In a letter published by Advocate titled “Welcome to the Resistance,” George Takei took aim at president-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks.
Takei, a prominent LGBT activist who grew up in a Japanese American internment camp during World War II, said Trump’s picks counter American values. “Our concerns are not diminished by the president-elect’s reassurances over marriage equality, particularly as he continues to name some of the most outspoken bigots to important posts within his cabinet and inner circle,” Takei wrote.
Takei — an Asian American and pop culture icon best known for his role as Lt. Hikaru Sulu on the “Star Trek” television series — went on to say that Trump’s vice president Mike Pence and his choice for Justice Department head, Jeff Sessions, are both enemies of equality.
But do not give up hope, Takei wrote. “When Trump began to name a cabinet of homophobic and hateful bigots, communities of all colors and creeds decried it,” Takei said. “We truly have grown stronger together, and with each new assault upon our dignity and humanity, we will grow stronger still.”
Takei then drew parallels between the United States government’s internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and Trump’s Muslim registry proposal, and noted that the public’s response to each has drastically changed.
“When they came for my family and my community back in 1942, very few others stood up for us. The Japanese American community felt alone,” he wrote. “But today, when the incoming administration threatened Muslim registries and racial profiling, the progressive response was collective and swift to say we would register as well.”
Actions like that are what give hope to those upset at Trump’s election and his cabinet picks, Takei said.
“Welcome to the resistance,” he said. “It’s where the next heroes of our movement will emerge. Be ready. Be vigilant. Be strong.”
