'Even human beings who commit heinous acts are the same species as us, not 'animals,' ' the father-of-two writes in a series of tweets.
- May 18, 2018
AceShowbiz - John Legend didn't let fatherhood get in the way of him sharing his political views. On Thursday, May 17, he took to Twitter to slam President Donald Trump for calling undocumented immigrants "animals."
The 39-year-old singer posted on the social media site from the hospital, where his wife Chrissy Teigen had just given birth to the couple's second child together, after hearing Trump's remarks during a discussion on California's "sanctuary" law.
When a California sheriff pointed out that her state is unable to notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement when a member of the infamous MS-13 gang is jailed for a minor crime, Trump replied, "We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in - and we're stopping a lot of them - but we're taking people out of the country. You wouldn't believe how bad these people are. These aren't people. These are animals."
His comments didn't sit well with John, who was quick to tweet, "Even human beings who commit heinous acts are the same species as us, not 'animals.' I'm in the hospital with our new son. Any of these babies here could end up committing terrible crimes in the future. It's easy, once they've done so, to distance ourselves from their humanity."
Even human beings who commit heinous acts are the same species as us, not "animals". I'm in the hospital with our new son. Any of these babies here could end up committing terrible crimes in the future. It's easy, once they've done so, to distance ourselves from their humanity
— John Legend (@johnlegend) May 18, 2018
He added, "But it's much more honest and challenging to realize they were all babies once and think about what in society, their home life, etc took them from baby to violent gang member. And then to think about collective action we could take to mitigate these conditions. And we should particularly interrogate the role of American policy in helping to make MS-13 the organisation it is now."
But it's much more honest and challenging to realize they were all babies once and think about what in society, their home life, etc took them from baby to violent gang member. And then to think about collective action we could take to mitigate these conditions
— John Legend (@johnlegend) May 18, 2018
And we should particularly interrogate the role of American policy in helping to make MS-13 the organization it is now.
— John Legend (@johnlegend) May 18, 2018
He concluded, "Dehumanising large groups of people is the demagogue's precursor to visiting violence and pain upon them. It makes it easier to destroy their families and much worse."
Dehumanizing large groups of people is the demagogue's precursor to visiting violence and pain upon them. It makes it easier to destroy their families and much worse.
— John Legend (@johnlegend) May 18, 2018
John's response also attracted some criticism from social media users, with one accusing him of comparing violent gang members to "innocent children."
no, I'm saying some innocent children grow up to be gang members. do you dispute this obvious fact?
— John Legend (@johnlegend) May 18, 2018
"No, I'm saying some innocent children grow up to be gang members. do you dispute this obvious fact?" the All of Me singer hit back.
nope. but they're human. nazis were humans. kkk members human. the people who do the absolute worst things are still human. calling them animals may make us feel better. doesn't make it true.
— John Legend (@johnlegend) May 18, 2018
And when another joked that the MS-13 gang members were "fine people," John replied, "Nope. But they're human. Nazis were humans. KKK members human. The people who do the absolute worst things are still human. Calling them animals may make us feel better. Doesn't make it true."
