Why J.K Rowling is wrong about Trump

In Lemonade Beyonce asks, "what are you going to say at my funeral now that you have killed me?" In the album her question is directed at her lover, but in life it extends so much further. It is what I ask when I consider that I may be killed for the colour of my skin, or my African beginnings. My words may seem paranoid, but they're not. When you're a minority, this is your reality.

At the PEN America literary gala, J.K Rowling said, "I find almost everything that Mr. Trump says objectionable. I consider him offensive and bigoted. But he has my full support to come to my country and be offensive and bigoted there. His freedom to speak protects my freedom to call him a bigot. His freedom guarantees mine." 

His freedom of expression may guarantee hers but it does not guarantee mine. If I were in America, I am fairly sure that I'd be one of the people that made the effort to protest. I would go to a rally with a placard, and yell things that I know to be true. He wouldn't pat me on the back and tell me that I was merely exercising my right to run my mouth. 

He would say, "get him out. Try not to hurt him.  If you do, I'll defend you in court. Don't worry about it." That's what he said at a rally in Michigan as a protester was escorted out of the venue. 

If I tried to storm the stage, I would be beaten till bloody and given medical treatment outside while anti-muslim rhetoric and swear words sailed above my head. 

Donald would then later say, "that's what we need a little bit more of."  

And if I planned to throw a tomato, he would say, "If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously."

These are not hypothetical situations that I've dreamed up to make him look bad. These are words that he has said. Some people may say that he was merely speaking, but that's a lie. He was asking people to harm me because I dared to disagree with him. His freedom of speech does not guarantee mine, it places me in acute danger. His words become the fists that punch and the legs that kick.

There is a difference between speaking freely and inciting hatred. It is my belief that Mr. Trump does the latter. If he were to come to the United Kingdom and say that Muslims should not be allowed here, some idiot would take his words as a call to action and strive to forcibly delete everyone that he believed to be Muslim.

When J.K Rowling defends his freedom of speech, she doesn't see that while his words do not count as a threat to her but they do threaten the safety of other people. And this is why she is wrong.

Happy Days,
Afam