So it looks as if the President of the United States has found his new target. Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota has now become the de facto “Lock Her Up” dogwhistle.
The problem is, most of the things you hear today about Ilhan Omar are slurs and vulgarities created by Trump and his band of sycophants. And I’m getting sick of this. It’s demagoguery at its most vile, it’s pandering to the lowest common denominator. And we need to be better than this.
I’ve heard the stories and I’ve heard the claims. But if you investigate deeper – go online and read the original sources – you discover that what was thought to be said by Ilhan Omar really WASN’T said, or was taken so far completely out of context that it makes no sense.
I’m not going to repeat most of these – but I will direct you to links from FactCheck.org about how Trump has recently taken six-year-old comments from Omar about other subjects, and he twisted them into something more sinister and dire.
And yesterday, he ramped things up.
During one of his “I have to get on a helicopter” press briefings, Trump insinuated that at one time, Omar was married to her brother in what was purported to be an attempt to skirt immigration laws and become a U.S. citizen at a faster rate. Again, unproven and spurious, as can be found in this Snopes.com overview. And you can trust Snopes, especially when there’s a visible link right here in this blog post that takes you to that site.
What I’m saying is …
Ilhan Omar is a duly elected representative of Minnesota’s 5th District. She is fighting for better conditions for her constitutents. She was one of the first representatives to sign on for the 9/11 Victims Compensation Act – you know, the same Victims Compensation Act that Republican senator Rand Paul is currently blocking from a vote.
But apparently that’s not good enough for Trump and his minions. They treat Omar (and her fellow representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib) as the new boogeymen of the political world. And Omar worst of all.
I don’t have to remind you about how Trump conducted a “Send Her Back” chant at his most recent gathering last night. This is fear and hate-mongering at its worst.
We are a better nation than this. And we don’t need to put together lies and smears and falsehoods about duly elected officials to continue this.
Let’s pay attention right here and now.
Just because someone is Muslim or practices Islam, does not mean that they are a terrorist.
Just because someone wears a hijab, does not mean that they hate America.
And just because someone believes in the rights of all people does not mean that they are against the rights of others.
And when the leader of the United States espouses horrifying, xenophobic, demagoguery like this … constructing and promoting lies that can be easily disputed with a few clicks and about ten minutes of research … then this is not a President that’s fit to lead this country or its people.
Do us all a favor, Donald Trump. Do something that actually shows leadership. Stop acting like you’re the big bully in the playground and actually ACT like a President.
Because right now, you’re barely acting like a civilized human being.
You’re acting more like a common thug from Queens who thinks he’s more wealthy than he really is.
Sure and when her own party went after her on her Anti-Semitic remarks I assume you sided with her, just as you admire AOC who cost 25000 jobs. Give it a rest Chuck!
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Why are you defending this ungrateful person? She lives here by the grace of God and our forefathers. She could instead be living in Somalia, which is a hellhole. She got elected only because she’s from an overwhelmingly Muslim district. Her entry into the United States needs to be re-examined, as well as her background. And maybe you need to view the video of her talking about standing straight and tall whe the words “Al Qaeda” are spoken but the opposite for the words “United States.” She has one m.o., calling white people racist. Frankly, she is a racist — an anti-Semite. She really should go back where she came from. We can do without her.
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Lol she introduced boycott Israel bill. Check story Fox compared to Nazis
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Ilhan Omar hates Jews more than you think she does.
According to Snopes the marriage of Omar and her brother is “Unproven”. They don’t say it’s “False”. According to the Mueller standard and the Kavanaugh standard that means she’s guilty.
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For someone who writes about being bullied so much I don’t think that word means what you think it means. These 4 members of Congress have been saying classless and disgusting things about President Trump and Republicans in general since the day they were elected. Read your second paragraph! Where was your outraged blogpost when Tlaib called President Trump a motherf’er?
Like most bullies as soon as they were called out for their despicable behavior they act offended as if they were the victim. I could call them whiny little bitches but I would never do that.
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Why don’t you write the truth, Chuck?
“President Donald on Thursday disavowed the “send her back” chant that broke out at his rally on Wednesday night.
“I was not happy with it. I disagree with it,” Trump said to reporters about the chant, which began after the president again went after Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) as part of his ongoing attack on four progressive freshman congresswomen.”
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He “disavowed it” this afternoon, five minutes before you sent that last message. What happened, his iPhone wasn’t allowing him to tweet his disavowment this morning or last night?
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What’s your point? How many times has Omar apologized for the anti-Semitic comments she keeps making and how long did it take her each time?
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So, as a person living in Oman’s district in Minnesota? This is not an overwhelmingly Muslim district. Not by any stretch. She is actually very connected to this district and when she isn’t in DC? She’s here doing things for kids, helping the needy, and appearing in our district even under threat from others who don’t understand her.
Do I agree with everything she does? No. But she worked hard to get where she is and she’s a very nice person (I did meet her when she was at the elementary school next door on Election Day). I hate that the bigotry of her being Muslim is clouding people’s judgment.
I think the fact that Donald Trump is so easily swaying you all is exactly why people like AOC (who was born in the United States) and Oman have to work so damn hard. America has always been about diversity.
And the fact that you are letting a white supremacist dictate to you what you should think when children are being separated from their parents (which is detrimental to their development) and put in cages and concentration camps speaks a lot to the bigotry that you have to.
I’m appalled by this country’s intolerance and I’m appalled that you are supporting someone who definitely has ties to Russia when freaking Jimmy Carter sold his peanut farm to avoid controversy. Meanwhile, the Trump family is selling property and contracts to the Saudis, paling around with North Korea, and telling our allies in NATO and Canada that they can screw themselves.
America first used to mean we would help others (World War II comes to mind) and it’s actually sad that it’s been twisted into white supremacist rhetoric.
And before anyone wants to argue with me: You should take a long look at yourself because bigotry is exactly what got us into this situation in the first place.
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“America first used to mean we would help others (World War II comes to mind) and it’s actually sad that it’s been twisted into white supremacist rhetoric.”
I’m guessing that you’re not Japanese-American because their experience under FDR may be remembered differently.
Calling the detention centers for those who came into this country illegally “concentration camps” as if they could even slightly be compared to the murder of 6 million Jews…, you should just be ashamed of yourself.
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Omar just introduced a bill to support boycotting Israel and had the audacity to compare it to boycotting Nazi Germany. Oh, brother! (That’s what she said)(on their wedding night)
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