that the point of terrorism is to create fear and reaction amongst the targeted, and by reacting in fear and changing our very nature is letting them win. We don’t need to be stupid, but at the same time we cannot allow ourselves to lose sight of why they hate us to begin with, because of our beliefs such as freedom, tolerance, and genorosity. Sacrifice our beliefs and they win.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Josh Wander ran against him on the Republican ticket and lost miserably---probably because he moved to Israel prior to the election and said he'd move back "if he won". His Democratic primary challenger, Jack Wagner, was extremely lackluster.

Mr. Wander would have lost regardless . The GOP always does miserable, its a one party town.

[PghYinzer]

The GOP doesn’t even try in this town. Not much you can do in a town where only one party runs for office, it is bound to be a one party town.

[fat lou]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

There's something called an "electorate". A majority of them voted for him. I voted for him and would gladly vote to re-elect him. It's about time Pittsburgh starts to get with the times with a progressive at the helm instead of always being a national laughingstock.

Would you rather Darlene Harris be mayor? Josh Wander?

Thanks for the civics lesson. Laughingstock? A mayor who spouts meaningless platitudes about how "if we don't do this, the terrorists win," and uses a quote from a century-old poem as the basis for current policy sounds pretty laughable to me.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by fat lou

Thanks for the civics lesson. Laughingstock? A mayor who spouts meaningless platitudes about how "if we don't do this, the terrorists win," and uses a quote from a century-old poem as the basis for current policy sounds pretty laughable to me.

I'd rather risk having a terrorist move in next-door to me and kill me via a suicide bomb as I was leaving to do laundry than live with the guilty conscience of helping to condemn thousands of innocent and frightened Syrian women, children, and, yes, MEN to deaths at the hands of ISIS (or is it ISIL?) out of fear of what may or may not be committed by ONE.

One of my neighbors said it perfectly on Facebook in a debate within one of Mayor Peduto's posts. This is the Holocaust of our generation, and what is going on now in Syria is not at all dissimilar to what happened to Jews in Europe in the early-1940's. Syrians who don't stand with ISIS are being slaughtered just like those in Europe who didn't stand with Hitler. Many nations helped Jews escape back then without fear of a Nazi "plant" traveling within groups of refugees as a "sleeper cell" waiting to strike their own nation. What's changed from the 1940's to the 2010's?

[UKyank]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I'd rather risk having a terrorist move in next-door to me and kill me via a suicide bomb as I was leaving to do laundry than live with the guilty conscience of helping to condemn thousands of innocent and frightened Syrian women, children, and, yes, MEN to deaths at the hands of ISIS (or is it ISIL?) out of fear of what may or may not be committed by ONE.

One of my neighbors said it perfectly on Facebook in a debate within one of Mayor Peduto's posts. This is the Holocaust of our generation, and what is going on now in Syria is not at all dissimilar to what happened to Jews in Europe in the early-1940's. Syrians who don't stand with ISIS are being slaughtered just like those in Europe who didn't stand with Hitler. Many nations helped Jews escape back then without fear of a Nazi "plant" traveling within groups of refugees as a "sleeper cell" waiting to strike their own nation. What's changed from the 1940's to the 2010's?

I'm pretty sure that if Syrian refugees would move next door it's more likely they would just hate you for being a homosexual as they aren't tolerant of that sort of thing there at all.

What's changed between 1940 & today - not much; the Middle East is stuck in medieval religious conflicts over which Islamic sect is the 'right one' since long before that. (Not even mentioning the bizarre notion that nazi were ever posing as Jews at any point in your comparison whereas a Syrian 'refugee' killed people as early as this past weekend.)

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by UKyank

I'm pretty sure that if Syrian refugees would move next door it's more likely they would just hate you for being a homosexual as they aren't tolerant of that sort of thing there at all.

I'd be fine with that. Hell, if my partner walked hand-in-hand down the street in New Bethlehem or Waynesburg we'd probably deal with the same treatment from native Pennsylvanians, let alone Syrian refugees who won't risk doing something spiteful that would send them back to a death sentence in Syria.

[fat lou]

So I wonder how many refugees will be living on Bill Peduto's block? I'm going to bet everything on......none.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by fat lou

So I wonder how many refugees will be living on Bill Peduto's block? I'm going to bet everything on......none.

As I also said on Facebook I'd bet none simply because Point Breeze is the wealthiest neighborhood in the city, and there are almost zero rentals there (south of Penn Avenue, anyways). Most Syrian refugees being accepted into Pittsburgh aren't going to be able to plunk down $400,000 USD for a house on Hastings Street. I'd guess many will be in Carrick and Beechview---neighborhoods with cheap rentals that are well-served by mass transit to access menial service industry jobs Downtown.

Perhaps I'm biased in this whole matter because I've become friendly with Syrian-American restaurateurs here in the East End. I empathize. I could only imagine if they had opened their restaurant in the early-1970's after fleeing ISIS back then. I could only imagine them being turned away by xenophobes at the time and then subsequently executed instead of being community stalwarts today.

We were all born into privilege (well, except for UKyank and OkayDorothy who are from the UK and Ireland, respectively; and Yac, who lives in Poland) in that we GREW UP IN THE U.S. It's easy for us to shake a finger at a family running from Damascus or Al-Raqqah and say "STAY OUT"! We're not in a life-or-death situation here. I'm sure it was tough for UKyank and OkayDorothy to become citizens. I'm sure now in the post-9/11 and present-day ISIS world it would be tougher for Yac to come over and settle in Pittsburgh as a U.S. citizen. We have a great country. I have no qualms letting people who want to settle here LEGALLY come here and experience part of our dream.