I agree with Blow on his points.
But we are also missing an important point within Omar's statement. When we speak about acts of terror or genocide or war we all give the aggressors a label. "The Nazi's" "The Muslim Terrorists" "The Japs" "The Khemer Rouge." By doing so, we make them distinct from us. That feels better.
The truth is that "Humans" have committed ALL of these atrocities again and again down thru the ages. The truth is that these atrocities are committed by "some people" who really are not different from "some people" living on your street. My German mother-in-law watched as half the ordinary loving families on her street turned into humans who could somehow see killing Jewish humans as THE morally right thing to do.
There are evolutionary advantages to us/them thinking AND evolutionary advantages to social connectedness. If we wish to stop our endless human cycle of violence against ourselves we must first recognize that the perpetrator is US.
Then ask, what leads some to us/them thinking and others to social inclusion and interconnectedness. I suggest the book: "The Danish Way of Parenting." Teach children a world view with an intrinsic locus of control. If at the core you feel you have control over your life then you need not fear others. Teach empathy. If we can truly understand a person with different life experiences then we can find space for them in our world.
When Omar said "some people" she hinted at this underlying and uncomfortable truth.
Sorry Mr. Blow, but on this topic you are all wet. If Representative Omar is being "demonized" it is only because the drivel that comes out of her mouth is vicious, insensitive and insulting. I was unaware that it is now open hunting season on majority white American sensibilities. That will stop. If extremists like Representative Omar find our society so distasteful, she is free to resign her position and seek another country that meets her idea of moral rectitude.
7
Charles Blow is one of the most incisive, insightful, and powerful
authors in print. Well done, Mr. Blow, as usual. Thanks.
16
Oh please, Charles Blow. Are you an official sponsor of the Victim Olympics or what?
We're not talking about your average "women of color" here. We're talking about US CONGRESSPEOPLE who should be held to a higher standard for what they say, especially when discussing something as emotionally charged as 9/11.
I loathe Trump and the disgusting things he says. But it is 100% hypocritical to be outraged over his offensive comments and not share the same scorn for someone like Rep. Omar when she says something equally insensitive.
18
Watched Henry Gates on Reconstruction a few nights ago and now have spent too long reading the comments tp Mr. Blow. It’s obvious the fight goes on; deny the vote, attack legitimacy, deride character; but maintain supremacy. It’s hard enough as a white guy to put up with the false outrage directed at Ms Omar without a twinge of nausea. It must be impossible for a person of color or of another minority to react without a twinge of rage. Go get ‘em, Ms Omar. You, too, A.O.C. And you, Ms Tlaib. Ms. Porter gets rave reviews too. I’m white, male, 78. All of you are my heroes and my hope. Keep it up. Damn the press. Love the people.
18
Just like 'you didn't build this', her meaning was taken completely out of context and 'designed' to create this attack on her, culminating in a terrible, violent tweet by the president of the United States directed at her as the representative of 'the other'.
'Some people did something' and then civil liberties were lost. She wasn't negating what 'some people did'. We all know what 'some people did'. There weren't many of them and now thousands upon thousands of Muslims in America are the targets of hatred.
How about Trump's lies about seeing 'thousands of Muslims celebrating in New Jersey when the buildings came down'? And his immediate boast that 'now my building is the tallest' and then applying for and receiving federal funds targeted for people who really needed help? All despicable.
I despise this man. He better pray nothing happens to her.
19
What has really bothered me about this entire episode, is not only the demonization, but the vast majority of the media framing the issue in a way that doesn't clearly show just how devious Republicans have been in taking representative Omar's speech and turning it into something it never was.
The Washington Post fact checker did a wonderful job of going section by section of her speech and explaining exactly what it was that she was talking about in the context in which she was talking about it. The other thing that has been bothering me to no end, is the lack of support Ms Omar has received from her colleagues in the house. This comes at a time when the leadership is attacking progressives in a passive aggressive way that is increasingly becoming wide open.
Trump's attacks on ilhan Omar are amount to begging some crazed person with a weapon to go after her. The denunciations, while there, are insufficient.
We are a year away from the next election, representative Pelosi needs to stop playing politics and stand firmly behind her entire caucus - not just a part of it, and certainly not only part way. There needs to be a full-throated protection by the party leadership of Ms. Omar in a way that is clear, unwavering, and unmistakable. I've not seen that yet.
---
Things Trump Did While You Weren’t Looking [2019]
https://wp.me/p2KJ3H-3h2
333
@Rima Regas:"The Washington Post fact checker did a wonderful job of going section by section of her speech and explaining exactly what it was that she was talking about in the context in which she was talking about it."
Here's the quote, it starts off with a lie and continues downhill from there: "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"
And some white supremacists are nice people.
41
@Jp
you are taking her one sentence out of context of her entire speech in the setting she was speaking. it may have been insensitive of her but it certainly wasn't racist or in any way condoning terrorism.
29
@Rain
It was said in the context of the attack in New Zealand and it was completely on point. See the April 11 entry for WaPo's Fact Check. You can watch her speech in its entirety, among other things.
To say Republicans distorted what she said doesn't even begin to describe their deceit. But, as we know, propaganda works!
43
I’m very concerned that Donald Trump, Sarah Sanders and others are misrepresenting Omar’s speech while speaking in a way that may endanger Omar. That is not OK.
255
@Javaforce
We should all be concerned about hate speech. After all, the congressmen who were shot while playing baseball raise the specter of real violence threatening democracy. But listen to her talk. Omar's remarks were not misrepresented. She is correct that there may have been an overreaction to 9/11 that has targeted Muslims and needs to be addressed but that does change the facts of 9/11. Women of color who enter politics do not have a free pass to engage in insensitive and anti-semitic speech protected by those who view any criticism as "Demonizing Minority Women".
22
@Javaforce
Or she is working very hard at making herself a martyr. It's going to get really ugly if and when that happens.
"The tension is terrible. I hope it lasts."
Oscar Wilde
(then quoted by Willy Wonka among others).
6
Remember how cheaply Trump has politicized the Sept. 11th attacks, most infamously claiming that he witnessed all those Muslims in NJ celebrating the bloodshed. His reckless misrepresentation of Ms. Omar's words were another part of him using the terror attacks for his own gain.
206
@NM The attacks by Trump on minority congresswomen, in addition to his statements about white congresswomen whom he disagrees with, are disgraceful. But Congresswoman Ilhan Omar crossed the line. Charles Blow says "Maybe we could judge her use of language as inartful..." Maybe? That's an understatement if ever I've heard one. In addition to her incredibly hurtful remark about 9/11, she has not been able to articulate the distinction between being anti-Semitic and being against the position of the Likud Party and Netanyahu towards the Palestinians. I would expect a Democratic congressperson to think more clearly before she speaks. Or maybe Ilhan Omar really believes what she says.
25
@Selvin Gootar And Stephen Miller's lobbying for "the wall" and simply shooting anyone who comes across? You may have never heard that, but the BASE has heard it as "And Mexico will pay for it".
9
@Selvin Gootar Obviously you didn't take the time to see all of Omar's remarks surrounding "some people did something". If you did, and you still find her words "incredibly hurtful", then you obviously see her through a distorted lens that magnifies anything she says "incredibly".
I actually don't find her phrase inartful; it's actually clever. Probably too clever for average consumption, though. I think it was meant to resonate with the fact that even when "something" is much less terrible than the 9/11 attack, the level of outrage and prejudicial fear is literally "incredible". 9/11 just became a confirmation of the fear and anger over smaller, and even imagined, attacks; a justification for anti-Muslim rhetoric and action.
And she has articulated "the distinction between being anti-Semitic and being against the position of the Likud Party...etc." She aims her barbs at Israel; she has never said anything against Jews in general. Israel has been controlled by Netanyahu and the Likud for some time now. You betray your own ignorance, or prejudice, if you equate Israel, as embodied by the current Israeli government's ruling policies, with being Semitic.
Omar's fault may lie in not realizing that Americans have less facility with their own language than many people who learned it second. Or in not caring that people looking for fault will misconstrue anything that can possibly be misconstrued.
Btw, why hold only Democratic congresspersons to clear speech?
10
We got it. All criticism of Hillary Clinton was misogynistic. All criticism of minority women is racist. But don't call it thought police. Just call it the racist's way of shutting down debate.
14
I agree with much of your article! Irregardless of Omar’s merits all women deserve fair and respectful treatment.
That said she must not be allowed to use that as a cover to spread hatred.
Omar is a racist anti Semitic fomenter of tropes lies and propaganda against Jews.
The government of Israel has indeed become a far right divisive entity but the Israeli people
Have all but risked undoing their democratic state in order to live in peace and harmony. The real problem is
The dictatorships and oligarchies of this world. They scapegoat Jews in order to starve their people reach violence and hatred as a distraction to their keeping control and wealth at the cost of war and hatred.
11
Mr. Blow's opinion seems to offer a bit of soft racism and sexism.
I have seen AOC, Ilhan Omar, and Candice Owens, all women of color (not all progressive, obviously) defend themselves with fierce determination, strength, and courage after being unfairly, or in some cases, fairly, attacked. While I don't agree with everything they say, they are intelligent, motivated, and unafraid.
Women of color don't need Mr. Blow to complain about how they are being attacked because of their gender and race. Instead, Mr Blow should take them seriously and either agree or disagree with the positions they espouse.
If Mr. Blow wants women of color to be treated equal to white politicians, then he should start by setting an example.
4
You forgot bisexual women here, "But for the women who fall outside this constraint — minority women, lesbian and transgender women, liberal women, “nasty” women"
3
I agree that Representative Omar's comment was taken out of context. This was made a bit easier because her statement was a tad 'inartful' as Blow writes. I also agree with Blow that we should take a longer and wider lens.
If we take an even longer and wider than Blow does, then we see other things. For example, the attack on Candace Owens supposedly for supporting Nazi style Nationalism. This makes another woman of color being attacked over inartful comments taken out of context.
The difference is that one was attacked by conservatives, the other by liberals.
Women of color are making their presence and power known. They will be attacked both fairly and unfairly just as anyone who enters the political area will be. Thank God! This isn't racism or sexism. This is progress.
If you are not being demonized, for better or worse, you are not making a difference. Exhibit A: Trump on McCain. Or Elizabeth Warren, and hundreds of others could be Exhibit As.
That said, we probably could make more progress if the outrage machines on both the left and right dialed it back a lot. Maybe then we could focus more on policy differences rather than inartful language. But given the new attention economy only outrage sells, so I won't hold my breath.
4
Trump could not bring himself to criticize David Duke, what else do you want to know about his standing on race issues?
Let’s just admit it - nobody is allowed to criticize a minority woman. They are members of at least two protected classes - and therefore “special.”
10
Mr Blow, a long time ago, a while man fighting Elections in colonial Kenya, addressing the rally said: " .... at heart I am as Black as any one of you". Trump is a symbol of BLACK-HEARTED America, while Ilhan personifies American Nobility.
God is Great: He gives to whomever He wishes and He taketh away …… from whomever He wishes. In the blank space, insert the word GRACE.
1
Saving my sympathy for the real victims of 9/11. Regardless of their colour or gender.
3
Why all of a sudden protecting Muslims against post 9/11 backlash is more important than protecting all Americans from their co–religionists Jihad terrorists? If good Muslims feel their religion is hijacked by bad batch then why they are silent? If good Muslims actively demonstrated their outrage against the bad batch, I am sure they would be perceived much more favorable in the court of public opinion. But, for some strange reason, they prefer crying wolf position and play "victimazation" card.
8
@KP I have the same question for Trump supporters, especially those who insist that it's the democrats who are high-jacking civil discourse in this country.
Where is your condemnation for Trump's hateful rhetoric and vicious personal attacks? Where is your condemnation for hate crimes against persons of color in this country?
Why do YOU remain silent?
I see democrats censure republicans, but I also see them censure other democrats. It is a rare occasion indeed when republicans call out other republicans for their uncivil discourse and questionable behavior.
When you're willing to call the bad behavior of others instead of giving them a pass because you're wearing the same team jersey, then maybe you've got something to complain about.
3
So is Ayaan Hirsi Ali also being "demonized" for her gender and color? Or does that only happen to anti-Semi... sorry... anti-Zionists?
6
I agree wholeheartedly with your central point that conservatives are being myopic or “intentionally blind” with respect to Representative Omar’s unfortunate word choices in her speech last month.
However, Charles, inasmuch as you decided to add that final cheap-shot line—“These people hate women like Omar because they see them as omens”—and made a sweeping judgment about the hearts of conservatives, you thereby automatically gave Omar’s critics permission, as it were, to judge her as deliberately downplaying 9-11 when she uttered those inelegant four words.
Judge not that she be not judged. Your essay would have ended with a bang without its final sentence.
1
Rep. Omar was trying to explain how the actions of a few are used to discriminate against an entire group of people. This happens all the time with minorities, especially African Americans. The actions of a few become a reflection on the entire African American population. Somehow, this never happens to white people no matter how many white men slaughter innocent people with guns in mass shootings. If people would just calm down and listen to the point that Rep. Omar was trying to make, they might find that they agree with her.
5
The demonizers are the demons. Fortunately we are living in an age when it is nearly impossible for these demonizers to hide behind their rhetoric sand white pointed hats. No amount of logic or discussion will give any of these people pause.
5
This fiery essay is a fine example of writing that can be right on target on one level and mistaken on another.
Yes, Trump and the Lee Atwater types from the Reagan era and the long use of racial dog-whistle propaganda, and the passel of race baiting hosts on hate radio pushing right-wing politics are of one piece. But, holding them responsible for 19th century Democrats in the south during Jim Crow is a stretch.
That Rep. Omar is in the hot seat is indeed compounded by her race and gender. That she is Muslim is a perfect trifecta for the modern GOP and its white demographic panic ethos.
Thus you are mostly on target with your journalistic blowtorch. However here I must accuse you of practicing the bigotry of low expectations. Rep. Omar can't get the history of CAIR right and when they are hosting her speech? Then we have her clueless use of words which you airily dismiss. Well yes, if she was just another student activist maybe, but she is an elected member of Congress. With that office comes some responsibility.
For those of us New Yorkers who still remember the acrid fumes and the tumbled wreckage of the WTC site, please understand our dismay. Her mistake is in no way of the same magnitude as the poisonous and dangerous venom she is getting. But her poor choice of words should not be just brushed away.
6
Islam did not kill Americans. Of the 19 attackers, 15 were Saudi and 2 were from United Arab Emirates. Thus, 17 attackers were from 2 counteies that have excellent ralations with.
Why did they attach America? These attackers were sick of their countries being fleeced by American companies. American companies are still SELLING antiquated weapons to these countries for 100 times the unit price for each item. It was a revenge attack!
On the other hand, who is America killing? The innocent, in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, Liybia. These countries do not have the money to buy obsolete America weapons, nor can they PROTECTION MONEY.
2
Her words are intentionally being twisted from their obvious and clear intent. She was highlighting that she and millions of other US muslims had ZERO to do with 9/11 and that even though it was carried out by someone else, millions of innocent Muslims have been treated as though they are suspect. This suspicion has Omar and innocent people like her paying the price demonstrated by the full force and effect of laws that ban Muslims as well as too many people here justify them being profiled and treated as criminals. It is clear that there is a continual demand that she must apologize whenever she speaks of 9/11 and make the focus of the horror of the attacks, even if her talk is about the way our country has changed since the attacks especially as it treats muslims.
She never said it was "no big deal,” or denied that 9/11 occurred. There is intentional dishonesty about her comments from people who want to find fault, to be offended and to ratchet up fear of Muslims. Instead of recognizing that what she said shouldn't have even been controversial except for that too many of us demand a different standard from "those people" than we demand of ourselves.
2
Until someone can explain how Building 7, which had only minimal damage, fell exactly as if it was pre-rigged with explosives to bring it down, I am going to go with Omar’s assertion that some people did something.
We have not been told the truth.
1
Just because Ilan Omer is a woman of color doesn't give her a pass. She is playing the same game as Trump, playing to her base. It's OK to make trivial the attacks on our country, and turn it around to make Muslims the victims? It's OK to criticize AIPAC (It's all about the Benjamin's") at a fundraiser for a Muslim lobbying organization? Instead of defending her, Democratic leadership should be condemning her actions. Democrats can say what they want, but they are the only ones listening. The rest of the country is becoming turned off to the party because of her. The Democratic party is apparently willing to sacrifice successes at the next election to be politically correct.
6
@Robert I'm her base. I'm a black/Jewish woman who lives in her district. You unfortunately are imputing things to her words that are not in evidence. Her comment about the "benjamins" wasn't about Jews. It was about lobbyists.
She didn't "trivialize" the attacks. They just weren't the focus of her comments.
When a white supremacist shot up Parkland, and another one Christ Church, and other one the Tree of Life Synagogue, all sorts of white people said "that isn't us, we shouldn't be profiled or lose our gun rights as a result of this." In fact, the Republicans just held hearings essentially denying that there is any white supremacist movement in the US. And no one said "oh no, one of our major political parties is trivializing the damage that white supremacy has done to our country."
What I heard in her comments was what I hear from whites all the time about Jim Crow, about slavery, about voting for those who use the southern strategy. "That wasn't me, that was some people. That was someone else, I shouldn't have any consequences to me because of their bad behavior."
That is such a strong bent in conservative circles that many refused to vote for the Violence Against Women Act because it denied men who had been convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence from accessing a gun.
This wasn't about downplaying 9/11. It was rather about how some acts become justification for taking away the rights of others and some don't.
2
Can we just call it what it is and admit she said some disgusting things about Jews, and she doesn't curtail this speech in spite of all the criticism thrown at her? If democrats are going to call themselves the party of equality and tolerance, they have to tamp down on bigotry amongst their own ranks, lest they be hypocrites. With Ms. Omar, they are being nothing short of hypocrites.
Plenty of conservatives condemned Governor Northam for wearing black face. What issue do democrats have with deriding blatant anti-semitism when it's within their own ranks? Conservatives can do it.
This has nothing to do with Omar being a woman of color- there are women, colored people, and women of color in Republicans' ranks. This is calling out legitimate bigotry, and democrats are afraid to do it for fear of upsetting party constituents and the political damage condemning one of their own would do. And I've been critical of many of Mr. Blow's other pieces for his simplistic view on the issue- this isn't about identity, this is calling out legitimate bigotry and antagonism for an elected official. Admit it, admit that this is wrong, and we can be done with this.
7
@Joshua I'm Jewish and she is my congresswoman. I perceive this as people intentionally misrepresenting what she's saying in order to whip up fear and hate of her.
Unless every single white person at all times must apologize for every single thing that every other white person has done before they say "that wasn't me. I wasn't a slave holder." Or "that wasn't me, I didn't put Japanese people in internment camps." Or "that wasn't me that allowed years of redlining and Jim Crow."
Whites frequently demand that their words, actions and behaviors be judged individually while denying that privilege to people like Omar.
She wasn't making a statement of the horror of 9/11. She was making a statement that some criminals committed some heinous acts and as a result ALL MUSLIMS were permanently suspect. 9/11 happened almost 19 years ago at this point. Yet, we are still banning Muslims. We still refuse to have a conversation about the fact we funded Bin Ladin before he turned against us. We supported the Shah of Iran. We refuse to be deeply reflected.
We are frequently willfully naive and pretend that we can't see the connection.
I heard in it the thing I hear from whites all the time "that wasn't me. I'm an individual, I shouldn't lose my freedoms or rights because of the actions of a few." And almost NEVER do I hear any apology or thoughtfulness while that demand is being made.
2
I agree that Omar's last two scandals were scandals in name only. But essentially this article, by inferring a racist/sexist agenda in all criticism of minority women politicians, seeks to immunize such minority women from criticism. Nope. Everyone in the political world should expect to be criticized, sometimes fairly, many times unfairly.
AOC clearly deserves the criticism she gets. She may have good intentions, but she's extremely ignorant, and yet she's out influencing the debate on matters of extreme importance. For example, she was a major factor in New York losing the Amazon deal, a deal she clearly did not understand at even a basic level. So she's out taking actions that have multi billion dollar impact and she has no idea what she's even talking about; that's like driving down the street with both eyes shut.
And, yes I think it's beneath the dignity of the president to be calling a congresswoman low IQ. But are we really defending Maxine Waters? She's the one advocating that her followers harass people in public places who believe something different than she believes. That's unacceptable behavior by an elected leader. Also, just last week she was set to rip into the banking CEOs for the student lending crisis, and was apparently unaware that all of the banks had exited that business when the government took it over nearly a decade ago. That the chair of the house financial services committee could have failed to inform herself of this, is unbelievable.
7
On the subject of Ms. Omar's words and the reactions of both support and condemnation, I recommend David Frum's piece in the Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/04/trumps-attack-ilhan-omar-trap-democrats/587128/
The issues of Ms. Omar's words, on this occasion and others, and the indefensible attacks by some of her opponents need to be separated. One could condemn the hate and exportations to violence of those attacking Omar while also taking a more, I believe justifiably, critical view. It almost feels like Mr. Blow had some points he wanted to make on racism and sexism and used, or I would say misused, the Omar controversies as a backdrop.
6
Good article, and one that made me understand better what is going on with the disrespect that Republicans are showing to these women.
It's galling that the smarter and more accomplished these women are, the meaner and more vitriolic their attacks. Seems like basically insecure men acting badly!
But it is important that the Democrats as a whole, and particularly the 2020 candidates, fight back on this treatment that Omar and others are receiving. A strong stand is necessary as at this point as we are talking about her personal safety as well as an assault on her policies and ideas.
We must take a strong stand in the defense of those being attacked which is really just a basic defense of all humanity, not just people of color. By calling out the guilty (there are lots of guilty folks beside Trump!), we will be defending the rules of decency and human kindness.
In practical terms we will be practicing the Golden Rule that we learned in Sunday School. "Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them do Unto You".
5
The DNC is tying their wagon to the wrong horse during an election!
Defending anti-Semitic comments, whitewashing 9/11, attacking an injured war veteran, admonishing the VP’s faith in God, promoting crisis at the border, and devaluing capitalism; all demonstrates that Nancy has lost control and going down with the ship..
Heck even SNL knows when to apologize!
12
Ilhan Omar is one minority woman who has been demonizing others, including the US.
This refugee instead of being grateful to the US for taking her in demonized the country.
She has also gone after the Jewish minority implying that they more loyal to a foreign government that to America.
Jews have been living in this country since before the Revolution and have fought to protect the US in every war we were engaged in. One American Jew even fought in Somalia to protect her people from war lords. What an ungrateful thing she is
She can demonize Jews but when someone says that she is more loyal to Islam than the US Constitution she gets upset.
Omar is a hypocrite and a liar.
18
Representative Omar's words could be, and have been, easily interpreted according to one's personal and political views, as is evident from other comments to this opinion piece. However, there is little doubt in my mind that 45's response is specifically designed to appeal to a base who have already been both primed and encouraged to take the most negative interpretation. The same man who has repeatedly demeaned other women of color and women generally (and for the sake of the person who demanded specific "evidence" of that, your stance is disingenuous at best), referred to migrants as an "invasion" as if they are vermin, attempted and now mostly succeeded in enacting a complete ban of muslims. He has encouraged violence against journalists, called every opposition either fake news or assigned demeaning and derogatory words to describe them, and done all of this publicly, without shame. I see his treatment of Rep. Omar as a clear threat to her safety. She chose her words badly, but he has chosen his deliberately to create the exact response he has promoted throughout his hate-filled appeals to an entrenched base. At this point, I am at a complete loss to understand why that same base seems unable to recognize how much damage he is doing to all of us - including them.
Charles, you are mimicking Trump and his supporters in your criticism of those who found fault with Ilhan Omar. Was what she said purposeful? I'm not sure, but I lean that way. Was it stupid of her to describe the terrorist attack on 9/11 the way she did? You bet it was. For many, this has nothing to do with whether she is a woman or a Muslim. It seems, rightfully so, to many Democrats that she is an embarrassment and as bigoted as those she accuses of bigotry.
5
Omar's ignorant words about 9/11 makes her the "poster child" for Putin, and the disruption of our democracy.
5
I do not doubt Omar's patriotism. She is a freshman Congresswoman who hasn't quite learned how to navigate the landmines of speech at times.
Brian Kilmeade, one of the dull and delusional on “Fox & Friends,” questioned her patriotism, saying, “You have to wonder if she’s an American first.”
Omar is a US Representative and has sworn an oath to the Constitution of the US. Kilmeade? Is he an American? Does he have a brain and the ability to process information. One would think not for such a shallow empty-headed cheapshot (which describes Mr Kilmeade to a tee).
2
Because of the vulgar man I will be doubling my support and work on behalf of Representative Ilhan Omar. She needs to be in Congress, doing the job she is doing, representing the people in her district. She has demonstrated a willingness to learn and serve her adopted country and remains optimistic in the face of very ugly provocation. She needs our support.
3
The biggest targets of Trump's, and the whole Republican Party's attacks, have been Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton. Not exactly Women of Color. Is Charles Blow calling out White Supremacy where there is none?
2
Omar’s statements need to be viewed from her perspective, which is that some people claiming to be Muslim attacked the US. Her statements were deliberate and made to contrast to many on this forum and the wider public that would treat *all* Muslims as guilty in perpetuating that crime.
2
I stand with Representative Omar as you do, so thank you for putting out the history behind this kind of attack on minority women and how it has been used politically for generations. Triangulating Democrats have also used it to single triangulation, or whatever less polite term you prefer. One example that screams at us is Bill Clinton's demonization of Sister Souljah - in the early 90s an outspoken woman rapper not afraid of boldness in a male and misogynistic world, think Dr. Dr. Dre, NWA. It would have been political suicide for Clinton to take on Doctor Dre or Ice Cube or Snoop Doggy Dog - she was chump change, I guess. So Trump will spew many hatreds - and women who are uppity are his target - but let's put this in the record - all the more applause for Jerry Nadler getting it so right
1
I would like Ms. Omar to clarify whom she meant when she stated that "some people" did something.
In some circles, "some people" could be the CIA or the Jews. Even spouse's cousin, who is Jewish, thinks it might have been the CIA. But then, he is a conspiracy theorist and not all that with it.
3
Well said, Mr. Blow. Thank you.
When some white men, McVeigh and Terry L. Nichols, bombed the Federal Building in Oklahoma nobody tried to demonize all white christian males.
When some muslims attack the World Trade Center why are all muslims held responsible?
PS I am a privileged white male. I certainly wouldn't wanted to be tarred with being associated with and responsible for McVeigh and Terry L. Nichols.
5
Blow gives anyone that's a minority a pass on their rhetoric while Trump is a full blown white supremacist in his book. Omar could've went as far as siding with the terrorist and Blow would be bloviating about how she's a minority and a female, as if that lessons the impact of what she's said.
In the arena of free speech, no one really cares what color or religion you are. Blow has yet to learn this lesson and, weekly, proves it with his race-driven opinion editorials. I figured this might be the straw that'd break the camel's back, but here he is, pointing to her race and gender (or is that too generalized and offensive: she’s a heterosexual CIS female).
More reason why my NYT paper subscription was canned 2 years ago after Trump’s election.
2
The woman represents my district and while she was savvy enough to lie to the Progressive Jews in the 5th District to cut her checks for her campaign, she's not mature enough to handle the pressure of the big show in D.C.
Perhaps she is more cut out to handle the child daycare needs of her constituents in Cedar Riverside in Minneapolis..known as Little Mogadishu.
She's nearly 40 years old. It's not like she's been slinging drinks as a millennial the past 20 years.
She's worked for the State of MN. She's been a State Representative.
She should know better, but just can't contain her hatred for Israel and her contempt for the one nation on earth that gave her the opportunity to leave her war-savaged homeland.
Was that a mistake on our part, or is she making a mistake daily by opening her mouth in ways that make even sane reasonable people question her intelligence and agenda.
9
Some of the comments are exhibit A for Charles' opinion:
Comparing Representative Omar to the unrepentant murderous Dylann Roof to being "unmanageable."
Black women (even when they are school girls in bathing suits) get body slammed and thrown down stairs by men; because they are "unmanageable."
It would be nice to be able to get this much push-back on Sarah Sanders for her unmanageable tongue. She is after-all, the White House Press Secretary (the White House belongs to all of us) and some of the filth, bitterness, bigotry and unrepentant lies coming from her is more than sufficient for everyone to howl.
1
President Trump is an equal opportunity insulter and name caller. That does not make him racist or sexist, it makes him ill behaved and rude and very effective.
Having said that it doesn’t make Ilhan or Cortez or Waters less stupid or prejudiced. They are all those things. Naturally we all know that most Muslims are peaceful. We also know that an overwhelming almost all number of terrorist attacksin the past few years were committed by Muslims.
Your article seems to skip over that
2
Utterly ridiculous! Pochohontas? Adam Schitt? Creepy Joe? Crooked Hillary? And before that, Lyin Ted, Little Marco and Low Energy Jeb! Could you imagine the gesticulations from Blow if Jeb had been black?
The fact is, given the multi-cultural nature of this country and our government, and political slights being used against all comers on a bipartisan basis, they are bound to hit women of color along with the rest. Blow is simply (and transparently) cherry picking his examples to support his untruthful contention. And you wonder why most people don’t take these conversations seriously, if they even stop to listen in the first place. Blow is not a stepping stone to progress on race, he is an obstruction, as is the NY Times.
As an aside, communicating that one finds Ilhan’s “something” (to describe the murder of 3,000 innocent Americans) as concerning and troubling, by simply quoting her own words, is not racist, it is freedom of speech. NY Times, it’s time you learn the difference dont you think?
4
Charles, we will never be an equal society until you can call a dimwit a dimwit regardless of her sex or race.
The content of their character should be the only measure.
10
That's right Charlie- defend an old school anti-semite. Gaslight us all, saying it's "us" that has a problem, not her.
She is David Duke in a hijab, and in the name of inclusion, Mr Blow, you foster hate.
Please don't look for the reasons why Trump is going to win in 2020.
11
Oh Charles, again with the phony race-baiting argument.
Please.
This has nothing to do with race.
It has to do with Omar's mouth, and what comes out of it.
11
Some of her comments are fairly stupid, especially with regard to the politics of the moment.
So by all means, criticize away. Yell right back. Take her on with regard to, say, Israel...which could certainly stand a tad bit of critique, these days.
Just lay off the race and religion crud. Don’t attack her as the voice for all of Islam; don’t swear up and down that this is what black women are all the time; don’t insist that Islam is always anti-semitic and so on.
You can even go after her words and ideas and actions in Congress on the grounds that they expose a bad flaw in the Left. Have at it.
But unless you’re willing to okay yelling at Louis Gohmert because he’s white, or Steve King because he’s a Christian, or Ted Yolo and Trump and Steven Miller and the rest of the scummy pantheon because they represent a racist, ugly streak that is there in every Republican, well, enough with the vicious little race and religion insults.
Oh, and cut it out with the threats.
The collective amnesia from the right is glaring - the attackers were Saudi, and inspired and planned by a shirttail member of the Saudi royal family (Bin Laden). Yet the far right has no issue with this administration playing footsey with the Saudi government, including sharing of nuclear technology and arms sales. Before splitting hairs about the distinction between the official government actions and those of Saudi nationals, recall that this is no different a distinction that attacking all members of Islamic faith for the actions of a few who claim that faith as their own. Where is the responsible reporting to remind the public of this?
6
The election of Ilhan Omar to Congress has been a mistake. Just as has the election of AOC to Congress. They are both threats to American democracy.
Both of their elections were and are an extreme response to what has been called the "Year of the Woman." Just because a person is a woman does not mean that she should be elected to Congress or to any other office.
Both Ilhan Omar and AOC are radical extremists. Neither are a credit to America. Hopefully they will both be defeated and tossed out of Congress in the 2020 Elections.
19
what is the mistake? that they are women. or their ethnicity or faith. i can tell that their intelligence is equal the Republican representative in Congress who have been emasculated by Trump. these women will be reelected amd i have news for you in 2020 more women and men of different ethencity and faith will be ed elected. people like are still living in the mentality pre 1863 .
1
@Reggie And "women of color" are NOT automatically superior beings to white women, no matter what NYT and its readers say.
We record everything the three tweeters say, do, utter, write or say on the Congressional Record. Staffers attend EVERY public appearance of each of them, video and sound running. ALL is uploaded daily and categorized the next day. The seeds of their coming defeats could be said to be “in the can”, for those of you with a film bent. The best part? No writers, ad advisers, editors or fact-checking required — just play back their own actions and words and watch them become toxic. See? It works.
3
I am an 83 year old Jewish woman who remembers the establishing of Israel in 1948. I was distressed when Omar made her remark against Israel. I hope that they can find a two state solution between the Arabs & Jews.
9
I beg to differ. She said something extremely ignorant and ungrateful to the country that took her in, and deserves to catch a lot of heat for it from the general public. She also has problems with anti-Semitism, as evidenced by previous comments she's made (anti-Semitism is a rampant problem in the global Muslim community, much greater than it is in the West). Many of her public comments have been low-brow - frankly, they're the kind of things you'd expect to hear from politicians in a basket case country like the one she fled. America is far from perfect, but we're better than that.
It would be better to focus exclusively on the shame of the death threats, which simply have no place in a civilized country. But when it comes to that there are plenty of white male politicians that have gotten those, too. She is not alone in that, even though it should never happen.
Ms. Omar has an equal right to other politicians to be called out for inappropriate comments and stupidity, and we should all do our part to help her with receiving the cultural education she clearly needs.
24
What a disappointing column from an acute observer of our times.
Representative Omar's glib, dismissive comment about 9/11 suggests a woman who is genuinely unfit to sit in Congress. The fact that Trump is far worse is cold comfort.
The left, of which I consider myself a member, needs to do a better job of criticizing our own when justified. Omar is an embarrassment and could hardly be a bigger boon to the electoral prospects of Trump and his ilk. Or do we only dare speak truth to power when it's the other side mucking it up?
20
While I do not condone Ms. Omar's words, neither will I join the piling on.
I was taught at an early age to "put yourself in the other person's shoes for a minute", before you judge.
9/11 was the most horrendous thing I've ever witnessed in my long life. I too wanted the worst possible punishment for the people who carried it out.
When Bush/Cheney decided against all evidence and reason, to blame and militarily attack Iraq, many of us voiced our opposition. Fifteen of the highjackers were Saudi.
Those of us who opposed were called "America haters", "Saddam lovers", traitors.
After seventeen yrs., 5,000+ American lives, many thousands injured, trillions in debt, and a middle east in turmoil, the birth of ISIS, we have nothing good to show for it.
Hundreds of thousands (or more) people of the Islamic faith were killed, their homes destroyed. They've suffered greatly because we used 9/11 as an excuse to establish American hegemony in the region (see Project for the New American Century).
All Muslims it seems, continue to be pilloried, suspect, ostracized and condemned for that horrible day. Ms. Omar included.
But are we ever going to admit our mistake, and apologize to the Iraqis and the many others who've suffered as "collateral damage", for their deaths and unwarranted destruction?
May I suggest we all place ourselves in their shoes, and consider that our ongoing outrage is no longer honestly, fully deserved.
7
Seems to me to be making a mountain out of a molehill. People are criticizing Ilhan Omar for her failure to condemn Muslim terrorism. Just like people condemn Donald Trump for his failure to condemn white supremacy. Neither attack is accurate. Political attacks like that rarely are.
To suggest that racism is behind the criticism is wrong. Charles Blow seems to think that "women of color" cannot be criticized. Of course they can be. Just like "war heroes" like John McCain can be criticized. And "Gold Star Fathers" like Khizr Khan.
These people are being criticized for their ideas, not for what they are. Criticism of ideas has always been important in this country. And it always will be.
8
Horrified by the President's comments but also dismayed by Ms Omar's questioning the loyalty of Americans who support Israel (and not it's current leader)
4
Trump continues because the tactic is so effective at making minority women and their Democratic defenders look like hapless victims. Ms. Pelosi recently commented on the need to "punch back" against an ill-equipped and unpopular President. Rep. Omar has shown that she can throw the first punch, but what about the counter? Where is the meme showing that Trump tried to turn 9/11 into an opportunity for personal profit?
1
The public reactions to Rep. Omar's words vs. the reactions to DJT words make her point. "You're Prime Minister" to the group of Jewish Americans (Accusation of dual loyalty?) "You won't support me because I don't want you money" "...the people in this room really know how to negotiate", etc...
Religion is the first 'right' protected by the 1st Amendment.
This nation is founded on the genocide of men, women, and children whose primary sin was the worship of nature and more importantly ignorance of the concept of 'private property'.
Mr. Blow's opinion piece on Representative Omar is another example of hate formulated on the color of one's skin, period. When it comes to the history of humanity emanating from the African continent, Eve was not white.
2
On the Late Show with Stephen Colbert rep Omar said she is in Congress to be heard
Congratulations: you are certainly being heard
Now please tell us what you want to be heard for. So far you are doing a great job being a prop for Trump & muslim bashing conservatives - so are you there to help reelect Trump?
At this point even Omar's supporters should accept that Omar being heard is doing more harm than good if you want someone other than Trump as president & it has nothing to do with sex or religion. I really doubt that no one is explaining to Omar how her statements are more than "inartful" & "yet she persists" Instead of discussing Israeli policy which is certainly open to discussion Omar speaks about American Jewish groups "buying influence" & dual loyalties. It is beyond comprehension to fail to comprehend the significance of 9/11 when very recently Jon Stewart was leading a delegation to lobby Congress to obtain aid for First Responders still dealing with the aftermath of an event that took the U.S. into 2 wars. It's hard to believe that Omar has already forgotten how W had to address the nation to tamp down anti Muslim sentiment
So at this point it's either Omar chooses to be provocative or is incapable of learning - I think Omar is part of a 5th column in the Democratic party seeking to reelect Trump so long as she gets publicity - you can draw your own conclusions
7
With all those bodyguards he hides behind, you'd think Trump would occasionally refrain from targeting minority women.
Then again, Trump was also too chicken to come up face-to-face against James Comey, Rex Tillerson, or Robert Mueller for that matter.
He's so cowardly, he can't even deal with them when he's WITH all those bodyguards.
1
Omar continues to express herself poorly. I understood what she was trying to say in the context of her speech; Not all Muslims should suffer for the actions of a few. However when speaking of 4,000 murdered Americans during a terrorist attack that created a security apparatus (see Snowden and the NSA) that changed civil rights for all Americans she needed to express her words with greater context and appreciation of the event.
Based on the headline I thought this article could have been about demonizing woman of color Candace Owens as a Hitler supporter.
Maybe in the columnist view conservative woman of color lose their woman of color status. Not very egalitarian if so.
2
@Alx Is Candace Owen being demonized for her color or because she isn't honest and is rewriting history? I heard her literally say that there is no such thing as the southern strategy.
And no matter how her spin about Hitler she still said the problem was that he attacked other countries but not that he committed the genocide of over 6 million Jews. Where were the republicans insisting that she not speak for them given what she said? They had no problem with it. They didn't say she was minimizing the holocaust.
Your bringing Candace Owens into this conversation actually underscores the point. The right and conservatives aren't outraged by what she said. If they were, they wouldn't have Candace Owens speaking for them.
Thank you for the nuance in this article! Spotlight squarely on the double pressures of being female & not white? Fantastic, women of color NEED to be heard as they get the lowest pay & the least respect. If we see a woman of color on the national stage clearly she had to fight harder than anyone else to get there. Nuanced description of being white but female - you're so on point there too - for those of us who will not & cannot bow obsequiously to racism & sexism suppression is aggressive & everywhere.
1
I see. So, if I find Omar's casual use of anti-Semitic tropes offensive, or I think her snickering over al Qaeda is repugnant, or if the characterization of the 9/11 attacks and the deaths of several thousand Americans as "some people did something" seems to me obnoxious and insensitive, then the real reason is that I'm a racist.
How do you live with yourself, Charles?
10
@David Exactly when did she "snicker over al Qaeda?" I'm Jewish and I felt you had to want to see what she said as anti-semitic.
The point of "some people did something" wasn't to suggest that they didn't do something big. It was about the fact that their acts then redounded onto ALL muslims.
Have YOU ever said "well that's white supremacists, not me? I shouldn't be judged by their behavior?" Did you have to apologize for their behavior first? Or were you granted the privilege of stating the obvious? that no matter how horrible the actions of other people you weren't responsible and shouldn't have to live with the consequences.
2
This is a whole lot of contrived outrage and it stinks like garbage. Don and Jared's best friend is Prince Bone Saw of Saudi Arabia. They are letting him off the hook for that completely and ignoring all the intelligence to the contrary.
But at least they didn't utter 4 regrettable words. Now that would be bad!
3
Trump is simply yelling. This is not a clever man.
2
Remember Julia Shields? I hesitate to give this woman any more publicity. When she drove around drunk, wearing body armor, shooting her guns randomly, and aiming at police; she wasn't killed by police on sight, she wasn't called a terrorist, and she wasn't used as an example to call all white women threats to society. Instead, she got off on an insanity defense.
https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2017/feb/04/hixswomdeemed-not-guilty-insanity-2014-armed/411178/
I am not quite sure what to make of this defense of Ms. Omar's comments. Let’s consider the following statements:
1. "Before the Civil War some southerners did something to black Americans, but that does not mean all southerners are bad."
2. "During the 30’s and 40’s, some Germans did something to some Jews, but we should not blame all Germans for this."
3. "During the Jim Crow era, some in the south did something to African Americans, this does not mean all south is bad."
In each of the above cases, the logic of the statement is unassailable. Not all people of some ethnicity or region should be blamed for the actions of some. But can you think of what outrage these statements would cause? Would you not be moved to write a column about the deliberately bland phrasing those comments? Are those comments not a sly attempt to pass off a hideous tragedy as some bothersome, temporary nuisance? Why is congresswoman Omar’s statement any different? Because she is a woman of color? Should there be two different standards for judging dog whistles? If they come from Steve King they are a bigot’s call to arms and if they come from a woman of color they are well, ‘inartful’?
Is this what you want Mr. Blow?
SK
8
@Suresh Karathinnai Actually, we allow whites to say these things all the time without batting an eyelash.
It's why we are still fighting about confederate statues. This is actually how we live our life right now without shock, comment or note on the part of most whites.
The comments you wrote are EXACTLY how whites talk all the time and no one says anything about them. They are accepted as a privilege that whites automatically enjoy unless they committed an act themselves. They are frequently treated as an individual about whom the best should be assumed.
I've been using similar statements for the past few days to point out just how frequently whites actually say what you just said, but using the opposite argument. That no one demands that they have to apologize or make the focus of their declarations because they have a right conferred upon them to be treated as an individual.
That's the argument against reparations and affirmative action isn't it? Some people did bad things and it's totally unfair that any of those bad actions should ever have a consequence for me. Even if my familial wealth was partially as a result of the full force and effective of the government of this country I had nothing to do with it.
We have a bad habit in our country of harming whole groups of people for the actions of a few. Only one group is ever excluded from this treatment. It's why Germans weren't sent to internment camps and Japanese were.
2
No one should get death threats. Period. No one should make death threats. Period. Any kind of threats, for that matter.
But, that said, what hypocrisy. Is the only thing that matters now to the left minorities? I could care less what skin color, what religion, what zip code Ms. Omar is from. I expect she believes that she is doing the right thing, like just about everyone does. But, she has no more importance than many other people who get death threats. Why now make something of this?
Donald Trump gets several a day (which I think is normal, sad as that is, for a president). The judge in the Manafort case got death threats. Justice Kavanaugh and even his wife got death threats. Look up whoever you like who is associated with Trump. Sec'y Devos - they have to spend millions a year protecting her. Administrative figures, Republicans and conservatives getting publicly harassed by thugs the media doesn't seem to mind much. I'm sure you could write a book about it. The hatred directed towards this president (who can be a big jerk, I agree) is unprecedented.
I do care if she gets death threats. But, I care that what I've seen since 2016 and before just as much. Violence and/or intimidation used as a political tool, mostly be leftist groups like Antifa, BLM, DSA and the press often ignoring it.
Don't be hypocritical. Condemn all violence and intimidation as a means to political goals.
3
Why demonize Representative Ilhan Omar? She looks different. She is a Muslim. She has her own opinions and is unafraid to speak out. She wears different clothes. But most of all she is doing all this while having the gaul to be a woman. The President and company see her as a convenient foil to rile up the core and grab media time. By doing this they also escalate their nativist agenda. One more arrow in their quiver of hate and fear.
1
The Congress woman should not have said "some people did something..." She should have said " A group of Saudi Arabian terrorists attacked America on 911 and etc ..." It would have been very entertaining to see Trump's reaction to the truth about his dearest friends. Death threata anyone?
1
Sorry, but Omar, Ocasio-Cortez, Waters and Wilson all richly deserve whatever critical comments come their way.
7
And the president? Ted Cruz? Etc...
1
As usual with his columns, I have no idea where Blow is going with his analysis, here it is the rape discussion towards the end of the piece...
Omar and AOC have said silly things, like any politician. And other politicians and commentators have called them on it. Any attempt to root all opposition to what a politician has said in racist/sexism and astonishingly a history of a fear of rape is not only placing a politicians' s opinions beyond critique (which is cultish and dangerous) but is also attempting a type of mass psychology on people who hold an opinion. This is the type of servility that an informed citizen should labor to avoid.
6
"Brian Kilmeade, one of the dull and delusional on “Fox & Friends,” questioned her patriotism, saying, “You have to wonder if she’s an American first."
I have to wonder whether Mr. Klmeade and others who have labeled themselves Christian conservative, when asked bluntly, would rank their American citizenship above their Christianity.
1
It is also my understanding that in the 1930s and 40s in Germany some people did some things to other people.
16
Ilham Omar's speech was motivated in large part by the New Zealand shooting. The loss of life that resulted from the New Zealand shooting obviously shook her, as it has shaken many Americans. Ilham Omar was right to speak out against the hatred that led to the New Zealand shooting. However, while she treated loss of life resulting from the New Zealand shooting with seriousness and solemnity, she treated the loss of life caused by 9/11 with incredible glibness. I find this, in conjunction with her repeated antisemitic remarks, deeply troubling.
However, I also believe that most conservative pundits are using this to injure the Democratic Party, not because they genuinely care about antisemitism or human life. There have been plenty of times where Trump has treated human life at least as glibly ("take out their families"), and where he has trafficked in the same stereotypes ("You’re not going to support me because I don’t want your money" and "Is there anyone in this room who doesn’t negotiate deals?") without receiving near the same level of condemnation.
6
We will never forget 911-- but we should remember that in a sort of twisted retaliation the US invaded Iraq and Afghanistan. At least a quarter million civilians killed and millions rendered homeless.
A few people not even associated with these countries committed the crime.
And the US has committed crimes against humanity in return.
It is unpleasant to acknowledge these atrocities, hence the demonization of minority women for stating the facts. There is no reason the women should be circumspect in speech, except expectations of their gender and status as perceived by the bigoted president and his cohort.
The president has rendered himself illegitimate.
7
@Karen DeVito
You forget that the Taliban harbored and protected Bin Laden. They refused to give him up to the US even before the 9/11 attack.
4
I am disappointed by the misogyny and racism displayed by so many of the comments here today. And then so many recommendations of those hateful comments. We have a long way to go towards equality, and we have regressed greatly under the current occupant of the White House.
I fear for our country.
11
I think that it would have carried less significance if anyone else would have said it.... We know Omar is an anti-semitic person, it has been proven in interviews that have come to light, recent comments and other such conversations she has had in the past. This most recent comment highlights a disturbing pattern of behavior from Ms. Omar that shouldn't be ignored.
By describing 9/11 in the way she did, I believe she intentionally lowered the significance of perhaps the darkest day in recent American history to not overshadow her point. I don't believe this was a syntax error, her speech was prepared for her, and I believe it was totally intentional. I don't believe she considered the affect it would have on people who are still affected by this despicable tragedy committed by cowardly religious fanatics.
19
The writer is making excuses for one woman's "in-artful" expressions, which most likely were deliberate and quite carefully calculated. Democrats need to purge her or be seen as soft on terror and unpatriotic. She's going to be a persistent problem into the 2020 election cycle. I agree with many on Omar and the trouble she'll cause.
20
@Andrew
"Democrats need to purge her or be seen as soft on terror and unpatriotic."
Republicans need to purge Trump et al. or be seen as soft on terror and unpatriotic. They are not calling out the terrorist attacks of white supremacists for what they are, and thus they implicitly support the terrorization of millions of Americans. Then they compound the animus by explicitly targeting women of color with pointed, vicious invective.
1
If Ms. Omar felt that she used inartful language, or spoke in error, she could have clarified or corrected her statement, or apologized for it. Instead, she went double or nothing, knowing that she was offending huge swaths of the population.
Think of how "some people did something" would sound in the context of slavery, the Holocaust, or many other atrocities. I don't think that we should remain silent in the face of such offensive and inappropriate statements, let alone give minority women a free pass.
20
@James
9/11 was horrible, evil and shook the US. But it was not as bad as the many, many years of slavery; the pure banal evil of the Holocaust that also went on many years while many in the US refused to help. Or the suffering and 100s of thousands dead in Afghanistan and Iraq.
1
So much unfortunate chatter about Rep. Omar's very unfortunate choice of words, which when viewed on the entirety of her speech become more the stuff of heated rhetoric than revelation of some deep-seated hatred for the US. Come on. People, 45 included (obviously) are milking this for political gain and to gin up "the base".
And yet, his base has no problem with his word salads, rambling, pointless banter on the podium, use of Twitter in denigrating, even hateful, ways that should break the use policies of any reasonable social media platform, and mendacity we've never seen in a typical four year-old, much less a president. Ignoring and ultimately accepting this evidence of an obviously severely cognitively compromised individual is very dangerous, indeed.
7
@John
I watched her whole speech. While I agree with you that I don't think her words came from a place of hatred, I do believe they were shaped by a general difficulty with acknowledging different viewpoints. I believe this is also why she has made antisemitic remarks multiple times, and why she has continued difficulty in empathizing with Israel.
2
"(As The New York Times pointed out, “The Council on American-Islamic Relations was actually founded in 1994.)"
So in addition to her poor choice of words on the 9/11 attacks, she is also flat out lying. She is just as bad as Trump and the democrats should not be supporting her or defending her. She talked her way into this (and other messes) let he talk her way out.
14
People view Representative Omar's words through the lens of their own perceptions and beliefs. That is why the same people who are outraged about an "all about the Benjamin's" comment that she apologized for can accept DJT telling a group of Jewish Americans that "Bibi is their prime minister" or "You won't support me because I don't want your money" or accept him lying about losing a lot of friends on 9/11.
4
By now, if any American doesn't know how vile Donald Trump, his paid mouthpieces and Congressional re-tweeters are, another column won't open their eyes or change their minds and hearts. Only votes can stop the descent of our country into mass insanity and chaos. I urge Mr. Blow and his colleagues to start writing now about all the positive reasons to vote for one, two or any of the Democratic candidates without mention of the Evil One's name. When Nov. 11th comes, we will have only two choices and one chance to step back from the abyss. Former Obama Trump voters in the last election will be the deciders. Give them one or two positive reasons to flip back.
5
Omar is being "demonized" for what she is saying and not for her gender or race.
13
@natan If that were true DJT would be being demonized for saying far worse.
1
@Basic Well, he *is* being "demonized" for the things he says.
3
There are 39 women of color in Congress, 3 of them Republican. Only 2 Muslim. It's easy to see time-tested conservative approaches with those small numbers.
The American people elected Omar as they did Steve King (or Trump for that matter). Whether you agree with them or not the American people can judge next time.
Conservatives (or whatever they are these days) have to ask themselves why there are so few Republican women in elected office everywhere you look.
4
@sapere aude
So we might "ask ourselves" . . .
But then we see how many women etc were actually running for office(s) and the picture is nowhere near as depressing as some would like to depict
Unless we want to tell voters whom they must choose. Do we want to do that?
4
@boroka
reelection rates in Congress have never been below 90%, that’s Soviet Union “election” levels. Women running against incumbents is not exactly the proverbial level playing field.
Let's be clear, Speaker Pelosi also contributed. When Congress repeatedly called for censure and public reprimand of Congresswoman Omar after her AIPAC comments, it was a signal to Trump and his followers she is "fair game." Pelosi, and other white privileged leaders made Omar an easy mark. By labeling her as anti-semetic, she became unsympathetic. And Trump has pounced on it because Omar is already wounded by her OWN party. Thank goodness for other women in the Democratic party like AOC that has immediately jumped to her defense. I am disgusted that much more is not done by liberals AND conservatives on this matter. They are suddenly tongue tied when it comes to Trump but Omar gives a critique of AIPAC, there are immediate repercussions.
7
@Mohammad A Khan
While Omar is certainty held to different standards than Republicans, I do not think that it excuses her comments about Israel. She has made, and been condemned for, antisemitic remarks on three different occasions:
"Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.",
"It's all about the Benjamins baby"
"I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country."
It wasn't until her third comment that the Democrats condemned her. Each time she has claimed ignorance of the antisemitic stereotypes that she was utilizing. However, after claiming ignorance three times, I have to believe that she is either being willfully ignorant of these stereotypes, or that she is lying about her ignorance.
4
Nowaday, the line has thinned considerably between « demonizing » and « criticizing ».
While Trumps’ attacks and invitation of violence against Reprensentative Omar will never ever be tolerable, I personally also feel that there are more and more intolerance of any form of criticism from Rep. Omar’s staunch followers.
For many, any slight criticism concerning whatever Rep. Omar may say or do, is seen as intolerable personal attack against Rep. Omar that is due solely to her being a muslim woman of colour. Even further, a lot of these criticism, however valid it may be, are directly dismissed without taken into account.
Rep. Omar is not an angel, nor is she a perfect human being or a child. She is an adult human being who can make mistakes, and knows exactly what the weight of her words are.
If she says or does something inacceptable, she should be criticized as such. If she says or does something commendable, she should be commended for it.
4
I have mixed feelings about Omar, and all women who cover their hair a do other quirky things according to religious beliefs which mark them as inferior beings in that same religion.
Admittedly, I am an old lady who left religion behind decades ago and therefor am prejudiced.
10
@Carole
French women might very well say the same thing about American women who do not bare their breasts at the beach. I would be inclined to agree that American standards with regards to female nipples are backwards. However, if you were raised in America, at some point you might just be more comfortable covering yourself. You could be perfectly fine with French women doing as they choose, but might not choose the same for yourself. I believe this is probably how Omar feels about her Hijab.
Trump is setting up a trap for Democrats. By attacking Omar, he is forcing Democrats to close ranks behind her. Coming to Omar's defense means they will inevitably share blame for her ill-advised comments. Republicans will happily claim that she is the face of the Democratic Party and her opinions fairly represent the party's philosophy. Whatever one thinks of Omar, it would be an error to spend too much political capital (and risk the election) to extricate her from controversies of her own making..
11
If Mr. Trump's attempting to make "Omar and Ocasio-Cortez the face of the Democratic Party" is wrong, then how is that different from the numerous Dems who are trying to make Mr. Trump the face of the entire Republican Party?
7
@mikecody When Republicans start standing up to Trump, I will stop saying he is the face of the Republican party. Until then, if you support him, you own him.
4
So you’re saying that Trump isn’t President and doesn’t dominate the Republican Party?
Seriously?
5
Blow is really reaching with this one. Anyone who said "some people did something" as a way of describing the horrors of 9/11, and then uses it as a crutch to engender sympathy for supposedly persecuted Muslims is worthy of big time criticism. Thank goodness we now have a president who does not find excuses for radical Islam, or go on worldwide apology tours to Muslim nations as Obama did.
16
I wonder what one should call Trump’s clunking his way around the planet kissing up to Putin and the Saudis and Kim and Xi, or threatening and shoving our allies?
The “Kiss & Bellow Tour?”
But then, I myself can’t help wondering how Trumpists manage to cling so desperately to these bizarre fantasies about President Obama, whose faults and errors at least never included staring at a glowing orb and ignoring a reporter’s being chopped into pieces.
Is this really the moment to inflame the Trump base more than it already is? Is this the time to give the president his sole bully pulpit to misconstrue and weaponize comments like those of Representative Omar? Is this giving Trump a greater platform to spread vicious and false propaganda? Is this the opportunity to allow him to subtly interject his misogynistic, anti immigrant and anti Muslim messages to at his rabid rallies? I think not. She and other new energetic and dynamic representatives have plenty of time to promote their ideas and opinions during their terms in office which only began three and a half months ago. Right now we are in the most consequential election cycle of our lives. Words matter and these representatives may run the risk of not even having the opportunity to promote their platforms after 2020. They should find common ground with their more seasoned Democratic colleagues to present a unified rather divided front to defeat Trump. Time is of the essence to tone down the rhetoric.
3
I am till trying to get by Repr. Omar's remarks about "Benjamins" and now the "something about something". I was pleased when she was elected. I want diversity in my Congress and particularly women of color. I expected her to stand up and speak her mind, but I didn't expect her to express what sounded to me like anti-semitism, and now to use rather callous semantics, whether inadvertent or not. I still support this lady, but I would be appreciative if she would think a bit before she speaks and edit her phrasing.
8
On the same day Mr. Blow's column appears, there is another article about poor treatment of women in Pakistan... by Muslims! Oh the irony...
"Many Pakistanis admit that women face huge obstacles, and that improving their status would help move the entire nation out of poverty and away from injustice. But critics argue that women seeking too much freedom “in the wrong way” violate the limitations of Islam, Pakistani culture and society. Instead, they say, women should be more “mature and balanced,” when asking for their rights. In short, they should accept whatever is granted to them, conditional on their good behavior, by Pakistani men."
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/14/opinion/pakistan-womens-march.html
7
You know, change the word “Pakistani,” to “American,” and this’d work all too well as a statement of the views of half the Republican Party.
2
Thanks again for a great column.
6
Once Again, you hit this straight out of the park, Mr. Blow....
5
So, I agree she could have used severe adjectives to describe the Twin Towers terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. She didn't, but she also did not give the murderers any satisfaction that their deed was again getting attention. I do sympathize with her in not calling the terrorists Muslim. The Muslim faith, like the Christian faith, has its pretenters. People who use the faith to do unspeakable or unjust things to those they oppose. I am a follower of Jesus (a Christian). I cannot understand the actions and opinions of those far right conservative church goers who refuse to help people escaping hardship and terror. Or those who feel their whiteness needs protecting. And would side with a man whose stands diametrically opposed to the very words of Jesus they claim to follow. So I see, in Congresswoman Omar's words, a voice trying to point out another injustice in our world and that is all.
3
The only reprobate and pathological cadre is the white supremacist Trumpian group, deeply ignorant, hence prejudiced, against any progressive ideas meant to improve ordinary people's lives. That Ilhan Omar is flawed goes without saying; but from there to verbally threatening her is a dangerous stretch better not crossed. Whosoever feels free of guilt or faults, throw the first stone. No takers? Didn't think so. Unless you are a hypocrite 'a la Trump and Hannity', with a log in their eyes...for the speck in their neighbor's.
5
I’m boycotting the Democratic Party. Until both Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Cortez are ejected from Congress, I will not cast my vote for a Democrat. If that means voting for Trump in 2020, so be it. Hopefully, millions of my fellow disillusioned Democrats will follow suit.
120
@Shenoa
The Republican Party will welcome you with open arms. You can join the likes of Congressman Steve King, self-proclaimed white nationalist, along with Duncan Hunter and Chris Collins, both of whom are under indictment.
The reaction of the "right" toward Ocasio-Cortez and Omar, and don't forget Tlaib, would be comical if it didn't pose a real danger to their safety.
Many of your "fellow Democrats" are hardly disillusioned by these new young Congresswomen. In fact, we are energized by them. We are not threatened by their new ideas and fresh perspective. The country doesn't move forward by "coloring within the lines." We need voices that force us to examine and question the status quo. Sure, sometimes in their youthful exuberance they may go too far, but it doesn't mean they should be silenced.
If you'd rather support a party controlled by old white men, go ahead and do it now. Pretty soon it's going to be too late.
And, for the record, I AM an old white man.
231
@Shenoa The party should exist to represent its members and their priorities. Maybe you don't fit in. Not everybody does, but the majority must be represented. It is not for the senior party members to dictate to them.
35
I would not go so far as to say that I will vote for Trump in 2020, but I am deeply disturbed by the meteoric rise of these two highly inexperienced and unskilled politicians. AOC in particular seems grossly unfit to be a spokesperson for the party, even if the position is unofficial–does it matter? She has become one of the most visible faces and widely heard voices in the party, and the more she is seen and heard, the worse I feel Democratic chances in 2020 will be. She seems compelled to put her foot in her mouth on every occasion, without any consideration for the health of the party overall. And that makes me think it is all about attention for her, whether negative or positive. If it is negative, no matter, she will find a way to spin it into something that reflects positively on her and poorly on her detractors.
If SHE is the future of this party, then I fear I will eventually stop supporting the Democrats. I thought I’d stick by them no matter what, but the last few years have exposed me to an increasingly widespread element within the party that is prone to utter insanity and unreason on social issues. Need I go into what those issues are?
Voting Democrat now no longer seems like the right thing, something I would do out of genuine confidence in the party, but simply the lesser of two evils.
51
I am no fan of George W. Bush, but we must give him credit for mitigating the backlash against Muslims after 9/11. Good thing Trump wasn't in power or we would have had a bloodbath.
204
@Carol Avrin
We did have a bloodbath -- against Americans.
9
@Carol Avrin, GWB May have prevented the backlash against our Muslim brothers and sisters..but he turned around and attacked Iraq who had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks!
Head scratch, doesn’t add up one bit.
13
@dgbu Yes, but if worse came to worst and hate had been fully unleashed, we'd have had a bigger bloodbath against anyone who looked even vaguely Middle Eastern.
4
i wouldn't draw inferences that this is about minority women in general. This is about someone who seems to combine her Islamic background with her leftist politics in a way that causes her to seek division rather than reconciliation on issues touching the Middle East and the tendency of radical Islam toward terrorism. She seems the exact opposite of the great and healing African-American women in and entering politics across the country.
14
What amazes me in columns like this & the comments associated with it. Is that, as a white male, if you disagree with the stated opinion of a man or woman of color you are automatically labeled a racist. Doesn't matter that I personally could care less what color the person skin is, the fact that I have a counter argument gets me labeled a racist. Argue against the views of a woman of color, & I am perceived to be suppressing them not engaging them in an intellectual debate.
The Left has lost the art of debate & has decided to not argue their point of view but to try & ostracize those that disagree with them. If the Left does not stop, & begin to engage those they disagree with instead of belittling them. Then history shows that when people refuse to engage one another & debate their points of view. You are walking down a road to violence & war.
Do not do as the author of this piece has done & treat all people that try to argue against a person of colors view, that they are hateful, racist & want to do nothing more than keep people down. We can agree to disagree without the name calling & trying to hang a stereotype on people you disagree with.
10
@Troy
You refer several time to the belittlement of left with those that disagree with them. Yet like so many of you who find this unacceptable, you refuse to acknowledge, let alone condemn, the outrageous divisive, denigrating rhetoric of our current commander and chief.
Why is that?
As someone willing to respond to your calls for intellectual debate on the matter, this is baffles me. How can you claim to be intellectually and morally honest while conveniently ignoring the dismal, divisive rhetoric provided by the current occupant of the White House?
In my view, this is where people like you have lost the moral standing to critique what constitutes civil discourse. Your active silence on the President’s rhetoric suggests that such nasty rhetoric is only ‘bad’ if targets you, or people like you.
Trump and men like him, are ‘just tough talkers telling it like it is’ and women like Omar and AOC are ill informed and unhinged and need to be silenced because they threaten democracy. Or rather your world view of it.
I’m willing to talk about the state of civil discourse country. But I won’t do it with anyone who insists that the presidents rhetoric is out of bounds or irrelevant to the discussion.
Well, but sometimes you are not paranoid if they really are out to get you. Maybe some of this is true in rare cases but why pick Omar or her cohort as the purported recipients of attack and double standards? Why deny that what she said was completely insensitive at best and highly inflammatory at worst. Just like the guy who got shot in Ferguson, and the whole black lives matters crusade that followed it, was actually a criminal who was evading arrest and not an innocent honors student, became a pretty poor poster boy for civil rights, so too Omar is a pretty poor choice for a victim of conservative ire. The left never gets it right here - they consistently choose some of the worst examples of behavior and speech to defend. Let's not conflate politics with valid criticism of content. No one has recently put down or minimized Elaine Chao and no one criticized Condi Rice until she deserved it when she missed the cues that 9/11 might happen. This time around though every bit of criticism of Omar is spot on.
10
Demonizing. Isn't that a little strong? Can't we just say some people said some things?
7
Painting with a wide brush here: the world-wide patriarchal establishment--and you know who you are--will not tolerate any threats to its power, especially from women of ANY color. Muscle rules.
2
@Cody McCall Then explain how Pelosi maintains her position.
3
Yes , Ilhan Omar said "some people did something".
She misspoke.
She should have said "some people from Saudi Arabia and paid by that country did something evil, and trump gave them nuclear reactors so they can make their own nuclear bomb for their next attack."
5
Sorry, Charles. This has a "boy who cried wolf" connection. Yes, we've been mean and nasty to women of color for a long time.
Ilhan Omar deserves our scorn, not for who she is but for what she says.
19
Thank you Charles. I would just point out that Trump's disregard for others actually has no limits at all in terms of race, sex,age. He is totally self-centered. He is not capable of love, compassion, or sharing. He sees others, all others, not as human sisters and brothers, but as things to be used as long as they are useful and then discarded. Not "useful things" are simply ignored unless they get in the way, in which case they are designated as dangerous rapists or disease ridden trash and to be done away with.
Trump is a highly intelligent coward. Fear and hate are the primary energies that drive individuals such as Trump. It is the fear of their own weaknesses and ultimate death that drives the hate that plots to destroy, any "thing" that it sees as a possible threat.
There is more, but you get the idea. We are not dealing with a rational human being. we are dealing with a very sick individual.
4
Rep. Omar’s statement were factually incorrect (CAIRS was founded before “something happened”/9/11) and provocative to boot. That she receives criticism is not an injustice. It has nothing to do we’re her skin color. Your premise is dead wrong.
13
Representative Omar is not running for president. It would behoove her to tone down her controversial rhetoric until after the election. Words matter whether you are a man or a woman. In this case they only serve to strengthen team Trump and add fuel to the fire in his playbook of spreading propaganda to his rabid base. She and other new representatives in congress should be finding common ground within their party with the goal of defeating Trump. Comments like these only serve to divide rather than unify the nation more than it already is. Them must reserve their opinions until after the most important election of our times. There will be plenty of time in her term in office to do so, that is, if the party wins in 2020.
3
No, Mr Blow, not everything is about picking on women of color, or men of color for that matter.
We should be absolutely focused on getting Trump out of the White House. Omar, a loudmouth who doesn't have the sense to shut up even after several well-publicised faux pas, is clearly not; in fact she's helping Trump.
This country took her in from a refugee camp in Kenya. Is it too much to ask that she repay us by helping us to oust Trump in 2020, rather than shooting off her mouth time and time again?
And the idiocy of saying '...some people did something" - good God, how stupid do you have to be to say something as dismissive as that about a terrorist attack in which over 3000 people were murdered?
Sheesh!
14
This may be hard to accept, especially for liberal Jews, but Rep Omar is an antisemite, no ifs ands or buts. Embrace her at your peril and Israel's peril. It's time to face reality. Trump is the most pro-Israel president ever. If Israel is important to you, then prioritize your concerns and vote Trump 2020.
15
Only impeachment will protect society(children ,
women and men) from the creature residing in our White House.
Speaker Pelosi impeachment proceedings are thee only reasonable method for the Congress and public to obtain the Mueller report and the whole truth surrounding the Con Man in Chief and his corrupt administration . McConnell and his enabling cult in the Senate will then be forced to put our country before their party.
2
Mr. Blow is actually being too kind to white racists of the past and present. The trope about black men raping white women was classic projection, because the reality was white men constantly raping black women, something that didn't end with the abolition of slavery (see Strom Thurmond's mixed race daughter). While Fox News demonizes Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Waters, its obsession is with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar because these two intelligent young women of color are sexy to straight men, including to racist white straight men. It's not an accident that Fox News was started by Rupert Murdoch, the owner of The Sun, the newspaper that long featured a topless "Page 3 Girl" in each issue. The constant excuses to show pictures of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and, not quite as often, Rep. Omar, amounts to a form of soft-core pornography. Fox News is attempting to take ownership of their bodies. This tactic is both racism and misogyny in all-too-classic form.
5
President Trump declares he is the bigger, better, greater one who does “what no one else can do.” The only thing he does that no one else can do is get away with standing on a national and international stage to viciously bully a freshman member of the House; a woman of color, who happens to worship the same Abrahamic God that Trump claims is his. Out of the Christian, Islamic, and Jewish forms of worshiping that God, she is Islamic. Even still, I would wager she knows the difference between “Second Corinthians” and “Two Corinthians.”
The GOP long ago gave up any semblance of being a political party. They are an organized rabble of thieves and bullies and blasphemous liars by Abrahamic standards. They might have learned from Obama’s two successful elections that the unmistakable majority of Americans are tired of the evil sickness that is representative of their insecure and impotent masculinity revealed by bullying women of any color and any race.
In 2020 the GOP will experience the results of caging children and bullying women, when they find out what it feels like to be defiled. They will be judged by the American people to be unworthy of any form of leadership.
3
Omar is criticized for the hateful things she says. Then, she and the Democratic party make her the victim. She should not be immune from criticism because she is a headscarf wearing Muslim woman of color. None of these things justify her hateful speech. She speaks English well so she can't pretend she didn't mean what she said. She knows that what she says is hateful but she can always play the race and religion card. There is similar criticism of the white man in the White House when he makes hateful comments. Equal opportunity means everyone is held to the same standard. She doesn't get a free pass because she is a Muslim woman of color.
7
Better to Remain Silent and Be Thought a Fool than to Speak and Remove All Doubt. Words matter, choose carefully grasshopper!
I like Mr. Blow's columns, but I question the relevancy of using scenes from a movie made in 1915 as support for an argument. It strains the credibility of his thesis.
1
Nobody is criticizing Omar for being a woman or person of color. They are criticizing her for her inane comments in support of terrorist nations, her deep & persistent criticism of Israel, and her clearly anti-American sentiment. Her 9/11 comments were reprehensible and beyond the pale. This column however is another way that the left ensures racism remains alive & well. Without racism, the left would have a lot less to complain about, ergo, the left has a vested interest in continuing to play the race card.
8
Re: Reconstruction and rape
Historically fearful of the rape of white women by black men...little is spoken by white people of the terrorism visited upon the black woman by white men of that same period.
2
Perhaps Democrat need to load the "gun" they at least carried to the "gunfight" and use the same 9/11 picture Trump used but change the wording to Trump's statement that:
"Now I have the tallest building in New York city."
Also, while the threat of black on white rape was used as a tool to continue slavery-like oppression, white on black rape saw no such restrictions.
According to Professor Melissa Harris-Perry the black women was viewed as a jezebel who was sexually insatiable and therefore raping her was simply to give her what she wanted anyway.
1
Dear Mr. Blow, As someone who makes his living through the use of words, you more than most should recognize that words do matter. The ‘some people’ words are way beyond inartful. They reflect either an intent to inflame (I think less likely), a conscious or subconscious desire to downplay the role of Muslims in a hateful act (I think most likely) or an incredible ignorance of the actual importance of history in shaping the views of the public ( an actual attack by Muslims - not some people). I give this last option considerable weight because she didn’t even know the correct history of the organization to which she was speaking. Ignorance is dangerous when you have been given a bull horn.
9
By now, we all know about Trump's toxic narcissist personality and his projection of his defects onto others. But could there be other reasons he vilifies others -- could it also be, for example, that his standard operating procedure is to always be on the offensive (and he is very offensive) towards potentially anyone and everyone in the public eye as a "best defense" strategy. As this man seems to have been a misanthrope and a chronic problem for people all his life, it appears that he has just leaned into it and tried to make a virtue out of his failings. Roy Cohn really created a Frankenstein for us all to have to deal with.
2
Personally, I have my concerns about Ilhan-Omar for other reasons you entirely decided not to mention.
I have no problem with being a woman, nor a Muslim - in fact, I applaud her for for that. Congress needs MUCH MORE diversity, and definitely needs new blood. My concerns about Omar stem from I believe 4 separate occasions (according to the NYT) where she has made anti-Israel statements in the past decade.
Even there, everyone is within their own rights to have differing opinions on Israeli politics. I have no problem with that. My concern is whether her issues are with Israeli politics, or with Israel itself. That position is not entirely clear, and warrants watching Omar closely. Below are only 2 recent examples I am referring to, within the past 2 months, right out of the NYT headlines:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/01/us/politics/ilhan-omar-israel.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/07/opinion/ilhan-omar-anti-semitism.html
For now, I am content to give her the benefit of the doubt, and I sincerely hope she is able to flourish in Congress. However, if she is against the existence of an Israeli state at all, that is concerning to me. Only time will tell...
3
"Some things should be too sacred to exploit for political gain but Trump is an amoralist."
"I believe that the attacks should be viewed through a wider and longer lens."
Train that lens into the future & you can easily see the GOP strategy for the 2020 election.
In the 1950s Joe McCarthy did some unscrupulous/unethical/unmoral "things" & was later denounced by the GOP but he succeeded in in stigmatizing the Dems as soft on Communism (code for the party of Godless Communism and Socialism). That stigma still stings so much today that lots of Dems r pulling their hair out over Bernie Sander's claim to being a "Democratic" Socialist.
What you r seeing today is the GOP trying to do the same to the Dems regarding Islamism.
As Judaism is a conflation of religion & ethnicity, Islam is a conflation of religion & politics. Most religions r full of ideology much of it unsightly, Islam is full of unsightly political ideology.
Regarding Islam Dems see a faith & a race (the former is true, the latter isn't, any race is welcomed to join Islam).
Regarding Islam GOPers see an ideology, a foreign one @ that. Despite the Christchurch bombings, by far the majority of terrorist incidents today are result of Islamic ideology. Most of the wars America is fighting in Syria, Iraq & Afghanistan have to do with Islamic ideology. Not to mention assimilation problems in Europe. Many are just tired of it.
Exploiting Omar & Islam is Trumps ticket to re-election. Things r going to get very dark.
1
@Tim Kane
This is all so silly and hypocritical. Mr. Blow should look in the mirror once in a while.
"Some things should be too sacred to exploit for political gain...."
But Trump is not exploiting the horror of 9-11 to punish a political enemy; he is reminding her, and all of us, what actually happened that day, when "some people did something."
Trump implicitly criticized Omar for not being sufficiently reverential about this tragic episode. He was implicitly arguing that 9-11 is too sacred to be dismissed in a throwaway line -- "some people did something" -- in an ill-informed speech that claimed CAIR was started as a result of 9-11 (it was not) and that mass murder did not justify the erosion of civil liberties experienced by Muslims in America.
Is this exploitation?
His critics, including Mr. Blow, are doing precisely the same thing.
If we apply this standard equally, Mr. Blow himself is exploiting 9-11 -- by explicitly claiming it is so sacred that Trump cannot use it to criticize a political opponent.
2
This R president is insanely divisive and using sexism and racism to inflame anger and hatred hence more division which gives him the power he craves for, though the weakest power! When they challenge him and he can't rise and measure to their level of tolerance, civility, and or technical know-how then they touch his only one nerve left that can't even function properly; they make him lose sleep and push him to Twitter at 3:00 am! The fact that they can challenge him, the fact that they have thicker skins they give him nightmares and the resort into the negative targets to destroy their character if not their credibility...Absolutely Sept 11 was awful, and tragedy to the country and so as the invasion of Iraqi and the the aftermath of the Iraqi war! In both cases lives were lost tragically...Have you wonder if the Iraqi people are sensitive or happy about the IDA invasion of their country? There has not been a justification for the September 11 just as there is not been the justification for the invasion of Iraqi and the massacres that took place due to that invasion...do as in many other incidences of that nature...but to lcriticize or condemn without thoughtful thinking of whether USA had always be in a right place and play it fair and just is setting yourself to a different standard while seeing others as having a deficiency! First remove the beam out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take out the speck from your brother’s eye!
Self awareness is not a feature of trump's base.
Cult member on trump: "Yes, trump shouldn't trash our American heroes like John McCain, but... No, I don't like how he insults everyone, but...He blurts out lies to look tough, but we love that! Just let him be his boasting, foul mouthed divisive self, mean Dems!"
Cult members on Omar: "Not to be forgiven! She trashed 9-11! She was talking about civil rights, but we're totally not having it, we won't even listen to anything but those four words in her speech! Oh, why can't Dems be polite! Throw her out!, mean Dems!"
Then they go back to FOX, watching trump's use of 9-11 to punish his enemies, which is totally OK cuz trump can never never be questioned, only followed.
We can't appeal to the right's concepts of factual truth, "United we Stand", E Pluribus Unum; they just wallow in gleeful division.
2
These white people have successfully cultivated hate, anger, fear and delusion. Will other persons in society, white and all persons of color allow this to not be called shameful. How can we be wise and yet show intolerance to this injustice?
Where will you all be as the planet is consumed by so much conflict? When, if not now, can we turn toward open heart/mindedness as a population? We must save ourselves....there are no heroes. Deep Bow to all, regardless their self loathing.
1
Is it possible that comments made by Omar and AOC are found offensive by people because of what their words represent? Why do you automatically assume that they are being criticized because they are women, women of color or Muslim? If a white men said these things I highly doubt you would attribute criticism of them to the fact that they were white men. Words matter and let's not play the race card game or hide behind some notion that Omar doesn't know the nuances of the English language.
4
Race, color, gender, religion. These are either weapons or excuses. Omar says a lot of offensive things which reveal her beliefs and which she is entitled to hold. But the rest of us do not have to hold our nose while staying silent because she is black and Muslim. She has to own her words just like the rest of us. If she’s not ready for prime time maybe she should have sense enough to just shut up. I watched ‘some people do some things” when the planes hit, the towers fell, the funerals of innocent friends were held and the perfume of rotting body parts wafted over the city for weeks after. So yeah. Shut up or reap what you sow. Whoever you are.
6
As has been observed many times, the Republican party has turned into the party of scared and angry white men.
2
Once again Mr. Blow's ideology seems to blind him to some facts. Although I loathe Trump, I seem to remember quite a few white women - whom I'm not particularly fond of - like Sarah Palin, Kellyanne Conway, Betsy DeVos, and Sarah Sanders - vilified by the likes of Mr. Blow. And if I'm not mistaken two women of color - Condoleeza Rice and Nikki Halley - are darlings of the white patriarchy. I also believe there is a very good chance that Republican Ms. Halley will be our first female and second minority President after the Trump debacle ends. The world is not black/white and good/evil, Mr. Blow, there is a whole lot of in between.
3
235 democrats in the House and the conservative machine of FoxNews concentrate all of their energy on two women. This is truly a travesty.
2
We should not want to respond to foolish insinuations because by giving a response we take them seriously - we feed the monster.
The British have a word for this: Rubbish.
Don't respond to rubbish. At some point the monster cannot keep its tongue and will ask: "What do you think of this?!" THEN it's the time to respond with: "It's rubbish and I don't respond to rubbish."
2
How does any person’s description of 9/11 change what actually happened that horrible day? Would a “proper” description resurrect the Twin Towers or bring any of the dead back to life? 9/11 occurred almost twenty years ago. When can we stop speaking about It in breathless fashion? It is insane that Brian Kilmeade and his equally brain dead cohosts are now some sort of emotional touchstone on all things 9/11.
In that same exact speech, Omar said "A tragic, tragic nightmare that has happened to muslims in New Zealand" describing the horrible anti-muslim terrorism in New Zealand while making excuses for muslims by saying "some people did something". That's an intentional trivialization of Islamic terrorism that killed thousands of NYers. She should be condemned.
9
This is the finest illustration of the fraud that is American conservatism I’ve seen in years. The movement is obviously entrenched in white supremacy. We know this because, at the drop of a hat, conservatives always abandon all principles that were held out as their pillars when the target is tempting enough.
“We favor family values!” they proclaim, until they are tempted by a thrive-divorced adulterer who bribes porn stars for sex.
“We are the party of fiscal responsibility!” Until they are tempted by a $5 billion appropriation (that will only partially pay for a wall that actually costs $125 billion and makes no logistical sense).
And now with Rep. Omar, “We reject political correctness!” Until a hijab-wearing black woman says the word “something” incorrectly in their views.
2
Mr. Blow, your article is not very objective. Instead, you are promoting more division and discrimination.Have you forgotten that Michelle Obama, regardless of color or gender, is respected by all? Have you forgotten that her husband was elected TWICE? White supremacy is a concept many are using now to discriminate against the whites that developed the concept of democracy in the Western world that now everyone wants to take advantage of for economic exploitation. Omar and Ocasio-Cortez do not represent excellence in any way. They are pawns. They got elected to prove that Democrats are not racist. That's all. If Democrats keep this trend that disregards excellence in favor of identity politics, we are going to lose the elections again in 2020.
2
I'd like to remind Charles Blow that there are two types of horses in Congress--the work horse and the show horse. Ilhan Omar and AOC are a couple of flashy show horses who are in Congress to promote themselves. The couldn't care less about doing any real work or represent their constituents. It's all look at me, look at me, look at me!!
5
Such fuss over the word “somebody”. A country of fragile teeny boppers
The Republican Party has a clear strategy of creating concerns and hatred of minorities in order to appeal to its base. This has been tremendously successful since Nixon converted southern racists into loyal republicans
Modern media has made this strategy even more effective and until good people stand up and say “enough” it will not change
I used to think republican women would be the ones to stand up. What I found is that race and continued membership in the tribe far outweigh doing what is right. Just as they keep evangelicals from revolting against totally anti Christian behavior
MAGA? What a joke! Trump must wake up laughing at his fools every morning
Yes, “demonization” for many reasons is wrong. It would be good to remember Gore Vidal’s characterization of William Buckley as Nazi on national tv in 1968. Mr Buckley had many views that could be debated but he was not a Nazi. So yes condemn the unfair attacks on those trying to espouse their points of view. But also remove the “beam” from your eye before casting opponents as such things a “ basket of deplorables.”
This president has demonized women since decades before he was elected 2 years ago. No surprise he is attacking the Democratic Party for Rep. Ilhan Omar's words about 9/11 and feeling like a second-class citizen in America. White supremacy for aeons has painted minority (and majority) women as nuts. Trump is on a rampage against Rep. Alexandria Orlando-Cortez of New York, and the 2 new Muslim Congresswomen from the Midwest. Nothing new there. He's energizing his base for his run for re-election. Sexism and racism, used by the president to provoke his base's male patriarchy and nationalistic kakistocracy are inhuman. "Nasty" women and minorities are rising against male and white supremacy. We are on the cusp of an existential crisis -- not the Central Americans on our Southern Border or Muslims in our midst -- but the U.S. President against our Democracy.
1
Brian Kilmeade...questioned her patriotism, saying, “You have to wonder if she’s an American first.” Mr. Kilmeade, the very same could be asked of our so-called "president."
1
Let's not forget how Michelle Obama was (and continues to be) demonized.
1
What could be the problem? She is clearly anti-American, anti-Semitic and completely insensitive regarding the victims of Islamic terrorism on 9/11. Amy other issues before we expel her from Congress?
4
Sorry but I have no sympathy for Ilhan Omar. Her comments against Israel are reprehensible and I really hope she loses her seat in the House. HOWEVER, regardless of how anyone might feel about her, what Trump and the Republicans are doing is even more reprehensible. Their daily rhetoric is nothing more than a race baiting dog whistle, which will be ambrosia to the 40% of hate filled Xenophobes among us. We already had one right wing lunatic that tried to send mail bombs to Trump critics, although I'm sure no one remembers Cesar Sayoc. The so called "President of The United States," and his GOP accomplices, see no problems with whipping up racially motivated violence in furtherance of their white supremacist agenda.
Democrats need to get their act together. Yes we have to defend Ilhan Omar against these purely racist attacks, if for no other reason than it is simply wrong. But we also need to ask ourselves how far on the fringes we want to be.
2
Given the level of negativity portrayed by each and every article Charles writes, one must wonder if he's even more off the diving board than Trump. Omar has been a lightening rod for criticism of her own making. Trying to twist this into something else is just another nonsensical, race-baiting opinion from Charles, the likes of which grace the op/ed section far too much.
4
Hmmm. "Some people did something" on December 7th, 1941. "Some people did something" In Charlottesville, VA a couple of years ago. Both statements ... like hers ... are factually correct. I would object to all three regardless of the gender or color of the speaker. You have got to get off the mantra that if you are a person of color or female, that you cannot be challenged. She has a history of refusing to acknowledge that it was Muslim terrorists that attacked on September 11th.
3
Would have been a better choice of words if Ms. Omar had said “Muslims killed Americans?” While men who happened to be Muslim did indeed commit the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Muslims as a religious group did not. By all accounts, Timothy McVeigh in Oklahoma City, Dylan Roof in Charleston, and James Alex Field in Charlottesville are Christian men, but anybody discussing their crimes would be wrong and utterly foolish if they began their discussion by saying “Christians killed Americans.” The fact they are Christian should not tar all Christians with their crimes nor should the fact the 9/11 terrorists happened to be Muslim men tar all Islam believers with their heinous crime.
I guess she could have said “Because some men who happened to be Muslim committed the 9/11 atrocious terrorist attack, the rest of us Muslims are seeing our civil rights eroded.” But she didn’t. The fact Kilmeade at Fox News, Trump and many others on the right have jumped on her choice of words to question her loyalty to the US simply belies their hypocrisy and their need to cling to power by dividing us.
To them and their followers I say, grow up. We have too many real issues to deal with to be wasting our time fanning division over “some people did something” choice of words.
someone says somehting the wrong way, especially that, and she gets criticized.
And the race and religion card are played immediately.
Sad.
1
You say "particularly when appealing to a party dominated by white men." I think 'racist' white men would be more appropriate. As another read rightly said, the Republican Party has spent the last few decades pillorying women such as Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi while bringing Sara Palin into national prominence. Remember Geraldine Ferraro?
What if a white man had trivialized slavery as "some people did something" ?
Nice try Mr. Blow, but the beyond-tired excuses of race, gender and religion are laughable. The real issue is the (repeated) nasty and vile comments of Rep. Omar.
6
Ilhan Omar is a troll who knows exactly what she's doing and deserves none of this pity. She's a left-wing version of Trump -- she deliberately says terrible things in order to provoke media reaction. She'll keep doing this, whistling to left-wing anti-semites, mocking 9/11 victims, all while playing into the Democratic Party's soft bigotry of low expectations, wherein someone who checks so many intersections of their racist identity politics -- woman, black, Muslim, immigrant -- can never be judged on the same level as other humans and can't be held accountable. She's a great gift to Trump and the Right, because while she's a sweetheart of the woke left, that group is far outnumbered by people who think 9/11 is a Pearl Harbor moment that's not to be forgotten let alone mocked, as well as people who are disgusted by anti-Semitism. If the Democrats had any brains, they'd kick her to the nearest curb.
4
How will liberals respond if someone they consider a political enemy talks about slavery or the holocaust using gentle and vague language to describe these atrocities? We know the answer. I believe that Rep. Omar was trying to make a legitimate point but she is an awful speaker. Listen to her talk about Israel, and now this. She is a lousy voice for the party right now but all the extreme liberals are going ga-ga over diversity as opposed to being concerned with choosing representatives that can motivate all (well at least a majority) of America with a clear and persuasive voice. Please Democrats, use your heads and support sensible pragmatists instead of the liberal fringe that will lead you nowhere.
Dear Charles
just one note - if you can, refrain from calling these radicals, these inhumane criminals and greedy anarcho-oligarchs 'conservatives'.
There is nothing conservative about these people.
They are bomb throwing radicals and assassins.
1
In that same exact speech, Omar said "A tragic, tragic nightmare that has happened to muslims in New Zealand" describing the horrible anti-muslim terrorism in New Zealand while trivializing 911 Islamic terrorism that killed thousands of NYers by saying "some people did something".
4
Too simplistic a thesis, Charles. Rep Omar’s own words at certain times and lack of words at others condemn her. She appears to seek tolerance and acceptance for muslims all the while promoting hatred and vilification of Jews and others. She is being judged on the content of her character, not the color of her skin.
5
thank you. this article was overdue. the racist comments (couched as usual in the language "I'm not racist/I respect all races, etc.") just further explains the point that Charles Blow makes.
2
Why is criticism of the ideas and words of Ms. Omar racist? She carefully crafted her speeches with many expressions used by anti-Semites for decades. Then she choose to comment about the perpetrators of the 9-11 attacks and intentionally avoided and mention that those atackers claimed their acts were inspired by their Muslim religion?
5
Omar -- offensive, thoughtless comment. It may have been meant to please her crowd -- but thoughtless. No excuse.
OAC -- says a bunch of not well thought out things -- much like her green new deal is not well thought out.
Waters -- has been calling for Trump's impeachment and for dems to confront Trump people in public. And her performance last week on student loans was appalling.
Trump isn't going after these women because of skin color. He's going after them because they've made some large mistakes.
Only Charles would translate this into a racial issue.
When he goes after Mueller, Adam Schiff et al., is that because of their skin color?
8
Misogyny is deeply ingrained in our country’s history. That is why the seemingly closely-aligned abolitionist and suffrage movements went their separate ways. The abolitionist leaders were correct in their assertion that it was much less threatening to give slaves their freedom and male freedmen the vote than giving women of any race access to that power. It took fully another half-century for women to get the right to vote. My own mother was born before women had that right.
So the radical-right get’s to double down on their modern-day bigotry by maligning both minorities and women through their attacks on the likes of Omar and Waters. No surprise. (I refuse to use the term conservatives because it is by definition a misnomer. Rather than conserving the status quo they are working very hard to bring into fruition the policies and practices of prior centuries.)
Anyone who doubts that misogyny is the primary mover here need only to look at the leadership around the world and ask why our country has yet to elect a female leader. I know, three million more people voted for a woman in the last presidential election. But you have to wonder why, in the 21st century, anyone would rather vote for a narcissistic, incompetent fool who surrounds himself with sycophants and criminals than a serious, intelligent and accomplished woman.
2
@SC After all this time, you still pretend you don't know why? Try this on for size-an electoral college majority did not want:
-the corrupt Clintons back in power;
-millions of migrants-too many to assimilate into our culture-flooding our Southern Border;
-more insane give-aways like the Iran deal;
-more insane illegal executive decisions like the Paris Climate Change Treaty that committed $trillions from U.S. to other countries without a vote of Congress;
-more abuse of conservative organizations by IRS;
-overreach by EPA in defining WOTUS to extend Federal regulation to every small farm in the Country;
-bastardization of Title IX and threat of withholding Federal $$ from universities if they did not take away fundamental rights of our sons.
(Partial List)
Are you getting the message now?
1
Rep. Omar has been relentlessly demonized by the GOP. She did not participate in the attacks that day. Trump clipped 4 words from her speech to make her sound like a supporter of terror, which she is not. Other Congresswomen of color have been similarly demonized by the GOP, as Mr. Blow describes. This is not acceptable. We know who perpetrated those attacks, and it was not who we attacked afterwards. Not all Muslims are responsible for those attacks. Most Muslims are peaceful and law-abiding, like Rep. Omar, who is getting death threats as a result of this attack by Trump and Fox News. Mr. Blow has it right. This Administration is relentlessly attacking and distorting the words of all prominent women of color. GW Bush was better than this. We are better than this. I am a white Christian woman who was here on 9/11. I say stop attacking these women and start behaving respectably.
2
Republicans just don't demonize minority women who have opinions and speak even when not spoken to. Just ask Hillary Clinton. The different skin tones or dress just makes minority women visually easier targets of hatred and fear.
3
Terrorism is of all times. It is part of life - just as much as natural disasters. It is understandable that for some individuals it is traumatic. However, countries should keep their heads cool. Of course some measures to prevent a repeat are needed. But life goes on. There are quite a few countries where terror attacks regularly happen. They deal with it like with the weather.
The reaction of the US to 9/11 was immature and hijacked by special interests. Osama bin Laden must have been very happy with the result. The goal of such an attack after all is not to kill a certain number of people but to create "terror" (=fear). Hearing people talk about "people did something" feels to me very refreshing.
1
@Wim Roffel
Sorry, maybe folks in Europe accept terrorism as part of life, but I refuse to do so. Maybe if Europeans stood up to terrorists more often it might be more rare there.
2
Omar is touching the third rail of American life: the false 9/11 narrative. Trump intimated during the campaign he would expose this, but apparently he enjoys Saudi deals too much to follow through.
Trump has no problem with rich Muslims like the Saudis he's in bed with. It's poor Muslims (and any other group) that he dislikes.
We also should remember that during the campaign Trump raised questions about the standard 9/11 narrative of BLAME = Bin Ladin Alleged Muslim Enemy.
Unfortunately Trump's base are too debased and stupid to recognize the game he is playing.
4
The most appalling speaker in our government is #45. He is a disgrace to human decency. Rep Omar has dared to give her opinions and breaks the "rule" of women speaking up. Disagree with her if you must, but give her the same liberties our bully in chief gets.
4
Reading the negative comments of the supposedly "enlightened" NYT's readers leaves me depressed. So many generalized smears with absolutely no substance.
I think it is time these commentators check their own racist attitudes towards a Muslim, Black Woman. Acknowledge that she supports the 9/11 victims fund bill which many of her haters in Congress do not. She speaks out against the transgender military ban which many of her haters do not. She supports Gay rights, Medicare for All, better paying jobs, which many of her haters do not. Her worldview is so much better than Trump and Co., and frankly Pelosi's.
Go meet with her staff. Go hear her speak in person, rather than reading snippets in the NY Post or other media. Get to know her. And then make an informed opinion.
Or, you can align yourself with Trump and his band of Rep. Omar haters.
3
Ms. Omar is entitled to her opinions, the same way those white supremacy advocates are entitled to their opinions. The conservative media have the right to criticize her, and she knows that her opinions will stir controversies. The problem here is with Trump. As the President, of all Americans, he should not take sides. If He were a leader, he would have taken this debate as a teaching moment to bring the two sides together, to distinguish between terrorists and the Muslim faith, to condemn the public airing of biased opinions that are based on perceived grievances rather than policies. We are a nation adrift because we do not have a president.
2
Congresswoman Omar will be gone by January 2021. She will discover then that American freedoms do not license her recurrent verbal miscues.
These "miscues" reflect her true feelings. She has proven herself to be anti-Israel, anti-Jewish, and anti-American.
And she has never seriously confronted or called out the depravity of radical Islam or the responsibility of men and women like herself to challenge its medieval, patriarchal precepts.
Omar's Minneapolis constituents must be embarrassed by her shameful performance.
Nasrin Sotoudeh for Congress anyone?
4
Charles Blow sees attacks that are "Demonizing Minority Women", writing that "Representative Ilhan Omar is the latest target in a trend of conservatives attacking women of color". As I consider Mr. Blow's perspective, I wonder how he fits in the attacks on Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and Elizabeth Warren. Perhaps his narrative is tendentious?
5
Attacks like this are the reason I lose respect for anyone who supports Trump. They are complicit in his racist and sexist agenda and are in turn passively promoting hatred and the erosion of civil liberties.
Trump is a danger to democracy, and so are the people who support him.
3
Mr. Blow, I always look forward to reading your columns as you have been one of the leading voices of the Resistance and are so often sharply on point. But you risk eroding your credibility when you try to explain away Representative Omar's choice of words as "inartful" and then twist the justified critical reactions to her speech into evidence of bias against women of color. Her speech warranted criticism, including yours'.
5
To: Charles Blow or a Times Editor who might look through the comments.
Please do us a service by examining the comments very closely and providing a review in whatever form seems appropriate.
Reading comments is my way of staying informed about the many states of minds of my fellow Americans since I do not know a single one here in Sweden except the two who like me are dual citizens US SE.
After genome researcher David Reich' article was published a couple of months ago, he carefully read the comments and wrote one of the best such replies I have ever seen, one in which he even modified at least one position he expressed in his article.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
"Demonizing minority women"? So, please…let me try to understand this better. Legitimate criticism automatically translates into “demonization”, especially if the subject of such “criticism” happens to be a so-called “minority” individual, yes? In other words, don’t even DARE criticize someone who happens to be a “minority” woman…OR ELSE!
If this isn’t the epitome of sanctimonious victimization, then I don’t know what is! How sick and pathetic can one be to think like this? But what else can we expect after being brainwashed day-in and day-out, 24/7 by such a hopelessly “progressive” narrative from the mainstream media and Hollywood celeb pop-culture…which is totally devoid of intellectual honesty and critical thinking?
I’m sorry, but NO ONE is automatically immune…or inoculated…from legitimate criticism. If you want to challenge such criticism on its underlying merit…or lack thereof…then fine. But don’t give me that pathetic, kneejerk, “group-think” response of being “victimized”.
2
To summarize Omar's remark: SOME of us did something, but ALL of us are being victimized.
It has a better ring to it than:
"A handful of us Muslims committed the worst attack on the US since Pearl Harbor, about which all of us Muslims need to speak sensitively, and ...and... and what the heck was I talking about anyway?"
She speaks a fine, logical English, which she acquired. Many of her native English-speaker detractors could profit from studying her locutions rather than lying about them.
Both sides do it Mr. Blow.
Yes the extreme right can demonize people like Muslim women. Trump has taken it to a new level and demonizes anybody who disagrees with him.
The left like yourself does it with anybody who doesn't past the left wing purity test.
That is the problem with America today, the right wing demonizers and the left wing Mr. Blow demonizers.
When these guy get the squeaker wheel oil, one of them wins.
In this case the ego maniac demagogue Trump did it on a tko.
If Hillary had won, anybody who was not an identity obsessed and did not past the left wing purity test would have been demonized.
1
Perfectly analyzed Mr Blow.
And speaking of Representative Ilhan Omar, let's not omit the fact that she is a cosponsor of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.
The Fox News bubbleheads don't even know what that is.
3
“Some people did something.” Ya think?
What ‘some people’ didn’t do was to rally against the evil committed on that fateful day. What ‘some people did’ was to silently support terrorists.
Where was the outrage? Why did ‘some people’ not decry the horror of 9/11? Why did a current member of congress trivialize the atrocities of 9/11?
Am I alone in fearing the threat of Sharia law?
I do not believe that this congresswoman is a victim of racism. A victim of Islamophobia, yes. Write a column on that subject. But, please do not minimize the oppression of women. We have suffered too long. We are all subject to the dominance of American male.
I think Mr. Blow is comparing apples to oranges.
Thank you.
Does it seem that Omar working to set herself up to be a martyr?
1
It's evident that what could have been a uniting event was turned into an excuse to attack Muslim people. The Iraq War is the centerpiece of Muslim demonization. We are now at the point where anyone sees the work of Osama bin Laden as anything but an attack motivated by hatred of our freedom is similarly demonized.
1
"While white supremacy has historically tried to paint minority men as physically dangerous..."
Sorry, but "white supremacy", whatever that means, holds no monopoly on characterizing the danger of "the other". Every group of people sufficiently different in some way from another group, perhaps not even physical, can and sometimes does demonize members of the other group. No big surprise there.
Mr. Blow is just looking for another angle to demonize Trump. But you already knew that.
2
All true, but Trump is evil nonetheless.
1
"Demonizing"? I can't tell who is over reacting more nowawadays. If we don't tolerate criticism, who is being oppressive here? Let's all grow up.
1
White men treat minority women badly.
Now do Muslim men, with the same historical and cultural generalization...
This doesn't help anyone, generalizing from a specific statement. Some will object purely because of 9-11 sensitivities, and she appeared to minimalize "what happened" here.
Worse, it pits white women (needed votes!) against minority men (needed votes!) in defense of minority women (needed votes!), and other minorities (needed votes!)
This is what happens when you so splinter the party into identity groups, you reach back into history to justify exclusions, and nobody knows who is on their "side".
Wouldn't it be better if we merely judged individuals as individuals, tried to put words into context (not take them out of), and gave the benefit of the doubt when communicating with others, some of whom indeed belong to other identity groups?
Don't you get tired of being angry all the time, people, and never seeing any good in "others"?
1
Woman who vote Republican betray their gender.
3
Let's imagine for a moment that the person speaking was not Omar but Trump and that the event in question was not 9/11 but the Christchurch attacks. If Trump had dismissively referred to the slaughter of 50 Muslims as "somebody did something" the howls of rage from the media and the left would be deafening. Yet, 9/11 happened in our own country and killed approximately 60x more people.
Blow is completely right that there's a double standard for Omar, except that that double standard works in her favor. At this point in time, perhaps we need to realize that Ilhan Omar isn't misspeaking. She's being honest about what she really thinks, and her actual thoughts are vile. Anyone other than a black, Muslim woman would be held to task for this. And what about the utter hypocrisy of condemning AIPAC and speculating about dual loyalties and then going to speak at a CAIR event.
Shame on Omar and shame on anyone who supports her small-minded, bigoted views.
3
I am a military veteran of Somalia. I have nothing but respect for Representative Omar, for all she endured and overcame to be where she is. I don't see her as racist, antisemitic, or unpatriotic, but as a serious person intellectually and ethically wrestling with thoughts from a perspective most Americans never hear, let alone comprehend. White supremacy is a cancer, and an embarrassment for all whites who don't share those racist beliefs...difficult to process at best for minorities, frequently devastating, even deadly. But so endemic, I am continuously evaluating myself. I don't think I was raised in a racist household and I had the benefit that one of my parents' closest friends was Ethiopian, and another was Indian. There was so much racism in the language of enough of my mostly white school peers, not all of us, but there was enough that racist commentary got in my head like some hideous earworm. I would hear it in banal encounters, maybe I had to slow down for someone crossing the street and boom, this ugly racist phrase would pop up in my head, contaminated by some foul venom, poison I never wanted or accepted, but, there it was. In my 50's and I think those thoughts are finally purged, with the help of living and working and learning from many good people in minority communities for years...but I question how people will excise their racist brain cancer if they never go to the school of other cultures. Especially if the poison feels normal.
2
Ms. Omar has previously used anti semitic tropes. Now she dissuades anti Muslim sentiment by saying that since 'some people did something,' why should all Muslim's be held accountable.
Expressing any feeling of concern about what Ms. Omar says is proof of racism and sexism? While not all Muslims are responsible for what happened on 9/11, not everything that Ms. Omar says should be lauded.
1
They demonized Obama for not saying Radical Islamic Terrorist. People of color are held to a different standard even in their use of language. People of color are supposed to walk on eggshells in every aspect of their life or they will be demonized. The Left loves to parade its diversity and loves to have diverse photo ops and that is as far as it goes. The Left runs and hides when their diverse group of freshman dares to have a diverse opinion. Sarah Palin when she was not looking at Russia had no problem questioning Obama's manhood and loyalty. General Kelly denigrated a Black Congresswoman and Trump called Omarosa a dog. Trump has made antisemitic and racist comments for years and he is not held to task. In America, people of color are supposed to be seen and not heard. Football players are o play and not think or feel. Omar has been harsh on Muslims also but that is not covered because that wouldn't sell newspapers. If the comments from this woman cause Trump to get another term than so be it. If she was a white woman not covering her head saying the same things we would not be even having this conversation.The saying that you can't cheat an honest man comes to mind. The Russians could not have interfered in our election if we weren't willing to be influenced. Minority Women wouldn't be Demonized if there was not a willing audience.
1
If they were white men spouting the same inanities, the reaction would be exactly the same. Everybody knows that. Even Charles. But he would rather rile up the base than speak the truth.
3
Ilan Omar is torpedoing the Democratic Party. Modern electorates are not sophisticated enough to muse on subtle nuances of language. Instead, they bay and howl the proverbial “sayin’ like it is” mantra and the colourful wisdom that the is stands for. Trump was elected for his not being anything near politically correct. Omar might do well to serve her country as a whole society instead of disparate minorities. A Muslim woman fighting for the rights of all Americans would resonate in a land at war with Islam for nearly thirty years.
Take care of the working class of whatever creed and colour and banish bigotry by equalising everyone’s potential and promise.
1
Omar and AOC will, unfortunately, hand the presidency in 2020 right back to the butthead in office now. The answer to Trump is not the new green deal, or flippant far left tropes, its going to be moderation. Lets just hope moderate Democrats can find their voice soon.
1
@Techgirl You got that absolutely right.
2
Demonizing her? She plays on bigoted thinking just as Trump does. She demonizes whole religious groups. She feminizes while countries. Can she please just come out and state that she believes that Israel has a right to exist? Until then, all of her so-called demonizers will gain followers. Her statements have been clearly anti-Semitic and the intellectual dishonesty that pretends otherwise only strengthens those you are criticizing.
1
Since her vagueness about “some people” resembles Mr Trump’s comment about some good people in the neo-Nazi demonstration in Charlotte, I would assume he only wants to stir his supporters, those good neo-Nazis that he so vigorously embraces.
I am equally sure that the good Christians know what is like to be persecuted and accept and support other religions that struggle.
In New Zealand an 18 year old faces more than ten years in jail for disseminating the kind of video Mr Trump sent out due to it incendiary impact (mass shootings at Christ Church). That sounds like the appropriate approach for handling Mr Trump.
1
To duly empower minority women, women in the majority first have to get over their self-serving dependence on misogynist buffoons. We already had a solution within reach to address this problem. But 52% of white women voters voted for Donald J Trump.
I read Mr. Blow’s column and I come away concerned that our country is doomed. Everything he sees is through the prism of race: everything white people do is to maintain some sort of supremacy and everything people of color experience is victimhood.
2
Demonized why . . . ? Because they're cogent speakers.
1
@Don
Referring to the 9/11 attack as "some people did something" is not cogent description of the attack.
1
@James
Have you read the speech, so you can put those extracted words in perspective?
1
It is a serious time for women to stand up and say what they believe . We have taken the METOO# Movement as part of our right to express our fears. If men fear those fears, it is their right to answer....but our right to not back down. Serious dialogue is not often pretty, but it is necessary. Words are not exact. They spill over with emotional response. I do not agree completely with Omar, but I stand behind her right to have her position heard. It is not against our country to practice the First Amendment rights even the Republicans seem to slur once in awhile.
1
This echo chamber of distortion has an evil purpose. It's knowing participants, including our President, will have more blood on their hands.
1
The comments and criticism are about what she said about 9/11, not her skin color. Not every criticism of Socialists, Islamists, or Progressives can be chalked up to race. It's the go-to criticism whenever offensive comments are made by a person of color.
6
Again, sir, your observations are spot-on. I would add that what the Trumpists call conservative is actually reactionary, and obviously extremely dangerous. It is they who are the omens of the dictatorship to come; they must be stopped. Rep. Omar is trying, but although her intentions are good and righteous, she is still making "freshman mistakes" with which Republicans will create not the face of the Democratic party but its pinata. Thank you, and all the other journalists who dig beneath the de-contexted sound bites, for striving to present the full picture of this nightmare administration's sexism, racism and latent fascism.
1
I think in this case Mr Blow you are off the mark. If this was the only time offensive language was uttered by Rep Omar, forgiveness would be easy and understandable on our part. It is not. There is s pattern where her speech makes me feel upset with its meaning. Adding to this feeling is one of betrayal of the idea of Americanism. Perhaps not coming here would have served her purposes better.
6
@Mike You're generous. I say she's inverting the learning curve.
1
Growing up in the late 60s and 70s, it was common to hear that there were "good ones" among people of color. In the 80s and 90s, the "good ones" became "not ethnic enough." These women that Blow speaks of are just not, and never will be, "good ones" in the eyes of many white Americans. Good for them.
1
"Some people did something"?? Had she been decent enough to write some people did something AWFUL, there would be no issue and the democrats hoping to defeat Trump would not now have a 500 pound boulder tied tightly around their necks. With friends like Omar, the democrats need no enemies.
10
I don’t imagine we can focus on important issues, can we?
There is little that reveals the hypocrisy of the Republican/conservative establishment more than their horror over the way certain persons (always women, mostly of color) say certain things. One can only stand slack-jawed in stupefied amazement at their acceptance of the obscene, inane, despicable, inflammatory, derogatory, hate-filled, race-baiting language of the president as him telling it like it is... and their apocalyptic-like response to four words uttered by Ms Omar which, according to their interpretation, would make her as culpable as if she'd commandeered the planes herself.
There was a time when these people could make a reasonable argument that it was unfair to paint them all with the broad brush of racism, simply because they support a president and administration with a penchant for blowing a little too hard on the racial dog whistle. That time is past. The tone and tenor of hostility directed at Ms Omar has confirmed what Donald Trump implicitly promised in his MAGA promise, a return to a time when all white privilege and position was sacrosanct, and uppity colored women like Ms Omar knew their place.
1
Good lord. Trump has attacked people of all races and backgrounds...particularly the white establishment Republicans and neocons during the primary. In my opinion he is the exact opposite of a racist. He treats all political opponents alike. It is those who treat people differently because of their race or color who are racist.
7
Representative Omar, with her dark skin, hijab, and proud demeanor is a Rorschach test for America—you either instinctively admire her or hate her. Initially after 9/11, the Muslim-American reached out to leaders of other religions for support, remaining largely apolitical. Omar and Tlaib show the community is maturing, asserting itself, and taking a leading role in American politics.
The left often 'fuss[es] over the language and...propriety...' but the republicans and the right have no such burden apparently. If inflated nitpicks like this one is all the republicans have to garner votes - and let's face it, it is - why dignify their hysterics with any discussion at all.
I guess we need to name things in an honest and direct way. The question here is not about her skin color or her roots. The question is simply about her religious beliefs and if they truly make her American, or any other nationality, first and foremost.
Being raised in the Middle East, here are my two cents: Religion comes first, before anything else.
Now, being also Christian, living in the minority in a place that doesn’t understand anything but submission, here are my other two cents: face it, some religious beliefs are evil and never let its followers to truly integrate into any modern society. Life stopped during the year 700 and everything has to get back to medieval ages for them.
Seriously, you still don’t realize this?!
God Save The United States of America.
6
Demonizing Trump, every day, Mr.Blow
familiar refrain, indeed.
fanning the flames of outrage, again.
Scolding Trump but ignoring racism, hatred on the left (including from Omar).
Familiar pattern, sir. No balance, no intellectual honesty. Partisan, one sided, persuasive writing.
7
I'm no defender of the president, who made enough false, incoherent, and offensive statements to fill an encyclopedia. But Reps. Ocasio-Cortez and Omar don't deserve a pass on their inane, inaccurate, or false statements because they're women of color. One should rightfully expect criticism (not threats of violence) when making such comments. When that criticism justifiably arrives, it is nonsensical to dismiss all of it as racism, misogyny, or Islamaphobia. Twitter is a horrible medium for any substantive statement because 240 characters don't allow substance or nuance. If you choose that medium, however, then you know those limits and that you must craft your statement, accordingly.
4
See her as an omen? I see her as an anti-Semite.
I think she’s smart enough to know that every word said by any person in the public eye will be parsed and analyzed. And guess what? She doesn’t care because she has voters to play to just the way Trump does. They both deal in hate.
4
Trump's, and his minions, are simply racists. Let's not quibble over Rep. Omar's words, let's not overthink this. She and the other women mentioned in this piece are victims of racism.
2
I fully agree that sexism and racism are both "potent individually" and "devastating in combination."
This, of course, includes times when the target of said sexism and racism is white men.
It's amazing to me how many people these days who under the guise of standing up for equality employ remarkably ugly, racist and sexist language against an entire demographic.
Now because
2
My concerns here are semantic. Mr. Blow calls djt “amoralist.” That seems a bit off the mark.
If lying with every breath, cheating on multiple spouses, paying off people to win an election, acting like a racist in word and deed, among a hundred other transgressions, aren’t immoral, then I must not know the meaning of the word. Help me out here.
And, I, too, wish the newest female members oh the House would hold back a bit on their statements. I write this as an political activist and feminist: the secret to progress is self-control, not playing all your cards up front. Until we get safely on the other side of 11-2020, we all need to know when to hold ‘em.
1
I’ve bent over backwards to hear the nuance in Ms Omar’s awkward language, but I’m still waiting for her Obama moment, for that moment when she says something so fiercely American she puts us all to shame. As the weeks go by, I fear that she will never make such a speech. I fear she will never make it because she probably believes that the whole of American history is irredeemable. While she is grateful to be free of a refugee camp, she doesn’t feel the kind of gratitude that would allow her to look at the complexity of American history and celebrate its blessings and redemptions as well as its failings. I hope she proves my fears unfounded.
Omar’s failures of analysis would be no big deal if it weren’t for social media. There are 435 congressional districts and as Molly Ivins famously said, when the congresspeople go home for their recess, many a village gets back its idiot. I suspect that Ms Omar is reflective of her district and isn’t symbolic of very much at all except of the fact that no presidential primary candidate on the Dem side can buck the Twitterati. The candidate who can say “I don’t share Ms Omar’s views but, then, we’re a big party and I hope she changes her mind . . . And outlives Trump’s regime,” would win the general against the Orange Belcher. But that candidate probably can’t win the primary. We’re all doomed.
1
I believe MarcosDean comment has merit. Would we characterize lynchings as "some people did something?" All instances of gang rape "as some people did something?" Rampant killings in raids on innocent families in the course of military attacks as "some people did something?" Did we create an International Court simply because "some people did something?" Can we not say that the atrocities against Moslems by Serbian forces in the balkans as "some people did something?"
How absurd dare we become. Imagine! Making it a matter of loquaciousness. Perhaps there is an "excuse" for Omar's simple minded comment. But what is one to make of Blow's? 3000 lives wiped out in a mad attack and we and we grace those lives with the careless condolence "some people did something!"
No one is demonizing women! Indeed, no one is "demonizing"! One is drawing attention to an absurd reference from a legislator...which from any male mouth would be no less so absurd. I am astounded that Mr. Blow's mind could not conceive the Omar remark with more bewilderment than a lack of "loquaciousness".
2
Charles, well said as usual. The fact the the president uses minority women of color as a target for strengthening his base is shameful and dangerous to our democracy.
2
"We can fuss over the language any of these women have used..."
What? Are we back to this level of sexism in main stream reactions to capable women? Ms Omar is a Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives. If she cannot speak boldly, why is she there? Why isn't this article about the President using the prestige of the White House to communicate a bigoted, mendacious slur against a sitting U.S. Congressperson and which has resulted in her receiving death threats? Where is the reasoned, passionless column about his crossing of the "lines of propriety?" Why are we back to this meme of "good girls shouldn't say this or that in public." Is the implication, Mr Blow, that she and "these women" somehow deserve the threats to their safety? How many times have we had to dismiss outrage over horrendous comments of this President only to be told he was "joking" or "orange" is really "origin." Rep. Omar spoke in a metaphor of the young when she said "some people." That is, some people (a few really, really bad people and not every Muslim in the world) did a horrible thing and yet many people (all Muslims) suffered the backlash for the few. Was she factually wrong? Hardly. We all know what Fox and its best Friend were up to. Why are we pearl clutching over some standard of [female] speech that we don't demand from the pathological, "inartful" person in the White House?
1
Trump on Christchurch:
“Some guy who did something”;
How does it sound when he uses the same words?
2
The hypocrisy of those who put up with endless racial insults from Trump, in the name of attacking "political correctness", is staggering.
3
Listen to her speech. It is inspiring. The comment made was at best taken out of context and at worst is being used to vilify Muslims exactly in the way she was discussing. Some people try to hide their hatred of others by wrapping themselves in the flag. Shame on every person that continues spreading this hatred. God forbid that some deranged person feeling justified by supposed leaders in our country take a deadly course of action due to this gross misrepresentation of her words and intentions.
2
Omar is a woman, a Muslim who wears a hijab, and African. And she was elected to serve in Congress. Those facts frighten more than just the white supremacists in America. Ocasio-Cortez is a woman, a minority, and went to a good college. That frightens people too. Never underestimate the ability of a smart well educated woman or minority to pose a threat to men such as Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and the entire GOP. They do not want these people anywhere near power or occupying seats that they believe are better occupied by the male of the species, the white male of the species.
The most telling moment of Trump's presidency was when Trump refused to say anything remotely critical about the group in Charlottesville where someone ran over an innocent woman who just happened to be opposed to the white supremacists. No good person gets into a car and deliberately runs it into innocent people. And no group of "good people" support such an action.
4/15/19 10:40am submit
3
I anticipated that Omar's election would teach me about how Muslim's really felt about national issues affecting all of us today. No one wants to talk about these issues at my school, perhaps because they don't want to offend anyone who they will have to spend a semester with. I looked forward to learning more about Muslims from Rep. Omar and from Rep. Tlaib.
Rep. Omar's statements over the last few months indicate a marked antipathy to Israeli and American Jews. She seems unable to refer to the 9/11 attacks as attacks or as having anything to do with Muslims or with extremism. Rep. Tlaib, the only other Muslim in congress, seems to agree with positions on both of these issues.
Other ethnic and religious groups have managed to immigrate to this country without expressing views like this. If a bunch of Italians had blown up the World Trade Center, I don't think Italian-Americans would have had a problem referring to them as "Italian terrorists". While we have a problem with anti-Muslim attitudes in this country, we also have a world-wide problem with Muslim terrorism. Perhaps Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib would do better to address these problems.
While it is perhaps unfair to judge all Muslims from the attitudes and actions of the two Muslims newly elected to congress, these are the two Muslims whose political views are in the news. It is valid to question whether all, most, or a significant minority of Muslims share these views.
3
Thank you, Mr. Blow, for telling the truth as it is lived by women who dare not to have white skin, who dare to open their mouths and speak their own beliefs, who dare to take up attitudes and actions that are anathema to certain men who believe themselves ordained to control and limit all female and non-white lives, who dare to be audible and visible in public life, and who dream and work to create a larger future for their daughters and their sons. May I make one small edit to your otherwise very honest and accurate column:
“The only women they [truly honor] TOLERATE are white women who obsequiously condone or actively participate in the oppression.”
They honor no women; what passes for “honoring women” among men such as Donald Trump is a display pedestal equipped with shackles and a gag. The message to women such as Ilhan Omar, AOC, Maxine Waters, Elizabeth Warren, etc, is clear: If you do not willingly submit to our limitation of your actions and your words, your life is in our hands.
1
The truth is this is all the Republicans have: they have no health care plan, no tax relief for average Americans, no jobs coming back to middle America, etc. So go with demonizing "the other." It's worked before in history to horrific effect but they clearly are willing to play this dangerous game to keep their pockets filled. They are the traitors to America.
4
One of the dismaying developments is not only the racism and Islamophobia of right-wing critics of Rep. Omar, but the failure of many establishment Democrats (including African-American elected officials) to issue unequivocal statements in her defense. My guess is that is at least partially a result of not only being one of the first two Muslim women in Congress, but one who criticized Israel and Aipac, and her being labelled (in my view unfairly and not always in good faith) as anti-Semitic.
3
Charles, what did Maya Angelou say about people revealing themselves? The photo is of Omar...and she has revealed herself several times. There is no doubt what she's about. No one is demonizing her...they are simply calling it as they see it. And Charles, "minority" has nothing to do with it!
5
Maybe they are being attacked for what they said. Being a person of color should not immunize someone from criticism as long as it is not race based.
3
I really do not know how we survive this. This is not Donald Trump. This is the entire Republican Party and their multibillion dollar propaganda machine. How do you stop it? How do you stop white Evangelicals and white Catholics who believe Trump was ordained by God and we are in a cosmic war. There is a cosmology playing out in the minds of conservatives. You can see it being played out in judicial appointments and in Middle East Israeli policy.
Even if Democrats win the senate and White House, the fundamental problem does not go away. This gets worse before it gets better. Remember the 1920s and 1930s. The invasion of Iraqi and Afghanistan has had consequences for the white Christian world order. We are in trouble.
2
I do not buy this argument at all, and I am frankly tired of commentators (especially in the NYT opinion section) whose prime directive seems to be forcing race to the forefront of every political discussion and controversy they can. It is an extremely black and white way of looking at the world, and I am using that phrase in the purest psychological sense. Leaving no room for gray areas means eliminating complexity from our discourse–a general dumbing down effect, in other words.
To frame the “attacks” against Omar as being rooted primarily in bigotry is a poor defense indeed. It reeks of an obvious last ditch effort to avoid openly acknowledging the reality of her failings. Either she is not a very smart person, has poor impulse control, is not fit to be a politician, or else an extremely damaging unofficial spokesperson for her party. Perhaps all of the above.
For evidence of these charges, you need only consult her own words. She did this all to herself.
4
The Republican Party's strategy is to sow fear, hate, and insecurity, whether true or not, in order to divide and conquer. Proclaiming themselves protectors of values and tradition, they garner votes by manipulating our primal nature for survival. Once in power, they strip the rights and assets of the country worse than the straw men they set up.
Who are the drug pushers? Look at the Sacklers. Who is taking jobs? Look at the corporate elite and their drive for lowering costs. Who is corrupting democracy? Look at the vote strippers and gerrymanderers . It's the Repubs.
1
This immigrant does not buy the "she is not a native English-speaker" attempt to excuse Omar's insipid and cruel dismissal of Islamic terror. As for post-9-11 anti-Muslim backlash in the US, considering how a great many Muslims react to cartoons, perhaps it is time for her to appreciate being elected to a high office and act mature.
3
Some things should be too sacred to exploit for political gain, but Trump is an a moralist. Nothing is beyond the pale.
And that is the nub of it
1
"Omar is only the most recent minority woman onto whom conservatives have trained their fire."
... and this is only her most recent inflammatory statement, with prior ones attacking the loyalty of Jews, something she now asserts affects Muslims, never mind the majority religion-based attacks are against Jews.
Her statements are a pattern and it reflects poorly on those who defend her. When Trump does this he is, rightfully, condemned by the left with silence from the right. Ilhan Omar is a black woman, and she is a Muslim, but she is also a member of Congress. Her words were not "inartful" any more than Trumps "very fine people" were: she knew exactly what she meant and so do we.
4
I gotta admit, I ran with the conservative pack at first. But then I had to think about it. She was right. I was wrong.
And this column tells me exactly why I was wrong. It’s too true. Minority women who speak out get slapped down by white men insecure about their primacy in American society.
She was right when she accused Elliott Abrams of “war crimes” who refused to answer her questions.
She was right when she said that 9/11 was the kindling that lit Islamophobia into a roaring blaze.
She was right about AIPAC.
And she was right to listen to people who explained that she was using anti-Semitic tropes and then apologize for her lack of awareness.
So now let me apologize. I. Was. Wrong. And I do mean wronger than wrong.
And everyone please remember that for Donald Trump, 9/11 was the thing that made his building “the tallest” below midtown Manhattan. That is so much worse than anything Representative Omar has said. That my friends is someone who loves himself but NOT his country.
The most troubling thing here is that all the invective has forced Speaker Pelosi to consult with the Capitol Police because Trump’s hideous use of 9/11 for political aims means that Representative Omar is getting death threats.
When did we lose our ability to listen and empathize? 11/9/16...
3
It appears as though "person of color" has become the rigueur de jour. Yet when I was growing up the term "colored people" was replaced by other more progressive less insensitive terms. Similarly, it was my understanding that the term "semitic" described all peoples from southwestern Asia, which of course would include both Jews and Arabs. Currently, some have conveniently coopted the phrase "person of color" to highlight their status as a minority. I just would like to know why Jews became white people and are no longer considered a minority group while Muslims continue to be identified as minorities and as persons of color. Call me crazy but I always thought we were on the same team.
I'm not a Trump supporter nor Republican and leaning Democrats usually, but being a NYer and have experienced the 911 terrorist attack that killed thousands of people here in NYC, I don't like what Omar said "some people did something" trivializing the horror of Islamic terrorism against NYers. That's a horrible and intentionally disrespectful way to describe the worst terrorist attack in history. She should apologize to all NYers and especially to family of those who were killed by Islamic terrorists. No other religions commit terrorism like Islamic terrorists all over the world. Just the facts.
7
Stop trying to divide women- any woman who does not stand for Republican conservative values will be demonized. Those who stand for their values are merely thought of as cheerleaders to their cause.
2
She has demonized herself with her inflammatory rhetoric. And now she wants to play the victim. Seriously?
9
Trump retweeting the Omar video, in an effort to somehow associating her with taking 9/11 lightly, totally takes her intentions out of context and props up a completely false narrative about her speech. With that retweet, Trump is trafficking in fake news, the thing he supposedly hates so much. Moreover, the irony of Trump's retweet is that it perpetuates erosion of civil liberties against Muslims, the very topic of Omar's speech.
3
Some Christians did many “somethings” evil over the ages and recently, and yet you still see Trump and his minions trying to gain so-called Christians’ trust and votes.
If only people were as outraged about the false statements trump has made about 9/11 over the years...but he ended up president.
5
I live in Omar's district, and I voted for her.
Not that I really had a choice. The Democrats voted for her in the primary over a far, far more experienced woman (Kelliher). Omar had 2 years as a state representative and never held office before that. I voted for the Kelliher in the primary, and wasn't very happy when Omar won. The primary is basically the election in the 5th congressional district, so it was either her, or the Repub. The HR is all about D vs R numbers (especially today), so I didn't have much choice but to vote for her.
I find the accusations of racism in the critiques of her mostly inaccurate. In reality, she's just incredibly green. Embarrassingly green. She only has herself to blame. She keeps putting her foot in her mouth!
I don't really know why she hasn't smartened up and just learned to stay off Twitter. In this political climate much of "journalism" seems to have turned into just paying journalists to read twitter, and wait for some famous person to say something stupid, then leap on it and publish and article.
Omar and OCA came up age in this toxic social media era where saying something outrageous got you attention and likes from your tribe. Now they're bringing their tribalism to everyone else. She's nothing but a distraction for the party. I feel bad having voted for her.
Turning this all into racism doesn't help either. Politics is hardball, and when Omar sets them up, can you blame the Repubs for knocking them down?
4
I worked at the World Trade Center. Two of my good friends were killed on 9/11, and several acquaintances; some may have been in the lobby waiting for elevators when a flood of burning jet fuel burst through the shaft doors. If the attack had been half an hour later, I might have been there, or on the twenty-seventh floor, then escaping across the plaza, littered with.. well. I live a mile north of the site; for months, when the wind was from the south, I tried not to think about what I was smelling. In 2002 nothing grew in the flower pots on my fire escape, because the soil was contaminated by toxic dust. Years later I learned that some bit of one friend had been ID'd, so he would have a funeral. Now, seventeen years later, I want to be able to refer to the attacks without having to think in such detail every time. People who seize on a simple reference as an excuse to hate Ilhan Omar are proving her point: blaming all Muslims for the actions (terrible, horrible, vicious, fanatical...OK?) of a few.
3
Omar's statements were wrong, playing to the crowd, and not just inarticulate.
9/11 was an event which was meticulously planned and executed with cold precision by America's haters. It changed modern world history forever.
Omar is a powerful member of Congress who sits on Foreign Relations, a lot more powerful than most of us who comment here. When things work out good for Omar, she's bold, brilliant and a genius. When things don't work out for her, she's a Muslim woman refugee. You can't have it both ways.
1
If she's a target, she has no one to blame except herself.
She set American-Muslims back with her ill-conceived press conference. She needs to think before she speaks. She follows the AOC Playbook, which is get a headline at all costs and never admit a mistake. The AOC playbook liberally takes from the Trump handbook.
1
Trump's attacks on Rep. Omar are reprehensible. She is a duly elected member of Congress and if her statements prove too inflammatory, her constituents will choose someone else. He used his over-used bully pulpit and images along with his media tool, Fox, to attack her.
3
If white Christians were under attack in this country for, say, an act of violence perpetrated by a white Christian person, you can bet that similar language would be used in defense of Christian civil rights. This is not downplaying the horror of the event, but rather putting into context the scale of the initial event with respect to the injustice of the lingering (and growing) backlash. Omar speaks a truth and flips a script, and that poses a threat to those in power. Blow gets it.
2
The Time here in Sweden is 04:00 GMT so all I can do is sample the column and the comments about Ilhan Omar, a young woman born in Somalia, elected to the US Congress by people in a District that happens to have a large population of 2d and 3d generation "Swedes".
I could write a book about the column and the comments, but not in 1500 characters. However, I can take pleasure in announcing to the commenters who demonize Ilhan Omar, that Thomas Chatterton Williams has written that book:
Soon to be published: "Self Portrait In Black and White: Unlearning Race"
The fundamental message there will be, I believe, the same message I send to both Charles Blow and the many commenters who demonize Ms. Omar.
Ilhan Omar and I and all of you are members of the only "race", the human. Each of us has an independently functioning mind. presenting thoughts shaped in part by our own personal life history and in part by our life of interactions.
So too with Ilhan Omar who grew up in part in a refugee camp in Kenya, was brought to America by her father, and now an important voice, one of the many new ones in the Congress.
Listen to her please, you who like Mcrognale, anonymous from Virginia who writes just below this box: "We are accurately pointing out their incredible lack of intelligence and history." And Charles, review and comment on Mcrognale, hiding behind the veil of anonymity, and even my signed comment.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
2
I may be wrong but Ms Pelosi, Ms Huckabee-Sanders, Ms Clinton, Ms Warren, Mrs Trump, Ms Kushner, Ms DeVos have gotten alot more criticism from both sides than any of the woman, he mentions, and all of them except for the 1/1024 of Ms Warren, are not Minorities
I must ask Mr Blow, are we allowed to criticize her and the other women he mentions? Or do they need special care and special treatment?
If so, isnt Mr Blow betraying his own argument, by suggesting they are not equal or even equal to the task?
3
Thank you for noticing! Its not just "women of color" its women of ALL colors that are demonized (have we forgotten how many millions of dollars were spent on attack ads demonizing Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi?)
Have you ever seen an attack ad aimed at Chuck Shumer? I haven't. Nuff said.
The Trumpista right has two anchors: fear, and loathing. That a person of color could speak with authority about something? That's worrisome. If that person of color is a woman? Holy cow, THAT'S worrisome! Now, if that person is a Muslim? Red alert, red alert! There are no ideas, no plans, no policies, except for being afraid of people, and hating those same people. I wanted to believe that there weren't many Americans with whom this would resonate, but 2016 and the years since have provided a harsh light on the troglodytes among us, and they're far more numerous than I had hoped.
1
@marcisdean Well-said! I've begun to wonder how she managed to be elected. She needs to remember that she lives in America. I can't think how she will be re-elected if she persists in this behavior. Our chief goal is to be rid of trump.
I like this headline:
"Demonizing President Trump"
The left has been attacking President Trump since he became President.
2
Actually, Rep Omar is quite well-spoken, and the use of the phrase "some people" was to counter the "all of us" as in "some people did something that all of us are paying for". Which is correct - a handful of bad actors (let us not forget, the majority of whom were Saudis, a people who have NOT had to pay for that or any other murderous action against the US) have created a situation that an entire religion is now paying for. And that's because of histrionic politicizing by racists and fear-ninnies like trump.
2
I completely agree and I am ashamed and disgusted. Just as Trump is portraying AOC and Rep Omar as representing all minority women....he is portraying caucasians as ignorant, racist, fear mongering fools. You can’t demonize one group without dehumanizing your own.
I have been working tirelessly to support and elect candidates who have attitudes of respect and inclusion. Thankfully, I am involved with hundreds of people in Sputhern New Jersey who do not respond to these tactics or the dog whistles.
Trump, conservatives, and Republicans must be called out every time they employ these methods. Thank you for your article, Mr. Blow. What you have said is important.
2
We could easily say the same about attacks against muslims "some people said something" and this congressman is making a big deal.
If representative Omar doesn’t want her words to used against her she should be more careful with her speech. In the few months she had been in Congress she’s been strikingly antisemitic, and now her 9/11 comments are utterly offensive. You don’t talk about an event that is important to you as “some people did something” it’s just not right... the crassness of Trump or the NYPost to put her words with 9/11 imagery is by no means Ok - it is also awful. But, two wrongs don’t make a right. Their awful reaction doesn’t take from representative Omar dismissiveness to the suffering of New Yorkers, Americans and decent people in general because of the events of 09112001. Her wording reeks indifference. She could as easily have said “because some people did something horrendous...” Any qualifier of phrasing that showed empathy would have avoided this episode... She has uttered way stronger condemnation/descriptions for far less serious incidents.
Representative Omar should be awarded the respect her position commands, but she should not be allowed to offend or question the loyalty to America of other minorities (Jews) or downplay the suffering of 9/11 trivializing it as someone did something..., just because she also happens to be a minority. Respect is a two way street, but so far in her tenure representative Omar thinks it only should apply to her.
Her constant defense (right or wrong) by the Democratic leadership can end up giving Trump the election. That we can’t afford!
1
Omar is a provacateur. She consistently makes offensive remarks and then takes a self-righteous I will not be silenced stance. She is destructive to the democratic party, and she is smart enough that I can't imagine she doesn't know it. What is her agenda for doing this kind of stuff? Not laudable.
2
Oh yes, most decidedly yes, yes and yes!
Unless the white population recognizes their role in the misery everyone faces, we will never truly be free. And yes, the incredible role white women play in this oppression should be addressed along with the role their husbands, fathers and sons play.
2
I agree with Mr. Blow as to the general thrust of his op/ed piece and yet I believe that Ms. Omar has been targeted by Republicans not so much because she's black and not so much because she's female but most of all because she's a Muslim. Had a Jewish or a Christian member of Congress used the same words to extemporaneously account for 9/11 the comment would probably have been little noted and little quoted. It seems to me that The Donald and his GOP enablers are deliberately using Rep. Omar to drive a wedge between her political party and Jewish Americans- most of whom continue to support the Democrats regardless of the views of one particular congresswoman (who, to my way of thinking, has not made any anti-Semitic statements in any case). It's demeaning enough to assume that all Jewish Americans are apt to grovel at the feet of Benjamin Netanyahu (if that were the case, why would we be here instead of in Israel, considering that country's standing invitation for all of us to emigrate?). To ask us to join in on the attack perpetrated against this lone congressman- and to support a president who's expressed his bigotry towards Jews along with virtually every other minority group- is both contemptible and disingenuous.
comment submitted 4/15 at 12:55 AM
3
" ... conservative media has pounced on four of Omar’s words ... Donald Trump upped the ante ... " "Conservative" is the wrong word. Self-serving, shameless, hyperpartisan conniving demagogues, maybe. Including Mr. McConnell, Mr. Graham, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Cruz, and almost all of Mr. Trump's fawning White House minions. (Remember that stomach churning Cabinet meeting where they each took turns praising a smirking Mr. Trump?) Enough.
1
As usual, Republicans are putting forth a deliberately misleading narrative in order to score political points, with no concern about the violence their tactics breed.
The full quote: "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.”
In other words, all Muslims were being punished for the actions of a few extremists. That is the very definition of prejudice, and Omar is right to confront it.
1
Correction:
Conservatives demonize women of all colors who challenge men's authority.
1
Charles, I agree with you, as [nearly] always. However, I must suggest that, Rep. Omar is becoming a liability to Speaker Pelosi's plans to end Trump's reign of terror upon the land and the planet.
I have been a card-carrying, white male liberal all of my 74 years. I am a believer in the balance of democracy and capitalism. Far left on some issues; moderate left-of-center on others. The survival of our fragile democracy requires intellectual flexibility through generous doses of critical thinking.
And so, while I am glad Ms. Omar has been able to bring her perspectives to the Congressional table, she also needs to recognize the (current) need to be a team player. TeamTrump has managed to nearly destroy our foreign allies while embracing the despots of the world; he has been "working" to hand over our wild lands and national parks to the greedlings of old energy. Trump is a man whose instincts are purely reptilian.
To paraphrase a line from Carry Fisher's "Postcards From the Edge," Trump 'has no time for instant gratification.'
Which is why, to return to the topic at hand, Rep. Omar needs to see the bigger picture of resistance to Trump and Trumpism. Standing up for the rights of ALL Americans is noble and just. But she will have to find fulcrum between her faith-based interests of Muslim-American rights, and winning through a team effort. Otherwise, we will lose control of the House, as well as, the White House in 2020.
2
There are 435 members in the US House of Representatives; Rep. Omar is but one of those members. In th matter of sensitivity her recent words could, I guess, have been better chosen. Maybe not.
I don't believe the House should be one large, homogenious organization with only slight variations in their views of our culture. We have the US Senate for that. Just about everything, within the law, and everybody should have a voice from our Representatives in Washington.
This is the 21st century USA. We can handle the extremes and everything in between.
2
Some Romans nailed some Jew to a cross.
Some US airplanes dropped a big bomb on some Japanese city.
Do you understand the problem with verbal trivialization?
It's a big deal to the survivors of tragedies.
She needs to make a public statement about why her vocabulary suddenly deserted her in the middle of a speech. I'm glad to see more women in public office, but I hold them to the same standards that I do with the men.
6
The thesis that Trump’s actions towards minority women, or those of his supporters, are based on 100-year-old fears of black men committing rape is ridiculous.
AOC is economically incompetent and not taking care of her constituents. Omar seems anti Semitic based on three separate comments. That doesn’t excuse Trump’s video tweet, this shouldn’t be a race to the bottom, but it also shouldn’t be a grade 10 English class where we make up themes that aren’t really in the book.
1
I am 74 years old and have been a Liberal since I can remember. The article is both right and wrong. Its veracity lies in the fact that Trump and his enablers are using Rep. Omar as representing all Liberals. The article is wrong in assuming that all criticism of Rep. Omar is due to the color of her skin. She spews hatred against Jews and Israel, the only predominantly Jewish country where Muslims citizens have more civil rights that in all the Muslim countries combined. Speaker Pelosi has placed Rep. Omar in the Foreign Relations Committee which makes me, a long-time contributor and supporter of the Democratic party very uncomfortable. Rep. Omar is not the future of America. She is what we don't want America to be.
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Yes Rep. Omar's comment was a mistake, but done by a person caught in the middle of social forces that have been demonizing minorities long before 9/11. We as a society need to be talking about our attitudes towards fellow citizens rather than continuing the racist rhetoric. But of course we live in the Trump era which has unleashed the GOP to express its hateful attitudes. If Democrats are guilty of this on occasion we must admit and face it, but even this admission is an excuse for the GOP to renew their racist attacks.
What Rep. Omar said was a little insensitive. It’s not just the words but how it was delivered. It also had an inaccurate statement about why the organization was formed in the first place. It was formed in the 90s, not after 9/11. Ever since being labeled an anti-Semite and anti-Israel she has been under a microscope.
I don’t think this is as much a racial issue as it is a change in politics. Just look at the democratic presidential hopefuls all throwing Joe Biden under a bus for his uncomfortable physical contact allegations.
3
The column has a complex structure and restricted flows, which lead to a strong statement. This is, in my observation, the columnist’s usual stance as built on the factual to raise his persuasive view-point. The prejudices, both directed and preferred, are rampant and ubiquitous in societies and in the world as well. Blow rightly points at a key term, “omen”. This is the word for example, which would not have been effectively received by the residents in a community, if religious authorities had not encouraged to circulate it.
The people in the Trump administration who look for anything to jump on, to quote, to take out of context, to brand and label have one thing in mind. Stirring up and maintaining a climate of division and staying in power. Those doing the messaging may not be sexist, racist, or have much opinion on the matter, but instead are the message spinners, the manipulators, trolling for that sound bite, that comment, that juicy tidbit that can demonize. No one is safe from this, and expect to see it accelerated with the announcement of Mayor Pete. That is almost worse than holding the prejudice itself. The Steven Millers, the people with an "agenda at all costs" see everything as a means to an end. It is beyond immorality. That is almost a badge of honor at this point. How do we stop listening to the masterful message makers? Is there any way back to truth, common decency, a sense of belonging to more than one tribe, to voting on the basis of integrity, intelligence and intention?
It is the second part of Omar's quote "that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties” that created all the rage against her.
Some people (who are no way like us) who did something (horrendous) are used as pretext to harm us. That is how I heard her statement. The planers of the war on Iraq pretty much said they were waiting for (some people to do something) so they would have a pretext to attack Iraq. And 9/11 provided them with one. Talk about actual murderous cynicism.
2
The people in the Trump administration who look for anything to jump on, to quote, to take out of context, to brand and label have one thing in mind. Stirring up and maintaining a climate of division and staying in power. Those doing the messaging may not be sexist, racist, or have much opinion on the matter, but instead are the message spinners, the manipulators, trolling for that sound bite, that comment, that juicy tidbit that can demonize. No one is safe from this, and expect to see it accelerated with the announcement of Mayor Pete. That is almost worse than holding the prejudice itself. The Steven Millers, the people with an "agenda at all costs" see everything as a means to an end. It is beyond immorality. That is almost a badge of honor at this point. How do we stop listening to the masterful message makers? Is there any way back to truth, common decency, a sense of belonging to more than one tribe, to voting on the basis of integrity, intelligence and intention?
"The only women they truly honor are white women who obsequiously condone or actively participate in the oppression."
Yes, that is the carrot part of misogyny. These attacks on women are the stick--women who are outspoken need to be made examples of.
That's how it works: women see that if they don't fall in line, they will be attacked, and if they agree with the attacks on other women, then they will be rewarded.
I wish we had a term for women who betray other women. Well, other than "Trump supporter."
2
Within a couple of weeks of the attacks people commonly referred to them as "the events of 9/11," about as tepid a characterization as one could imagine, without be accused of sympathy for the terrorists. The theme of Ms. Omar's talk was the tendency in this country to hold all Muslims responsible for the acts of any Muslims. The hysteria surrounding "some people did something" proves her point.
1
I have no desire to "attack" Rep. Omar, but can I criticize her?
The problem with the speech was not that it was "inartful," but that it trivialized the horror of 9/11. The gist of it was that the real legacy of that day was some type of violent campaign against American Muslims. Says an American Muslim who just became one of some of the post powerful 535 people in the country!
Besides her troubling comments about American Jews and her radical foreign policy views, the problem many of us--left & right--have with her is that she, along w/Rep. Tlaib and Rep. AOC--is always playing the victim card. It would be nice to learn about her domestic legislative priorities, but she doesn't emphasize them (if they exist). All she does is seek out the limelight to fire more artillery in the culture wars. Very much like AOC, when criticized she claims to be a victim of just about everything.
No reasonable person would justify death threats against any of the women. Nor take seriously dumb, "inartful," vitriolic tweets against her.
However, a serious person would (or at least should) ask if Omar is a positive force in our political discourse or a divisive, incendiary one. Sadly, I think it's the latter.
She's manna from heaven for Trump.
4
There is a certain irony here. The left has weaponized micro aggressions, political correctness and slips of the tongue, stifling the free exchange of ideas by ostracizing people for saying things today that were okay to say even ten years ago. It’s clear the left is uncomfortable with the same tactic being used on a spokeswoman for the left, instead of by the left.
4
I am not a conservative. I am a white woman who is quite liberal. I think Omar is rude, doesn't know her facts and is a discredit to Democrats and Congress. She's got a lot of learning to do--and until she knows what she is talking about, she needs to quiet down.
6
And, about the hijab. In a secular society society, trumpeting your religion to everyone in sight is inappropriate. Sure, she has the right to do it, but we have the right to do any number of unwise things. Okay, okay, yarmulkes, Nuns in habit, Mennonites? I cant recall the last time I've seen any of them in public. Certainly none in Congress.
Maybe more to the point, in a world where there are millions of women who can't remove their hijab without being jailed, beaten or worse, the hijab should be seen as a symbol of the oppression of women.
1
We know who those people were. And we know what their motivations were. Why not acknowledge this in your speech? And then say what you will. Its a free country after all. It only takes a minute to acknowledge what happened and all the backlash or misunderstanding is mute. To say only “some people did something “ is to minimize the event. The families, friends and loved ones of the fallen deserve nothing but full throated honor. What if an elected official took a similar tack when discussing Pearl Harbor?
2
Putting aside the racist comments that come from Trump, I don't agree with what is written here.
We should not tolerate racism and it astonishes me that it is tolerated here. Just because Ilhan Omar is one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress does not mean we should tolerate the nonsense that comes out of her mouth.
The standard has been set that when someone, especially a public figure, makes a comment that historically been racist, that person gets demonized regardless if the comment was taken out of context, made out of ignorance or just a lack of sensitivity. When Jews scream that "questioning if they have dual loyalty" is a red flag because of proven historic racism, then this same standard should apply to Illan Omar. She should be demonized. Why did a debate ensure as to if her comment was appropriate or not? That is not the standard.
The point about 9/11 is that her comment points to the belief in a conspiracy theory of who committed this crime. I challenge her to get up and say the people who were responsible for 9/11 claim this had something to do with the Islamic faith, but I say unequivocally, that this is not proper Islam, not the Islam that I know and except for fringe groups, 99% of Muslims have condemned 9/11.
OAC is a different story. She uses Twitter to make very vocal public comments. She therefore opens herself up to public criticism because it seems like she just gets so many facts wrong all the time.
1
maybe someone should indeed scold her for downplaying the events of 9/11
even though she is a minority woman, she has a responsibility to accept the reality of those events as a public representative.
Her words can cause emotional harm to those of us that lost friends and loved ones.
if scolding a minority woman who utters unacceptable words, is not acceptable to you, you are practicing the prejudice of low expectations. Omar should indeed know better. Its not her first time inflaming anger against her.
3
Really important issue, since it seems everyday the NY Post, or some other rag, is targeting a minority woman for the most ridiculous reasons under the sun. I quite agree that the attacks are out of fear on the part of the establishment, usually conservatives, that what these woman have to say will gain traction. What papers like the NY Post and people like Trump don't understand is that these woman already have traction, and it is they who are making fools of themselves, not the minority women.
My whole family are refugees. Verbal abuse by racists was constant yet barely registered as I was trying to avoid being killed by white supremacists. I became a civil rights attorney yet still receive regular death threats.
It's nothing compared to John Lewis. Lewis, one of the 13 original Freedom Riders, was repeatedly attacked. When Lewis tried to enter a whites-only room he was brutally beaten. Later he nearly died when a mob beat him. The bus he was riding in was firebombed by the Klan. Lewis has been a Congressman for over 30 years yet death threats against him never stop.
Everyone should condemn death threats against Omar yet understand that there's something profoundly wrong with how this a powerful Congresswoman acts. Omar shows little interest in her job, instead she's constantly provocative and emphasizes she's the victim. It isn't blaming a victim, it's indicating how she deals with bigotry in America and how she views oneself in relation to it. John Lewis has been a great champion of his district and America. In contrast, Omar acts as if American bigotry began with her, is particular to her, and grants her celebrity.
Simple question: Why does Omar keep saying she's the first refugee to serve in Congress when it's a lie? (5 others served long before her, including Rep. Joseph Cao from Vietnam, and Lincoln Díaz-Balart from Cuba). Is Omar totally ignorant, or totally invested in seeing herself as a unique and special victim?
No matter, it’s a gift to Trump.
5
"While white supremacy has historically tried to paint minority men as physically dangerous, it has routinely painted minority women, particularly those strong and vocal, as pathological and reprobate."
The conservative media complex does this only if the black women aren't far-right ideologically, which statistically, most are black women aren't. If they happen to be members of the conservative tribe like Candace Owens, right-wing media can't promote them enough or say enough good things about them, even when they lie, say something outrageous or wallow in their own brand of victimhood.
1
To say that somebody did something in reference to 9/11 is horrible. This has nothing to do with the color of her skin and everything to do with her own bias and a horrible statement about 9/11. She does not do herself or the perception of her religion any favors. She brought this on herself and is no victim in this matter. The people of 9/11 are the victims and she casually brushed them aside.
4
I have a feeling that Rep. Omar will not be reelected for a second term but it's not because she is a woman of color: it's because she is "not ready for primetime" (if she will ever be). It's because it appears that she is not suited to her job in Congress. I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and some time to get acclimated to her new role but I am running out of patience with her carelessness and inability to learn from her mistakes. Language matters. But she seems not to grasp that this is an area in which she needs to improve if she wants to get her message across in a clear effective manner.
We shouldn't have to constantly translate her words into "what she really meant" in order to defend her against becoming nothing more than Trump fodder. She is raising important points about AIPAC and our Israeli policies; she is raising important points about anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S.. When passion comes across as zealotry, however, and when words continually come across as clumsy, these legitimate points get lost. And that becomes a Democratic liability. We don't need another self-absorbed clumsy zealot in Congress; the Freedom Caucus gang is plenty.
Above all, it's because Omar doesn't appear to be meeting the needs of all of her actual constituents, who elected her to do more than stir up controversies because of her "clumsy words", that she may well be a one-term wonder in Congress. And that doesn't have anything to do with her color or gender.
4
Mr Kilmeade, an intelligent person and obvious bore, made a cogent point ...... if only by accident.
People who bring their religious belief to the political table clearly consider their beliefs in whatever supernatural concept to be more important than earthly governance which to most of the world's people is still paramount.
He as well as Ms Omar might, before considering either religion or patriotism, think of the only identifiable commonality we all share; our humanity.
4
I'd feel a lot better about the future of humanity if there were equal outrage over the 'trivialization' of death rained down on those humans with whom we don't so easily identify. In fact, I'd settle for my government to stop raining down death and destruction on people in various faraway lands and to reduce the barbarity with which we treat so many others.
4
I'd feel a lot better about the future of humanity if there were equal outrage over the 'trivialization' of death rained down on those humans with whom we don't so easily identify. In fact, I'd settle for my government to stop raining down death and destruction on people in various faraway lands and to reduce the barbarity with which we treat so many others..
1
While you are correct with respect to conservative responses to assertive women, it is also true that the Trump era has encouraged loose talk from all sides. Perhaps a little less talking, a little more thinking, and a lot more doing for the good of the nation might ameliorate the situation.
1
Not again! A few weeks ago, on the pages of the NYT, Mr. Blow was practicing his mental acrobatics to justify Jussie Smollett. Now he plays the same game with Ilhan Omar, the congresswoman who very eloquently described September 11 as "SOME PEOPLE DID SOMETHING". Great way to describe September 11, isn't it?
I found that description so unbelievable that I carefully listened to the whole of Omar's speech to put it in context. The speech, I'm sorry to report, was a litany of platitudes. And the "some people did something" was her lame way of referring to what she did not want to mention because it disrupted her platitudinous "it's all about Islamophobia" narrative". It was pathetic. If these are the rising stars of the Democratic Party, we're sunk.
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Great article, and I say let’s bring on the ladies because this world of ours in all its messiness is man’s creation. Women, socialism, wars, can all be used to scare and confuse us by fossilized old men but now is the time for something new because this planet isn’t working too well for us.
3
Do/ say terrible, evil things and get demonized......has nothing to do with minority. The woman is a Trojan horse and the US is just waking up to it.
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@There A “Trojan horse”—here’s crystal clear evidence of Blow’s final point (about Omar being an omen). The domino-theory applied to non-white non-men; give ‘em a foothold and they’re take over the world.
1
To your point, "The strategy is simple: While sexism and racism are potent individually, they are devastating in combination," This is true, and well supported in your article, but, to brush aside the Congresswoman's omission that that 412 EMS workers gave their lives on 9/11, and 2,996 people were murdered, as a merely inartful inevitability of the loquacious, is to avoid the point entirely, that as a Congresswoman, she would better serve her constituents if she trafficked in facts: children lost mother's and fathers, a Manhattan community was a war zone, an entire neighborhood of people had to flee their homes, and in the nearly two decades since, the survivors have fallen, one by one, to cancer, lung disease, and PTSD. Let's not demonize her, but let's hold her accountable. "Some people did something?" Yes, it was a terrorist attack. A mass murder. An act of war.
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@A. R. C. Yes,it was a terrorist attack and a mass murder, but it was not committed by all Muslims. That was her point. And if you want to throw blame, throw it also at US intelligence failures, and the pitiful abandonment, by a certain mayor, of those first responders who later succumbed to cancer and other diseases. Yes, 9/11 was the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor, and it changed us all; but you cannot presume to judge this representative's appreciation of that, or conversely accuse her of a lack of empathy or concern, based solely on those four words, or what you think she should have said or done, while not knowing her or any of her other work. That was Mr. Blow's point.
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@A. R. C. Yes it was a terrorist attack, perpetrated by primarily Saudi Arabians (16 of the 19), not just "Muslims." These were people steeped in Wahhabism, the radical teachings of the Sunni madrassas throughout Saudi Arabia, exported to places like Afghanistan and Pakistan madrassas.
But we also have a president who did not rush to help his fellow New Yorkers on that fateful day. Instead, he bragged that "now his building was the tallest in New York." Will he be held accountable?
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@A. R. C.
If you could understand Omar's point, it is about the bad effect on our civil liberties. Not every important comment about the aftereffects of 9/11 has to begin with genuflection to the dead; she was focussing on something else, that maybe you don't like to think about.
20
We are not demonizing her or AOC because they are minorities! We are accurately pointing out their incredible lack of intelligence and history.
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@Mcrognale Not for a moment did I consider Omar's race, gender or ethnicity when I shook my head at her "Some people did something" whitewashing of 9/11. Criticism of her on this is well deserved *because of her words*, not her race and gender! Charles Blow did us a disservice by jumping on the knee jerk defense of Omar.
15
Even you have to agree that whatever intelligence they possess,it’s many notches higher than our current President
2
@Mcrognale Really? With death threats? How do you square those with “accurately pointing out” anything.
5
Omar has yet to express a full-throated condemnation of the 9/11 attacks, just as Trump has yet to condemn the white supremacists who rampaged and killed in Charlottesville. Both Omar and Trump have a propensity to provoke, and that does not sit well with most Americans."Some people did something" is just not good enough.
Omar appears to be unmanageable. If she were a team player, she would recognize that her bizarrely loose language, intentional or not, is hurting the team. A Democrat's path to the presidency next year will be through blue collar states: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan. Folks who live in middle America frankly don't care much about Muslim pride, LGBT angst, transgender bathrooms, or micro aggressions.
Until Omar starts talking about healthcare, economic inequality, job training, the national debt, and yes, secure borders, Democrats should stop rushing to her defense.
As David Frum stated, "It cannot be pleasant for Omar’s colleagues to have to wonder and worry what that next remark will be—knowing that Donald Trump and his Twitter feed will be waiting to blame all Democrats for the provocations of one."
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@MarcosDean, I've yet to express a full-throated condemnation of the 9/11 attacks either. As a patriotic American I just assume my condemnation goes without saying. Why doesn't Omar receive the same benefit of the doubt?
Omar's rhetoric leaves a lot to be desired. But Democrats need to rush to her defense because Trump's rhetoric unanswered could get her killed.
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@MarcosDean
If you visit her website Omar.house.gov you would find that Rep. Omar has responsibilities on Foreign Affairs, and Education & Labour committees. She speaks on many issues. As a Muslim and a refugee she clearly has perspectives and priorities that make her distinctive, but the fact that some think that she is only active on these topics is due to the success of the campaign to marginalize her opinions.
She seems charismatic, passionate, intelligent and to be willing to provide a counterbalance to established prejudices. Democracy depends upon civil discourse. Those who seek to silence her reveal that they fear it.
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@MarcosDean
Imagine if every word you say was parsed and perceived ill-intent was the default, would you be able to withstand the scrutiny? I am tired of people saying that Rep. Ilhan was inartful in her phrasing. I find her quite well-spoken and logical. The reaction to her comments reflects the insecurities of those hearing them.
46
If Trump were to treat respectfully the loss of lives on 9/11, he would worry less about Ms. Omar's words and more about the deeds of his good friends, the Saudi Royals.
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@NM If she did not want to exploit 9/11 for personal gain,s he couldve simply apologized for offending some people.
But her Privilege wont allow it
2
Why was Omar at CAIR? This organization was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation case. A member of Congress has no business speaking at CAIR, and no U.S. government official should have anything to do with this group.
4
I suppose even a simple disagreement with these women and others who share their views are considered racist and sexist. I disagree.
2
This has nothing to do with the color of her skin. It's about the content of her character. She makes outrageous, offensive, historically inaccurate statements. She deserves to be called out for it.
4
Imagine a white member of Congress calling the Oklahoma City bombings some people who did something somewhere while complaining about American bigotry against Evangelicals.
4
"The only women they truly honor are white women who obsequiously condone or actively participate in the oppression."
And who, if they aren't modestly dressed pious mommies who stand adoringly gazing at their men, had better be leggy blondes, or the men won't even look at them. How many staff members at Fox News fit this profile?
Or else they are *completely* co-opted, like Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who codes as genderless or even masculine.
2
Omar hates Jews. She has made anti-Semitic statements.
She behavior should be called out.
I am not a conservative. But, if the Democrats won’t call her out, I am grateful that Trump is not letting her get a pass.
This has nothing to do with minority women.
It has to do with a woman who makes anti-semetism part of her platform
9
@JAG - How ironic that the bigoted Donald Trump can be praised for calling out someone with whom he disagrees. Rep. Omar was expressing the frustration that many who have watched the destruction of Gaza express. To speak out is like standing on quicksand. If you speak out you're apt to be swallowed. If you don't your conscience will suffer.
You might do some research and try to understand why she would care about the Israeli treatment of Palestinians. Recently, Trump declared that he supported Netanyahu's desire to annex the West Bank. Not only is this against International Law, it is inhumane.
It is a witch hunt for these women. Meanwhile, the president gets away with lies and foul slanders daily, which he often then writes in to law or into executive orders on top of it - and where is the sanctimonious outrage then? We are like puppets told what to think and whom to hate. Our inner biases are set afire by hate-spinners. These young women are literally being mobbed. Their courage is great in the face of this daily skewering. Nobody else is under the microscope this way - except other women, of course.
2
Blow and Omar are not stupid, they know exactly what is being said and why. Their language allows for some outside interpretation sugggesting misunderstandings of true intent, but we all do a disservice to them if we believe they know not what they do.
Nothing new here for the liberal elite, any disagreement is immediately cited as racist or sexist. What is racist and sexist is assuming the perpetrator’s ignorance? That is why I am upset at Congresswoman Omar, she knows her words are hateful and intended to mislead.
7
Thank you Charles for your angry column. Rep. Omar was trying to be polite to people who no conception of the term.
I am not saying an eye for eye, but we have got to get angry and call out these racist, foul mouth insults for what they are and when they occur. We don't have to listen to these delorables to understand them; we understand them just fine and find them wanting.
Tell the truth and call them on their lies.
1
oh yes, Trump is Bad.
Omar is Good.
ignore her words, and her own racism, and hatred.
but fan the flames of outrage toward Trump.
predictable. Yes. intellectually honest? No.
12
Omar and AOC are being criticized because they have each made offensive statements and advocated absurd policies. The fact that they are women, of color and (in one case) Muslim is a coincidence. Eliminating 25,000 potential NYC jobs and making overtly antisemitic comments would be equally offensive coming from an old white episcopalian man. Their status should not make them immune to rightful criticism.
4
Omar should know better by now. Yes, it is unfair that she is singled out because of her religion, race and gender, but it IS how things are, and she either needs to qualify her statements to portray herself as a victim of this (not an effective mode) or be extremely careful with public speaking.
Yes, it is absurd that she has to be careful when the monster in the white house is unleashed all the time.
Women of color represent race and gender progress, so of course the white supremacist boys will demonize them, and this brutal patriarchy would not work without white women as collaborators. Those numbers are decreasing, though. That little world of white male supremacy is going to get smaller. Omar and others in her shoes need to be smart. Feel the injustice but take the Pelosi/high road!
It behooves those with an “unpopular view” to couch it in ways that don’t so obviously turn off many from their own party as well as giving Trump an EASY target! Omar needs to learn something about how to argue her point without offending others by minimizing the harm done by Muslim terrorists to HER country. A big foot in mouth moment!
3
Charles, Americans hate Omar not because she is a woman but because she is a Muslim. I don't know if you have an opportunity to view postings on social media by core Trump supporters. If you do not, you should. More than half of America do not believe a Muslim should be permitted in Congress. Most reject a Muslim's use of the Koran when taking an oath of office. They also oppose the construction of any mosques in their neighborhoods, even in the most Blue states! Omar carries a very heavy burden. She will never be accepted by the majority of the nation. Public scrutiny of her words and deeds will exceed that of every other Congressperson. Freedom of religion in America is a myth. Jefferson is turning over in his grave.
4
When "women of color" say or do something reprehensible are they somehow immune from criticism?
6
Her remarks would have been better if she had said "some saudis did something.* Halfway there.
2
I’m atheist so I have no particular use for Ms. Omar... she’s not my representative. She defends her co-religionists just as evangelical Christians do. It’s not very interesting.
I have no phobia about Islam... it’s just another dumb and backward ideology. I can’t imagine that having this argument over Islam serves the interests of her constituents then she is welcome to make that case. The response to her comments from trump and others about 9/11 are just as overwrought... that’s what social media is for. Those like Ocasio-Cortez who boast about their social media prowess are getting what they want... they like to fight and so when it comes to twitter wars they must expect this sort of thing. It’s all pretty childish you ask me.
3
”Inartful” language? How about “open mouth, insert foot”? Women of color should be judged by the same standards as everyone else. Giving Congresswoman Omar a pass seems to be a habit these days. She does her cause no good by her “inartful” language.
And BTW, women of color are not the only targets of conservatives. Pocahontas? Crooked a Hillary?
4
@Anne One of the problems with language and culture, note culture is very important, is that we don't understand the nuances within both. As a Northern transplant to the South, I have run into this a lot. I had a friend who would translate for me when a colleague would insult me. An insult I no idea had happened.
How can we bridge this gap? We could start by learning about other cultures and how they communicate. Just like Michael Cohen instructed us, Trump often doesn't use English in a normal way. (Most of us have already guessed this.) He gives sublingual messages - if you know what I mean. They are much the same as snarky Southerners do to innocents (smile) like me. In their defense, they would probably be aequally confused if they moved north where the propensity is to say what you mean very clearly.
We all can learn from this if we are willing to open our imaginations and understand other cultures.
The fact that Representative Omar, a Muslim woman--18 yrs after a horrific assault on our Country by monsters who demonized the very faith they said they revered--now represents one of our fifty states in our nation's capital should be viewed as why our great Nation should be protected from the likes of Steven Miller et al. She, as well as others (like those babies in cages at the Mexican border), are not an apocalyptic pronouncement, heralding the doom of America. It is who we are.
1
Although Blow rightfully emphasizes the perniciousness sweep of white supremacy, he quickly becomes derailed when he uncritically dismisses the significance of Omar’s speech and shifts the focus to a general condemnation of white supremacy’s reverence for white women.
“Error is inevitable among the loquacious. But, the Omar of the speech stands. I saw nowhere in it a thread of terror apologia.”
Equivocation is a sin.
Omar needs to confront the sin of radical Islam head on, as does Blow. She might begin with al-Shabab, the Islamic group that has exacerbated the effects of the civil war and sectarian violence in her native Somalia. What civil liberties did Omar enjoy in Somalia? Does Blow not recognize the significance of Omar’s error regarding CAIR? Why downplay the significance of 9/11 and exaggerate Islamophobia in America, when the conditions of her American life are infinitely better than in Somalia?
Where is Omar on the plight of Nasrin Sotoudeh, the Iranian lawyer and activist jailed for defending Iranian women who protested the mandatory hijab? Omar blithely suggests that for her the hijab is empowering. Maybe so, insofar as she parades her headwear as a fashion accessory rather than as a veil of modesty, which Islam dictates.
Omar comes across as confused and incoherent, just as Blow comes across as an ideologue, whose views are fixed and predictable regardless of the evidence.
Hillary Clinton is the woman most reviled by Republicans. And she is white.
8
As my fellow Democrats like to say, “some people did something” – so what’s your point? Who cares if some people did something? Nothing to do with me. Next…
These privileged and possessed old white men are desperate to remain relevant and hang on to their power in a world that is rapidly deeming them inconsequential. That moment can not come quickly enough.
1
It doesn’t matter what she do or what she says or what she doesn’t do or what she doesn’t say just the fact that she, a black Muslim woman, has a seat in your Congress is enough to drive Trump and his minions crazy
A sad truth from your Swedish friend
4
May l point out that it is easy for white women, as well, to fall from grace and lose protection if the make one false move in this administration and become less obsequious.
2
I have no idea what platforms Omar and AOC ran on in their respective runs for Congress. What was it that their constituents liked so much about them that got them elected? Was it hate for Israel that got Omar her job? Was it the ignorant preachings of Democratic Socialism that got AOC of New York hers? How would that have benefitted the voters in their respective communities? All I know is that AOC was responsible for the Amazon debacle that would have brought thousands of good paying new jobs, while replenishing the almost always empty tax coffers of New York City with billions of new tax dollars, had she not meddled. And what was Omar's promise to the people of Minneapolis if elected? More simmering Anti-Semitism?
5
There is, of course, no end to the hypocrisy of a president who described Nazis as "very fine people" attacking the language of someone else. Especially when he belongs to a party that welcomes literal Nazis into its fold and has politicians like Steve King among it.
But we do ourselves a disservice as progressives if we explain away the language of someone like Ilhan Omar, who may or may not be anti-Semitic, but certainly has no problem using ancient, hurtful tropes like the greedy Jew in her every day speech.
As an American of Jewish descent, I would never align myself with the Republicans. But I'm starting to feel as though I have less of a home in the Democratic Party, even though I'm a proud progressive. Due to their increasing inability to see the nuance on both sides of the Israel/Palestine issue and the questioning of the patriotism of Jewish Americans, it's a strange time to be a Democrat.
It's hard to imagine a peacemaker like Bill Clinton, who worked hard to court both sides in pursuit of a peace deal, being welcomed in the Democratic Party of today.
1
OK, this is rich, " Before them, Trump and his cohorts demonized Representative Maxine Waters, who Trump dubbed “Low I.Q.,” and Representative Frederica Wilson of Florida."
There is no evidence, medically and I want proof, that Trump and his cheerleaders in Congress and Fox Entertainment have any brains. Yes, they have an amygdala but clearly that is not enough for them to be called human.
1
As a white Jewish woman who is a Zionist and loves and supports Israel as well as the US I take offense at what Omar has to say. It has nothing to do with her being a black woman. I know plenty of black Israeli Jews(Ethiopian) who would be appalled by what she has to say.
Playing the race card in order to excuse and justify her antisemitism as well as seriously thoughtless remarks as to the culpability of those who instigated the 9/11 attacks is unacceptable.
3
Minority women aren’t the only ones the other side demonizes — they demonize their own wives.
1
National politics in the age of Trump is a blood sport with the fate of democratic government hanging in the balance if the president is re-elected. The fascist, racist goons in Trump's base will go to any length in order to prevail and advance their demagogic, un-American agenda. The Democratic Party must unite and fight with all means necessary to defeat the existential threat to liberty and the equal protection of the laws he and they represent, and that, however regrettable, means fighting back in ways they would usually eschew. Lyndon Johnson's 1964 campaign illustrates the less than high-minded tactics Democrats deemed necessary to defeat the existential threat of their day. Similarly, Trumpist savagery such as the vicious, racist, sexist campaign against Rep. Omar have to be repelled with unrepentant, resoundingly powerful tactics against him and all who aide and abet the nazified propaganda war being waged against her. Sensitive, tactfully worded responses will only be interpreted by Trump and the increasing number of Americans who support him as weakness and further proof of Democratic unfitness to govern. It's time for the Democrats to dust-off and bring back the kind of admittedly brutal but devastatingly effective campaign tactics (i.e., the atomic bomb commercial featuring a little girl counting flower petals) they once employed against Goldwater to portray him as a madman. Trump deserves far more before he completes his genuine madman's agenda.
1
Mr Blow, thank you!
One could say Ms Omar could have been more blunt describing the 9/11 attacks, but I’ve heard plenty Republicans call it that event, even GWBush, as “those people who did...”
The key is the lens through which your eyes are looking at things. If you’re already prejudiced and biased, everything looks that way.
Just look at the ceaseless hounding AOC gets at Fox’s hands— it so pointblank harassment at this point, and what’s more embarrassing... it’s white American newsroom journalists doing it to a minority woman blatantly!
White male privilege, and (victimization) to ensure the purity of white-women... this reads like an excerpt from 2000 years ago Roman charters. I can’t believe this is 2019 and human race is moving backwards to being morally bankrupt and unfair.
2
Another source of racism is white people's deep fears that they are actually inferior to blacks. Trump is a case study in projection as a central coping mechanism, accusing others of his own manifold flaws.
1
These attacks are reflective of some White males need to protect a privileged status of their manhood being the power behind first in all things. Minority women have always been their own leaders and will always walk along side them with the purpose of one day being their leader.
Democrats definitely treated Sarah Palin with respect. As well as Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Lynne Patton.
If it weren't for double standards, leftists would have no standards at all.
2
We are truly a divided nation. Trump was the bumbling, dumb and perverted con man to start the last gas to the flame. I am sorry that voices get ridiculed on both sides because we have lit the gas.
1
Black women, Hispanic women, and Native American women are obviously the very embodiment of the GOP's worst nightmare. How disagreeable for them. And they ain't even seen nothing yet!
I hope you’re not saying women of color are immune to criticism because they are women of color.
Race card glue is no longer sufficient to bind together the wildly diverging impulses of the Democrat party. The Middle East conflict is not merely latent in party dynamics... it’s manifest and getting uglier every day.
Mr Blow, if you were silent when they came for Ms. Pelosi and Ms. Clinton and Ms. Warren you are part of the problem. Now they've come for you (minority women) and the question is whether it's too late to stem the tide .
It's become part of the Conservative Republican narrative to demonize strong women of all religions and colors. You really can't just decide to take on problems when they start to bash your home team.
2
Ho hum, here we go with the predictable Race-Gender card.
So tiresome.
And so inaccurate.
1
Mr. Blow:
This has nothing to do with Rep Omar's race and everything to do with her words and actions. Stop playing the race card.
4
Expert debater Charles Blow deflects our attention from "some people did something and all of us were starting to lose ... our civil liberties" (Ilhan Omar) to attacks on all minority women. That's a courtroom tactic: change the subject, which has evidently led some readers to equate murderous terror against thousands of innocent men and women on 9/11 with another woman entirely, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and another issue entirely - a fracture within the Democratic party. Intelligent people usually read carefully, but some of these remarks lack analysis, a skill we teach children as "critical thinking." What does Birth of a Nation have to do with Omar's position on Israel or 9/11? What is the purpose of dangling red-meat provocations such as Blow uses to defend Omar? (In an old movie, a white woman throws herself off a cliff to elude rape) and a dog-ate-my homework excuse doesn't change my opinion on for Omar's statement as "error is inevitable among the loquacious" - a slip of the tongue. I protest, this piece is shameful for a Times writer. Agitprop, not journalism. Manipulation, not journalism. Button-pressing, not journalism.
1
Some people did something in New Zealand. Some people dropped something in Hiroshima and Nagasaki many years ago. That's horrible ways to describe horrible events that killed many people. Omar should be condemned for her intentional trivialization of 911 Islamic terrorism that killed thousands of NYers. Stop taking cover for her just because she's a democrat and non-white.
4
Charles, thanks for man-splaining what the Congresswoman said. This is amongst your most racist and anti-feminist columns yet. A person of color who in speaking to her base uses dismissive language to describe a seminal event in American history and gets called out for it; equals racism. No you go further, and demand that females of color who hold elected office in the United States must be held to a lower standard. Shameful. What you fail to even comprehend is that the Congresswoman's American Experience is the total opposite of the oppression she was born into. Her remarkable rise since arriving here as a child puts lie to your very premise.
8
If Mr Blow really looked for silence and intentional blindness on issues of misogyny and islamophobia, one doesn't need to leave the offices of the NYT.
The NYT was very vocal when it came to claims of anti-semitism on the part of Rep Omar. Multiple articles, and editorials by many, if not most, of its op-ed columnists.
I don't see much out of the Nothing from David Brooks on the evils of Misogyny. Nothing from either Ross Douthat or Bret Stephens about Islamophobia.Nothing from David Leonhardt or Roger Cohen. Even though all these columnists have spoken about the Rep Omar in the first case.Tom Friedman castigates her, but then silence when it comes to attacks on any women or Islam.
Paul Krugman and Farhad Manjoo haven't either They opted out completely. Not their issue, the ease of silence.
Only two columnists have said anything remotely close.
Michelle Goldberg weighed in on the first, in measured tones. Ones that treated Rep Omar with dignity, while still not agreeing, she addressed the blowback in tones that maybe was her complete thoughts.
Nicholas Kristof hasn't written about Rep Omar. Silence there.
But has spoken on the oppression of Muslim women abroad, and women he respects in Iran and Saudi Arabia to fight for themselves.
The situation in the NYT is no different for Rep Ocasio-Cortez. The derogatory comments against her don't receive a mention, the rebukes are numerous.
Sadly, Mr Blow stands alone. The message he is against is the message of the Times.
You are aware of just exactly how racist and sexist your claim is?
First and foremost no one is attacking Ilhan, or AOC, or Maxine, or Frederica because they are “of color” or women. They are being called out for their lies and their policies.
Give serious consideration to Ilhan’s actions. She married her brother to commit immigration fraud. She claimed CAIR [a known terror fund raising organization] was created because “some people did something.”
Or maybe AOC’s claims. Where to start? The Green New Deal? Which is neither green, new, or a deal. She hasn’t managed to be in the public eye for a single week without uttering a contemptibly stupid sentence.
Shall we discuss Maxine? Rose to fame claiming the CIA was importing and selling crack cocaine in South Central LA. Became rich as her family committed fraud. Lives miles outside of her district. Was writing letter threatening banks who failed to fund unqualified home buyers even as the market was collapsing and banks were going under because the had funded unqualified home buyers.
You forgot to mention that the BYU study on rape and race identified the Democratic Party as the sole source for this tragedy in America. And it is still the primary source of real racism today.
Face facts Charles Blow. You are upset because Trump has been telling the truth about these women of color.
3
I become very sad at this rhetoric. The sadness stems from having our words misconstrued no matter what you say. I was disappointed that Rep. Omar was not more direct and specific.
Innuendo rarely works. This in no way excuses the ignorance of people like Brien Kilmeade, and his Fox Friends and all the others who question her loyalty to the United States.
Rep. Omar was brave enough to run for Congress and win. She's brave enough to speak out and take the hit. How many of us fail to do that or would even try? It's not easy. When I have done so, there are always repercussions. In 1956, my first year in college, I invited a black girl to share my room. A lot of people were OK with that and said nothing. However, the girl next door told me she had heard a silly rumor. When I told her it was neither silly nor only a rumor, she never spoke to me again.
How sad that we as individuals and Fox Friends have learned so little in so many years. The only way to combat this is to continue to speak out.
So, kudos to Rep. Omar. Her path is difficult and long. I hope she can become more sophisticated with language and continue on that path for a long time.
1
they just did not do something they killed 3000 people. If she said that we would not be here
74
@steven schneck of course you would. she would have been "exploitating" the attack for political gain.
but funny, i've never heard right-wingers denounce the obsence "truther" movement peddled by alex jones. why is that? that wasn't just four words, that was years of dismissal and minimizing. but we sure heard a lot of attacks against susan rice when she made a premature statement about benghazzi, and who can forget 2 years and millions of dollars wasted investigating hillary clinton over that?
21
@steven schneck
From what I gathered, there were 19 Muslim men who flew planes into the WTC, the Pentagon and one crashed in Pennsylvania killing all aboard.
I didn't see Omar's name listed anywhere on that list of people involved.
She is from Somalia.
The hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and, Lebanon.
Likewise, we targeted Iraq and their people but never the Saudi's, even though Iraq, being a rival Muslim country of Saudi Arabia was clearly the enemy country involved.
Just think how we'd react if say Evangelicals were targeted for something that the Baptist did.
Yes, she is Muslim, so what?
Just like Christianity has its many divisions, so do the Muslim faith.
And as for the Americans killed, look how many innocent Iraqis we killed, innocent children, mothers, fathers, everyday people who had nothing to do with the policy of their leader (s).
In fact, we can lay our hands on his death.
Suppose something like that happened to your beloved president Trump.
Is it any wonder that so many of our military personnel are having mental problems or are suicidal?
Regardless of the B/S taught in military school, their conscience is telling them something else.
WE WERE WRONG and don't have the guts to admit it, so we keep teaching the same nonsense to our kids.
No wonder Americans are so mixed up.
27
@steven schneck. No matter how you try to spin it, Trump’s attack on Omar is aimed at his islamophobic base. Trump bragged on 9-11 that one of his buildings was now the tallest in NYC. Why not talk about that?
18
Folks seem to spend a lot of pixels trying to excuse Omar's comments as having been "inartful" ... if she wants to become an effective political leader, at some point Rep. Omar needs to become artful. Still waiting.
6
The first step is for people of color and women to stop thinking of themselves as 'minorities.' It carries connotations and deprives us of some portion of our agency. We are equal partners in this democracy, claiming the seats we have built with our own hands, or this is not a real democracy.
1
Omar's statement clearly draws a contrast between "some" and "all." As such, the statement in no way minimizes 9/11, nor do I think it was meant to.
@Richard It is perfectly legitimate to see the comment as dismissive. If you are not personally offended then fine. For others to be offended is their right.
Congresswoman Omar spoke inartfully by euphemizing who the people were and what they did. Some part of this euphemizing, by its very nature, distorts reality. Whether some other part of it suggests affiliation or approval of them and their deeds is a likely cause of the outrage Trump and his ilk express.
Let us remember that Congresswoman Omar is young, new to Congress, and committed to her causes and speaking out in their behalf. It is what she as well as other members of Congress do and should do. What she needs is a chance to learn how to be articulate and effective. No one should feel threatened by a few rookie mistakes.
3
No, it’s seizing an opportunity to distort what she said because of who she is and keep the base riled up. If someone commits a violent act, they can use the plausible deniability and allow the violence to work in their favor, to intimidate adversaries.
1
@Michael L Hays She is not a slow learner. She has a definite bias. When that bias is pointed out, she is a victim.
Ilhan Omar and her supporters must accept that her hostile and incendiary rhetoric will draw a backlash, and that will be every bit as well reasoned as her own politics.
13
@George, why is America steeped in “hostile and incendiary rhetoric“! One wonders hmmm.
1
@George: The US consistently over-reacts to unfamiliar stimuli.
The issue is not that she's from a minority group, is a woman, a person of color, wears a covering over her head, etc. It's what comes out of her mouth. Not a word in Mr. Blow's column about her anti-Semitic utterances, which coming from a Congresswoman, carry much greater import than an ordinary citizen. The response by people and groups who are the target of her comments is not demonization. It is the appropriate reaction of those who know and remember what has happened to them and their coreligionists who have been targeted this way in the past. Mr. Blow's comments are of a piece with the reaction of the Congressional Black Caucus, who seem to put loyalty to skin color and minority status above right vs. wrong.
21
@Mark: Religion has no place at all in rational politics.
Using Code Switching to Undermine Female Minority Voices and Political Power: FOOD FOR THOUGHT by Jonathan Draughn
Code-switching [altering how you express yourself based on your audience] is not a unique adaption in multi-cultural, multi-ethnic America. It is manifested in deliberate hair style choice, speech pattern, wardrobe, and how we interact with others outside of our ethnic community and inside it. This gets more complicated when we are navigating the corporate/professional world; in including the media.
When schools suspend black girls for wearing their hair in neat braids rather than straightening or weaves it is discrimination. Would a white student wearing a similar hairstyle suffer the same fate?
..it is why, as studies have shown, applicants with ethnic-sounding female names may be passed over for a job or entrance to college. It’s the disparity of police utilizing physical force against unarmed black females. It is evidence in the spate of emotional assaults on any Black females renting an Airbnb, sitting in a lounge chair, napping in a dorm living room, studying in the library, standing, driving, ordering fast food….while black. . Code switching is not only about fitting in and getting along, it is also about surviving the moment to live another day.
I fully agree that sexism and racism are both "potent individually" and "devastating in combination."
This, of course, includes times when the target of said sexism and racism is white men.
It's amazing to me how many people these days who under the guise of standing up for equality employ remarkably ugly, racist and sexist language against an entire demographic.
You can't fight racism with racism or sexism with sexism anymore than you can fight fire with fire. If equality and an end to bigotry in all its form is your goal, then you have to start by regarding people, ALL people, as equally good and equally deserving, and make sure that your words and actions reflect this.
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@Kristin I agree 100% that all people should be considered equally good and equally deserving if, in fact, they behave in a way that demonstrates such behavior. Racist and sexist language serves no good purpose, either. But...white men as victims of racism and sexism? Sorry, but we still have a long way to go until that group is not the demographic in power and as such, not able to fly the flag of victimhood.
23
@Rennie Carter
"we still have a long way to go until that group is not the demographic in power and as such, not able to fly the flag of victimhood."
Are white men ruling in China? Argentina? India? Etc etc. It seems your bigotry ends at our borders.
5
@Rennie Carter
You are attempting to redefine sexism as racism as only being the weapons of the powerful. That's silly.
1
Also from that speech: I know as an American, as an American member of Congress, I have to make sure I am living up to the ideals of fighting for liberty and justice.
Retweet that why don’t they?
To commentators here who have been complaining about words Rep. Omar omitted, I ask that you read her more fully and to see what she says beyond the carefully selected sound bites - and to consider whether this campaign to silence her is living up to the ideals of the first Amendment. Too much reaction, too little reason. The noise is designed to distract from discussion.
10
@Gerard Being held accountable is not being silenced.
But those who judge are also accountable. Have you read the speech beyond the sound bite?
In my opinion it shows that the level of noise is unjustified - and contrived, to silence.
1
I rarely watch tv news, but I wonder if any of the major network programs or on-line news services have tried to present an in depth interview with Rep. Omar. This might counter the fact-less bromides that Trump/Fox/GOP have hurled at her.
1
It’s a fine line between hate and fear. While the hate is palpable, notice the fear, hiding in plain sight. All women are beautiful and the fear of beauty by reactionary men should not be dismissed. All women are beautiful because they think and feel and survive despite being surrounded by an ugly fog of masculinity that believes narcissism and a war of all against all is the law of the human jungle. The fog makes them fear women because women are stronger than they are. Women know better. Women know the rules of the human jungle better than reactionary men do.
Well, OK, this is poetic license, but there is poetic truth, just as there is scientific truth.
Omar was made to order for Trump. Her attitude is reflected in language that is dismissive and would be intolerable from someone not of a Muslim minority. Her headscarf is questioned by a small yet brave number of women in Iran who waved them from the ends of sticks in protest of a culture who demands a severe dress code of women. A style of dress the great Egyptian feminist Nawal El Saadawi considers to be a fad. Yet again we must respect Omar because she is a minority. Nothing she says matters one way or another, she is a minority woman and for that we must respect language and views regardless of how often our own values may come in conflict with hers.
I will be glad to see Trump's presidency come to an end. I hope we do not see him elected another term yet clearly the insistence of unconditional support of Omar will probably help him do just that.
10
I trust you apply this thinking to unconditional support of e.g. Israel?
I would also add that the wearing of prominent religious symbols and garb should not be permitted if you are a pubic official. It is advertising of religion and violates the separation of church and state. We are or should be a secular state. France is right in this.
1
First, Ms. Omar chose her words very poorly and drowned the point she was trying to make: that the civil liberties of all Muslims in the United States have suffered due to heinous acts of the few. Second, Trumps’s violent and demagogic response to those words was far worse than the words themselves. Through Ms. Omar as his unwitting proxy, he has attacked all Muslims and inflamed his base into further rabid rage. In the end, it is democracy as a whole which has suffered, once again.
1
I don't really care about the "inartfulness" of the words--it is the content that is interesting. Her point is that 9/11 should not be pinned on Muslims as a group, or be seen as some inherent product of Islam as a religion. And on that, I agree. But I note that the same courtesy is not extended to all groups. The recent attacks in New Zealand, for instance, were cast by the media not as the conduct of one particularly person, but as evidence of a pervasive problem with "white supremacy."
13
@RC
False equivalence. White supremacy is a behavioral and psychological pattern. It's not a religion which can spawn multiple types of behavioral patterns. White supremacy can only spawn a single type of behavioral pattern, which assumes that whites (and males over females) can and must be superior to everyone else. Whether white supremacist are violent or not depends on whether they feel they can get away with it or not. They already feel they're entitled to the violence, because they already feel they're more important than the rest of us, and thus treating the rest of humanity with disdain is a natural consequence; one without repercussions at that.
@RC White supremacists are not a group deserving of courtesy. Obviously. If there was a radical sect of Muslims that had carried out the attack we would have targeted them. Oh wait, we did, through an all-out WAR.
Except he seems to have been radicalized by a growing movement. I fear Muslim extremists terrorism, I fear white supremacists, I fear any organization that identifies their superiority on the basis of race or religion and assert a right to subjugate or eliminate others. Don’t you?
These people hate her because she is real, because she speaks a truth that may not their truth, but there is no denying the humanity of her position.
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@Lorna
There is nothing truthful about her anti-Semitism.
20
@Lorna Many people "hate" her because she hates.
10
@Lorna Hey Lorna they hate her as I do because she is an anti-Semite who defames the Jewish people and who has little regard for the Americans killed in the worst attack on the homeland since Pearl Harbor.
10
As a white male with a modest knowledge of American history and American government, I make it a point to read Mr. Blow. I can not explain concisely why I read him except that his is a voice that needs to be listened to.
6
She needs to learn how to speak in a manner that is respectful of other groups and unsympathetic toward people who have harmed this country. If she ever does so the “attacks” against her will be less frequent.
10
@Mitchell Karin Her hijab is a lightning rod. No matter what she does, bigoted politicians and pundits will find an imperfection to target and use to rile up their base.
Representative Omar is criticized for not being more specific in describing the 911 Trade Center suicide attackers than she did with her understated depiction “… some people did something…”
That might be true, but as a Christian, should I demand that those who nailed Christ to a cross be described as “soldiers of what is now ITALY” instead of the seemingly more distant and politically correct “Roman soldiers?”
4
I was watching PBS's program this weekend about America's Reconstruction after the Civil War and found it extremely enlightening, especially the part where they discuss the myth of the "fragile white maiden' and how that exploded into popular culture among whites at the time with that trash film "Birth of a Nation." To see how they demonized and denigrated black men (and women) made my stomach turn and to see it still persisting today in the shambolic remnants of the GOP is too sad to even stir ire. I just would like to know when will white women stop being complicit? They voted for Trump in overwhelming numbers, even after he boasted about trying to grab them by their 'you know what'.
3
What unnerves me is that, just for partisan warfare, FOX and Trump, his base and their audience (one and the same) are a gift to the bin Ladens of this world. They are responding to 9/11, etc., exactly as bin Laden had hoped would happen, including using a terrorist attack, Benghazi, again for political purposes. The right-wing's continuing, decades-old war agains the left is itself terrorism against this country, but to see one side actually partner with bin Laden in service to that war is shocking, infuriating, and betrays every victim of 9/11.
5
This column is about targeting African American women by the president of the United States and his abhorrent acolytes. Trump owns the bully pulpit and uses it to promote misogyny and racism to further his power over his deplorable base by singling out individual citizens. Who among us is safe against that?
A voter survey was published this week on issues relating to African Americans by Pew Research. A majority of American voters of different races and ethnicity agreed that slavery and Jim Crow, among other things has affected their social and economic circumstances.
But when white voters were polled separately, a substantial majority of Democratic white voters agreed while a majority of Republican white voters did not.
This column is about both misogyny and even more so, about racism and a president who has put a target on the backs of African American Congresswomen when he knows he is exalted by white supremacists.
That is utterly contemptible and incredibly dangerous.
This clip from Meet The Press explains the survey results:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/poll-black-white-defines-red-blue-n994251
2
Representative Omar, like all the other freshman in Congress, has made her share of rookie mistakes, some innocent, some accidental, some the result of her youth, passion and purpose as she sees it. However, this was an “own goal.”
I agree that, in context, there was absolutely nothing wrong with what she said. But she and whoever advises her are not truly understanding that we are living in the Donald Trump Twitter Universe wherein even a single awkward sentence morphs into FOX/Trump jet-fuel for the gaslighting machine.
Were I the only woman wearing a hijab in Congress, I would take the time to prepare the way I will refer to things like 9/11 and Islamic terror here and abroad and have the words thoughtfully chosen and memorized so they come out automatically even when speaking off the cuff.
“Somebody did something?” Actually, as progressive as I am and as much as I am rooting for her, even I was insulted by this minimalist nod to the worst domestic terror attacking ever, which I lived through and which killed friends and acquaintances of mine. It’s as simple as saying “Evil foreigners attacked our country” and go on to say how that led to innocent American citizens losing their rights.
I’m sure Mayor Pete has sorted out the words he will use when his sexuality comes up.
Joe and Bernie better be ready with words for the “too old to be president” issue.
And Elizabeth Warren no doubt has a Pocahontas rejoinder handy.
It’s not sexism nor racism. It’s smart politics.
4
I pray to God no violence comes to Representative Omar. Donald Trump's tweet about her was as incendiary as it was malicious.
Everyone in this country has the right to speak their mind. Omar speaks a lot, yes, but only occasionally does she speak inartfully. As a duly elected member of Congress, she has earned the right to represent her district, conservatives or no conservatives.
In fact, the very label conservative has been perverted in the past three decades, gradually representing what it signifies today in the behavior of many Republicans: bigotry.
That the president's team always seem to single out strong women like Maxine Waters, Federica Wilson, and AOC. In that, they demonize multiple times, picking on African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and now, Muslim Americans.
Such attitudes start at the top. That they formed the basis for the president's campaign, and now are signaling to every nut job in the country that it's "open season" on representatives like Omar, is pathetic and chilling.
6
Love reading your column, but they remind me of the saying that to a carpenter every problem is a nail that needs to be hammered. Blaming racism and/or misogyny is not the hammer for all the evils you see.
6
It is indeed sad to see how sowing disunity for political gain has become so popular...it is one of the oldest tricks in the book.
It is easy to vilify other minority groups we either don’t want to understand or appreciate, but in a diverse democracy such as ours, we had better begin to make room in our hearts and minds for the welfare of all of our citizens.
That does not mean we are all equally right or wrong, but we must be willing to support one another by the fair application of principled discourse, not propagandizing by advertising the worst in the people and cultures we want to demonize for political points.
To do otherwise will only put the weakest and most vulnerable in harms way, hardly a virtue and certainly not making America great again, and take us down roads we have already traveled during some of the darkest of times in our nation’s history.
PS - the NY Post ought to publish a full front page apology to our Muslim citizens. Inflaming hatred with knee jerk headlines is not what journalism is about.
1
I'm really starting to come to disrespect the writings of Mr. Blow. First he writes a column defending the indefensible conduct of Jussie Smollett, and now he calls the language that Rep. Omar used as "inartful". I'm sorry but I listened to her speech and watched her body language and found her clearly to be disrespectful of not only the 9/11 attacks but her overall demeanor is entirely devoid of dignity, and that applies equally to men as well as to women, white or black or brown or whatever color they might be. NONE of this has anything to do with justifying the conduct of Trump - we all know his conduct has never been anything but vile - but that doesn't mean that Omar's is excusable because I find her choice of words cringe worthy. As to AOC, she's quickly getting to the point of working my last nerve herself, what with her "who dis" and other undignified manner. I sincerely doubt that neither the constituency in Minnesota that Omar represents nor those in the Bronx that elected AOC can be happy with these persons, as they strive to make a NATIONAL name for themselves, have done NOTHING to rally support for policies that would bring better goods and services to the areas they represent. Finally, NOTHING is more important to me than giving Trump and as many Republicans as possible their walking papers, and in this vein I see the actions of AOC but especially Omar doing nothing but hindering that critical goal that EVERY DECENT AMERICAN should be working towards.
17
Shame Charles. Shame. You know, as we all do, that Rep. Omar is a very smart woman who chooses her words very carefully. There is a purpose to what she says and to whom she says it. It's no surprise to most readers that you would gloss over her use of "some" in this instance, preferring to turn the issue on its head so that we can see Rep. Omar as the victim instead of the perpetrator. The real risk of Rep. Omar is that she is slowly but surely normalizing antisemitism while simultaneously painting terrorist organizations as the victims. This is wrong and it always will be.
30
I am a white woman who is also a Minnesotan. I am proud that Representative Omar heralds from our state. I interpreted her comments to advocate that it didn't matter what religion any American embraces. ALL Americans, Christians, Jews, Muslims and Atheists were horrified by the atrocities committed by the architects of 9/11. This is the point she was making. Perhaps, she could have been more articulate. So what? Trump is rarely articulate. Because a group of Islamic terrorists planned and carried out the 9/11 attack does not mean that the majority of Islamic people anywhere in the United States... let alone the world supported their actions. Most rapes in this country are committed not by African Americans they are committed by White Males... that does not mean or indicate that most Caucasian Men support and promote rape. I am proud that Rep. Omar represents the state of MN. I believe in her integrity, her courage and her compassion for democracy, freedom of speech and humanity.
5
I dont think she represents the state of Minnesota. she is not one of 2 senators. she represents a small gerrymandered district and I hope the folks who put her in will put her out.
1
@sue Given the standard put forth in your comment, all representatives are from small districts (insert gerrymandered if it suits your purpose). Incidentally, Minnesota's districts are not particularly gerrymandered. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/redistricting-maps/minnesota/#algorithmic-compact
2
@sue Given the standard put forth in your comment, all representatives are from small districts (insert gerrymandered if it suits your purpose).
I sincerely hope that Ms. Omar's defenders are just as quick to criticize her for past and what most certainly be future anti-Semitic hate speech as they are to defend her from outsized attacks. The victim is also a victimizer.
11
There are clearly more frequent attacks on women of color - and since Sanders' staffer Sirota attacking Kamala Harris is one of the most recent examples, it's on both sides of the presidential race. There are also clearly attacks on men of color - Trump calls them rapists and drug dealers on a regular basis. There are too many attacks on Muslims to count - as Mr Blow described in this piece. There are clearly attacks on LGBTQ people - heck, our country voted Conversion Pence into office. And attacks on women have been Trump's (white) bread and butter decades before his infamous video describing sexual assault.
Trump has made it all too popular to hate in our country. and it's very easy to see that hate, get riled up and upset, and declare that hate has no home here. But in order to really do that, and not just give it lipservice - we need to stop Democratic infighting during the primaries and save both money and candidates' reputations to beat Trump in 2020. Democrats need to unite to say once and for all - all together, loud and clear:
HATE HAS NO HOME HERE.
1
I am pretty sure Omar's words drew criticism from both Liberals and Conservatives. How about we just own our mistakes and move on instead of trying to veil every misstep in sexism and racism through a polarization piece such as this.
12
Hillary and others were demonized also of course, but I always know to expect a vicious attack from Trump & Fox if a woman of color is involved. Unbought and unbossed, Shirley Chisholm proudly claimed.
Stacey Abrams is soft spoken and was minority leader as well as a Yale trained attorney but has also faced this bile.
Omens can be interpreted as good or bad. I am deeply grateful these women chose lives of public service in the spite of bigotry. The problem for Trump & Fox is women have the vote.
Alienating women, minorities, Muslims, and young voters in bizarre attacks on these young representatives will backfire badly.
Trump has the white supremacist vote already so where he's going with this bullying is unfathomable.
1
'The only women they truly honor are white women who obsequiously condone or actively participate in the oppression.'
That is why the right has no strong women in politics. They would not enjoy the experience of being treated the way even their husbands would be forced to treat them.
Something about how the nail that sticks up gets hammered down.
3
"The only women they truly honor are white women who obsequiously condone or actively participate in the oppression."
That is demonstrably false. Or have you never heard of Candace Owens? Sexism, including against white women, is older and more pervasive than racism. Mr. Blow's columns on the subject reek of resentment against white women for this fact.
11
Sorry but the premise isn’t quite right. Let’s clarify: women have been demonized for thousands of years-since the adoption of the patriarchal god. Many men hate the idea that a woman should say yes or no to sex and so blame women for the men’s desire to have sex and blame women for controlling access to their own bodies. What’s “new” is that the US government in general and the president in particular are actively encouraging misogyny.
2
It is futile to try to convince those many (including even some self-proclaimed “supporters” of Omar) who have unfairly decided that the Representative’s brief reference to 911 while making a statement focusing on anti-Muslim sentiment - that she was downplaying the scope of the tragedy.
Geez. Omar is a non-native English speaker whose point in this statement was that a tiny handful of Muslims carried out the attack, and that neither she or other Muslim-Americans were involved or supportive, and therefore should not be targeted nor discriminated against. Again, it was not intended to be a statement describing the level of horror and devastation of the attack.
Trump and his spokesperson literally make multiple false statements every single day, many of which inspire racists and, arguably, encourage harm to others. Omar’s statement contained no lies, and was a call for peace and understanding.
Time to move on, and ignore those who are so eager to hear what they want to hear and therefore invent intentions in out of context accusations. And to those who think Pelosi should be reigning in the newly-elected and younger representatives and providing them “training” on what to say and how to say it, consider your own prejudices for a minute. We all need to shout from the mountain tops our opposition to (almost) all things Trump and certainly all things racist and discriminatory. This is not a time for anyone to hold back. Our country’s and children’s futures depend on it.
1
Distill it to,
"...conservative media has pounced...” and "Donald Trump upped the ante..."
These two phrases capture the fearmongering tactics of the Republican Party. It did not matter what Representative Omar said (the enemies of facts and truth have been watching her closely for some perceived grievance to pounce on).
She and for that matter all Democrats are held by Republicans to an impeccable, high-wire standard compared to the rubber bar lying in the mud granted by Republicans to America's Liar in Chief. Republicans twist her words into something hateful and despicable, while they struggle to rehab the words of the Liar in Chief. So Republicans scream, “some people did something” are the words of an anti-American, while pretending "there were some very fine people on both sides" are the words of a patriot comforting an aghast nation.
Republicans used to dissemble and speak in code to stir hate and resentment. But that was before they totally abandoned facts, truth and shame. Today they rally to the Liar in Chief and openly and proudly proclaim alternate-facts, lies, hate for others.
These are the new tactics of Republicans - in your face denial of truth, in your face outpouring of hate, deceitful attacks on one's patriotism. All without shame. And highly effective with their base, feeding on mankind's most base instincts.
1
Sigh. Does the left have ANY integrity ? To try and diffuse this horrific and callus reference to a day that still haunts many Americans by turning her into an oppressed minority victim is disgusting. She’s an elected official Charles, her words matter!
You had a moment here, where you could have called it for what it was and you didn’t thus continuing the downward slide of expecting more from our politicians.
When they go low, we go lower should now be the Democrats new sound byte.
Keep writing articles like these and we will have four more years of Trump.
13
@Norville T. Johnson - Amen. If a GOP rep had callously referred to slavery and Jim Crow as "some people did something," I can only imagine the outrage Charles Blow would manufacture.
There were more efforts to stop the pot to melt than to welcome “strangers” in it.
The president should refrain from attacking people he disagrees with. Libel laws should hold him accountable. As president of the United States, his personal attacks can ruin people’s reputation and endanger lives.
A professional employer disciplines his employees’ performance and never invades their personal space, looks,or beliefs.
By insulting elected officials, Trump is attacking and insulting constituents who elect them.
Let’s put an end to this childish behavior by suing the perpetrator or give him time out and force him to apologize.
Endangering and threatening this Congresswoman’ s life and the life of her family is no joke. Haters are neither intelligent or loving Christians but followers of their master’s command.
1
Neither third world origins nor minority status should protect a Representative from criticism. Rep Omar has much to answer for. She has accused Jewish-Americans of 1) buying elections and 2) professing dual loyalties. On the second occasion progressives in the House managed to prevent passage of a resolution specifically responding to her “verbal indiscretions”. On this occasion, where she characterized the attack on the World Trade Center as “somebody did something” (is there a prize for minimalism?) I think the conclusion is inescapable that she does not consider this event to be particularly important. Words matter. If she believes her words did not do justice to her real beliefs then she can apologize. But then she has already done a few times, hasn’t she?
5
When this country has suffered a mass shooting at the hands of a white man - including our worst gun massacre, in NV, or the mass murders of kids in a FL school - Trump's response has been certainly no broader or more outraged than to treat them as isolated incidents, basically something that some people did.
Gee, could that ever be because Trump pigeonholes those who aren't like him?! Holding Muslims to a different standard?!
1
While the conservative reaction to Ilhan Omar's language has been overblown - this column reads like an unhinged parody of liberal outrage.
Could it not be possible that Ilhan Omar's less-than-artful language regarding an appalling act of terrorism that murdered 2966 innocent people (along with her well-documented history of anti-semitic comments) is deserving of censure?
No, of course not. It must be...racism.
The left's constant rebuke to any criticism of its members' behavior as being motivated by bigotry is as predictable as the right's knee-jerk allegiance to "flag and country."
Both parties - and their respective partisans - are beginning to behave in an almost cartoon-like fashion.
The sky is not falling. The world is not coming to an end. The economy is humming along and despite the hyperventilating of the liberal outrage machine a quick fact check will reveal that hate-crimes were actually higher under Bush and Obama in 2007 and 2008 than under Trump (though they have indeed gone up since Trump's election from lower numbers in Obama's second term).
But truth is irrelevant in the current political reality. Trump's election will continue to butter the bread for both liberal and conservative punditry, partisans will continue to fulminate...while the rest of us just wish for common sense to prevail.
2
'Some people did something', is a very useful expression. In the history of India Some People invaded the country and subjected its culture to some oppression, millions of women to forced polygamous marriage and kidnapping. This happened at regular intervals in seven hundred years of history of India and it just so happened that all these invaders were Muslims. Islamic vistories were proudly celebrated in works of Muslim historians, chroniclers and litterateurs. Of course these were Some People who Did Something. In the year 2008, 6 persons allied to Al Quaeda and Pakistani military, held hostage more than 500 persons in Mumbai and killed 166 ( Americans, Indians, Israelis) just because the hostages were not Muslims. These were Some People doing Something. Just because representative Omar is opposed to Trump, need not mean that she is allied to all who oppose him. Osama Bin Laden, if he were alive today would also be against Trump, Would we be ready to stand with him? Also, before labelling every critic of Islam and Islamists as an Islamophobe, it would be good to understand and fact check the history and culture of Islam in the lands where it is a dominant force. Yes indeed, there are decent persons living amongst us with their stated religion as Islam, but we should have no hesitation in calling out what the rest of the world finds unacceptable in the fundamentally Islamic way of life. And yes the same applies to all kinds of fundamentalism Christian, Muslim or Hindu.
4
The demonization of Islam has been major theme in US politics for at least 25 years, ever since US energy policy required us to garrison the Mideast, and the collapse of the Soviet Union robbed the military-industrial complex of its traditional enemy. By being simultaneously black, female, and overtly Muslim, Rep. Omar is a lightning rod for the hatred of millions of Americans who have been trained to fear and despise an image of Islam that has been professionally designed and constructed, with much help from the mainstream media, to be a larger-than-life threat. As so many reader comments here show, "playing the 9/11 card" is a foolproof way to get Americans, even those who consider themselves liberal, to start wringing their hands and clutching their pearls when a dark-skinned Muslim woman dares to be outspoken in her comments. Thank you Charles Blow for putting helping to put Rep. Omar's targeting in context.
Demonizing minority women is not simply a conservative sin. Candace Owens, a conservative African-American woman, crossed swords with both Ted Lieu and Chairman Jerrold Nadler in a recent Juciary Congressional Hearing. What I noticed was that the men, both Democrats tried to either bully Ms. Owens, misconstrue her words, and in the case of Nadler clearly not even listen to her! They were so rude and arrogant that I actually felt ashamed for Lieu and Nadler.
1
Although Ms. Omar should have been clearer and more forceful in calling out the 9/11 attacks and its perpetrators, I still don’t think that comment was as disrespectful as when Trump minimized the service and sacrifices that John McCain and other prisoners of war have made to our country.
I also don’t think Ms. Omar’s comment was as bad as Trump’s equating the Nazis and white supremacists in Charlottesville with the people protesting their views and actions.
1
As a 9/11 survivor, I fully endorse Mr. Blow’s viewpoint.
After the disastrous event on September 11, I walked to the west side of midtown to catch the NY Waterway Ferry to Hoboken and then rode a bus through Jersey City to Newark to catch the NJ Transit train to home. There were NO cheering groups of Muslims in Jersey City, celebrating the destruction of the Twin Towers as claimed by Mr. Trump. In fact, everything was eerily quiet.
Right after 9/11, President George W. Bush went to a mosque in Washington DC to discourage anti-Muslim hysteria. That gesture was remarkably admirable.
Using the tragic deaths of the 9/11 victims for selfish and political purposes (like this recent tweet used by Mr. Trump: juxtaposing the images of 9/11 and Ms. Omar’s comments) is just repulsive and reprehensible. Please don’t insult the SACRED memory of the victims.
As a legally elected member of our legislature, Ms. Omar has every right to express her opinions. Let’s not forget that our country is a DEMOCRACY and NOT a DICTATORSHIP !
267
@Raj Sinha
I too had to walk several blocks and had to wait several hours for the subways to start running again. on 9/11. A little inconvenience did not make me or you a 9/11 survivor.
I am waiting to hear from someone who actually lost a loved one on 9/11 to come forward and defend Ms. Omar.
7
@Raj Sinha So, if I understand you correctly, Ms Omar has "every right to express her opinions", but Trump's comments are "repulsive and reprehensible." So, which one is entitled to "free speech", and who decides exactly what is repulsive? Many feel Ms Omar's comments were just that. After your full comment, your final sentence reeks of hypocrisy.
13
@Raj Sinha Trump didn't insult anyone he just repeated what she said. She's accountable for her own words. She's a big girl educated in American schools.In Shakespeare the fool sometimes tells truths that every else is willfully blind to or just doesn't see. Trump is just mirroring what she said and accurately describing how the Democrats handled it!
7
Sorry, but being a woman, even a woman of color, doesn’t make you immune from criticism when you make mistakes. And “some people did some things” is a mistake, regardless of gender or pallor.
152
Let me put it this way: Because of the actions of a few people, American Muslims now fear for their civil liberties.
Is this obviously false? If true, is it not a problem? Should you not fear living in a society where this happens?
If we allow the erosion of liberty for others, it erodes for all and one day we may need it too.
21
@JB Why is "some people did something" a mistake? The ones who committed 9/11 were not people? People can be horrible or wonderful, in either case they are still people. Your comment shows that are ill disposed towards Omar and ready to use anything coming out of her mouth as worthy of condemnation. One sometimes wonder if Trump is human but the term people does include him.
11
@JB Yes, it was a mistake, but was it a mistake worthy of a reprehensible Tweet that defiles the memory of those killed? And yesterday I learned from Congressman Nadler that Trump took $150,00 meant for small businessmen to "rebuild" his business after the attacks.
17
Congresswoman Omar knows exactly what she is doing.
She is trying to shift the conversation, and is doing so by making outrageous statements. She is hoping that the first outrageous comment will elicit anger from the right and supporting articles like this from the left, but as time goes by and she continues, the anger will abate and the extreme will eventually be taken as the new normal, no different from Trump and Bernie Sanders, on the right and left respectively.
It has worked pretty well for both Trump and Sanders, so why not for Omar ?
2
I absolutely respect the right of Omar to be elected to Congress,
and I abhor racism. I highly respect women of all complexions.
I hate racism of any kind and I am not anti Islam.
The difficult, in my view, is that Omar appeared to trivialize the enormous suffering caused by the 9/11 attack.
I certainly was "inartful" and enormously insensitive to other people's suffering in that terrorist attack.
Omar owes the victims of 9/11, their families and loved ones, a full throated apology. She should make some statement at the very least paying respect and homage to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack.
83
@David Her words may not have been what you like to hear but I don't see anything about trivializing 9/11 in what she said. Her point was not to trivialize 9/11 but to point out the irrational response to it, tarring Muslims because some people did something. An your response shows that she is right, too many are eager to condemn her for any remark they feel shows her as not sufficiently patriotic, or anti-Semitic or whatever irritates them,
16
@David I agree 100%. In the same speech, she described the anti-Islamic terrorist in New Zealand as "A tragic, tragic nightmare attack on muslims". She should've shown the same amount of compassion for innocent victims of Islamic terrorism of 911 in NYC.
12
@David
No David, she does not owe any appology for her words. You are overparsing utterances and in the process attributing incorrect connotations.
If you think the attacks are about color, you haven't read what she has said nor what she has been taken to task for saying. It's too easy to try to dismiss an important conversation about American values by dismissing pertinent comments as racist. More professionalism in the trade is in order.
6
While we're on the subject of what Ms. Omar stands for could she tell us what she thinks about women who dare to appear in public immodestly -- shamelessly -- exposing their bodies from tip to toe?
Could she tell us what equal rights for women means to her?
3
Trump and his ilk deserve all the opprobrium sent their way on this and many other matters. But if one takes Trump out of the equation for a moment, can Ilhan Omar's word's be truly judged as just 'inartful'. This is not the first time and probably not the last where the Congresswoman has used language that is disrespectful of others and hurtful. If this indeed is again a mistake or lack of forethought on her part, a thoughtful person would have to raise questions regarding her qualifications as a public servant. Language is after all the main tool of a professional politician.
I doubt though that this was just a slip of the tongue on her ongoing learning curve. I tend to believe that she knows exactly what she is doing by throwing these hand grenades into the political discourse. Coming back for a moment to Trump, I would say that she is taking a leaf out of his provocation playbook. Apart from keeping herself in the headlines and pandering to her own base, she is playing the Democratic party for her own benefit. This will only result in tearing the party apart and handing victory to Trump.
How weak are the arguments of Omar and her supporters when any legitimate criticism of her is immediately attacked as anti-Muslim or anti-Black?
I'm reminded of Jean-Marie Le Pen calling the Holocaust a 'detail' of World War II.
4
That the person currently occupying the Oval Office, joined by other dangerously careless Republicans, should use his position to place targets on the back of U.S. Representatives is jaw dropping shocking and should be grounds for impeachment. Only we’ve been on the other side of the Looking Glass for some time now and this is hardly unusual.
Meanwhile, as a result, Congress can at least request more security for Representative Omar. And, presumably, the other Congresspersons and Senators Trump has recklessly endangered as well. Other targets, sadly, do not have access to such resources.
Sooner or later, someone will pay the price of Trump’s irresponsibly, other than the disenfranchised people caged up at our borders. And Republicans in the House and Senate will be shocked for a day or two, before going back to their business of appointing unqualified judges and finding ways to control women’s bodies.
This is, without question, the lowest point in Executive leadership in our nation’s history.
1
This column seems a subterfuge. Women of color are playing increasingly prominent roles in national politics, particularly on the Democratic side. This is a good thing. But as such they are going to be targets of conservative criticism with increasing frequency. Just as Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are now, and Hillary was before them.
So criticism of Rep. Omar, or AOC, or Maxine Waters isn’t automatically racism or dog whistles or anything but what is claims to be—calling them out for statements with which one disagrees. Trying to dodge often valid critiques behind cries of “racism” serves no one and—like the boy who cried wolf—ultimately undermines sensitivity to racism itself.
And as to Rep. Omar’s comments, the murder of 3,000 people still stirs anger in many Americans, and rightly so. So if “some people said something” that she doesn’t like—tough.
2
"The congresswoman could have used different, more severe language to describe the attacks, but she didn’t."
Precisely. She is no longer a private citizen expressing her views. She is a Congresswoman and has some power and, to paraphrase a quote, with power comes responsibility.
This is not the first time the Congresswoman Omar has used "inartful" language. "It's all about the Benjamins," was another instancee.
Perhaps Rep. Omar should let her actions, such as cosponsoring the 9/11 Victim’s Compensation Fund, speak for a while.
3
Mr. Blow, you are absolutely right, and Representative Omar was right too in what she said about the demonization of all Muslims because of the terrible actions of a few. I do hope, though, that Ms. Omar has learned how eager some people are to pounce on her, and will think carefully about her statements so as not to give them such opportunities.
3
I don't always agree with Charles Blow, but this time I believe he is absolutely right. Representative Ilhan Omar has become a punching bag for bigots because she is a woman of color, an immigrant, Muslim, and outspoken.
What steps have the feminist leadership and community taken to support her against these cynical attacks by Trump and his parrots?
2
I can understand her reluctance to say Muslims did the World Trade center disaster. There is a religious oddity shared by many, that whatever happened it could be worse. But this event was worse--those of us that were in NYC at the time were so horrified by that event, some moved out of the city. Even though Congress woman Omar was not in NYC, she should have had more compassion for the victims, as she well knows that Muslims are on attack as well. Her "some" was a badly sense of her protecting other Muslims.So too was her term Jews and "Benjamins." That remark was learned probably early in her life and indeed it was aimed at all Jews. Never the less I support her--she needs to be more careful with her utterances.
Rep Ilhan Omar deserves to be applauded for her fearlessness. She's taken on risks that most of the politicians would never, ever take.
Rep Omar's fearlessness is a shining inspiration to all and hopefully our feckless bunch would learn something from her.
2
No one is demonizing Ilhan Omar, she has a history of making incendiary statements that should be appalling to all Americans. The craven dismissiveness with which she talked past the horrors of 9/11 while only moments later talking in horrified tones about the New Zealand attack was very telling. For someone who embodies the American dream, she certainly has a dim view of Americans, and all of her supporters speaking in a wild-eyed manner about "incitement" are just paving the way for a Trump win in 2020.
3
Very intense a piece from Charles. It seems like Everyday I learn a bit more on history of white oppression on "colored" people in america. Every time I thought I have heard it all - there are some more that comes out from the seemingly unlimited abyss of depravity that has been american history.
At the same time - Ms Omar's speech may not be just "slip of tongue". "Some people did something" is a clear attempt diluting one of the horrific attacks on this country - Ms Omar's own country. Islamic apologia runs as much in parallel to islamophobia - Ms Omar seems to be part of that crowd.
3
What is richly lost on these fake TV "conservatives" is that their party has long promoted party over nation as it's primary political strategy.
How many evangelicals have put the USA in the proverbial back seat to push forward the regressive "christian" agenda?
The days of people putting aside their beliefs for the common good are a quaint notion from years gone bye.
1
If Omar's remarks were "inartful", as they certainly were,
she is not being attacked because she has a dark complexion.
We would have thought that Omar would have gone out of her way to express sympathy for the thousands of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks,
The difficulty with Mr. Blow's remarks is that it is unreasonable to give a free pass to people with a dark complexion, it is demeaning to all, and actually racist.
1
Glad to see you on the side of Candice Owens .... and of course Elizabeth Warren has gotten a pass because she is only 1/1024th of something.
While fringe folks on both sides "attack:" individualI people, ignore them. The real issue is with the content of ideas and sometimes those need to be challenged, especially when they are in the context of antisemitism or anti-religious, or just plan bigotry.
1
It's not smart to give aid and comfort to the side we're fighting by using language that's ambiguous, self-serving or construed to mean something unintended.
"[S]ome people did something" is sloppy, lazy and a rhetorical act of political self-harm. Rep. Omar might as well have said that she was there in New Jersey reveling with fellow Muslims as the twin towers collapsed.
That isn't the meaning of "some people did something" necessarily but if a clearly self-identified Muslim is speaking about 9/11 to a general audience, how could it not be heard as dismissive and politically calculated? Does she understand that it's not what she says but what people hear?
If she's that politically inept and clumsy -- that's giving her the benefit of the doubt -- she shouldn't be representing the people in her district. If she's addressing Islamophobia, why confirm the stereotype of sinister and secret Islamic hostility that treats Jihad as justified? Why lend an echo of verisimilitude to Trump's feverish and fake hysteria about an Islamic Fifth Column conspiring to kill Americans?
How do you give a speech that "correctly derided Islamophobia" by referring to the defining act of Saudi/Islamic terror as "some people did something"?
We're doing serious damage control with Trump.
If she wants to be a firebrand, she should be smart enough not to get her side burned.
1
“No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.”
---H.L. Mencken
Or their capacity to act in base and self-defeating ways.
2
I notice that not once does the author mention the numerous anti-Semitic tropes that Rep. Omar has spewed over the past several months. She is being attacked for her inexcusable actions Sir; not her gender or race.
3
And while Trump distracts us with attacks on AOC and Omar, he promotes the use of fossil fuels, destroys regulations meant to protect the environment, tears children from their mothers, works to make the judicial system his tool, hides the tax returns he said he would release, and keeps Barr busy "redacting" the Mueller report. When a politician has racism, religious bigotry, and misogyny on his side, he's a force to be reckoned with.
Mr. Trump showed horrible images that we've seen thousands of times and are still extremely shocking. We will never forget, indeed. How could we?
I take it that Muslims lost some civil liberties after 9/11, but we ALL did, didn't we? I was flying back from Europe to JFK that terrible day and did not make it back home until Sunday 16th because my flight was one of many grounded in Canada.
Why do we still have to take off our shoes at most airport security check points? Why are we limited in the quantity of liquid we can take through security?
In each case "somebody did something" and we were all made to pay for their actions.
We know that horrible acts were committed by some Muslims and we should never fall into blanket blame of their community. But Rep. Omar would be well advised to tone down her rhetoric and check her speeches for accuracy. CAIR was founded way before 9/11.
She and her two most vocal young colleagues are fresh faces in our Congress. They have the enthusiasm of newbies wanting to change the world, unfortunately they are short on knowledge.
1
If she had of said some racist adjective to describe those involved everybody would have celebrated her. People in certain areas call money Benjamins because Benjamin Franklin is on the hundred dollar bill but that fact was left out of the conversation. The Freshman Class in Congress makes for great Photo ops for The Left but when the cameras are gone these freshmen are to put tape over their mouths? Unlike The Right, it is refreshing that everyone on The Left is not drinking the same Kool-Aid.
1
Representative Omar was always going to be in the crosshairs of Fox, Trump, and the white nationalist lot. That was a given for a Muslim woman of color. And although I support her right to speak out on any subject, I believe her continued use of anti-Semitic tropes and the lack of condemnation in her now wired and misquoted 9/11 line shows a true lack of intellectual sensitivity. She seems unaware of the inflammatory cauldron social media has made of our tribalism and partisan politics. She seems unaware of the broad and deep emotions of her fellow Americans about anti-semitism and about 9/11. If she is trying to be a thorn in the side of America, she is succeeding. What I see is a woman who speaks insensitively and provides more fodder for the racist conservatives and others who will use her words against her and her causes. That’s just not smart on her part. She’s apparently someone who can’t help but “shoot herself in the foot,” which is unfortunate given that she’s one of the freshman in Congress who bring both diversity and fresh opinions. It would be great if she could learn to choose her words more wisely rather than feeding into the white nationalist narrative.
1
I support Omar's right to say intelligent and sensitive things,
but not her right to say insensitive and insulting things.
2
Rep Omar and AOC will be 1 term wonders.
Their comments will be the swords that defeat them.
1
Though often right on target with his opinions, this column is way off.
Conservatives are not now or previously "picking on women of color" but, perhaps worse, they are jumping on any opportunity to demean the broadcast words of any important "liberal".
The Black Lives Matter" movement, so negatively and brilliantly used by the Russians to win the election for Trump, is but the most damaging result of such opportunistic maneuvering.
If Democrats don't learn that only a publicly perceived move to the center will calm the vitriol of the conservatives, we will all suffer another, ruinous win for Trump.
1
I am one of those New Yorkers to have family members in the towers when the planes struck and die years later from associated cancer. Even if Ms. Omar did choose a bad phrase due to poor English skills, the ensuing doubling down was childish and reprehensible and is not behavior any of our American elected officials should have. If we are to mend divisions we need to be able to admit when we're wrong without escalating a conflict anymore. There are lunatics that have it out for Omar, but that doesn't negate the fact that her words have offended many people like me whose family suffered the consequences from the attacks of these terrorists. She obviously has freedom of speech and can say whatever she likes and the Republicans want to give her a megaphone to continue to do so.
2
No one should demonize any person. At the same time, we are all subject to legitimate criticism.
Ironically, Representative Omar has repeatedly said that she is in favor of making people "uncomfortable" in order to advance her political and social beliefs. Yet, when someone says something that purportedly makes her uncomfortable, she is outraged.
Also, she is quick to call others racist. But slow to see any bigotry in her characterizations of others.
We have a word for such behavior: hypocritical. And hiding behind the description "woman of color" doesn't cure the problem.
1
"Omar appears to be unmanageable." wrote MarcosDean. Manageable. For what and to whom does she have to offer an apology? Omar had nothing to do with 9/11, while Trump's conflation of her and Muslims, and his selective championing of some Americans above others, has stoked a most unAmerican climate. Trump appears to be unmanageable, his behavior nothing any American should be proud of, and it is time to condemn it.
1
Charles, while I absolutely despise the current state of politics in this country, you cannot fall back on racism as the reason for criticism of AOC and Omar. If u enter the ring, expect to be struck. Neither is some shrinking violet. Instead, they are giving as good as they are getting. If they can’t handle it, then overly sensitive male columnists coming to their defense is not going to solve the issue.
3
Why in God's name did Omar even bring up 9/11 and use it in that "something" context ? I'll tell you why. Because that is who she is and what she believes. She deals the victim card off the bottom of the deck every time because she knows the media and Democratic leadership will rush to her defense every time she makes a controversial statement. How many times will the media and Democrats defend her defense before they say enough is enough of her nonsense ? For Trump she is the gift that keeps on giving.
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Yes, Mr. Blow. But I believe it goes deeper than that. Men fear women. It’s always been that way. Read the great American anthropologist Margaret Mead and her pioneering studies. She posits, and I believe, that women, busy with the real work of culture, allowed men to ascend in societies until we realized too late that we had given up our power.
Once patriarchies were ensconced they have proven very difficult to shake up. Men do not want to give up power. They fight tooth and nail—literally—to keep it. They use many forms of suppression to keep it. The current political situation in our country is just one example. True, men are mean to other men in order to maintain their tenuous hold on society—but they are brutal to women.
The current President is terrified of women. Terrified. Those he can’t subdue or convert he tries to destroy in public. And the cowardly Republicans line up behind him. Because they are also scared of the power of women.
The movers and change agents of society have always been women. That is why they have been targeted in ALL arenas for brutal suppression in patriarchies, including ours.
Rep. Omar is untried and naive. Easy target. Rep. Waters, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Justice Bader Ginsburg, Speaker Pelosi are not. They will take him down. He and his henchmen know it. They’re not afraid of Biden, Beto, or even Buttigieg. They are afraid of the women.
Watch and see.
1
"Some people did something" could also describe how trump got elected president.
1
Yes. Please. You are right Mr. Blow.
The Democratic party should absolutely extol the virtues of it's minority women and put Ilhan Omar, Maxine Walters and their speeches front and center in the campaign trail.
Certainly those speeches, like "some people did some things", will inspire Americans to vote....
For Trump.
2
Although Mr. Blow's thesis about demonization of minorities is correct, Rep. Omar has made herself, and by extension the entire Democratic Party, an easy target for the xenophobic, racist, misogynistic, right-wing population that supports the GOP.
The fact is that the POTUS used her statement to inflame the more deranged members of the GOP. This is unconscionable, and simply serves to feed the frenzy that has now required Speaker Pelosi to request additional security for Rep. Omar.
The messaging on both sides of the aisle needs to be dialed back significantly. Rep. Omar should be aware by now that anything she says will be deliberately misquoted or decontextualized to demonize her, and she needs to thoughtfully tailor her remarks within that framework. This is NOT victim-blaming, but in essence becomes the mark of a more sophisticated politician.
The POTUS, on the other hand, should be vigorously criticized by his OWN party for his blatant misuse of propagandized retweets, as well as for his obvious racist, sexist, xenophobic diatribes. Of course, in the current era, it is unlikely this will happen.
The only choice the electorate seems to have these days is to rid our country of the increasingly divisive partisanship of the party that now controls the White House and the Senate. And it can't happen soon enough!
"Some people did something"
If that were 3,000 minority people killed by white supremacists would "some people did something" be acceptable?
Ms. Omar is to be held the same standards re the thoughts and views she articulates as any other member of Congress.
This was a speech, not off hand comments. A speech is written, checked and re-written. The words are chosen carefully.
She chose her words; she is responsible for them.
3
This column is absurd. If Omar was a white male she would still be getting the same heat for her comments...deservedly so. As a Democrat I find Rep. Omar an embarrassment. She has no filter & chooses her words very poorly. Anyone else making a similar minimization of a horrific attack would be pilloried. This kind of behavior loses votes, alienates the people we're trying to bring over to our side. I find it exasperating that progressives fault Trump for showing the images of what Omar was dismissing as "something someone did" but not bat an eye of her dismissal of such a horrendous event. If she can imply, without recourse, that it was just a little something that someone did that caused people to question those of the Muslim faith when those that claimed credit for the incident did so in the name of their religion, certainly no one should be complaining that that the video was shown. The GOP response was predictable. Sorry anyone who minimizes the terrorist act resulting in the burning Twin Towers for political reasons should be denounced. She doesn't get a pass because she is a Muslim woman who is a person of color. All of us...but especially our political leaders have to be accountable for what they say. I understand Rep. Omar was trying to make a nuanced point. But she did so in a clumsy fashion further diminishing her shrinking credibilty. The lack of outrage from progressives is far more telling about the morality of our party's left wing than Trump's mindless tweets.
2
Blow in particular generally concerns himself with skin color and little to nothing else, so this article does not ring true. Males have traditionally painted women of all colors and types, including white women, as somehow inferior, as those who know they are the inferior ones generally do in their own defense. Blow is right to state that women don't need white men's protection. We don't need HIS, either.
Everywhere so much lack of compassion. Ms. Omar, great to point out the wrongs of bigotry and hatred towards all Muslims, based on some. But as a public figure aren't some few compassionate words about the 911 victims also possible? Wouldn't that be a positive way to express Islamic values?
Women of color are being attacked also because white women are not doing their part in voicing support for justice and human rights. All women have to stand together and stop the nonsense in Washington and on right wing media. The country is being destroyed from within by dismantling environmental protections, social programs, neglecting infrastructure - not from terrorists abroad. Two more years of destruction are too much.
1
It is not just minority women. Republicans have always had a "She-Devil", against whom they rally. The men are misogynistic and the women they control go along mindlessly because they lack the courage to break away from their source of support. Look at the people who show up at a trump rally.
The new crop of women in Congress who dare open their mouths are just the next in line.
1
Nobody is demonizing anyone. Omar is a demagogue with little knowledge or sophistication who is trying to attraction attention to herself by provoking people and then playing the victim. She deserves exactly what she is getting.
3
Today's Republicans made the term "conservative" meaningless. They're not fiscal conservatives since they raised the deficit by trillions. They're not social conservatives, having made a farce of "family values" by electing and remaining quiet about the philanderer Trump. Republicans seem enamored by 1950's America but that's not conservatism, it's patriarchal misogyny.
Republicans have few women sitting in Congress or party leadership positions. Watching a Trump rally or the last few Republican National Conventions is to witness a sea of white faces lacking America's diversity. The GOP's base has accepted Trump's "nationalism", barely disguised white supremacy, with open hatred verging on violence the new Republican norm. Historical Republican patriarchal politics coupled with white nationalism makes the headline an obvious outcome.
White male Republicans, and sadly most "conservatives" demonstrate white fragility, a form of racism not restricted to ‘bad people’. Diangelo's book explains this best. Republicans blame a presumed American demise on "them" vengeful propaganda re-broadcast by conservative media. Trump's Making America Great Again is code for white supremacy which includes a patriarchal time when women were meant to be seen and not heard.
It's disgusting politics but it's failing. A 2018 Blue Wave swept Republicans from the House. Demonizing Representative Omar means the 2020 elections will be a Blue Tsunami. Good riddance to bad trash.
She is hardly a bastion of intelligent leadership. Criticism is due here.
It's worth remembering, too, that English is Omar's third language. Her formulation of the phrase "some people did something" may also be owing to that factor. That it's been willfully misconstrued may be because her slight accent sets off the alarm bells in the brains of white supremicists.
1
Buried about half way through the essay was this gem:
“The strategy is simple: While sexism and racism are potent individually, they are devastating in combination, particularly when appealing to a party dominated by white men and which exalts white supremacy and white patriarchy.
The only women they truly honor are white women who obsequiously condone or actively participate in the oppression.”
The attackers always seem to be TERRIFIED of females. Sometimes, as is clearly the case for #AOC, I suspect there is also aconsiderable frustration in the fact that she clearly is not sexually available to them. I suspect the same metric is in play in the case of Congresswoman Omar. As for Maxine Walters, she’s not just older, and black, and female, and not sexually appealing (no woman with intellect is) but terrifyingly outspoken.
I get what Ms. Omar is trying to say. But I am also reminded of the fact that there are many in America who have written off the sins of their ancestors as meaningless and atoned for. White Americans...the embracers of slavery, Jim Crow, institutional racism, mistreatment of Native Americans, mistreaters of Japanese Americans, and so on. White Americans who today try and prevent minorities from voting and who will do anything in their power to maintain white majority. No shame, No guilt. Those Americans. Yes, perhaps Ms. Omar could have chosen different words. But the response calls into mind the proverb: Let them that hath not sinned cast the first stone. Led, of course, by a man who would never apologize for any of his sins. And who brags he could murder someone and pay no price. A man who feels he has no reason to ever enter the confessional. He is the pillar of righteousness white Americans embrace. And they give a pass to over and over again. Keep telling yourself that only people like Ms. Omar are tainted. Because , of course, that's what Jesus would do.
1
“To advance their [position] white men treated white women as victims, and many white women reciprocated by playing that role.”
Is it your opinion that minority women who have thrust themselves into politics are victims?
To use “someone did something” to describe 9-11 is more than inartful.
It is at least equivalent to president Trump claiming there were good people on both sides in Charlottesville.
Representative Omar is not a sixteen year old on a high school debating team.
Her true colors are shining through- despite coaching from Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
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@JMAN Sorry but I have yet to see as much backlash for Trump's comment as I have for Representative Omar's. Also, if you listen to the full speech her comment was not properly contextualised by the sound bite.
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@JMAN Sadly this is where our country has landed. Everyone wants the right to say what they want no matter how hurtful, biased, racist, against people's beliefs it may be because "it is their First Amendment right" but when others exercise those same rights then they want to demonize the others for saying those things. Omar is definitely one is working both sides of this. And lets be clear, once you become an elected official the rules do change for you whether you are in the House or the President. You are no longer just an individual citizen voicing your personal views. The Republicans should be doing a much better job of calling out our President on his views but the Democrats need to do the same with Omar.
12
As much as I want to like Charles Blow's analysis, his use of the wording "honor and purity of these women," that is, "white women who obsequiously condone or actively participate in the oppression," triggers me. Women, white and non-white, have been oppressed by all cultures around the globe, for all of recorded history. Here in the USA, a "white" woman or girl "taken advantage of" or raped by the "wrong guy," meaning a "guy" with status in his community OR a dark skinned male, often found herself cast out of her family, put away or publicly humiliated and silenced. It is true that in a racially segregated and stratified society, a "black" guy would not be likely to be afforded a high level of community protection. Still, black males do sometimes assault white women. White women, particularly religious women, have long been chastised for and by the patriarchal notions of purity that socioeconomically and personally constrain them. Notions of purity bludgeon women and often bludgeon women who wear veils and headscarves not because they want to, but because they have to.
1
To all of those who say that Ms. Omar should speak out more forcefully against the horrific attacks of 9/11, I say, look in the mirror.
How many white leaders have denounced Dylan Roof's brutal murders at the Emanuel African M. E. Church? How many white leaders have denounced the brutal murders at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh? Certainly no national Republicans have.
Now, I for one do believe that now that Ms. Omar is a leader on the national stage, she has a responsibility to speak much more clearly about any vicious terrorist attack, whether it be 9/11 or otherwise. "Some people did something" just doesn't cut it.
But similarly, I also believe that all of our national leaders should do so-- against any terrorist attack including those committed by whites - and not just those leaders who are Muslim women of color. White Republican males are strangely silent when "one of their own" commits atrocities.
My grandparents were survivors of the Armenian Genocide. My family has suffered firsthand the horrors of Islamic extremism. But as a native-born American, I am sickened by the targeting of Ms. Omar, while terrorist acts of whites in this country are met with silence.
And silence against any act of terror, when one has a duty to speak out, is complicity. It is no accident that the vast majority of hate crimes in this country are perpetrated against ethnic and religious minorities. These terrorists understand that Republicans' silence is their tacit approval.
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@Nicholas Rush Dylan Root and the Pittsburgh shooter were not members of congress. Do you understand the difference? And Trump did speak out against the Pittsburgh shooter.
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@Nicholas Rush I will also add that the Trump administration has cut funding to monitor White Nationalist groups that advocate violence.
34
@Erik
Are you saying that Republicans (or anyone, for that matter) only have a responsibility to speak out if people espousing terrorist sentiments (not that I believe Rep. Omar is) or committing terrorist acts are members of congress? It sure sounds like it.
10
Minimizing the 9/11 attacks and moving on, with appropriate safeguards, might have kept the United states from falling into the exact trap the attackers hoped we would: extreme over reaction and subsequent self defeating actions like invading Iraq.
4
@john zouck: Yes, induction of over-reaction was the obvious intent of the attackers. They hoped it would end the world.
In her speech, Omar could have said the "The Council on American-Islamic Relations was created after 9/11 and all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties." I'm not sure that would have satisfied the Brian Kilmeade's of the world, either. But, even with her choice of words, there's no need to question her patriotism. Immediately going for the claims of anti-Americanism is a tried and true conservative tactic. A tired one, but one they still haul out to counter any speech they dislike. I wasn't bothered by Rep. Omar's speech. Steve King and other Republicans, including Trump himself, have said things more disturbing and questionable than what Rep. Omar said. It's just politics in 2019.
2
In demonizing Omar and women of color and women in general who would dare disagree with him, Trump and the conservatives have created a powerful bloc of people to oppose them. We saw how that worked out for them in 2018. Congratulations on the strategy.
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@Amelia
".. Trump and the conservatives have created a powerful bloc of people to oppose (women of color and women in general who would dare disagree with him)..."
Yes, they hate women, minorities and women minorities especially.
Don't they also hate the disabled, homosexuals and immigrants - or are they discriminating in not hating everybody equally?
1
@Amelia: We have yet to hear from Ilhan Omar on fgm, whether she supports Ayaan HSIRI Ali's crusade for a world wide ban on this abhorrent practice still routine in most Moslem countries even in those where it is banned, as in Senegal, but carried out by parents on their young non consensual daughters in remote villages "en cachette!"What is her position on Sharia Law. Ami Horowitz, documentary film maker, interviewed Somalians in Omar's c.d. and recorded their responses. Vast majority were in favor of Sharia Law over our system of laws.Imagine if Omar were still in Somalia and were willing to defy the warlords. How long would it be before she would be hustled out of the counry, which I understand she was when she went to KENYA before embarking for the US. Too many take advantage of the freedoms our system of laws offers.
1
I teach at a public university, and students in a class recently began to speak with real horror and shock about the attacks visited on women who dare to step into the public space. "It's just so much more vicious against women. It's scary. Why would anyone risk that?" Why indeed? Since Sect. Clinton ran into the teeth of a gale of smears and insults, the rage seems to be unleashed. My students are right. It's scary. Brava to the women who so bravely carry on.
746
@teach
Does this include Ann Coulter, Pamela Geller, Christina Sommers, Erika Christakis, Ayaan Hirsi Ali? Does it include all those white women who are condemned on social media because they are filled being verbally abusive to minorities?
Sorry by Omar is a bigot and if she were a Jewish woman who was tone deaf towards blacks and Muslims in a similar way the Dems would have booted her a lot time ago.
150
@teach. “Real horror and shock,” “attacks visited on women,” “more vicious against women,” “scary,” “a gale of smears and insults,”. Not one example of an attack upon a woman is being talked about. When I taught college I insisted on evidence based argument rather than generalizations. Otherwise, argument becomes a conflagration of feelings and inflamed adjectives. I would have trouble in this teacher’s class.
42
@teach:"I teach at a public university, and students in a class recently began to speak with real horror and shock about the attacks visited on women who dare to step into the public space"
Omar said something hurtful, stupid that minimized the damage done by radical Islamicist in the name of whipping up a base of supporters.
Next time you pick up a history book or read one online, turn to descriptions of lynchings in the south and substitute the description of those actions with "some people did some things".
Omar stepped in it and now she's reaping the rewards.
110
Those who question her respect for American values and her citizenship are the ones who don’t seem to have respect for American values and have questionable citizenship.
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@Bruce Stasiuk
The questions are about her loyalties and about her honesty in swearing her oath of office.
In fact, she has answered those questions, leaving no doubt.
@Bruce Stasiuk
The questions are about her loyalties and about her honesty in swearing her oath of office.
Amazing, isn't it, how two freshmen congresswomen are worthy of so much attention from Trump, and the rest? One would thing they'd have to fight to get any attention at all.
But AOC and Omar are both young women of color and Omar is Muslim. So attacking them is an effective way of distracting attention from what Trump is up to, particularly since his base is already conditioned to hate them for what they are.
While he and his followers rant about Omar's choice of words, Trump is systematically destroying protections for the environment, promoting climate change by encouraging fossil fuel use, working to turn the judiciary and the Justice Department into tools to help him keep his hold on own power, tearing children from their mothers, working to conceal his tax returns and letting Barr "redact" the Mueller report etc. etc. Racism, sexism and religious bigotry are the most effective tools of the extreme right for distracting us from what they are really up to.
If anything happens to Omar, we already know what Sanders will be saying. "The President deplores..." The President is shocked..." "Any suggestion that the President is responsible for..."
8
As academic women of color, we routinely experience put-downs and discrimination. Space, pay, visibility, are unfairly allocated. For example, the Dean of my school insists on calling me "the little (ethnicity)".
6
@MP, my friend a distinguished academic, happened to be a minority woman. When it came time for her tenure the then Harvard President decided the quota for diversity was full and replaced her with another male.
2
I marched so women like Rep. Omar could have her space. I am sorry you choose to minimize what she said and she chose to minimize what happened on 9/11. I marched for equality, and now I am hoping for wisdom and conscience, not alliance. The word "some" has particular purpose, especially now, since not all anyone is following protocols and pathways. Rep. Omar does not get a pass card for me, on this one. On other things, yes, this, no. "Some" is a very useful word and idea.
13
"Somebody did something"???
According to Omar's and her fans, it would have been OK to describe the attack on Pearl Harbor as "something somebody did" out in the Pacific.
And come to think of it, American casualties on 9/11 were higher than at Pearl Harbor. One wonders how Ms. Omar would try to parse that one.
Moral: People who resort to artful language in an effort to minimize the deaths of thousands of American civilians, are de facto trying to advance the cause of the attackers. For such a person to question the loyalty of other Americans goes beyond mere chutzpa.
30
How about bragging about having the tallest building in downtown Manhattan on the day of 9/11? That is far more despicable than anything Rep Omar said.
1
Rep. Omar said that the Council was formed out of concern over the loss of civil liberties; Mr Blow notes that the council was formed in 1994, not after the 9/11 attacks. But the first WTC attack occurred in 1993, so the Council was formed after radicalized Islamic terrorists attacked the WTC, and many conservatives were going after Muslims generally at that time. So no need to correct Rep. Omar - she had the timeline right.
13
Unlike her critics, Omar didn't use the horror of the attacks as an excuse for more military aggression abroad and more severe repression and oppression at home. There they are every defiling the memory of the victims and exploiting our collective pain..
21
Another reason to vote for women of color in primaries. When the House and Senate look like America, that will be a good start.
16
@Jerry Interesting. I don't see all "women of color" as an interchangeable monolithic group. I see every "women of color" as an individual with their own agency. But then again, I'm not a Democrat.
Thanks Mr. Blow for your words. The modern-day GOP continually demonizes women, particularly women of color. This behavior has nothing to do with their alleged "Christian Ideals." Trump is fine with white immigration (e.g., his in-laws getting green cards), but they are all terrified of the non-white future. It can't come quick enough save us. No group of individuals are more afraid of women than old republican men in power.
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@Maureen A Donnelly
And well they should be.
1
Mr. Blow analyzes cogently the racism, sexism, and Islamophobia on the part of a large number of those attacking Representative Ilhan Omar. But she has made statements which have been deemed by experts on the subject to be antisemitic. One of the writers in this collection points out that they are part of her background. It is a fact that not only Islam, but traditional varieties of Christian thinking as well, manifest antisemitism. Representative Omar, nonetheless, should not be given a pass on this. I admire Mr. Blow greatly, but I believe his column falls short in this matter. Antisemitism must be combatted as vigorously as racism, sexism, and religious prejudice. Representative Omar has expressed a willingness to learn and to grow. I hope and pray that that will happen; but her arrogance makes me skeptical that it can.
14
@Edward R. Levenson
I too hope that Congresswoman Omar will “learn and grow” in the job of representing the people of Minneapolis in Congress. I disagree with you that she displays arrogance. She does display a willingness to push what has been set down by those in power as the limits of acceptable criticism of Israel, AIPAC, and American foreign policy. To the degree that her words are indeed antisemitic, she absolutely does need to learn, grow, and temper them, but I believe we are all still learning the distinction between unacceptable racial and ethnic attitudes and speech and legitimate criticism. There has been a level of blind obedience to silence regarding some Israeli policies and actions, which many Americans believe must change. Those limits are being negotiated day by day.
Congress and the nation were for many years, and remain, very willing to be quite patient with certain senators and representatives - and incidentally, presidents - whose speech and behavior around specific racial, ethnic and religious themes seem to call for a “learn and grow” attitude. I don’t recall the levels of bitter demonization against those men that seem to be freely lobbed at Congresswoman Omar. It makes me wonder accounts for the distinction.
@Edward R. Levenson
Criticizing Israel for its treatment of Palestinians is not antisemitism. Nor is pointing out that AIPAC has a stranglehold on the U.S. Congress and Republican "Red State" legislatures. How is it that twenty-four states have passed laws prohibiting the boycott of Israeli business entities but it's not even illegal to boycott American business entities? The 1st Amendment is supposed to apply to everyone. I know of no other foreign country that is immune from criticism or business boycotts to protest their policies.
1
It is so ironic that the perpetrators of sexual violence against enslaved women were the ones to predict that formerly enslaved men would carry out similar atrocities. It is reminiscent of the habbit of the Trump administration to accuse their opponents of illicit behavior that they carry out themselves. As if it is impossible for human nature to be more humane than they know themselves to be.
8
I’m sorry you have it all wrong. This has nothing to do with color but her own words. She is minimizing what happened 9/11. Stop apologizing for her, this wasn’t the first time she has said things that put in question her loyalty to the US. I for one believe she doesn’t hold the US to a high regard.
23
How about Trump’s loyalty to the U.S.? He bragged about having the tallest building in downtown Manhattan on the day of 9/11; he disparaged Sen McCain while saying he prefers soldiers who are not taken prisoner, and he said he believes Vladimir Putin over our own intelligence agencies. That is far worse than anything Rep Omar said.
1
@ALEX I agree 100%, we need in congress patriots who love and support America!
1
How would Mr. Blow feel if one of his colleagues, not a reader but one of his colleagues, would say publicly that all that his writes is due to "benjamins" received under the table from the NAACP?
That is what the targets of this congresswoman felt.
If anything, she is now treated WAY too kindly...
18
If Ilhan Omar didn't exist, Trump would have had to invent her. No one has done more to help the Republican party than her. If the Democrats don't get wise, we are looking at four more years of Trump...
14
Enough! The media is obsessed with covering Trump's distractions from his budget, deregulations, inhumane treatment of immigrants, health care, climate change/environmental damages, etc.; you especially so. Stop will all of the false equivalency articles offering balance and trying to avoid the outrage from Fox News. The issues with our political parties are not balanced; Republicans are off the charts. Trump is exhausting but stop taking the bait to make everything about him. It is time to move on and discuss policies, proposals, effects of deregulations, etc. Democrats could propose policies enhancing Mother's Day, Service to Country, Apple Pie and on, and Republicans will label it socialism. How about articles on proposals passing in the House and not being addressed by Senate Republicans? Oh, and how about more coverage of policies/proposals from the women in the Presidential race? Let's move on and offer voters substance for the upcoming 2020 elections.
8
It was a poor choice of words. She has plenty to be called to account for however this is not one of them.
1
The problem isn't just the "inartful" language that Rep. Omar used, but rather her reaction when people began to express displeasure. Instead of explaining why she chose the words she used, or even apologizing for having upset people, Rep. Omar took a quote by Pres. George W. Bush and tried to claim that he, by referring to "the people" who had committed the act, also seemed to be "downplaying" the tragedy. However, there are two important differences between their comments.
1. Bush made his statement 3 days after the attack, so there was no way for him to identify the attackers in any way. Omar chose not to do so.
2. Bush acknowledged that the attackers had destroyed buildings, and was giving his speech from Ground Zero, with a clear visual backdrop of the damage. Omar referred to this devastating attack merely as "something", which would surely be considered insulting were it used to describe any other such event.
In the last line of the tweet she implied that the only reason for any criticism was her Muslim faith. So, instead of acknowledging having upset anyone, she effectively accused everyone who complained of being a bigot. That was hardly the politic thing to do.
By then her closest supporters joined in, calling those who critiqued her islamophobic. Some even (falsely) claimed that Omar could not have done better, given that she's a non-native English speaker.
She chose to go on the offensive. She chose to play the victim card. She ignited this fire.
20
Republicans do this because it is very effective and they are good at it. They've successfully made a couple of freshman Congresswomen seem like the face of the Democratic Party, but at the end of the day, they are still just junior members of Congress.
6
No person, especially one in a position of power, is beyond criticism. Just as President Trump is rightfully criticized for many of his comments, Rep. Omar should also be responsible to hers.
15
The problem isn't just the "inartful" language that Rep. Omar used, but rather her reaction when people began to critique her. Instead of explaining why she chose the words she used, or even apologizing for having upset people, Rep. Omar tweeted a quote of Pres. George W. Bush and tried to claim that he, by referring to "the people" rather than a specific group, also could be seen as "downplaying" the tragedy. However, there are two important differences between their comments.
1. Bush made his comment 3 days after the attack, so there was no way for him to identify the attackers in any way. Omar chose not to do so.
2. Bush acknowledged that the attackers had destroyed buildings, and was giving his speech from Ground Zero, with a clear visual backdrop of the damage. Omar referred to this devastating attack merely as "something", which would surely be considered insulting were it used to describe any other such event.
In the last line of her tweet she implied that the primary reason for any criticism was her Muslim faith. So, instead of acknowledging having upset anyone, she effectively accused everyone who complained of being a bigot. That was hardly the politic thing to do.
By then her closest supporters joined in, also calling those who critiqued her islamophobic. This has now become a dominant theme in the discussion, despite there being other valid concerns.
She chose to go on the offensive. She chose to portray herself as the victim. She ignited this fire.
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@stop-art. Wasn't that long ago that President Trump was just as vague when he said "there are good people on both sides."
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@Ambroisine President Trump was justifiably criticized for those comments. Is President Trump really the moral pillar that our Government Representatives should be held up to?
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When I heard the quote -- my reaction was unfavorable. It did not go deep into my brain for analysis ..
The congresswomen should know by now that her words will be scrutinized ... she did not need to be artful. Understanding is enough.
When I saw who she was speaking to ... my annoyance increased.
This has nothing to do with her gender or ethnic background.
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The essence of this column is correct. We may quibble about some of the factual mistakes made by these women who have spoken out about racism and targeting of minorities in our country at this moment, but they are saying things that should be said.
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@Marsha Congdon Downplaying the deaths of thousands in a classless way is something that should be said?
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@Marsha Congdon "...saying things that should be said" is a compliment I frequently hear bestowed upon POTUS DJT.
I ask all who claim to be alarmed by Rep Omar’s artfully edited and now exploited sentence whether or not her most strident attackers voted for the bill to permanently and adequately compensate the surviving police and fire personnel and first responders who rushed in to search for bodies and clear the wreckage of 9/11 in New York City and are now dying of cancer and other diseases tied to the toxic landscape they worked in. Omar was one of the co-sponsors of the bill to help these brave Americans. Dan Crenshaw, Jim Jordan, Devin Nunes and the rest of the Fox crew of Republicans were not.
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I'm appalled at some of the mainstream media coverage of Rep. Omar's comment about CAIR, describing it as being dismissive of the 9/11 attacks. I don't find that in her words at all. It wasn't dismissive because the attacks were essentially incidental to her point, which was that because a small number of people of a certain faith did something horrendous (granted, she did not use the adjective horrendous or a comparable one, but I believe it's implied in the comment), all the people of that faith have since been subject to harassment and what she describes as 2nd-class citizenship, and she's had enough of it.
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I believe it is critically important for the future of our country to defeat trump in 2020. While I respect the right of Congresswoman Omar to voice her opinion—- I have a right to say I am uncomfortable with what she said. I lost 15 alumni from my Long Island high school in the attack on the World Trade Towers. The comment in question struck me in the same way trump said there were “good people” on both sides in Charlottesville. I am further concerned that some in the Progressive wing of the Democratic Party are going to make it more difficult to secure a 2020 election victory.
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@J K P
Agree 100%. Mr Blow describes the language as "inartful" but I'm guessing her words were carefully chosen as to help make her point to the audience As one of the new very visible representatives, Ms. Omar needs to learn the impact of her words and make better choices. The currency of politics is language, and when a Muslim congresswoman decides to speak about 9/11 there is no room for "inartfullness". This is not to say that the conservative media reacted appropriately - they surely did not. But Ms. Omar's choice of words loaded the gun that they fired.
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@J K P
An excellent point that I had not considered and maybe 'the' point. The comparison to Trump's 'good people' comment is spot on. If the congresswoman had merely added, "Some terrible people did a terrible thing" and then went on to make her point about lost liberty, it would have been at least a bit more artful. I'm sure Mr. Blow or the congresswoman's speech writer could even improve on that minor alteration. Then again, would any of us be talking about it? But, as a white man married to a woman of color who holds elected office, my take away from Mr. Blow's column is this line: "But for woman who fall outside this constraint- minority women, lesbian and transgender women, liberal women, "nasty" women- the rebuke is brutal. They don't need protection, but rather, suppression."
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Unlike her critics, Omar didn't use the horror of the attacks as an excuse for more military aggression abroad and more severe repression and oppression at home. There they are every day defiling the memory of the victims and exploiting our collective pain.
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Congress has conservative talking head Candace Owens testify about her speech; a private citizen with constitutionally protected rights to free speech being questioned by powerful men.
I don't agree with Owens or like her particularly but spare us the selective outrage on 'demonizing minority women'.
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I was rather pleased when Representatives Omar and Ocasio-Cortez were elected to office. Their ideas and hopes seemed quite refreshing. However, their method of walking about tossing verbal hand grenades to make their point was not going to impress the allies within their own party who they would be need to support their views and goals. Thoughtful planning of their words doesn't seem to be a strong suit of either of them.
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@Bob Wessner Interesting: I find OAC verbally adept and considered. She stumbled once. When you look at the lack of coherent speech coming from the mouths of our older, whiter, male politicians, it seems that the spotlight on OAC and Omar is forensically selective.
I want to give Representative Omar the benefit of the doubt, a sort of retribution for all the ills she, and women like her, have suffered. At the same time, however, I think we should be cautious not to overdo our excuses and thereby overlook the possibility that she is, in fact, a wolf in sheep's clothing and that her words are only the tip of a melting iceberg.
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@R1NA What do you mean "wolf in sheep's clothing"? and that the words are "only the tip of the iceberg"?
Trump tweets about Rep. Omar and Rep Ocasio-Cortez because it is easy and effective. Both can be banners for what people fear - take you pick: young, female, foreign sounding names, opinions that are certainly not mainstream Republican. Both are young; the difference is that Ocasio-Cortes chooses her words carefully and Omar does not.
Ocasio-Cortez is doing it all intentionally. She knows how to be a lightening rod and has set out to be one.
Omar is different. Her inexperience has her opening herself to exactly the kind of criticism she is receiving. She has valid opinions on Israel, on anti-Muslim sentiments, but manages to express herself in ways that build resentment, not derail it.
If you are going to be in politics to speak against power, expect a backlash. And if you are going to speak against power, make sure that you are very careful not to make it sound as if you'd welcome the destruction of Israel, or don't think the 9-11 attacks were a big deal. Have someone read over your speeches.
Omar has some real work to do, if she wants to represent Muslims; if she wants to introduce new ides about how to view foreign policy in light of Muslim concerns. Otherwise she will damage her causes more than aid them.
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@Cathy,
My comment is slightly off-topic here, but I want to respond to your comment ending with, "or don't think the 9-11 attacks were a big deal."
Indeed, the 9-11 attacks were a big deal, but America's response looks more counter-productive by the day. America's response has resulted in the deaths of more Americans than the actual incident itself. It has changed the world from saying, "We are all Americans now," to "Geez, what gives, America?" It has also resulted in more people just coming out and saying, "Down with America."
One way for your enemy (if that is the right expression) to defeat you is to have your response to their attack cost you more than it cost them to mount their attack in the first place. And that is what it looks like.
9-11 really was a big deal.
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@Cathy - You present some very useful thoughts especially and possibly that Ilhan Omar is at an early stage in learning to be a political figure who is targeted deliberately by all kinds of people looking for targets.
I do not see, however, how anybody could think that she does not see 9-11 as an important terrorist event - your big deal does not work.
Donald Trump does not seem to see 9-11 as important since he embraces and supports the nominal head of the country that gave us 9-11. Furthermore, one of his Republican predecessors is responsible for 100s of 1000s of civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria thanks to the war on Iraq that wrecked much of the Middle East.
Given the speed with which things happen, having drafts of various proposals or speeches reviewed carefully is not so easy.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
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@Cathy what have Rep. Omar's "valid opinions" on Israel been? That support for Israel is "all about the Benjamins"? That Israel has "hypnotized the world"?
Not once has she offered a substantive or fact-based critique of an Israeli policy or political leader. However, because she is a minority and a refugee she has been allowed to make the kind of statement that would be renounced as antisemitic if it came from a white male. In fact such statements have indeed been standard fare from the alt-right, and terms such as "the ZOG", which appear with disturbing frequency, are shorthand for claims that Israel/Zionists have control of the US government.
We should be disturbed by the fact that David Duke has been tweeting his love for Rep. Omar's accusations, which are very much the same as the ones he has been peddling for years with a far less receptive audience for his efforts.
Until we see otherwise, her dislike of Israel is just that, dislike of Israel. Without facts to support her assertions they are slurs, not valid opinions
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Unfortunately, "...some people did something..." sounds remarkably like "You also had some very fine people on both sides." Excusing one is no better than excusing the other. Condemning one is no worse than condemning the other. Representative Omar has the opportunity to correct course; no small labor in this era where even the slightest trespass seems to live forever in the ether.
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@syfredrick
" some people did something" strikes me as being a biting comment on behavior so inappropriate and nasty that no stronger words of condemnation would suffice. There were NO fine people on both sides and everyone knows which side the "people who did something" were on.
@syfredrick It does not sound anything like that to my aging white ears! I might very well have used those or similar words and I am a senior white Christian!
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No - the comments are diametrically opposed. Trump was merely pointing out the obvious while Omar was denying it. If she had said the same thing about the Holocaust, even Democrats would condemn her.
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While, it’s clear to me that Omar’s words were intentional, it’s not clear to me what Omar was trying to accomplish.
The backlash against her from the right and from centrists (even centrist democrats like me) will he huge, and she isn’t making any new friends in the far Left. So was her only goal to thrust herself again into the spotlight?
Charles Blow of course sees this as racism against woman of color - but that’s completely irrelevant to what’s going on here, which is, that Omar is again making outrageous statements to get noticed, and what she’s doing is just hurting the Democratic Party.
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Ilhan Omar is neither progressive nor Left Wing. To call her as such shows that the Democratic party is ready to accept and anything and anyone as Progressive so long as they oppose Trump. Clearly the Democratic party is calculating to generate sizable amount of votes on minority identity politics that is a key feature of their form of populism. Trump has his in the form of majority politics.
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@Resident -Pure nonsense and admittedly only an opinion just as your statement is. I do not particularly like assertions as comments but it is impossible for either you or me to take the time to write in 1500 characters the kind of statement that might make my assertion or yours more than an assertion.
But at least, think twice about minority identity politics.
I have a comment waiting that says to Charles Blow and comment writers. Stop seeing people as people of color, of race, of religion.
Listen to them and learn what is on their mind and how well they can formulate it. Ilhan Omar is just beginning her life as a political figure. Let's see how she evolves.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
I too heard the clip of Omar's words. In fact they show the she is not a native English speaker, so she is a bit less fluent than I am.
But this is not just about demonizing minority women, in fact, Republicans will demonize anyone that they can construct a narrative about. So from Obama to HRC to the next voice in the crowd of Democrats, Republicans will craft an angry lie and stick to it. It is easy for them too. They don't really want to construct policies that work, so they have no need to build bridges to other lawmakers. Democrats have a much harder task, they actually want to solve problems - so need to keep lines of communication open.
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@Terry McKenna Ilhan Omar immigrated as a young teenager, and is reported to have learned English within a matter of months. Instead of being a poor or struggling student, she graduated college with a dual major in Political Science and International Studies. She has campaigned for and been elected to political office on a state and federal level. She is far from being only semi-literate. She may not be a dynamic speaker, but her language skills are certainly strong enough for us to abandon the pretense of her not knowing what she's saying.
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No lie has been crafted about Omar. Her words are clear and they speak for themselves.
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@Terry McKenna - Strange opening given that we have a president who is incapable of making a serious spoken statement unless somebody else has written it for him.
I have listened to part of Ilhan Omar's speech in California and in the part I heard she expresses herself extraordinarily well.
It would of course be interesting to hear you standing before a large audience expressing yourself on such important issues so I could judge your fluency.
Better yet, it would be interesting to hear you expressing yourself in your second language, if you have one.
Since I learned Swedish late in life I speak Swedish with an American accent. A few so-called ethnic Swedes find it important to tell me "Du är inte svensk" because in their minds you cannot be Swedish unless you speak one of the established Swedish dialects.
You might explain why you found it important to note that she is not a native English speaker. We readers already knew that. I have spoken at various times with at least 200 Somalis at the Red Cross here in SE, and never have I met one who comes close to the fluency in Swedish that Ilhan Omar displays in English.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
Our use of language is a reflection of a lifetime of experiences and personal beliefs. Our prejudices and preferences often stem from solitary events, rather than from "facts".
I struggle with prejudices regarding outspoken Somali immigrant women after trying to negotiate a very difficult clinical situation in my professional life years ago. The woman in question was supposedly a paid advocate (city health department) for members of the Somali community. Unfortunately her style was abrasive and, in my opinion, rude. She also showed up late for meetings that she had scheduled, allowing the patient, family and extensive clinical team to wait for her to arrive. I understood she eventually lost her position after multiple complaints.
I also met many immigrants for whom I had the highest respect. Years after meeting them for the first time we would reconnect at chance meetings and catch up on life events. Nevertheless, when I read of Rep. Oman, it is my experience with the "patient advocate" that I recall. This is my problem, but I do hope Rep. Oman will learn something from this experience: people remember being attacked vividly and are disinclined to welcome the memory.
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