Donald Trump Jr. posted a meme comparing refugees to Skittles. There's more to it than you may think.
<br>On Sept. 19, 2016, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted a picture of a bowl of skittles that sent the Internet spiraling.
Some people looked at the image and saw Syrian refugees. Others looked at the meme and were like, "Wait, what? Those are clearly a bowl of fruit-flavored candy."
This image says it all. Let's end the politically correct agenda that doesn't put America first. #trump2016 http://pic.twitter.com/9fHwog7ssN
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 19, 2016
And, look, I get it! To the untrained eye it is a hard distinction to make. On the surface, Skittles and Syrian refugees seem like they have so much in common.
Don't worry. I'm here to help. Here's a quick primer on how to tell the two apart:
These are Skittles, a bite-sized, chewy, fruit-flavored candy.
Photo by Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images.
These are refugees, actual human beings fleeing conflict and persecution.
Syrian Kurdish people at the border between Syria and Turkey. Photo by Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images.
These are Skittles, which come a variety of flavors, including original, tropical, sour, and wild berry.
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images.
These are refugees. Over half of the world's estimated 21.3 million refugees are under the age of 18.
A Syrian Kurdish woman and her daughter near the Syria border at the southeastern town of Suruc. Photo by Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images.
These are Skittles, a brand with nearly 24 million Facebook fans.
A portrait of NASCAR driver Kyle Busch and his family, made out of delicious Skittles. Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images.
These are refugees. Before being admitted to the U.S., refugees undergo an extensive vetting process that can last months.
A Kurdish refugee woman in a camp in Suruc. Photo by Gokhan Sahin/Getty Images.
These are Skittles. They debuted in the U.K. back in 1974. Five years later, they made their way to the U.S.
Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images.
This is a refugee. The odds of an American dying in an act of terrorism committed by a refugee are actually just 1 in 3.64 billion a year.
On the flip side, the odds of an American dying in an act of terrorism committed by a U.S. citizen are 1 in 20 million.
A child from Turkey is kept warm after arriving on a raft to the island of Lesbos. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.
These are Skittles. Since 1994, their slogan has been "Taste the rainbow."
Photo by iStock.
These are refugees. They're coming to America for safety, even though anti-Muslim hate crimes have increased as much as 78% over the past year in the U.S., the highest rate since the aftermath of 9/11. Just under half of U.S.-bound refugees are Muslim.
Syrian refugees and community leaders join together for a #RefugeesWelcome Thanksgiving. Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for MoveOn.org.
These are Skittles. Since 2009, they've been vegan.
Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images.
This is a refugee. Politicized, anti-refugee speech has gotten so out of hand that the UN is addressing that very issue this week.
A Syrian woman after crossing the Greek-Macedonian border near the town of Gevgelija. Photo by Robert Atansovski/AFP/Getty Images.
How'd you do? Could you tell them all apart?
Seriously, though, there's a big problem with Trump Jr.'s meme and the imagery it evoked. It's about far more than comparing real human people to fruit-flavored candy.
This type of "it only takes one" mentality is designed to create fear of the unknown in readers (and, perhaps more importantly, in voters). It also has a really horrific origin involving Nazis.
Luckily, there are things we can do about this political propaganda. Namely, we can resist these politicized attempts to make us feel afraid of what we don't know.
Empathy is sometimes all we have in this world. It's what connects a man in Des Moines to a woman in Aleppo; it's what brings together a child from Boise and a teen from Kabul. It's what makes us human, and it's why we need to fight back against the forces that try to strip that humanity from us.
Stay strong, fight the urge to give in to shameless fear-mongering, and above all, stay empathetic.
And if you ever find yourself struggling to tell the difference between refugees and Skittles again, the good people at Mars came up with a handy, easy-to-remember tip to tell them apart:
http://pic.twitter.com/VUwYKzqujc
— Mars, Incorporated (@MarsGlobal) September 20, 2016
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