Conversation with a dentist

When the presidential applicant from the Republican Party Ted Cruz said that in connection with the attack of terrorists on Brussels, the police should patrol the Muslim areas of American cities, many of our compatriots warmly supported the Senator's idea.

“Finally,” the dentist told me enthusiastically, “the Republicans took up the mind and showed that they could at least sometimes not concede in the firmness of our Trump.”

Lying in an armchair with an open mouth, I could only object to him on his fingers, and he used it without hesitation and doubt. I must admit that I myself am to blame, because of my own free will I changed the American doctor. The fact is that every time I went into the office, he asked me the same question:

- How does your Sakharov feel?

- He died.

“What a grief,” the doctor groaned, forgetting from grief about my problems.

Tired of his forgetfulness and sorrow, I looked for a land-to-the-country. Already with him, it seemed to me, we will find a common language. But it turned out that I was deeply mistaken. We understood each other even less, which is not surprising if I, as already mentioned, was explained on the fingers, and he broadcast on the face of progressive humanity.

“It's time to press the Muslims to the nail,” he sang, “not to let new, as Trump says, but to the old, as Cruise advises, to put the police.”

- To everyone? - I managed to insert.

- Certainly! Not everyone is to blame, but many sympathize.

I don’t know where my doctor took statistics. I suspect that Brighton Beach, where they agree with him are not everyone, but many. Since you can’t even talk to the dial in the radical tooth, I replaced communication with an internal monologue.

“What would it be,” I asked myself, “if Ted Cruz suggested that the New York policeman patrol the areas of mass residence of Russians, starting, of course, with Brighton Beach?”

In essence, there is a reason in this. After all, emigrants live there, who openly and often support Russian President Putin and his hostile regime - not everyone, of course, but many. They watch Prochrevsky television, from which they promise to turn the United States into radioactive dust. There - not everyone, but many rejoice in threats to American allies from the Baltic countries. There - not all, but many - share propaganda chimeras about crucified boys in Ukraine and raped girls in Berlin.

“Is all this,” Cruz or other supporters of a firm hand could reason, - does not inspire doubts about the loyalty of Russian America? And is this not a sufficient reason to take preventive measures?

Whatever the pre -election struggle of the pre -election struggle, the Americans do not admit the presumption of collective guilt

In the end, Cruise suspects American Muslims only in a condescending attitude to Islamic terrorists who can cause limited damage to the country. And here we are talking about the sympathies of a certain part of the immigrants from Russia - not all, but many - to the old opponent in the Cold War, which leads aggressive international policy, has a large margin of nuclear weapons and not mind to scare them with growing excitement.

Fortunately, all this is complete nonsense. Russian America can be calm: nothing threatens it. Whatever the pre -election struggle of the applicants say, the Americans do not admit the presumption of collective guilt. At least because it was already when the country frightened by the attack on Pearl Harbor internocated its innocent citizens of Japanese origin. Shame for this historical episode will not allow it to forget or repeat it.

Alexander Genis-New York writer and publicist, author and host of the Radio Liberty program "American Hour-over barriers"

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