By Gail Rubin
For calling out White supremacy and violence – You’re brave.
For calling out Islamist supremacy, violence, slavery, and genocide – You’re a racist and Islamophobic.
Selective Outrage?
Either all racism is bad, or all racism is acceptable. Call out with equal measure Antifa and the Alt-right along with Black Lives Matter and White Supremacists. Call out KKK and radical Islamic terrorists with equal force. Decry car-ramming murders in Jerusalem as you would those in Charlottesville. They inhabit the same universe of hate: kill, maim, destroy.
Do not respond with your zero-sum game of identity politics. Hate is a disease. All decent and good people must work together to stamp out this cancer. Do not remain stuck in an echo chamber of moral anemia wherein you are outraged by the KKK or Alt-right, but not by egregious acts inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and ISIS.
Be sickened by a local Imam who invoked the name of G-d (Allah) in a call to slaughter Jews everywhere. Be proud of a community that rallied on behalf of our Muslim neighbors when their house of worship was vandalized, but be ashamed by the relative quiescence when the mosque’s clergy made an open call to arms to slaughter Jews – “…Oh Allah, destroy them and do not spare their young or their elderly” (Imam Ammar Shahin, July 14, 2017).
I am an American. I believe in religious pluralism. I am outraged by a local cleric that denigrates democracy and the U.S. Constitution as “idols” not to be believed. In a November 11, 2016, sermon, the same Imam Shahin called the foundations of our country “idols”: “…these things, these matters, democracy, constitution, all of these things that people make today, are like the idols that the infidels used to worship, which were made from dates. The infidels used to worship idols from dates.”
If that is not enough, then be shocked by a guest Imam (described as an “honorable scholar”) that lectured in January 2017 at the same Davis mosque and called for the death penalty for homosexuals. Sheikh Al-Nabulsi said: “Homosexuality involves a filthy place, and does not generate offspring. Homosexuality leads to the destruction of the homosexual. That is why, brothers, homosexuality carries the death penalty.”
Or, don’t be shocked. Don’t be outraged. Give this Imam and other hate-mongers a pass. Accept his apology for hurting our feelings. Let’s just wait and see.
Apologies do not erase hateful ideologies. Really, they do not. Neither do closed-door press conferences with carefully selected spokespersons “heal” the “pain” of a call to genocide. Control the 
press, carefully craft the feel-good speeches, and give a big yawn as this unfortunate incident goes away. But did it?
In the August 13, 2017 article by Vanguard editor David Greenwald, “Sunday Commentary: The anti-Imam Protest and the Need for Unity,” Mr. Greenwald derides an August 9 community vigil that took place in protest of Imam Ammar Shahin’s murderous sermon: “Now we see a bigger picture creeping into play. These are all voices of dissension in our community or outside our community, trying to use this unfortunate incident to stir things up.” Indeed, blame the victims and provide cover for the perpetrator.
A nefarious plot to stir things up after a call for genocide? And outsiders too? Oh forsooth. Does he refer to CAIR’s executive director from Sacramento (not a Davis resident) or the Board Chair from Sacramento’s Jewish Community Relations Council (not a Davis resident) who were both invited to attend the July 28 press conference and who both played a hand in the negotiated apology of Imam Shahin? No. Those “outsiders” were welcomed by Mr. Greenwald, but not so for other friends of Davis residents who were invited to a vigil in lawful exercise of the rights to free speech.
Bring in a few supporting residents from the greater Sacramento area that have a different moral compass and they are denigrated as “outside agitators.” Double standard? You bet. So, who came to the August 9 vigil in Davis Central Park to protest Imam Shahin? Mostly Jews? No, just decent people from all walks of life who know good from evil. Mostly Davis residents? Yes, with some friends from the Sacramento area. How do I know: Because I am that aforesaid organizer of the vigil to whom Mr. Greenwald so hastily assigned some nefarious motive. He rushed to judgment without any attempt to interview any of us who stood along 5th Street on farmers’ market day. He stated it was organized by someone from Congregation Bet Haverim. It was not. I am not a member of that congregation. He claimed it was a “Jewish” protest. It was not. A plurality of attendees were not of the Jewish faith. And why would that even matter? He claimed some “outsider” organized the vigil. Wrong again. I have been a resident of Davis for the last 18 years.
Mr. Greenwald, some simple journalistic integrity would have given you all that you needed to know to publish a story that wasn’t imbued with insulting innuendo and nasty speculation. Is it possible that the vigil was held by those of us with sincere beliefs that differ from yours? Is your negligent reportage an attempt to stifle our free speech and make us look disingenuous? Sadly, your rush to judgment of who we are is in glaring contrast to your rush to forgive a cleric who unabashedly calls for genocide of an entire minority group.
“There are forces out there that want to divide our community,” states Mr. Greenwald. He is correct. More than that, those forces want to divide our nation and the world at large. We now have White Supremacists marching brazenly without any white-hooded disguise and Imams preaching murderous screeds from the pulpit that are videotaped (by the mosque) and unapologetically posted on the mosque’s website. Hate is out there for all to see, front and center.
Only those of us asleep would have failed to notice the horrendous anti-Semitism occurring on our college campuses. UC Davis has the ignoble distinction to be rated among the top 10 U.S. universities for anti-Semitic activity. (https://theaggie.org/2016/03/30/five-uc-schools-rank-in-top-10-most-anti-semitic-campuses-in-america/). Given this campus climate, we should all be concerned that UC Davis Muslim students are being mentored and taught by Imam Ammar Shahin. In fact, he has been teaching classes to UCD students on campus, making use of public facilities at a publicly-funded university. Is he inciting those students to hate and kill Jews? Is this in keeping with the university’s community standards? We should all be worried. (Jewish students speak out about the alarming rate of Jew-hatred on college campuses https://youtu.be/gAyFlByb64M).
Extremist ideology will only change once we remove the imams and the mosque leadership who are complicit and who have unfettered access to a powerful platform. These are not people of faith; they are not spiritual leaders. They are dangerous propagandists and they need to be removed.
We are told from Jewish teaching, “The Sayings of the Fathers” (Pirke Avot) as well as from the sayings of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., that “justice delayed is justice denied.” Imam Shahin and the governing board of the Islamic Center of Davis must go.
So sorry, but the “sorry” is simply not good enough.
*For more information on Imam Ammar Shahin’s sermons and about the community vigil that was held on August 9, 2017, please go to the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6x1hebBEA4&feature=em-share_video_user
**To sign a Petition calling for the Imam’s resignation, go to: https://www.change.org/p/islamic-center-of-davis-mosque-board-islamic-center-of-davis-fire-your-antisemitic-imam
Gail Rubin is a retired attorney and 18-year resident of Davis.
That’s how I see it too especially when I found this quote by David Greenwald in an older Vanguard article:
https://davisvanguard.org/2009/06/no-one-recalls-hearing-threats-against-sheriff-prieto-saturday-night/
Nevermind that you are pulling out an eight year old article about a very different situation. Nevermind that the article involved a police shooting of a farm worker. Nevermind that the shooting agency was the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department, so people coming in from Davis, West Sacramento and Winters are constituents not outsiders.
Nevermind that Muslim extremism is a problem all over the world. Nevermind that the first response of many was to attack MEMRI as being a right wing anti-Islamic organization instead of calling out the Imam for the translation they uncovered. Nevermind that as this article states ” he has been teaching classes to UCD students on campus” so it does concern people from all over the region (and the world) who have family members attending our public taxpayer funded campus. I think you are way off base trying to push this as just a local issue and that outsiders are trying to stir things up.
I don’t think it’s just a local issue, I do think this is best resolved between faith groups locally however
Another important point is that there is a divide locally between various groups within the Jewish community.
Final point as you know better than most, my thinking on things is constantly evolving, so pointing out an eight year old article as a mark of inconstancy misses a huge point about me in general.
Okay, you admit it’s just not a local issue and you say you have evolved over the years. So I’ll take your word at it that you have “evolved” to where you don’t think out of towners should be weighing in on issues in our fair town. Being we’re a very liberal town that has many different types of protests and gatherings (there always seems to be some liberal cause) are you going to write articles minimizing and critical of outsiders showing up at these events?
I think that goes further than my position.
I don’t think we were well served by a host of people from outside of Davis getting involved in the Gandhi issue, I don’t this Charlottesville was well served by the out of towners, and I think the best path forward with Imam is a local solution.
I see the shooting in Woodland as being different and you have yet to acknowledge that one key difference is that the Sheriff’s Department is a countywide office so a police shooting in Woodland by Sheriff’s Deputies is automatically larger than just Woodland.
So what does Rabbi Cassleman do to “unite” the regional Jewish communities? He sides with the anti-Semitic imam.
I have a question for Vanguard readers and it goes toward this article’s premise of there being a double standard.
I just read in the Enterprise where the Davis Police Dept. is investigating a possible hate incident.
Now if this is true I can see where that man’s words could be considered a hate incident. My question is why isn’t the local Imam’s words also considered a hate incident and being investigated?
Double standard?
Honest question, I look forward to the Vanguard’s and its reader’s opinions.
Keith: I’m wondering why the police are investigating hate “incidents”. (Are they illegal?) (I realize that there’s sometimes a thin line, and that those who participate in incidents might also ultimately participate in crimes.)
Yes – I think the Vanguard downplays (or doesn’t address) some issues, while amplifying other issues. Ultimately, it’s an opinion blog.
Regarding hatred in general, I’ve never found it particularly useful to point out what “one side” is doing, compared to the “other side”. Doing so can perpetuate hatred. (It’s all bad.) Of course, it’s also not helpful when any leaders or forms of media does this.
One was on a public street… one was on private property in a place of worship.
Is what you say/do at home/place of worship subject to the same standards as if you did the exact same in public?
Look forward to your answer…
Keith: Does it say “investigating” it as a hate incident or documenting it as a hate incident – there is a big difference? A hate incident is not a crime, they might investigate a report to see if it rises to the level of a criminal act, but they likely wouldn’t actively investigate a hate incident. They would simply document it for reporting purposes.
David: The headline in the article states “investigate”, while the text of the article states “document”. I wonder what they do with those documents. (For example – might they refer to it if a crime occurs, later? A ready-made pool of possible suspects? Or, is it just for some external reporting purposes?)
I guess they have to “investigate” it to some degree, in order to “document” it.
There are annual reports submitted to the DOJ
The title of the article says “investigate” but the content says “documented as a hate incident”.
Thank you for the clarification.
Next question, were the Imam’s words “documented” as a hate incident? If not, why not?
What’s the difference between the two incidences?
I don’t know the answer on whether it was filed as a hate incident. Someone would need to ask the police department.
“What’s the difference between the two incidences?”
I am going to address your question narrowly. Please be aware that I do not condone any hate speech under any circumstances. However, I do see a major difference in these two instances.
The Imam was addressing a religious group in a private space as he had apparently been charged to do by the congregants. The street incident apparently occurred in a public venue and was unsolicited and unwanted.
Tia .
It does not matter where somebody is plotting to kill other people . Mosque is not the place to spread the hate to kill people but the place to praise the God and the place of peace . I think Mosques and Synagogues in America should not be the places to resolve the Palestinian-Israelis endless conflict which is going on since the creation of the State of Israel. You could find extremism on both sides . Rabbi Meir David Kahane was the famous one.
Controversial rabbis have long mixed religion and politics.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/florida-jewish-journal/jj-radical-israeli-rabbis-come-under-fire-amid-settler-violence-20160107-story.html
Tia Will makes a distinction without a difference.
“Mr. Greenwald, some simple journalistic integrity..”
A plea I have made many times.
“those of us with sincere beliefs that differ from yours?”
An irreconcilable concept for David, it seems.
Ms. Rubin, I propose that you have an all-day meeting with representatives of ANTIFA, Black Lives Matter and anyone else relevant who can show up on short notice so that you can negotiate an apology for your extremely-dangerous false equivalency regarding these two entities and the Alt-Right, Islamic fundamentalist terrorists, ISIS, the KKK and white supremacists.
President Trump – with at the very least the tacit approval of two of the most dangerous men on the planet, Jared Kushner and Stephen Miller, who sort of happen to be Jewish – has been not only pilloried for very similar comparisons by both the Left-leaning and mainstream press, but now various advisers and staff members are jumping ship or at least rolling their eyes back into their heads as much as possible. I am not comparing you to Trump, of course, only your statement! (Yet how is that it’s approaching late morning but none of your friends, people who were with you in the referenced protest, other Jewish residents of Davis, etc. have spoken out or taken issue with your words above?)
Elie Wiesel was a great person for many reasons but in later years he did take sides in the Levantine Civil War.
By the way are you still formally involved with Stand With Us?
I am visiting my mother in Orange County right now, in the guest room/office… watching over me is a portrait (from one of the last photos) of my great-grandmother Hermina, who was murdered in Auschwitz in 1944… reminding me about why I am writing this comment.
What is the real story? I have a choice where I choose to live and where to send my child to school.
Why would someone choose to be part of the Davis community if the cititzens of Davis don’t call for this Imam’s ouster? Was he not wrong? Is he not dangerous to our society and its values?
Yes I am an outsider. Yes I am an American Jew, yes I support Israel. So what? The fact is many outsiders are looking at how Davis, CA responds to the hateful vile sermon calling for murder of Jews. So yes, you may ‘shoot me the messenger’ instead of hearing the message, as is occuring in some of the above comments.
From the outside it appears the accused Imam gets a ‘pass’ from Davis residents because he is a Muslim and because too often innocent Muslims are unfairly getting picked upon. But this guy is clearly guilty. Is this almost total collective Davis passivity not political correctness in a very dangerous form. Where is the local outrage? One would think it would be massive in a politically astute community. Why such a small protest by only a few locals? To this outsider it appears like local Davis people either support such insanity espoused by the Imam or they have their collective heads in the sand, both dangerous ways of being.
What if the words of violence and hate were uttered by a Christian preacher toward fellow African-American citizens? Would the protest be equally anemic? Would this paper and some of its above comment writers hurl similar criticisms against those few who did mount a protest?
Perhaps if more Davis residents in fact were outraged by the hate speech uttered from the Mosque against Jews, the story would have remained local and not spread. The story should be focused on the dangerous Imam and how Davis community repudiates him, instead of these extraneous issues about the protesters. If locals were taking care of business as should occur, outsiders wouldn’t feel the need to get involved in this affair that grows due to local acquiesence.
Folks in Davis, CA should stand up for democratic values, stand up for rights of all of its residents including those that they are in disagreement. Preaching hate, violence and genocide is not such a right. I suggest if you don’t protest and stop the hate mongering in your midst, Davis will suffer from its own apathy and political correctness.
I asked the same question a couple of weeks ago in this very comment rag. Pretty much deafening silence (last I checked).
Some groups of people are less equal than others, in the eyes of “society”.
And I’ll bet you that there would’ve been no complaints about outsiders coming to Davis to protest which is the point I’m making.
One reason that the response has been muted is that to a lot of people the Imam offered a very heart felt apology. Pastor Habicht told me he was crying when he finished his apology. The Imam spent time working with leaders from the Jewish community to bridge the gap and repair the damage. I have not seen an appropriate parallel in all the what if analogies offered.
Interesting point. So here is my issue, what precedent does this set? Here’s what I’ve learned we believe as a community:
1. Anyone who utters a hate speech or commits a hate crime or threatens death to another person or group is off the hook as long as they apologize and sounds heartfelt.
2. Anyone who doesn’t accept that apology is a “divisive person” in our community.
3. We are a restorative justice community only. When hate speech or a hate crime is done, we will emphasize connecting to find out what they were thinking and check if the person is sorry. If so, we will embrace it.
I am hearing LEFT and RIGHT that we do not tolerate hate here. We will stand up to hate. This was said at the rally Wed. evening as well time and again. I believe most believe this to be true. But may I ask then, do we mean “we do not tolerate it if there is an apology?”
Can I assume then that a white supremacist who apologizes in heartfelt manner after telling Jews he wants to destroy them in our community would also be asked for a photo op post-apology and told that we should just focus on healing?
Can I assume then that a white supremacist who apologizes in a heartfelt manner after telling black people he wants to destroy them in our community would be asked for a photo op post-apology and told we should just focus on healing?
These are things I’m honestly struggling with these past few weeks.
I meant to say “Does that mean we WILL tolerate it if there is an apology?”
Jessica – I appreciate your comments here. I don’t know that “tolerate” is really the right word – the question is are you willing to offer forgiveness when someone apologizes. Because frankly, I don’t think apologies are nearly as cheap as some do. For instance, I don’t expect the man who ran over Heather is going to apologize any time soon. Nor will the folks who marched in Charlottesville with torches. Nor will Trump. I think I stand once again with Rabbi Castleman (apologies need to be backed up with action) and Robb Davis (it’s not enough), but an apology is more than we’ll get from many others. So let’s start there.
In my experience, anti-Semitism is the dark dingy alleyway where the hard left and the hard right find common cause. Thank you Ms. Rubin for the having the courage to write this, and thanks to all the participants in Davis Unite against Hate. I hope there is not a need for a next time, but if there is- please publicize these vigils community wide. So many more would have come, if they only knew.
Amen, Maria Parker. As far as I’m concerned, the politicians — yes, you Don Saylor, Robb Davis, and Lucas Frerichs — and “liberal” Christian and Jewish clergy are endangering our community by kissing the imam’s tomato and giving him a pass; their loyalty is not to God but to political correctness.
I’m at a loss as to how our community is endangered by dialogue and understanding
Engaging in dialogue and understanding is critical to a functional, diverse environment. In no way does this mean that there cannot be consequences for such speech, however. It’s possible to do both.
Noreen, if you could… please pass along the information from the Davis City Council web pages about what you think is their necessary loyalty to God.
HUH?
They be heathens I tell you!
Welcome Noreen, I hope you keep posting here.
Maria, please cite a few examples of whomever you imagine to be “hard left” attacking Jews (or Muslims, LGBTIQ and so on…) within the last ten years, ten months or ten days in the USA. You “can do it”, right?
Example
Occupy Wall Street and the Jews
The Occupy Wall Street protest, disturbing comments and placards directed against Jews and Israel had been on display on a daily basis and had, understandably, become a matter of interest to Jewish commentators and a cause of concern for Jewish communities and others in the city and across the nation.
https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/occupy-wall-street-and-the-jews/
In recent months, a group called “Jewish Voice for Peace” targeted at risk Jewish LGBTQ youth.
https://www.jqyouth.org/parade-statement/
“This was a planned action against the LGBT participants. That’s homophobia,” said Mordechai Levovitz, executive director of JQY. “If any right wing organization admitted to targeting LGBTQ people, we would call them a hate group.”
Levovitz stressed that marching in the parade is an act of courage for Jewish queer teenagers: “Many of these teen have been kicked out of shuls, synagogues, communities. Marching means that we belong in this community and in Israel. While we do not take political positions on issues such as Israel and foreign policy, we are committed to the full inclusion of LGBTQ Jews in every aspect of Jewish and LGBTQ life.”
Want more?
I’m not fully comprehending your example. You are saying the group Jewish Voice For Peace targeted Jewish LGBTQ youth? Who is Jewish Voice For Peace? Why were they targeting this group?
You asked for an example of anti-Semitism from the left. “Jewish Voice for Peace” is a so called progressive group with a history of anti-Semitism.
To read more about Jewish voice for Peace’s well documented history of anti-Semitism, see
https://medium.com/@acandidworld/the-antisemitism-of-the-so-called-jewish-voice-for-peace-12e42f595cbf.
I don’t really consider a Medium article an authoratative source. I asked some simple questions, perhaps you can answer them…
Okay, instead of examples of anti-semitism coming from the hard left and hard right, I’d like to clarify something here. I don’t think progressives are anti-semitic in general; at least, not with intent. I think the far right (and of course white supremacists, which goes without saying) sure have their fair share and we see some real bigotry here.
I have noticed progressives overlook the defense of the Jewish population, however. They are allies of minorities. But in the understandable rush to defend Muslims, I think many progressives don’t understand the statistics of hate crimes against Jews in this country. I honestly think it’s not an equal cause between right and left. Progressives tend to slight and mumble past crimes against Jews.
As was in this case, as Gail points out.
Here’s an academic treatise on contemporary Anti-Semitism from the left.
https://www.amazon.com/Anti-Semitism-Left-David-Hirsh/dp/1138235318
Today’s antisemitism is difficult to recognize because it does not come dressed in a Nazi uniform and it does not openly proclaim its hatred or fear of Jews. This book looks at the kind of antisemitism which is tolerated or which goes unacknowledged in apparently democratic spaces: trade unions, churches, left-wing and liberal politics, social gatherings of the chattering classes and the seminars and journals of radical intellectuals. It analyses how criticism of Israel can mushroom into antisemitism and it looks at struggles over how antisemitism is defined. It focuses on ways in which those who raise the issue of antisemitism are often accused of doing so in bad faith in an attempt to silence or smear. Hostility to Israel has become a signifier of identity, connected to opposition to imperialism, neo-liberalism and global capitalism; the ‘community of the good’ takes on toxic ways of imagining most living Jewish people.
Weaving together theoretical discussion with case study narrative in an engaging and interesting way, this book is a global study which is essential reading for scholars working in sociology, politics, Middle East studies, Israel studies, Jewish studies, philosophy, anthropology, journalism and history, as well as anyone interested in current affairs and politics
Contemporary Left Antisemitism 1st Edition
Excuse me. Todd Edelman had asked for examples of anti-semitism on the left.
“Maria, please cite a few examples of whomever you imagine to be “hard left” attacking Jews (or Muslims, LGBTIQ and so on…”
No, I asked for “attacking”: Running down people with cars, burning mosques, burning synagogues, attacking Trans people, and so on. I am in no way diminishing your claims of increasing anti-Semitism – at least generally – I am simply addressing yours and Gail Rubin’s false equivalencies.
So… perhaps there was a miscommunication? I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. So, please…. prove your “hard left” allegation.
How many of the unsolved cowardly hate crimes committed against the Jewish people are committed by those who consider themselves left? I don’t know. But you discount my examples of attacks on Jews because there there was no bloodshed? Shame on you.
Just last month , an hour from Davis, elderly Jewish activists were attacked because they took a stand against a bakery that featured a mural of a confessed, convicted terrorist, Rasmea Odeh.
https://spectator.org/the-warmth-of-bread-and-of-blood/
From the Jewish Newspaper, about the same incident
https://www.jweekly.com/2017/07/11/protesters-of-bakerys-appalling-mural-of-terrorist-attacked/
“Leftist” activists attacked a 78 year old survivor of the Warsaw ghetto. Just an hour from Davis. Sickening. Disgusting.
Here’s an entire blog post on attacks by the hard-left- in the Bay area. (assaults, arson)
http://proisraelbaybloggers.blogspot.com/2012/07/kalya-starr-of-code-pink-gets-it-wrong.html
Let me guess- these don’t count because they were committed against Jews that dared to speak up for their right of self determination.
A commenter on that thread brings up an interesting point. How many anti-Israel activists cover their faces at these events? Where have we seen that before?
Unless your reason for disliking someone is approved of by them and their fan base; youre considered a domesti terrorist. And it appears we are now ridding ourselves of this “terrorism” by destroying any property that such terrorists value for reasons we don’t approve of. It doesn’t matter whether those same properties have come to have different meanings to different people. It doesn’t matter that those properties can serve to educate, enlighten, and empower. People with clout don’t like what they mean to people who dislike them for reasons they don’t like…
and if, in tearing them down – we lose easy access to histories that are important for people to understand – well no worry; kids who have the rresources to travel and visit museums may (in some cases) be able to see them… but those probably aren’t the kids who need history most.
and if in the pprocess of tearing them down we provoke racial tensions that endanger and cost lives of the people we’re supposedly helping. Well i guess it will be worth it. Kids can look at the empty space in their city square and say “the monument that’s no longer there, my mom died fighting for it to be removed. I’d rather have her… I want to see that monument one day to understand why it was worth my mom lleaving me and losing her life for.”
I appreciate the sentiment and am fully aligned with wanting to heal from racism in America. This is a stupid ineffective way to do it. Now that I’m learning more of this; I’m shocked at how incredibly misguided this is.
As far as this article goes I 100% agree that many Americans cherry pick what they want to call terrorism and hate…
For now I’m just hoping that Baltimore doesn’t erupt into a prolonged violent string of riots that results in NEW tragedies to associate with statues of dead men. We’re as goofy as religious radicals in other countries killing each other over old houses and churches. So stupid.
A few questions re the Unity Rally.
-Anyone specifically denounce Imam Shahin for his murderous exhortation to kill all Jews?
-Anyone reference how the synagogue in Charlottesville had to be shuttered for fear of attacks by KKK?
-Anyone know why KKK’s David Duke endorsed Keith Ellison for DNC chair? Odd, a white supremacist endorsing a Muslim? Could it be their shared hatred of the Jewish people?
-David do you endorse BDS?
– Do you denounce car- ramming murders in Charlottesville as well as those in Jerusalem? One was committed by a white supremacist and the other by an Islamic supremacist.
Finally, I am sure everyone on this blog has heard of Mein Kampf and Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book. How many millions of innocent souls were brutally slaughtered by the words therein? Words can kill. We need to wake up to the evil words of the KKK white supremacists and to those of Islamist Supremacists. (Note I did not say “muslim”: I mean radical Islamic jihadists, like the ones who today committed yet another atrocity, this time in Barcelona).
I’ve always found it kind of ironic that the first movie to have an African-American Oscar winner was “Gone with the Wind” (a “sympathetic” portrayal of the South, during the civil war). And yet, a great movie somehow.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hattie_McDaniel
Just wondering – have we “solved” these problems yet, via this discussion? 🙂 Any “greater” level of understanding, achieved?
Man – you can tell from the number of comments how “unresolved” these concerns are. (Supposedly, in our “enlightened” age.) No – I’m honestly not “judging” anyone with that comment.