Donald Trump recited “The Snake” at a campaign rally while explaining his stance on Syrian Refugees. The song tells the story of a woman nursing an injured snake to health. When the snake turns healthy, he bites the woman:
“I saved you,” cried that woman, “And you’ve bit me even, why? You know your bite is poisonous and now I’m going to die.”
“Oh shut up, silly woman,” said the reptile with a grin, “You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in.”
Alex Mazzarisi, 22, was disturbed when she saw the video of Mr. Trump comparing the ‘vicious snake’ to Syrian refugees, as he claimed allowing refugees into the country was a dangerous risk in fear of being betrayed by them.
“Donald Trump has disturbing views on people in need, he doesn’t care about human rights outside of the United States, or inside for that matter,” Mazzarisi, 22, said.
Mazzarisi, along with many other people interviewed on the American University campus on Wednesday, said that whether or not candidates support helping human rights violations abroad, such as allowing refugees to enter the country, is an important consideration in her decision for who she will vote for in the 2016 presidential election.
Still, some people interviewed felt issues like the economy, national security and education were more prevalent than human rights violations overseas. Most agreed that human rights were important though weren’t as urgent as others.
Those who prioritized human rights as a reason to vote for a particular candidate were educated on the topic, and many cited specific injustices that they felt should be addressed by the United States government. In their eyes, this Presidential Election has lacked debate on such issues.
“Human rights are typically not focused on enough during elections. The sad fact is that human rights aren’t considered by most Americans because they don’t impact most Americans, instead Americans are preoccupied about jobs that affect them,” Benjamin Ketchum, 32, said.
Ketchum, who studies and works at the School of International Service at American University, said that a strong human rights policy is among his criteria for a presidential candidate.
Along with Ketchum’s assertion that many Americans don’t view human rights as a critical issue, many others interviewed agreed that the presumptive nominees, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, have not spoken very much on the topic.
In fact, neither candidate has human rights in foreign countries listed as an issue they advocate for on their campaign’s website. The economy, education, health care, prison reform and immigration are all present.
While thinking of which candidate would best fit their criteria for human rights, many people recalled specific actions the candidates have taken or characteristics they bear that would reveal their treatment of human rights.
“Trump’s views scare me on how he will affect human rights issues like immigration and refugees coming into the U.S. I view refugees as a population everyone should seek to protect and assist,” Becca Puth, 25, said referring to Trump’s strict immigration policy.
Many of those interviewed agreed with Puth’s remarks on Trump’s actions, but also criticized Clinton for decisions she made as Secretary of State. Recalling her actions on the Honduran Coup and her support for the involvement in Iraq, were among her decisions that people said evolved into abuses on human rights.
Still, the majority of people agreed that whether or not they supported Clinton, she would be more fit to deal with human rights.
Jim Sheehan, 55, explained his priorities for president and human rights was a concern but not a priority.
“Well yes, human rights comes into play and it deserves to be addressed though the economy, national security and education are still my top three priorities,” Sheehan said.
Sheehan’s reaction to human rights aligned with findings from a study on America’s support for human rights conducted by Sam McFarland and Melissa Mathews for the Journal of Human Rights.
“Human rights as a foreign policy concern has low salience for many Americans; many consider human rights in weighing policy options only when reminded of its relevance,” McFarland and Mathews said.
The Pew Research Center found similar data showing that only 33 percent of the American public said promoting and defending human rights in other countries was important when listed among other foreign policy goals. Only 19 percent of the Council on Foreign Relations members voted to support human rights as a foreign policy goal.
Terry Grandchamp, 61, showed that although the data found low numbers of support of human rights, those who did support the issue, did so quite enthusiastically. Grandchamp was ambiguous on who to vote for, affirming that both candidates lacked qualities he looked for. Yet regardless of the candidate’s faults, he said the next president must address human rights violations abroad with relentless vigor to help those who have been disregarded by their governments.
“It doesn’t matter race, color or creed, humans are humans and we must help them,” Grandchamp said.