I wish that headline was hyperbole, but it isn’t. And I wish I didn’t have to write it, but somebody does. And I want to make it clear that it is unacceptable that there are several men, all of them white, who self describe themselves as “patriots” and good “Christians”, and unfortunately, probably a few who self describe as “good Jews”, who are right now thinking about assassinating Congresswoman Omar, including how they would personally go about doing it. Unfortunately the simple truth is that in the United States, in 2019, this is most likely happening. The only good news, if you even want to call it that, is that the vast majority of these political snuff fantasies are just that: snuff fantasies. They will never be attempted. Unfortunately, there will be at least one, if not more than one, of the men who are fantasizing about striking a blow for America, the flag, mom, apple pie, and God in order to cleanse the Republic of the Islamic menace that they believe Congresswoman Omar poses who will actually try. And unlike Patrick Carlineo, the self described “patriot” and lover of the President, they won’t call in a threat first and, because they’re considerate in regard to the busy lives of the US Capitol Police Department, give their names to whichever staffer happens to answer the phone.
Congresswoman Omar is a target right now because one of her colleagues, Congressman Dan Crenshaw, decided to retweet a fake imam who both took Congresswoman Omar’s quote out of context in order to amplify and weaponize it against her and other Muslims and who, because he does this type of thing regularly, has become a darling of hard right politicians who would normally not give him the time of day.
First Member of Congress to ever describe terrorists who killed thousands of Americans on 9/11 as “some people who did something”.
Unbelievable. https://t.co/IKtoZWWmIT
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) April 9, 2019
Mohamed Tawhidi never completed his clerical training, he isn’t even a Hujat al Islam, which is the lowest rank of cleric within Twelver Shi’ism, but he does have a really big turban* He is, however, a self righteous fraud used by non-Muslim politicians to beat up on Muslims. Basically, Mohamed Tawhidi is the Candace Owens of Stephen Millers. (emphasis below is mine)
In the space of just 12 months, a man called Mohammad Tawhidi has come out of nowhere to become one of the most prominent Muslim voices in the Australian media.
Imam Tawhidi claims to be a Muslim leader — and a brave Muslim reformer.
Through his appearances in the mainstream media, Imam Tawhidi has warned that Australia is being “infested by extremist Muslims”.
“When I am worried about what I see is happening from my community and religion, trust me that there is something going on,” he told the Seven Network’s Today Tonight program on February 27, 2017.
On social media, his supporters, some from right wing groups, support his calls to shut down Muslim schools and ban Muslims from the Middle East coming to Australia.
But strangely for a Muslim leader, he has very few supporters in the Muslim community.
He has no mosque, and only a handful of followers. And just as curiously, he only appeared in the media for the first time just over a year ago.
So who was he before he became a media star?
This is what Imam Tawhidi claims about his educational qualifications:
“I travelled to Iran, to the holy city of Qom, in 2007, and I engaged in my Islamic studies from there. I received my bachelor’s degree and my master’s degree in Islamic theology from the Al-Mustafa University.”
– Mohammad Tawhidi, 2GB, May 25, 2017
But Al-Mustafa International University in Iran says Imam Tawhidi has no bachelor’s degree from their university, let alone a master’s.
He started at the university, but dropped out.
In a letter, Al-Mustafa International University said:
“In spite of given warnings and notifications, the above-named person did not take heed of them each time and had not satisfactory academic record in his courses … he was placed on probation and [dropped] out on March 27, 2012 … the aforesaid person has no educational degree (or any given score) in his profile … Al-Mustafa University does not recommend Mohammad Touhidi for lecturing in any way. Accordingly, he has no competency to do religious activities or to preach sermons.”
His own teacher seems to contradict his teachings
Imam Tawhidi says he is a moderate Muslim reformer — but his very recent past shows he has connections to a religious leader who is anything but moderate.
After Imam Tawhidi dropped out of university, he fell in with a fringe seminary school in Iran, run by a controversial religious family known as the Shirazis.
Imam Tawhidi studied under its senior cleric, the Grand Ayatollah Sayid Sadiq Husseini Shirazi, and later went to work in one of the Shirazi-run TV stations in Iraq.
In February 2016, when Imam Tawhidi set up his Islamic Association of South Australia in Adelaide, Ayatollah Shirazi put out a press release in Iran claiming a connection with Imam Tawhidi and this new Australian-based organisation.
However, the beliefs of Ayatollah Shirazi are not at all aligned with the moderate brand of Islam that Imam Tawhidi calls for when he appears on Australian television.
For example, central to Ayatollah Shirazi’s teachings is the insistence on an Islamic system of government, not a secular democracy.
Ayatollah Shirazi also teaches that women should be covered head to toe, and are not suited to holding positions in government, and that it is permissible for a girl to marry from the age of nine.
There is much more exposing the fraud that is Mohamed Tawhidi at the link. Unfortunately, all Congressman Crenshaw saw was someone claiming to be a Muslim cleric bashing Congresswoman Omar for saying something she didn’t say, which gave him both an excuse and a rhetorical weapon to go after Congresswoman Omar to score political points. This was, unfortunately, all Congressman Crenshaw was actually interested in.
So what did Congresswoman Omar actually say? Not the barbered clip taken out of context, but the actual remarks? I’m glad you asked. Here are the full set of the remarks before the barbered clip put out by Tawhidi and then amplified by Congressman Crenshaw. This portion of her remarks begin around the 12 minute mark of her speech and immediately follow Congresswoman Omar discussing how Muslims, in regard to fully claiming their civil liberties, can liberate themselves.
Muslims for a really long time in this country have been told that there is a privilege. That there is a privilege in that we are given and it might be taken away. We are told that we should be appropriate. We should go to school, get an education, raise our children, and not bother anyone. Not make any kind of noise. Don’t make anyone uncomfortable. Be a good Muslim. But no matter how much we have tried to be the best neighbor people have always worked on finding a way to not allow for every single civil liberty to be extended to us.
(Aside to someone in the audience: you can clap for that…)
So the truth is you can go to school and be a good student. You can listen to your dad and mom and become a doctor. You can have that beautiful wedding that makes mom and dad happy. You can buy that beautiful house. But none of that stuff matters if you one day show up to the hospital and your wife, or maybe yourself, is having a baby, and you can’t have the access that you need because someone doesn’t recognize you as fully human.
It doesn’t matter how good you were if you can’t have your prayer mat and take your 15-minute break to go pray in a country that was founded on religious liberty. It doesn’t matter how good you are if you one day find yourself in a school where other religions are talked about, but when Islam is mentioned, we are only talking about terrorists. And if you say something, you are sent to the principal’s office. So to me, I say, raise hell; make people uncomfortable.
Because here’s the truth — here’s the truth: Far too long, we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen, and frankly, I’m tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it. CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties. So you can’t just say that today someone is looking at me strange, that I am going to try to make myself look pleasant. You have to say, “This person is looking at me strange. I am not comfortable with it. I am going to go talk to them and ask them why.” Because that is a right you have.
And here’s the video so you can watch the entire speech and draw your own conclusions:
It is well documented that Muslim Americans, as well as those mistakenly identified as Muslims in America, such as Sikhs and non Muslim Arab Americans and non Muslim Americans whose families originated on the sub-continent/southeast Asia and from parts of sub-Saharan Africa, faced serious threats to and violations of their civil rights and liberties from all levels of government and law enforcement after 9-11. The NY Advisory Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights actually conducted an investigation into these issues. Among their conclusions were (emphasis mine):
1. In the aftermath of 9/11, it was important that law enforcement authorities at all levels of government take steps to respond to the threat of terrorism. However, some actions have adversely affected the civil rights of immigrants and nonimmigrants, particularly members of Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities. Policies of particular concern are the federal government’s expanded authority to detain nonimmigrants without charge, to hold detainees with no possibility for release on bond, and, when final deportation orders have been issued, to subject detainees to prolonged confinement. Other policies of concern are the federal government’s Call-In Special Registration program and sharing of national databases on immigration status with state and local police.
2. There are parallels between the racial profiling of Japanese Americans during World War II, pre-9/11 profiling of African Americans and Hispanic Americans, and post-9/11 profiling of Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians. Racial profiling has been statistically proven by government studies, including the New York State Attorney General’s 1999 study of stop-and-frisk practices, to be an ineffective law enforcement tool for identifying criminal conduct. Much racial profiling of African Americans and Latinos continues unnoticed in the post-9/11 law enforcement environment. Beyond law enforcement acts of racial profiling related to drug prevention and street crime, racial profiling has taken on new dimensions targeting Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians regarding business license violations, financial transactions abroad, and international travel at airports.
3. There is a perception that local law enforcement authorities did not take seriously the complaints of Muslim, Arab, and South Asian residents who were subjected to hate crimes in acts of misplaced retaliation for the events of September 11. This has been an issue in the taxi industry, where many drivers are South Asian in origin. In the immediate months following 9/11, South Asian taxi drivers found themselves particularly vulnerable to attacks and in need of police protection.
4. The federal Call-In Special Registration program requiring male nationals 16 years and older from predominantly Muslim countries to register is seen by some as a form of racial profiling, targeting Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians. The program ceased after nationals from predominantly Muslim countries had registered.
5. In New York City, implementation of the Call-In Special Registration program was marked by a lack of community education on the program’s requirements, excessive processing times lasting 14 hours or more, lack of sufficiently trained interviewers and translators, and inconsistent application of policies.
6. Persons required to undergo special registration in New York City were deprived of the right to counsel while interrogated by the investigations unit of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service), when they were most vulnerable. If registrants were placed in detention, families were not informed of their whereabouts.
In sum, the law enforcement policies and practices described above pose a threat to civil rights and civil liberties, especially within New York’s Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities. These programs may be counterproductive. They fuel distrust of law enforcement authorities among many members of affected communities, hinder local reporting of crimes, and diminish the cooperation between local police and community members necessary to identify and thwart future terrorists.
The entire report is at this link.
Unfortunately Congressman Crenshaw’s political and rhetorical attack was picked up and transmitted by Brian Kilmeade, the left boob of Fox News’ morning show A Blonde with Two Boobs on a Sofa, which is also doing business as the President’s Daily Briefing. And that’s how it got to the President who then decided to take the gasoline pump, turn it on, pump gasoline all over, light a match, and throw it in. Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post decided that wasn’t a visible enough conflagration, so they threw a crate of fire crackers onto the pyre.
All of this, from the fake imam who conservatives and extremists on the right love to quote to Congressman Crenshaw doing exactly what you’d expect him to do in amplifying and weaponizing Tawhidi’s rhetorical hit job to the President finding a way of making it all about him because he cannot stand it if anyone else is getting any coverage to Rupert Murdoch’s minions making it worse, the die has been cast. Right now, somewhere in the United States, at least one white man who most likely describes himself as both a “patriot” and a “good Christian”, but possibly a “good Jew”, is planning to assassinate Congresswoman Omar in order to save the Republic from her. And at least one of these white men will be smart about what they are doing. They will hold their planning close. They will not make a threatening phone call and leave their real names with a staffer. They won’t tweet that they’re going to shoot her or cut her throat or whatever other snuff fantasy gets them off. They will, instead, quietly plan all while stewing in their own juices until their own internal pressure has built to the point where they decide to take action. And that day, which will, unfortunately, eventually come, will be a very, very, very bad day for America.
Finally, this is the creed of the Navy Seal. The creed that Congressman Crenshaw adopted professional fealty too as a Navy Special Warfare Officer. It might be a good idea for Congressman Crenshaw to reread the creed and take it to heart. (emphasis mine)
SEAL Ethos/Creed
In times of war or uncertainty there is a special breed of warrior ready to answer our Nation’s call. A common man with uncommon desire to succeed. Forged by adversity, he stands alongside America’s finest special operations forces to serve his country, the American people, and protect their way of life. I am that man.
My Trident is a symbol of honor and heritage. Bestowed upon me by the heroes that have gone before, it embodies the trust of those I have sworn to protect. By wearing the Trident I accept the responsibility of my chosen profession and way of life. It is a privilege that I must earn every day.
My loyalty to Country and Team is beyond reproach. I humbly serve as a guardian to my fellow Americans always ready to defend those who are unable to defend themselves. I do not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions. I voluntarily accept the inherent hazards of my profession, placing the welfare and security of others before my own.
I serve with honor on and off the battlefield. The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstance, sets me apart from other men. Uncompromising integrity is my standard. My character and honor are steadfast. My word is my bond.
We expect to lead and be led. In the absence of orders I will take charge, lead my teammates and accomplish the mission. I lead by example in all situations.
I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. My Nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to protect my teammates and to accomplish our mission. I am never out of the fight.
We demand discipline. We expect innovation. The lives of my teammates and the success of our mission depend on me – my technical skill, tactical proficiency, and attention to detail. My training is never complete.
We train for war and fight to win. I stand ready to bring the full spectrum of combat power to bear in order to achieve my mission and the goals established by my country. The execution of my duties will be swift and violent when required yet guided by the very principles that I serve to defend.
Brave men have fought and died building the proud tradition and feared reputation that I am bound to uphold. In the worst of conditions, the legacy of my teammates steadies my resolve and silently guides my every deed. I will not fail.
Congressman Crenshaw: you have failed!
Open thread.
* Having a really big turban is a common insult within the Twelver Shi’a community regarding clerics who have an overinflated sense of themselves and their authority. Drawings of Twelver Shi’a clerics with enormous turbans are often used in political cartoons lampooning them and their pronouncements.
japa21
There are times I just want to curl up in a fetal position and cry. Then I realize that is just what these hate mongering idiots, from the president on down want us to do.
Nope, not gonna do it and they can’t make me. I will fight, my wife will fight by my side as will my children and grandchildren, even the 2 year old, because this isn’t about Trump or the Crenshaw’s of this world. It is about my grandchildren and all children to come.
Brachiator
Ironic that Congressman Crenshaw is blind in both eyes.
germy
I’m old enough to remember when Crenshaw was being touted as the Nice Guy who would Reach Across The Aisle in the name of Civility and Comity.
And not long after his election I saw him on one of the Sunday morning shows with two Democrats, and it was obvious the nice guy act was a facade. He got nasty real quick in the interview. He snapped at the other guests and the host.
Major Major Major Major
Thank god it isn’t easy for an unhinged would-be assassin to acquire long-range and/or concealable weapons.
Mike in NC
Donald Trump has spent much of the last three years encouraging unstable individuals to act on their worst impulses. People have died from hate crimes and more are destined to die until he is removed from office.
Adam L Silverman
@japa21: There is hope.
Adam L Silverman
@Major Major Major Major: What could go wrong?
guachi
Crenshaw is an embarrassment to the Navy.
I enlisted in the Navy two weeks after 9/11. I’m still in. Learned Arabic from some great teachers – some Muslim, some not. Some Arab, some not – and it pisses me off to see some know-nothing hack like Crenshaw twist a Muslim’s words to gin up hate.
If any harm comes to her, Crenshaw will share the blame.
MomSense
We are all going to have to make some difficult decisions.
sharl
Thanks for writing this Adam. The detailed background is especially appreciated.
I got all pissed off about this last night, and woke up this morning still pissed off.
NotMax
Well, that put a damper on the day – and it’s not yet 9 a.m.
Not saying it is not important or not necessary, just that more expected encountering something like this during post-sunset (Eastern) hours.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Yes, well how did that work out for the assholes and their lost cause who murdered MLK because MLK dared talk about how everyone should be nice to each other?
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
I hope we can get through the next two years without widespread violence breaking out. I don’t know what the odds are, but I have to keep hoping.
Adam L Silverman
@sharl: I’m not exactly amused. I’ve spent years working with, teaching, training, providing support to uniformed and civilian personnel in the DOD. I was trained by retired Army Special Operations guys (SF, CA, and PSYOP). My boss is Naval Special Warfare. Without that community I wouldn’t be who I am, even though I’m just a civilian practitioner. It’s one thing for Congressman Crenshaw to not agree with Congresswoman Omar on anything politically. It’s one thing if he even doesn’t like her. But what is really infuriating here is that it has been explained to him, repeatedly, and from a diverse group of people why what he did here was wrong and he just keeps doubling down.
glory b
@germy: The folks on Morning Joe referred to him as “a really nice guy, a great guy,” just yesterday concerning another subject.
No mention if him when they reported on the New York Post article.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: I’ll send you an email heads up next time so as not to harsh your mellow during brunch.
Dan B
Some Dems are speaking out against the smear of Ilhan Omar. Some are more passionate than others. Some statements are more effective than others. It would be great if we all demanded our Reps speak out publicly and repeatedly.
First they came for the Muslims, and I did not speak out because….
Keith P.
@Adam L Silverman: she looks like an MMA fighter, doesn’t she?
johnny gentle (famous crooner)
@germy: That’s all thanks to Pete Davidson. Crenshaw was a semi-anonymous, assembly-line Trump-humper until that dipshit on SNL famously made him a sympathetic figure of patriotic sacrifice. Then, because he “forgave” Davidson, he became this symbol of national conciliation. Yet nothing about his right-wing views ever changed.
Adam L Silverman
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: They eventually took over the entire Republican Party and have managed to control the White House and all of Congress, as well as between 1/2 to 2/3 of state governorships and/or legislatures for the better part of the past 20 years.
MLK is still dead.
LivinginExile
Schumer and Stoyer were at the AIPAC conference doing what they could to fan the flames.
MikeG
most prominent Muslim voices in the Australian media
Classic Murdoch ratfuck.
Take a calculatedly-“outrageous” opportunist from a a hated outgroup and make them the prominent media face of that group to stir up anger and ratings.
Adam L Silverman
@Keith P.: I’m pretty sure she could take Jared. I’m pretty sure my shoelaces could take Jared, so that’s not saying much.
debit
Congresswoman Omar is my rep and I regularly call her office and let them know I support her, and donate when I can. I have a lot of Somali clients who are proud of her and incredibly fearful for her. I honestly wonder when enough will finally be enough, or if it will take someone actually killing her to make the media wake the fuck up.
Adam L Silverman
@johnny gentle (famous crooner): There’s likely a discussion to be had in all this, which, of course, won’t happen about whether it is a good idea for someone with severe and serious Post Traumatic Stress to be serving in Congress rather than in in patient treatment.
germy
@johnny gentle (famous crooner): No, the appearance I saw was before the Davidson imbroglio. And he’d already been written up in opinion pieces as being a “new breed” of republican, more willing to compromise. I think that’s how he was introduced on the Sunday morning show. And then he sat there and snarled at the Democrats. And then the Pete Davidson bullshit happened.
Sister Golden Bear
I second the Hoarse Whisper’s suggestion that Democratic Congressional leaders immediately meet with the acting head of the Secret Service to demand special protection for Congresswoman Omar (and any others) who have been put at risk.
Aside from trying to keep her safe, make Trump and Republicans own the consequences of their rhetoric.
germy
germy
Adam L Silverman
@Sister Golden Bear: I’m sure the Capitol Police, which provides the plain clothes security for members of Congress, has already stepped up their detail for Congresswoman Omar.
trollhattan
Rep. Omar’s Colbert appearance is the first time I’ve heard her speak extensively, not a soundbite. She’s really impressive. Cute, too (sue me).
We need her in congress, not in hiding.
NotMax
@Adam L. Silverman
Mean this with the best of intent – ‘below the fold’ is not a dirty phrase. Six screens’ worth all on the front page is a redoubtable.confrontation.
sukabi
@Adam L Silverman: there are a group on the “right” who are actively working to incite comparable violence on the “left” to justify their violent rhetoric and implement a crackdown. Been feeling very similar to 60s and early 70s
sharl
@Adam L Silverman: I’ve seen a few retweets of Crenshaw playing the injured innocent, a common ploy among rightwing grifters captured in the image attached to this tweet (one critic who liked the image correctly noted that the curved blue arrow – if its presence is merited at all – should be much, much thinner).
If he insists on being a dishonorable creep, I would prefer that Crenshaw at least follow the path of former Congresscritter and disgraced “war hero” Randy ‘Duke’ Cunningham, who went about being corrupt in a quiet manner that didn’t bring risk to others (at least not directly).
On a separate and less rage-inducing matter, have you seen Alex Horton’s piece in WaPo? Dunno if you’re a Kurt Vonnegut fan, but Horton’s perspective has made me want to re-read Slaughterhouse Five after all these years.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…
Mr Stagger Lee
@LivinginExile: And “Nancy Smash” was there too, by throwing Congresswoman Omar under the bus, Congresswoman Omar has been greenlighted by Trump and the Right. And no that lame tweet by the speaker will not make up for that. #IStandWithIlhan
Josie
Thanks for keeping our eyes open to all facets of our situation, Adam. I learn so much from your posts.
Martin
I really like her. Yes, she’s had some unfortunate phrasing, but having heard a lot of her speaking, I’ve never seen any intention to harm. English is not her first language, and though her english is excellent, her phrasing seems pretty consistent with other english as second language people I know – not everything translates well from the thought of your first language into your second. Though my french was passable when I was younger, it was good for a frequent laugh when my phrasing was a bit off. I’m sure anyone seeking to feel victimized would have had no problem taking offense by that.
I would really like to see the party put their weight behind her and AOC and the other young new members. Should the party adopt their ideas wholesale? Probably not, but that’s fine. You can give them room to breathe, say ‘we’re not sure the broader public would support that without dismissing it’, or ‘it’s got some obvious appeal to certain situations but we’re not sure it wouldn’t cause other problems, let’s see where the discussion goes’. I work with college students and sometimes they have wacky ideas. College is a nice place for them to try some of them out and see why they fail. Democracy needs to work the same way. You need well intentioned dreamers. Hell, my new rep schooling Jamie Dimon on basic high school level consumer math falls in that category. Nobody did that sort of thing before. I’m glad she’s doing it. More of that please. More lightning rounds. More Omar advocating for Muslims and immigrants seeking asylum (as she did) and 9/11 responders, etc. More please. A lot more please.
Skepticat
This is sickening, frightening, and all too true. It takes me back to the bad days of the ’60s, though they seem so innocent by comparison. I weep for a country I no longer recognize.
Miss Bianca
@Mr Stagger Lee: What exactly do you mean, that Speaker Pelosi has ” thrown Omar under the bus”?
LivinginExile
@Mr Stagger Lee: I was curious if Nancy was there. The article I read didn’t have any quotes of her dissing Omar.
Bex
Crenshaw’s idol Trump famously gloated (incorrectly) that his building became the tallest in Manhattan after 9/11.
WaterGirl
Congresswoman Omar was on Colbert this week — I think it was Colbert — and she was quite impressive. Colbert asked her about Nancy Pelosi having counseled some of the new women in congress to learn where the bathrooms are, keep their heads down, and take things slowly. She answered the question very well and said that she will not keep her head down; she wants to make “good trouble” like John Lewis.
She is a very strong woman and I admire her.
Fenix
This took my breath away. I had literally just looked at Trump’s twitter, and he has this barbered clip of Omar pinned at the top, and my first thought was “oh my god, he’s gonna get her killed”.
Then I clicked over to Balloon Juice, and saw this headline, and wept a little.
Just like Steven Miller is not immune to criticism for being a white supremacist just because he’s Jewish, Dan Crenshaw is not immune due to being a one-eyed vet. I would love to see Pete Davidson retract the apology he offered to Crenshaw right before the 2018 midterms that only served to legitimize and humanize that asshole.
Fucking pirate pornstar dishonest racist.
Baud
@Martin:
Not on the internet. Our only choices are to obey them like goddesses or be lumped in with the fascists who want to destroy them.
MikeG
It’s a tossup whether an American journalist or a Dem politician gets murdered first, by someone inspired by Trump’s rhetoric. And Trump will blame the victim for their death and not be bothered in the slightest.
JPL
@Fenix: He pinned it all the top… What an absolutely horrible man he is. Impeachment should begin now.
Aleta
Death threats : Rep. Omar, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Rep. Maxine Waters. All targeted repeatedly by Rupert Murdoch, his press outlets, other RW internet sites + professional Republicans.
Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was called a domestic terrorist in a mailer that went out a few days ago, on April 10.
Rep. Waters has also been openly, dangerously attacked by Trump, Dershowitz and Giulliani since at least 2017. In June 2018 when she was outspoken pre-election :
1.
Good thread:
2.
Article by Eoin Higgins. Rep. Ilhan Omar is being targeted once again by both Republicans and Rupert Murdoch’s right wing media machine
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/04/11/stop-recklessness-allies-warn-right-wing-attacks-could-get-congresswoman-ilhan-omar
His article clarifies some context and (very important IMO) publicizes people who are speaking out to support Omar. Including:
Tenar Arha
On the level of personally damaging people while upping his national profile, Crenshaw reminds me of Tom Cotton’s opportunistically vile use of the blue slip.
ETA
Aleta
@Aleta: The thread about the Forward fundraising off harassing Ilhan Omar is by
nyla berton
nylah burton @yumcoconutmilk
This happened to me after the “are white people white” debacle. The forward allowed other writers to misinterpret and demonize my words over and over again, all for clicks. With the harassment and hate I got, i can honestly say it was one of the worst periods of my life
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@Mr Stagger Lee: Gimme a break with your Nancy-bashing.
CNN today: Pelosi admonishes Trump for using 9/11 video to criticize Ilhan Omar
Bill Arnold
How is deliberately increasing the probability that deniable assets will commit one or more lethally violent (illegal) acts not terrorism??? In my mind it’s considerably more clear-cut than e.g. contributing money to a humanitarian adjunct of an organization designated as a terrorist organization. (Or similar.) And people go to prison for the later.
And nobody can plausibly deny that this is an effect. E.g. militaries do all sorts of psych manipulations to increase the probability that soldiers will pull the trigger to kill enemies during combat, and historically this included demonizing the opposition, and probably still does in some militaries.
I do like the suggestion that the Democrats vociferously demand secret service protection for anyone targeted in this way by Republicans. Though in the last couple of days DJT called the behavior of Democrats treasonous. That would mean a lot of Secret Service protection.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@MikeG: American journalists have already been murdered by RW crazies egged on by Trump, Fox, et al.
B.B.A.
It’s a shame she can’t run for President. Not that she’d win in this rotten racist Islamophobic country, but she’d do a much better job than any of the mediocre white men we have running now.
Baud
@B.B.A.: Unlike the other women running, the media would actually focus on her to stoke right-wing hate watching.
rikyrah
Receipts on the Justice Democrats??
https://twitter.com/aravosis/status/1117122498280161281
Fenix
@JPL:
Worse that that, it’s not even just a clip of Omar’s speech. It’s just a constant repetition of her completely out of context “damning” phrase about some people doing some stuff, interspersed with horribly graphic 9/11, twin towers footage. And Trump’s added all caps comment WE WILL NEVER FORGET!
I used to listen to right wing radio (know thy enemy). But I had to install a new car radio years ago, and could never get the AM band to work, so that was the end of that. Frustrating at first, but ultimately good for me and my soul.
I need a similar insurmountable block on Trump’s twitter feed.
japa21
Just remember, if a Muslim does something evil and states they were inspired by ISIS, then ISIS an Islam is to blame. But if a white Christian does something even worse, and states they were inspired by Trump or white supremacist groups, that person is just mentally ill.
trollhattan
@Bill Arnold:
Trump sure has calmed down since the latest round of firings.
lurker dean
thanks, adam. the democratic leadership has been absolutely shameful in its failure to call out the president and gop actively working to get rep omar assassinated. this isn’t a time for weak triangulated responses.
germy
In his own words:
japa21
@Martin:
She still speaks it far better than Trump does.
germy
Ksmiami
@MikeG: we need to make them feel as scared and threatened right back. Fuck cowering from a bunch of troglodyte fat shitheads. I’d rather be in control and not a victim… and no I’m not inciting violence but if bullies aren’t threatened they won’t back down
Steeplejack
@Martin:
I love Katie Porter (your rep)! In addition to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, she put the wood to some other Republican cipher in a hearing a few weeks ago. No nonsense, straight talk backed up by facts. As you said, more of this, please.
I have noticed a trend among the freshman Democrats that they seem to talk politics in a more grounded, “real” way. Even on the pundit shows they seem to resist the gauzy clichés and have a higher content-to-hot-air ratio. Similar to Elizabeth Warren. More of that, too, please.
Aleta
@rikyrah:
Thanks for this.
Adam L Silverman
@rikyrah: Feel free to tweet this at Aravosis:
https://balloon-juice.com/2019/02/22/waleed-shahid-of-the-justice-democrats-is-a-lying-shitbird/
cynthia ackerman
Why does iDJT’s inflammatory spew remind me of Radio Rwanda, and the “fatwa” targeting Salman Rushdie?
germy
No One You Know
@Sister Golden Bear: I’m disgusted that Mark Zuckerberg has better security than a Congresswoman with death threats has.
And deeply bitter about what seems to be the inability of the House to discipline its own ranks.
John Revolta
@rikyrah: There it is.
UncleEbeneezer
Thanks for this post. I have been so dismayed by the current of Islamophobia I have seen even in spaces on the Left. I’ve never cared for the way Americans (#NotAll) have used 9/11 as a cudgel to bash anyone who tries to talk about it in the patriotically-approved way. Omar is talking about Islamophobia in America and how 9/11 enflamed it. Something that isn’t talked about nearly enough. And she has first-hand experience. If you are listening to a Muslim Congresswoman speak specifically about THESE victims of her shared oppression, and you are taking her words out of context and policing her tone, you are being Islamophobic. Period.
James E Powell
Remember when Hillary Clinton called such people deplorable and the entire press/media world rose up to condemn her for it? These are the people who consider Eric Rudolph and Robert Dear to be heroes. These are the people who created Dylann Roof.
We have so much work to do as a nation.
trollhattan
@James E Powell:
Then there was that guy with his, “Clinging to their guns and religion” thing. How could he be so far off?
FlipYrWhig
@James E Powell: I don’t want to do work. I don’t want to heal. I want to take the level of Republicans’ pain and increase it. It’s disgusting. It’s a despicable party animated by despicable forces and despicable people.
(((CassandraLeo)))
@japa21: To be Scrupulously Fair, that’s not a high bar to clear.
@MikeG: @Formerly disgruntled in Oregon: Formerly Disgruntled is correct. IIRC, five journalists at the Baltimore Sun were murdered last year by a terrorist who seems to have been set off by Dump’s rhetoric. Although he’d had a grudge against them for awhile, it seemed to have subsided for awhile until Dump’s hate speech reawakened it. Dump might not be the only factor involved, but he’s perhaps comparable to the proverbial devil on the shoulder. An almost textbook case of stochastic terrorism.
Of course, if we go back further, Gabby Giffords could tell us a lot about violence against members of Congress, and she’s not the only one. If the Secret Service won’t protect Rep. Omar, maybe we should pool together for a security detail for her. This kind of thing is completely unacceptable.
J R in WV
I hope all of our progressive Democratic folks with any media presence are wearing body armor when out of a secure area. What a horrible picture these monsters paint with their falsehoods and distortions of simple truths.
Adam, is there any way to encourage our loyal American patriots to wear the best body armor on the market? I would hope our police would provide them with such, but I’m not going to bet a nickle on that! That would be a legitimate campaign expense in my book, once the very first death threat came in.
I’m sure Representative Omar is a woman of faith, and firmly believes that Allah guides all things, but that doesn’t mean Allah doesn’t expect all of his children to take care of themselves, including wearing body armor. You could even get a helmet inside a head scarf discretely.
ETA: Perhaps a Rabbi could talk to her Imam? Just spitballing now… sorry.
UncleEbeneezer
@UncleEbeneezer: Whoops, meant to type “In anything BUT the patriotically-approved way.”
Mikeinhell
Stupid f’in pirate.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Martin:
I saw that, it was a thing of beauty.
Kdaug
Wouldn’t the Secret Service have this covered?
Adam L Silverman
@Kdaug: US Capitol Police.
Adam L Silverman
@J R in WV: An Improved Outer Tactical Vests for Ilan campaign?
Starfish
@Miss Bianca: A lot of the Manic Progressives are using this opportunity to attack Pelosi because she wrote this which was about supporting veterans, but people took it as not supporting Omar. I like that Adam focused on the actual people who were behaving badly and not trying to use it as an opportunity to attack Pelosi.
jl
Thanks for an important and gutsy column. Omar’s ‘Benjamin’s’ tweet was insensitive, but I thought all the attention on it, without mention of far far worse, and obviously intentional antisemitism in the Trumpster and was passes for ‘mainstream’ GOP was hypocritical. I was glad that the establishment Democrats were shamed into providing had at least some balance in the final (still IMHO kind of BS-y) resolution they offered.
But ripping the ‘some people did something’ comment completely out of context, and pretending to believe it showed some kind of disrespect is evil bad faith, and incitement. And I’ve noted down the names of the Democrats who cowered in the face of this vile smear on Omar. The disgusting hypocritical IRA terrorist contributor Peter King said he didn’t need to listen to the context. OK, fine, asshole Pete. Your Democratic opponent will get a lot of money from me in 2020. Hope you go down and can live a long happy and content very very private life after you lose (happy to the extent you can make peace with the evil you did while in public office).
prob50
@Starfish:
Besides, Omar is a big girl and unlike DJT she would be willing to own (and explain, if need be) what she actually said and not have to depend on surrogates, shills, apologists, of even the Speaker to try to cover for her. Since what she actually said, when taken in full context was clearly her honest and straight-forward perspective. I have full confidence she is up to the task without requiring intermediaries or hand-holders to walk back or reinterpret for her.
Starfish
@prob50: Your faith that people will listen to her and context is much higher than mine. I go to the AOC school of “I hope they realize that we could propose having a ham sandwich for lunch and (Republicans) are going to call it socialist.” Omar is going to be attacked no matter what she says, and none of the attacks are going to be good faith attacks.
Mr Stagger Lee
@Miss Bianca: The Speaker threw her under the bus at the AIPAC conference you can use some Google-Fu and try to refute it. Other Democrats have mentioned Rep. Omar by name or as a sitting member of the House and a fellow member of the Democratic Party and have condemned the gaslighting of her by the Republicans who got the greenlight. I like the Speaker but if she (And Chuck Schumer also) cannot even name her in a tweet or has her Rep. Omar’s back, then this POC and American has to ask the hard question.
jl
@Starfish: @prob50: Omar is capable of defending herself. But others need to defend her, not cower in the face of bad faith attacks and run to Fox News or other bad faith outlets and play along with this dangerous BS.
So, I agree with commenter Starfish. It should be clear by now that bad faith artists are monitoring everything Omar says and will look for any phrase that can be ripped out of context and used for a smear. I only add that people need to defend her. And anyone who thinks that once the fascist Trumpsters and GOP get going on Omar that they will stop there is damned fool. Anyone not clapping or cowering in the face of serial reactionary and Trumpster enormities will be on their list sooner or later. Just a matter of timing.We don’t want this crap to get like death and taxes.
Starfish
@jl: I would like more people to defend her but turning the defense of her into an attack on Nancy Pelosi by people on the left is completely stupid because as we have repeatedly seen, the people who are trying to replace Nancy Pelosi are Democrats on HER RIGHT. This type of attack also takes the focus off of Trump, Crenshaw, and other people behaving really badly.
jl
@Starfish: I’ve been busy so haven’t had time to go into all of what Pelosi did or what the flap is about her actions or statements. So, I’m not addressing that at all. I saw the attack on her, the dishonest incitement and lies from Fox and Friends, what GOPer creeps said, and some House members not pushing back, and IMHO going along with it. After my blood pressure can handle it, I’ll look into what the fuss is with Dem House and Senate leadership
jl
@jl: ‘ attack on her’ refers to the original smear against Omar.
HinTN
Excellent! This sort of inside information is why we come to and remain with BJ.
Thank you, Adam!
Adam L Silverman
@Mikeinhell: I’m really more of a cross between a ronin and a mercenary, but I have a close friend and teammate who is a pirate.
prob50
Just to be clear, I’m fine with giving brief and direct statements of support, but I don’t want everybody dropping into a defensive mode. After all, this is supposed to be freaking America so it should be OK for a member of Congress to plainly speak their mind. Support Omar’s right to speak out and then move on. The other side will continue to lie and distort this regardless. Don’t further engage them on it, that will only give them room to prolong the attacks in the media.
And yes, I agree that physical security measures should be stepped up
Adam L Silverman
@Starfish: @prob50: @jl: Her chief strategist and director of communications is Jewish. I’m sure if there was an issue here, he’d say something.
Jay
@jl:
Wonkette covers it.
https://www.wonkette.com/trump-plans-to-get-re-elected-over-ilhan-omars-dead-body
Unlike many, they are not taking to the twiiters to incite faux rage.
jl
@prob50: Thanks for clarification. I still disagree, but you make a good point. I think after a hard and forceful and aggressive defense (or maybe attack against smears, might be semantic point), it is important to move on with confidence to other items on the agenda.
And there are a lot of items on the agenda. Trumpsters are now moving into open, obvious, and frank defiance of the plain letter and spirit of several very plan laws. Only bright spot is that Trump looks to be obsessing himself into hopeless battles to bus immigrant refugees to Los Angeles, and fight release of his tax returns to Congress, that will damage him even further politically. Hope he sticks to that, better than starting wars.
jl
@prob50: Thanks for clarification. Our disagreements smaller than I thought.
@Jay: thanks I’ll take a look.
Adam L Silverman
@HinTN: You can’t find this type of bespoke commentary anywhere else on the Internet.
Ivan X
You know, I’m a Good Liberal, and I try to be open minded. I was super ready for the reveal when I would see how out of context Omar’s statement had been taken by another bad faith Republican (is there any other kind?).
And yet, having read the full statement multiple times, I don’t see how she didn’t reduce the 9/11 attacks to “some people who did something.” That doesn’t invalidate her argument about how Muslims are treated as second class citizens subject so suspicion by default, or anything else she has said. It doesn’t validate the attack by Crenshaw or any other R (or D). It doesn’t invalidate the point Adam is making.
But what context am I missing in which she doesn’t trivialize the attacks, or use them as a foil to make her larger point?
Disclosure: I watched the towers collapse unto themselves from my bedroom window, so I might be more sensitive than some. It was a bad, bad day.
germy
An odd take:
https://clarissasblog.com/2019/04/13/100-days/
germy
I didn’t know about this:
https://www.businessinsider.com/assange-arrest-ecuador-prevent-alleged-panic-button-2019-4
What kind of 1967 Batman and Robin stuff is this?
jl
@Ivan X: Please provide us some criteria for what sets of statements trivialize the attacks, what are the minimum required words of reverence that must always be spoken? I am on the opposite coast, but I knew people who were killed, one of my best friends would have been killed except she changed a business appointment at the last moment the night before by chance. And she damn near was killed anyway from debris. So, I dunno what criteria anyone has to be more sensitive on it than others either.
You could make an argument that she was summarizing it in that way to show contempt for the attack, and not wanting to dignify the perpetrators with any relationship at all to the main topic of the talk, which was the civil rights of those who disapproved of it, despised it, condemned it as US citizens. Or you can deem it insufficiently reverent based on some totally undefined criteria. We going to fish through everything everyone ever said about the attack and judge it on sufficient reverence?
You go fishing for offense with an agenda, you can find it, and that is what was done to Omar. As far as I’m concerned. The old KGB saying is ‘give me the person, and I’ll give you the case’. That is what we have here.
Adam L Silverman
@Ivan X: Earlier in the speech she did make remarks recognizing terrorism and terrorism undertaken by Muslim extremists, but it comes way before these particular remarks. There is no published transcript in full. So I had to type it by hand as I was playing the video. And I didn’t feel like transcribing 20 minutes of text, which is why I posted the whole video.
Hope that clears things up.
Adam L Silverman
@germy: He’s claimed he’s got multiple dead man’s switches ready to go off if he doesn’t tend them regularly. We’ll see…
Starfish
@Ivan X: You really have some reading comprehension issues then.
All she says is that CAIR was founded after 9/11. After 9/11, the acts of a few members of one type of Islam were used to attack Muslims in general and Sikhs. It was a complete mess. Also, some of the victims of 9/11 were Muslims. With this type of blaming Muslims for 9/11, you are erasing the Muslim victims.
germy
@Adam L Silverman: Then we’re in Batman’s Penguin territory here. Burgess Meredith.
Miss Bianca
@Mr Stagger Lee: Oh, so you won’t or can’t provide evidence to back up your assertion and say “look it up yourself”? Right. I think I know how seriously to take your outrage.
debbie
@germy:
That tweet needs to be delivered to every GOP member of Congress. Actions speak louder than words, assholes.
prob50
@germy:
Assange ain’t no Penguin. In fact, he ain’t even no Burgess Meredith.
Wow, looks like I picked a bad lifetime to abhor torture, because part of me really wants that asshole hung by his balls from the highest structure in London.
Adam L Silverman
@germy: Not really. The vast majority of districts flipped have freshman Democratic representatives who are not as far left as AOC. But these freshman Democratic representatives don’t get anywhere near the exposure because, of course, the news media operates on the professional wrestling dynamic of controversy creates cash. So Congresswomen Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Omar, and Pressley get an undue amount of coverage because they are very outspoken and utilize social media and their platforms for maximum exposure and to maximum effect. The country, even Democratic and liberal and center left to left of center portions of it, are not as far left as where these representatives are. And there is some real concern that unless the House Democratic caucus finds a way to accept the diversity of its members, showcase it, and let the members fit and represent their districts, then the news media’s search for controversy to generate cash combined with the ability of the Republicans to leverage that for their own political purposes, will place their majority in jeopardy in 2020. Congresswoman Porter is as impressive as Congresswomen Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Omar, and Pressley, but she gets a 10th of the coverage. As is Congresswoman Sharice Davids, who gets even less. There are two outstanding questions here. The first is whether Congresswomen Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Omar, and Pressley will be work horses or just show ponies and whether the publicity they generate and draw to themselves will have a negative effect on Democratic efforts to hold the House in 2020 while taking both the Senate and the presidency back from the Republicans.
Jay
@Miss Bianca:
Wonkette covers it, link in comment #96,
Does not include the “Motion to Censure” soap opera.
jl
@Adam L Silverman: Starting about 6 minutes in. But bad faith search for offense is bad faith search for offense, ‘give me the person I’ll give you case’….
People can just fish through that section and say she obsessed too much about terrorism against Muslims and not enough about terrorism against other groups.
Towards the end of the speech she talks about what it means to live up to the ideals of being Muslim before she talks about what it means to try to live up to the ideas of being an American and fighting for Constitutional rights. Hmmmm…. why that order? Obviously hidden message the former is more important. Oh yeah, sure, that’s what it is! It’s all BS.
Bad faith is bad faith, it will always find something,. Just condemn it.
It’s not like she gave this talk while a bunch of xenophobic bigots are in the WH, who are running an absurd and illogical scam to discriminate against Muslims who are not Trump’s money buddies, is it?
Some of my comment is bitter snark and not directed at Adam, BTW.
germy
@Adam L Silverman: Based on the questioning AOC does at hearings, I believe she’s a workhorse. These reps know how to tweet, it’s true, but I believe they’re backing it up with research and work.
Jay
@Adam L Silverman:
They are also living rent free in Faux Heads and the entire ReThug party.
Ivan X
Jesus Christ. I ask a question as to what I am missing and my motives and reading comprehension are attacked (not by Adam, though). And I don’t come out with any more insight that would allow me to understand her statements differently. What could I have said in another way to demonstrate that we’re all on the same side here, but I had trouble with what she said?
Adam L Silverman
@Starfish: CAIR was actually founded in 1994, but her larger point, in context, made sense.
Adam L Silverman
@germy: I’m not saying they’re not. From what I’ve seen all four of them are doing the work.
Miss Bianca
@Jay: Sorry, but that tweet, while disappointingly anodyne and, some might even say, “mealy-mouthed”, is hardly “throwing Omar under the bus”. Hard pass on joining the “Pelosi sucks!” brigade.
sharl
@Adam L Silverman: Maybe Congresswoman Omar can also bring in Jeremy Slevin’s mother and/or father part time for consultations, since it may be a generational thing. Even the take-no-prisoners lefty Jewish cartoonist Eli Valley – a ride-or-die supporter of Omar – noted in an interview that his own lefty mother needed some reassurance (bolding is mine).
…
Realistically, they’re gonna keep coming after her no matter how tightly she and her team police her public statements. I’m not sure how practical his idea is – time suck-wise for Team Ilhan – but I understand Valley’s suggestion to do what they can to not make it easy for these bad-faith incitement-junkie assholes.
UncleEbeneezer
“Someone did something” is obviously talking about the way marginalized groups are routinely penalized for their worst actors even when those actors; something that people of privilege never have to endure or think about. This is a totally justified grievance from EVERY marginalized group and there is nothing wrong with airing it. While 9/11 is an historic example, there are countless others that yield the same oppressive results, daily. Her speech was also a helpful reminder that the towers falling and loss of immediate lives (victims, first responders etc.) are not the ONLY tragedies that resulted from the event. Muslims have had to live in constant fear, ever since and are just as much victims too.
When a Muslim woman speaks about Islamophobia, the proper response for non-Muslims, is to listen, absorb and try to learn from what they are trying to tell us, not to police their tone.
jl
@Ivan X: Thanks. We just strongly disagree on it, then.
I personally have problems with completely undefined criteria for what constitutes trivialization, reverence, proper respect, etc. and then judging things in retrospect by those undefined criteria.
Seriously, you can take it both ways. As showing contempt for the perpetrators and not wanting to dignify them with more that minimal recognition needed to identify who you are talking about, or you can say it was insufficiently reverent. Since I saw nothing in how she said it that indicated contempt or trivialization, I took it in the context of the whole talk.
Jay
@Miss Bianca:
Yup, but in a time of outrage, outrage sells, and theres lots of people out there keeping the outrage stoked.
A lot of people want all the Democrats to push back hard, at all times, on every offence.
When they don’t, when Democrats react to ReThug framing and have to be talked down from forming a lynch mob for one of their own over words taken out of context,
Other “attacks”,
eg. Comment #100
People get pissed.
We live in a world now when many people are overreacting and undereacting, multiple times on the same day.
HinTN
Good luck with that.
Adam L Silverman
@Jay: Also true. And a good thing too boot!
Adam L Silverman
@Ivan X: It’s Balloon Juice. And everyone is on edge right now. Which is why I keep telling everyone to cut themselves and everyone else a little slack. Unfortunately you’re not exactly catching us at our best…
Ivan X
@Adam L Silverman: thanks Adam. I’m rarely st my best, so I get it.
Also, thanks, jl. I’m always happier to disagree with fellow comrades.
Adam L Silverman
@sharl: I had to do the same thing with my mom. Once I did, she got it too.
Miss Bianca
@Jay: The thing that is stoking *my* outrage right now is having my nose rubbed in the fact that, as rikyrah says, “the curve for mediocre white men is real” – i.e., someone like Omar or AOC or Nancy Pelosi or Hillary Clinton or Obama or “insert female/POC/Democratic leader here” will get repeatedly roasted for shit they either did or didn’t do or say – inevitably wildly taken out of context – while shitgibbons like Trump and his vile cabal get to set the narrative on what Those Ones did or didn’t do or say. Meanwhile, stoking hate, violence, and injustice. And that so many of my ostensible allies are allying themselves WITH THESE ASSHOLES by saying, “yup, Nature and Nurture both agree – it’s all the Democrats’ fault!”
I feel like the Democrats are fighting blindfolded with one hand tied behind our backs and our so-called allies are intent on punching *us* instead of the guy who is out to get both of us. It’s fucking demoralizing.
prob50
@Adam L Silverman:
– where Pearl Clutching these days is often-times considered a membership perk, as long as you keep your grubby hands off of mine.
Jay
@Miss Bianca:
I was disappointed by Nancy Smash’s weak response. Not outraged.
I am trying to save my outrage for Insane Clown POSus, his Minions and the Deplorables.
There is a generational/class/status change happening in Democratic Party politics, as a result, some Democratic Party Politicians “get it”, some Red Staters, “get it” but have to address it in whispers, Some Red Staters don’t “get it”, and some of the Incumberts, don’t get it at all.
All these positions are going to piss somebody off in the Big Tent.
I’m hoping the 5 White Guys, (it’s more than that now), take each other out in the Primaries.
I like how most of the female cantidates, are supporting each other, not attacking each other.
Matt McIrvin
@Ivan X: I sometimes talk, on these blogs and elsewhere, about how 9/11 handed George W. Bush legitimacy for free, and enabled all sorts of disastrous military adventures and restrictions on civil liberties and suspicion of minorities that continues to this day. When I do this, I generally don’t have to preface my statements with an exploration of the horrors of that day or a disclaimer that I know the attacks were an atrocity. I’m assuming that, at this point, everyone is taking that as given.
If I don’t have to do that, why do we expect Ilhan Omar to be obligated to do it? She shouldn’t be subject to special suspicion. Especially not when the phenomenon of completely unrelated people being made to pay for 9/11 is exactly what she’s talking about.
Ivan X
@Matt McIrvin: I didn’t say Ilhan Omar was obligated to do anything; she can do what she likes, hopefully in the best interest of her district and the D party as a whole. I’m not the thought police. But I might not like what she says. I haven’t said she should say this thing, or that thing. Just that to my ear she trivialized something that doesn’t deserve trivializing, though others feel otherwise. Reasonable people can disagree.
With that said, as a national public leader, speaking publicly, she does have different standing than random blog commenterati; her words matter more. If you said the same thing she did, I might think “Ok that guys a jerk but you can’t like all the people all the time.” If she or anyone else in Congress says it, I think, “Ok, that’s a MoC that I’m wary of.” I don’t think she is subject to more suspicion because she is Muslim; I don’t think other acts of domestic terrorism are “some people who do something” either.
Call me old fashioned, but I expect public leaders to speak with more care and respect than blog commenters. Different contexts.