#islamophobia and anti-muslim hate crimes are WRONG

[demonic-ninja-cat]

call me crazy or a bigot, but I think that the phrases/ideas "islamophobia is bad, and it's wrong and fucked-up for people to attack muslims, and pull off their headscarves, and other forms of bigotry against them, and plenty of muslims are perfectly nice normal people who aren't bigots" AND "islam can be toxic for some people, it can and has been used to hurt some people, it can have the same sorts of toxic bigotry found in christianity, and ex-muslims are valid to leave the religion and critique it" can and should co-exist!

[i-cant-sing]

I'm surprised by how open you are about your views on 'controversial' topics. As someone who works in a hospital and a certain group of university in the US, I had to sign a contract that prevents me from speaking out on these matters. How do you manage discussing such topics in your role?

I mean where I'm from, we have much bigger issues than just someone's opinions. Idk what controversial topics youre talking about, but i dont be just going about and giving my opinions to everyone and anyone. No, not everyone gets it and my time is far much more valuable than to talk sense to an ignorant person who will just make it look like im banging my head against the wall. Also because opinions are constantly changing because Im also in a growing age and im still learning new things everyday. if you were to see my views from 10 years back, youd be surprised. but then again, i was still a teen back then and i was easily influenced so back then i used to think being a feminist is being "anti man" or that being "feminine" is wrong and weak, which is not true obviously.

again idk what controversial topics youre talking about, but im gonna take a guess its about the gaza genocide being comitted by israel and look, there is only one fact, not opinion but FACT! and thats that Israel is murdering Palestinians actively, torturing them, doing ethnic cleanising and still trynna defend themselves for murdering babies in the worst way possible, and then some. there is no other side to this- there is no excuse for israel to do this, not now, not then and not ever. they are comitting crimes WAY WORSE THAN THEIR OWN HOLOCAUST, and its so enraging to see how nonchalant they are about it, how they have ZERO humanity, how they are actually worse than the NAZIS- imagine being worse than Nazis.

now back to your question- how do i manage giving my two cents on this? I'm Muslim, and even if I wasnt i think its the pretty obvious and sane thing to do, but Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: "Whoever sees something evil should change it with his hands. If he cannot, then with his tongue; and if he cannot do that, then in his heart- and that is the weakest of faith"

So if anyone of you can go volunteer in Gaza, or give humanatarian aid or donate, then he should do so. If you are not in a position to do that, then you should speak up, go to protests, post on your socials and raise awareness and keep up the boycott. If you are not even able to do that for whatever reason, then at least in your heart you should know that this is evil, go pray for palestinians, and keep on reminding yourself so that you dont get brainwashed into any western propaganda ever again about how Muslims are just deserving of this horrendous hate crime on such a level.

secondly, my reason for speaking up about this is because lets just forget for a moment that palestinians are majorly muslims and this is islamophobia. lets just consider them humans, okay? u could hate muslims adults all u want, but kids dont really have that much of a grasp on religion right? so, do you think that if Israel has and continues to comit a massacre on this level while the entire world watches, while everyone calls them out on their shit, while they have repeatedly documented their own disgusting tortures and crimes against these palestinians, have been called out by UN and the INTERNATIONA CRIMINAL COURT numerous times and they still continue on with this genocide, then what makes you think that you or i are safe?

If we let this continue on, if we dont speak up, then this is just giving a free pass to not only Israel but also anyone to go absolutely batshit crazy on any other country. The very fact that youre not in gaza and sitting in your home safe and cozy is by pure luck. But luck runs out eventually. And karma comes. What goes around, comes around. You stay quiet today over this matter, you dont try to help palestinians, then no one's gonna come for you too.

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Moshe Phillips

But deep in the article, in paragraph 30 (out of 41), the text suddenly took a strange turn. “Hate crimes are challenging to prove in court,” Ali wrote. What made this case “even more tricky” was that the alleged shooter, Jason Eaton, said nothing out loud before, during or after the shooting.”

Usually, you know something was a hate crime because the perpetrator yelled a racist slogan or told the police he was motivated to attack the victim because of the victim’s race or religion. Sometimes, the attacker’s social-media accounts contain racist writings.

But in this case, according to author Rozina Ali, it was the exact opposite.

With regard to the Oct. 7 pogrom perpetrated by Hamas in southern Israel that killed 1,200 men, women and children, here’s what the “anti-Palestinian” Eaton wrote on X on Nov. 16: “What if someone occupied your country? Wouldn’t you fight them?”

Although Ali quoted only one of Eaton’s posts, there was at least one more in the same vein. This is what Eaton tweeted on Oct. 17 (which was quoted by the Vermont-based news agency Seven Days on Dec. 6): “The notion that Hamas is ‘evil’ for defending their state from occupation is absurd. They are owed a state. Pay up.”

That crashing sound you hear is the shattering of the myth that the Vermont shooting was Islamophobia. No wonder the police have not charged Eaton with a hate crime: his social-media accounts clearly indicate he is a supporter, not a hater, of the Palestinian Arabs. Ali and others have reported that Eaton has a long history of personal problems. That would seem to be what was behind this crime.

But that didn’t fit the narrative that Palestinian advocates prefer. So, as long as that critical information was confined to the local Vermont press, they could keep claiming that the shooting was “anti-Palestinian hate.” Now the jig is up. It has been acknowledged by The New York Times.

This matters because the fight for public opinion regarding Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip revolves around the question of sympathy. In the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 mass murders, most of the public’s sympathy was with Israel. But after months of nonstop biased media reporting, some Americans’ sympathies have shifted.

The attention being paid to rising antisemitism creates sympathy for Jews and, by extension, for Israel. Supporters of the Palestinian Arabs want to reduce that sympathy, by claiming that they, too, are the victims of bigotry.

Statistics about hate crimes show that antisemitism is on the rampage, while Islamophobia is minuscule. That reality is bad for the Palestinian cause. So, advocates seize every opportunity to claim that some incident was anti-Arab or anti-Muslim.

Last November, an Ohio man named Hesham Ayyad claimed a driver yelled “Kill all Palestinians!” and “Long live Israel!” at him and then ran him over. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and similar groups yelled “Hate crime!” But security footage showed Ayyad and his brother got into a fistfight on that street corner, which is what caused his injuries. Ayyad has been charged with lying about the incident. CAIR still won’t admit that it was a hoax.

I doubt that CAIR will acknowledge the truth about the Vermont shooting, either. Extremists are reluctant to ever admit that they were wrong about anything. But reasonable people can no longer deny the reality of Jason Eaton’s pro-Hamas posts.

[returntothewilderness]

SWANA/MENA people defending themselves from ethnic cleansing and settler-occupation violence are called "terrorists. So are their neighboring countries trying to help stop the violence. So are those in the diaspora. So are those who speak out against the violence

The narrative never changes, just the SWANA countries being bombed at any given time

The intensity of post 9/11 Islamophobia and the racism towards the SWANA community was so bad that even *today* Muslims and Arabs are seen as untrustworthy, violent, traitors when speaking out against the western violence in their region. Their own lived experiences viewed with hesitance and suspicion

The SWANA community, especially Palestinians, have lived through constant surveillance, hate crimes, discrimination, censorship, defamation, and profiling. Right now, the west is hoping those last 20+ years spent villainizing the region will majorly pay off as they attack additional Arab countries

In spite of spending 20+ years of going through this scrutiny and violence, Muslims and Arabs are loudly and angrily protesting the ONE HUNDRED DAYS of an ongoing genocide in Palestine with still no ceasefire. They're doing this even if it significantly increases the harm aimed at them

They have to, their homelands, family, loved ones, and culture all depend on it regardless of the consequences

So when the white upper-middle class refuses to do something as simple as boycotting starbucks while vaguely claiming to be against genocide - what does that mean for the rest of our rights? If you don't have an accessibility need, or live in a food desert, there's no reason to not be getting coffee literally anywhere else. It's not an essential item no matter how much you like it

And if you won't give up a specific brand of coffee when *genocide* is at stake, what happens as more rights are stripped away state side? By the same politicians being paid by these massive corporations? The bar is devastatingly and shockingly low

Being seen as inherently "more trustworthy" in society due to their well-mannered approach to discussing genocide and other devastating system oppressions, the white upper-middle class & upper class can have big sway on public opinion here. Their actions and words are assumed rational and trustworthy. That's why we see white anti-zionist Jewish people being given more credibility on Gaza than Palestinians living through it and the diaspora. It's wrong, but this is the world we live in

This is the main reason why the white economically comfortable class are being asked to risk something and take a principled stance against the genocide in Gaza. The risks faced are smaller yet yield much larger gains

It's been infuriating seeing people with platforms and sway refuse to do something as simple as not ordering a starbucks coffee. I don't care if you have no tie to the region, that you didn't make biden use your taxes like this, or that you think it's just a cup of coffee with no impact. Palestinians have clearly stated why BDS works

It's one brand, it's such a small and insignificant thing

And yet, 100 days later we still haven't gotten a ceasefire. tens of thousands are dead. But, yknow, enjoy your genocide-funding coffee.

[buzz-politicz]

i'm sorry for the language i'm going to use

If you fricking idiots are only now realizing that Israel is in the wrong after they bombed the hospital, and only now realizing you've been lied to by the media, after making fun of Palestine and its supporters ever since Palestinian struck back once, that just goes to show how naive you are, and if you guys were around during the Holocaust, you idiots would have 100% fallen for the propaganda.

You were even given information to research things, but no. You just had to listen to what the media said at first-glance. You absolute, fricking idiots.

Next time, do your stinking research about a war and what caused it before jumping to a side.

And Christians, I'm allowed to say this because I'm a Christian as well, you should be ASHAMED of yourselves for siding with Israel IMMEDIATELY. God is most-likely rightfully disgusted (I had to add that most-likely because I can't speak for God, but... I'm pretty sure God's pretty dang disgusted) by what Israel has done and is doing to Palestine.

And the people who claim that supporting Palestine is antisemitism. Seriously? There are Jews (and Christians) in Palestine, yet you have completely abandoned them.

Read this article.

I truly condemn the violence on both sides, but Israel has been doing it for so long, and has been so much more violent, that it shocks me how you guys are immediately siding with Israel.

It's pretty Islamophobic.

SPEAKING of Islamophobia, a 6-year-old Muslim has been murdered in America.

I don't support Hamas. I don't support Israel.

We should all hope that this war will end soon, and that peace is made.

But people's Islamophobia is DISGUSTING.

[certified-pinkwasher]

you’re literally just lying

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/anti-muslim-incidents-jump-us-amid-israel-gaza-war-2024-01-29/

https://nysba.org/islamophobia-surges-in-the-u-s-due-to-global-and-national-tensions/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna122570

muslims are being hate crimed and pretending otherwise and like it’s not a real issue is islamaphobic, which you are you just don’t want to acknowledge it lol

look my wording was dismissive. i am aware that it was wrong. however this is not islamophobia speaking, its the fear and anger i have for the jews in diaspora who are actively in danger and basically only being mentioned as an afterthought

i am genuinely sorry for the way i worded that post. im not good at writing my thoughts down clearly and it sometimes leads to me saying stuff that gets taken the wrong way

i stand by my intended point of that post, which is that it seems like almost nobody outside our own community sees how absolutely rampant antisemitism is and how fucked up it is that the us is just about as safe for jews right now as it was in germany before the holocaust. i will never apologize for being angry about this

[mina-van1104]

IMPORTANT! Please Read all, or don't read at all because you won't know what I'm talking about & start assuming things. It's been a stressful week but less stressful than last week. Been feeling really emotional & sad eventhough these are pictures of me smiling.

I hope we all can remember that there is good & bad people in every race/ethnicity, & in every country but please remember not to hate on the wrong people like people of Israel because there are actual innocent families & children with no homes living in Israel who have no way out.

Please do not confuse the innocent ones as "Hamas Terrorists Group" I've met two Israelis before & they were the nicest people, so don't confuse everyone in Israel as a "Hamas Terrorist."

There is a lot of misinformation (Islamophobia/racism stereotyped) on the news & also one of our politicians in Nevada decided not to help Israel in the past because she thought everyone in Israel was a "Hamas terrorist" & that made me angry.

That lady named I voted for twice in the past & was happy for her because she won & that we're both Democrats, but I think I will never vote for her again even if she apologizes.

Politicians should know more than that especially Democrats because Democrats are usually the more known as the "smarter" group (no offense) but anyways I will not vote for her anymore for Nevada even though she is a Democrat. She made this comment with Marco Rubio who's a Republican... & the lady I used to like whom I'm talking about is Democrat.

The Democratic candidate in Nevada has changed & makes her looks so fake! We need a new Democrat to replace the particular candidate in Nevada & her initials are J.R. At least as a Democrat, I stay true to my words & never allow any form of racism to happen. People should think more thoroughly before they speak ESPECIALLY politicians.

Makes me emotional & angry because I know more hate crimes will happen in America to Israeli Americans & Middle Eastern people due to misinformation being spread around America on the news.

It was just like when September 11th happened. Actual terrorists did that to America not the INNOCENT people that looked like the terrorists & A LOT hated on Muslims or Middle Eastern People because there was a big misunderstanding. I've met a few Muslims before & they were some of the nicest people. So to everyone, please never judge.

Everyone needs to remember there are good & bad people of all races/ethnicities/& in different countries/different religions/etc.

Don't blame the innocent ones that look like them. Not everyone is the same. Teach your kids young that racism,Islamaphobia, Anti-Semitism, & Xenophobia is never okay because it's embarrassing to have some people much older than me not understanding the concept & they think it's "us versus them the enemy" instead of that, everyone should treat people of any different race/ethnicity with respect & think "good people versus people who are bad (& not be stereotyped by how they look)

Also we need to pray for Rafah,Gaza, Palestine,Egypt, Israel, always pray for everyone in need. Jesus Christ, God, Guan Yin, Mother Mary, whatever God you believe in, we come from the same one & God is our witness when you think no one is watching. Pray for all in need. I've just been crying about it & all the racism going on but distract myself with happy pictures to make me feel happier but I've been really sad lately. 😭Oh well... here's some cute pictures to brighten your day I guess. 🩵

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Always needing some prayers again.🙏 I, Mina Van 文风英 Woon Foong Yin (in Hakka Chinese).Nevada born & raised.Proud nurse, coach. Family living in Nevada for 45 (forty-five) years.Spread kindness.❤️

In the name of the Guan Yin, Ong Lee (meaning Buddha in Hakka Chinese langauge), Yay-Su (Jesus Christ), Ty-uh- ma (Mother Mary Virgin Mother Mary)

In the name of Jesus, Amen!🙏

Then my other successful blood-related family of doctors in my family,����🇸veterans,doctors,nurses,coaches,news reporter,lobbyist,good singers,dancers,good photographers, good writers,artists,a cop,a dentist,teachers, etc.Mixed family of Asians & white people.Spread Kindness.

Again, half of our family is Asian half our family is white. Even-though my parents look Asian we have some Chinese, Vietnamese, Native American, small portions of French, German descent, Ashkenazi Jewish descent DNA Ancestry

✞♡ # Selfie # Nurse # Coach # NativeNevadan # StopAsianHate # Biden2024💙 # JesusChrist 🦂 # Buddha # GuanYin # MotherMary # NevadaBornAndRaised # HakkaChineseRaised # ProChoice (though, in politics) # Equality # Justice # Healthcare # Running 🏃🏻‍♀️ # NevadaNative # athletic # HomeMeansNevada # Nevada # UNRnevadaAlumnaMay2016 # 3collegeDegrees # 3MedicalLicenses

•2019:OlderSisterCatherineVan&Adam Schwartz’sWedding&TheirWebsiteOn: https://www.theknot.com/us/catherine-van-and-adam-schwartz-aug-2019•ReminiscingMoreThan200PeopleCame.

[pinkpalette]

https://www.tumblr.com/pinkpalette/739724608258834432?source=share

You are spreading misinformation. The Houthis are a religious extremist militia that started and continue to perpetuate the Yemeni Civil War that has killed hundreds of thousands of people. They are not a non violent group. They are directly responsible for the Yemeni famine which has also killed hundreds of thousands of people. They reintroduced chattle slavery to the regions of Yemen that they have taken over and openly engaged in the sex traffickng of Ethiopian women. The words "A Curse Upon The Jews" is literally written on their flag and they ethnically cleansed the last 5 Jewish families living in Yemen in 2021. There is only one Jew left on Yemen, who is a prisoner of the Houthis and has been facing torture for the past 7 years for the crime of smuggling a Torah scroll to another Jewish family before they too were expelled from Yemen by the Houthis.

This group has not been targeting Israeli ships to protect Palestinian people or engaging in a peaceful embargo. They have been attacking ships at complete random, the vast majority of which have been neither coming nor going from Israel. Their rocket attacks have been intercepted, which is why no one has died yet. Not because they aren't trying to kill people. You cannot just trust random screenshots from Twitter about things that are this serious. The Houthis are literally one of the most violently oppressive groups in power right now and they explicitly hate Israel because they hate all Jews. It is on their flag. The KKK also hates Israel. That doesn't make them anti-Zionist freedom fighters.

Ok well, I wanna first say this I found out about the Houthis and their antisemitic views way after I reblogged that post and since I’m not chronically online I didn’t care to remove or edit tags. second of all, we all know what is happening right now with Palestine and yes you’re right that they might have ulterior motives due to their oppression of Yemeni Jews, however, the world does nothing and watches a whole genocide of Palestinians happen at least the Houthis are doing something even if they have an ulterior motive. And that tweet doesn’t have any misinformation about it, the Houthis haven’t killed anyone since they started blocking the Red Sea their goal is a ceasefire in Gaza they said it themselves. Their goal is to stop the genocide and they’ve been clear about that.

And as for your comment about how the houthis are a threat to their own people. The situation in Yemen is very complex obviously there is a civil war going on between the Houthis and the Yemen government (basically a Shia versus Sunni Muslim war) both have been violent towards each other. This is WHOLE separate issue and was unnecessary to point out in this case.

I studied journalism in college and I'm a Muslim-American who lived in the Middle East before. I am well aware of how misinformation is spread and how to spot it. My capstone project was on misinformation and I wrote an investigative piece on misinformation in student media. The U.S. has always since post 9/11 tried to demonize the Middle East and has butt into their affairs causing problems for both their citizens and the citizens of those. I’m frankly tired of it. Just like antisemitism is widely acknowledged after the holocaust (as it should be), it’s time to acknowledge Islamophobia and orientalism that is rampant right now and has been for a long time. I am not trying to defend the Houthis and their treatment of Yemeni Jews, it is wrong and I don't support it at all. However, the Houthis have made it clear that they are doing this to help the Palestinians and the Palestinians have been left to fend for themselves as the world watches them being ethically cleansed off the map. Plus they are only blocking ships, Israel is committing a genocide so who’s really the bad guy here?

[aceduchessdragoness]

This post in in relation to THIS post

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[id: all text from article:

In Trump’s America, ‘acting Muslin’ is more dangerous than ever

When Trump said ‘Islam hates us,’ he may as well have been declaring open season on Muslims.

Perspective by Khaled A. Beydoun

Khaled A. Beydoun is an associate professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and author or the forthcoming “American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear.”

January 11, 2018 at 12:51p.m. EST

[picture of Trump]

At the height of his 2016 campaign, Donald Trump told CNN’s Anderson Cooper, “I think Islam hates us” – a cynical, calculated declaration in the perpetual war of words over the dubious question whether Islam, writ large, is “at war” with the West.

That line communicated two different things to two different audiences: It energized Trump’s voting base, primed to view terrorist violence as an existential struggle, rather than a global security challenge to be addressed rationally; and helped inspire the uptick in hate violence targeting Muslims that followed. It also made clear to Muslim Americans during Trump’s tenure, outward expression of Muslim identity would draw backlash from hatemongers and heightened surveillance from the government. In the same interview, Trump said “it’s very hard to define. It’s very hard to separate. Because you don’t know who’s who.”

He said Islam “hates us,” but may as well have said that if, and when, he became president, it would officially be open season on Muslims.

The risks associated with “acting Muslim” have been considerable during every phase of the War on Terror’s more than 16-year stretch. As I wrote last year, “Muslim identity is, by law, tethered to terror suspicion.” To the extent that Trump’s words isolate Muslims because of their faith, he has chilled Muslim American’s First Amendment freedom regarding faith expression. The president has retweeted anti-Muslim propaganda and explicitly Islamophobic statements pepper his rhetoric. That rhetoric also steers many of his signature policy proposals and actions, including the infamous travel ban, the third version of which the Supreme Court recently cleared to move forward. Islamophobia is, on one hand, fear and hatred held by individuals but now also a driver formal state policy. This is manifested by the different iterations of the travel ban, which lists several Muslim-majority countries in a way that doesn’t correlate with terror fears, and the Trump administration’s proposed remaining and standing surveillance programming as “Countering Islamic Extremism.” Policy that endorses animus against Muslims, evidenced through the rise of hate crimes, manifests in the way some Muslims are responding: by negotiating the ways that we present and perform a religious identity thoroughly demonized by the state.

These negotiations are unfolding within the private confines and minds of Muslims, largely under the radar of media converge and frequently unseen by the public eye. Muslims are being forced to choose between confirming their Muslim identities in line with their religious belief and, in turn, leaving themselves vulnerable to hate violence and state suspicion. Or concealing their Muslim identities, conforming and, at least in theory, trading their rights for safety.

Alaa Basatneh chose to cover her Muslim identity by uncovering. In 2016, she wrote for Splinter that “Immediately after Donald Trump was elected president, I decided to stop wearing my hijab.” She was motivated to try to find safe haven from the wave of violence targeting covered Muslim women – the most readily identifiable Muslims – who wind up as primary targets of Islamophobic violence.

[Trump said Obama’s nuclear deal would empower Iran. He’s wrong.]

For Hussein, an engineer working in a Detroit suburb, his long beard became the subject of increasingly frequent stares and questioning from strangers following Trump’s victory. A devout Muslim, he wore his beard as “a badge of piety and belonging,” signifying his status to his community and the broader public. At his job, his beard drew more than one comparison to terrorists, isolating him and, in his estimation, limiting his ability to advance within the company. He ultimately shaved it, conforming to a more assimilated look instead of a more traditionally pious one.

Last year, a high school student has her hijab ripped off her head by he teacher; a spate of fires were reported at American mosques. In 2015, in the months before Trump’s rapid political rise, there was the tragedy where being Muslim was believed by many to be a motive in the killing of three Muslim Americans in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Strategic concealment of stigmatized identity is not exclusive to Muslim communities. For instance, otherwise devout Sikh men may remove their turbans or shave their beards to fend off discrimination, and black men and women may avoid specific hairstyles or attire to deflect stereotyping of mitigate the prospect of police profiling.

“Everybody works their identity,” write law professors Devon Carbado and Mitu Gulati in their 2000 Cornell Law Review paper, “Working Identity,” examining the ways that professionals of color negotiate their racial identities within the employment context. They argue that the “working identity phenomenon … is a form of employment discrimination,” because concealment of modification of identity in ways that lessen racial, gender and intersectional stereotypes facilitate acceptance and upward mobility in the employment context. When you extend that perspective to the acting Muslim phenomenon, we can see it as a form of religious discrimination.

For Muslims navigating how to present themselves and practice their faith in a society that where Islamophobia is both percolating from the bottom and reigning at the very top, the stakes are more than getting and holding a coveted job or breaking through glass ceilings. It is a matter of weathering the immediate threat posed by the Trump administration, which will undoubtedly continue to peddle hateful rhetoric and push more damaging policy.

Hate crime reports and statistics don’t capture the full scope of hostility towards Muslims in our country. And if the law is too limited to enable redress for Muslims suppressing their religious identity to mitigate backlash and rebut suspicion, it may be time to rethink it. If one of the touchstones of American citizenship is the free exercise of religion, and Muslims are unable to fully practice that liberty in a context of trumped-up Islamophobia, then the law serves to maintain the second-class citizenship of Muslims in America. /id]

[gracieeolivia]

Does media influence and encourage negative racial stereotypes and Islamophobia?

What are racial stereotypes?

Racial stereotypes are a set of offensive characteristics about a particular group, a generalised conclusion of how each member of this group will act, and in this case, Muslims are portrayed in an incredibly harmful way.

Where did the stereotypes begin?

In 2001, America experienced a terrorist attack on the 11th of September at 1:14pm. The twin towers were destroyed by two planes, along with several other locations, led by group Al-Qaeda. 9/11 was widely covered in the media, and the reports contributed to a mass formation of racial stereotypes, stemming from hatred, anger and despair. There were significant hardships following the attacks for american-muslim citizens, and even those who weren’t of the religion, but were mistaken to be. 

What did Muslims face following 9/11?

The FBI reported a 1600% (specifically 1617% (Alfonseca, 2011)) increase in Muslim hate-crimes, including varied discrimination, anti-Islam protests, property damage and mosque fires, physical assaults and several murders (Alsultany, 2013). 

Television represented Muslims in an attempt to show that the US had no part in these horrifying racial stereotypes by including ‘good’ Muslims in their story lines. This showed two types of character: victims of post 9/11 stereotypes and patriotic US citizens, who fought alongside the government against terrorism. This was intended make viewers sympathise with the “enemy”, showing that not all Muslims planned to commit such heinous acts, but these special episodes usually concluded that while it was not ideal, Muslims would simply have to endure maltreatment during the national security crisis, therefore creating an extremely low societal norm for Muslims living in the US (Alsultany, 2013).

ABC news - groups of anti-Islam protestors.

Psychology of persuasion:

Milgram (1963) completed a study where participants were asked (by an authority figure) to administer electric shocks to a learner. He found that when a person of power gave an instruction, despite personal beliefs, they majority obeyed. 

When someone is seen as an expert, they may be influential to large groups, as they are seen to provide correct information and intelligence. 

Informational social influence may also affect a person’s behaviour and beliefs. Psychologist Asch (1951) gathered a group of actors and a few participants to identify same-length lines. When multiple actors, despite being obviously wrong, gave an answer, real participants gave the same answer with a desire to fit in. 

People may also be persuaded through normative social influence, where the desire to be right influences beliefs and behaviour. Psychologist Jenness (1932) asked participants to estimate the amount of beans in a jar. In groups, people gave the same answers, while individually they were all different. 

A cult of personality also majorly influences large groups, Khrushchev (1956) found that when one person with heroic and idealised characteristics speaks, they are likely to influence many people. This can often be seen in a totalitarian society. 

Social or celebrity status may also influence how others view different situations due to their success and power. 

Psychology of fear:

Cultural perspectives of fear, being shared experiences and intelligence being shared educationally, can cause large groups to fear something they have all been victims to. 

How does the media use psychology to influence audience?

Reporting people in power, such as President George W.Bush can create a sense of security in the government to prevent chaos and mass fear. However, in doing so, this can also cause mass hatred. Bush stated that Muslims were friends, but radical terrorist groups, and government bodies that supported them, were enemies. Simultaneously, the government passed policies targeting muslims and legalised the suspension of their constitutional rights (Alsultany, 2013). This showed America that the muslim terrorists were enemies to everyone, and the passing of domestic and foreign policies created an unspoken statement, contradicting Bush’s previous words. Being a person with high power, Bush acted as an authority figure gaining obedience from the US population, a cult of personality was seen, influencing the already highly emotional citizens to take matters into their own hands, creating hell for innocent Muslims across the US. Others followed due to the normative social influence that stemmed from here.

ABC news - President George W.Bush speech 17th of September 2001.

News reporters swarmed to gather evidence for reports of maltreatment within the religion, trying to explain why Muslims were terrorists. They turned to many women who had faced a variety of wrongful treatments, such as beatings, death sentences for adultery, public beating, rape, forced marriage at young ages, no rights to divorce, genital mutilation and denial of child custody, all as an attempt to ‘shed light’ on the reality of Islam (Alsultany, 2013). This information was used in the wrong contexts. While some women do face these disgusting acts, and some cases may result in terrorism, this is not a sole cause of terrorism, and does not mean that all Muslims suffering are terrorists. The reporters used informational social influence as ‘experts’ by creating seemingly factual reports. A culture that shares knowledge and experience of abuse, misogyny and assault would see how wrong it is for women to suffer this way, and they too would form strong opinions and stereotypes about Muslims. 

What are the consequences of the media’s actions?

These media forms spread more hate for the religion and its members and caused many to fear muslims even more. This created and worsened already existing racial stereotypes, contributing to the increase of hate crimes against Muslims. The media took advantage of the hate, fury and grief of US citizens, and fuelled a fire that spiralled to life threatening levels for muslims in the US. 20 years later, many Muslim families still report feeling unsafe living in the US, specifically 80% of those surveyed by Hatem Bazian (Alfonseca, 2021). The majority of the globe follow some form of media, during and after 9/11 rather intensely, meaning the lack of care, need for attention, and gaining the attention through shocking revelations and reports would cause racial stereotypes and Islamophobia on a vast scale.

[anmolpannu]

Batch blog 3 Oct 6

Required blog 1

So far the quarter has been really going well for me I have been having a hard time with all the work plus commuting back and forth but overall enjoying the experience. I feel like even the quarter went by so much faster compared to how slow they usually would feel. All over I feel more involved in everything and really enjoy this self paced work time I have been having as well as having the right amount of time to take for everything.

Required blog 2

Something that has been bringing me joy lately is going out to the gym, since the school life feels really fast paced and not so like me time I feel like going to the gym brings me some joy that I am able to give myself that time out of my day for myself and for something that is good for me.

Required blog 3

I am seeing the various different responses from people and of course it is a natural thing t have contradicting opinions about the same topic but I feel like this is a really direct attack to someones beliefs and religion, because it doesn't have sense to be banning a religious thing from someones life when wearing an abaya had nothing negative to do with anyone I just feel like all the excuses that are being made up to cover this attack are really not making any sense if we logically think about it.

France wants to ban Abayas for "security" purposes without thinking about the religious value this holds in someones life and I dont understand why it is a problem when the security measures should not be taken towards someone beliefs and clothing but rather over someones actions and laws.

After reading a couple of articles I have seen a similar thing that has been quoted that came up saying "you should not be able to identify someones religion as soon as you see them" but I dont understand what is wrong with that and what they are trying to prove by saying such things. Many sources are calling this a racial attack while there are some out there still saying that this is a security measure, some even saying that this is a mandatory step they meed to take for more students and people to feel more involved and well fitted in, but looking at al the different reasons there is no common base to why actually the ban needs to happens.

Carol Ferrara                    Anthropologist & Assistant Professor. “French Schools’ Ban on Abayas and Headscarves Is Supposedly about Secularism − but It Sends a Powerful Message about Who ‘belongs’ in French Culture.” The Conversation, 29 Sept. 2023, theconversation.com/french-schools-ban-on-abayas-and-headscarves-is-supposedly-about-secularism-but-it-sends-a-powerful-message-about-who-belongs-in-french-culture-213543. 

Colliva, Claudia, et al. “French Court Upholds Abaya Ban in Public Schools.” CNN, Cable News Network, 7 Sept. 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/09/07/europe/french-court-rejects-abaya-appeal-intl/index.html. 

Mawad, Dalal, et al. “French Schools Turn Away Girls Wearing Abayas as Muslim Rights Group Challenges Ban.” CNN, Cable News Network, 6 Sept. 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/09/06/europe/france-abaya-ban-scli-intl/index.html. 

Singh, Rishika. “‘Shouldn’t Be Able to Identify Pupils’ Religion Just by Looking at Them’: Why France Banned the Abaya in Its Public Schools.” The Indian Express, 8 Sept. 2023, indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-global/france-ban-abaya-schools-explained-8930103/. 

Required blog 4

article:

Islamophobia, anti-Semitism rises in EU amid Israel-Hamas war: Official

This article is talking about what islamophobia is and how it's affecting peoples life. There are many attacks and hate crimes caused by people who just have a strange hatred toward the islamic religions and muslim people in general and a lot of these incidents go unnoticed or ignored. There are a lot of hate crimes, murders, racist attacks toward children, women, and elderly just because they are muslims, just because of a religions they believe in. These crimes get thrown away or covered up so that they dont come out in the media and these people never get justice, but how can this continue happening when they also deserve same right as anyone yet the get set back every time.

There is another article that has come up multiple times in the reference which was related to the islamophobia topic that not only happened all over Europe but focusing on just the islamophobia in France going back to the topic of the abaya ban. They are calling this a racial action since they are trying ti target the muslim minority. They want to control the muslim women to fit their standards but not wanting to accept them foe who they are for their own mindset.

Required blog 5

For years my religions sikhism, has been opressed tried to be ere raced and not accepted as well as targeted for hundreds of hate crimes targeting only my religion so I just wanted to have a few sourced to show how this has been happening over the course of time.

Constuctive. “New FBI Data Reports Highest Anti-Sikh Hate Crime Victimizations.” The Sikh Coalation, 23 Oct. 2023.

Fact Sheet on Post-9/11 Discrimination and Violence against Sikh Americans.

“Hate Crime Charges Filed after 66-Year-Old Sikh Man Is Killed.” NBC News, 31 Oct. 2023, www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/hate-crime-charges-filed-killing-66-year-old-sikh-man-rcna123041. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.

“Sikh Community Reacts to Hate Crime in Richmond Hill on MTA Bus.” Ny1.com, ny1.com/nyc/queens/public-safety/2023/10/18/sikh-community-reacts-to-hate-crime-in-richmond-hill-on-mta-bus. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.

“Sikhs 2nd Most Targeted Faith Group for US Hate Crimes: FBI.” The Times of India, 24 Feb. 2023, timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/sikhs-2nd-most-targeted-faith-group-for-us-hate-crimes-fbi/articleshow/98164297.cms. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.

Singh, Simranjeet. “It’s Time India Accept Responsibility for Its 1984 Sikh Genocide.” Time, Time, 31 Oct. 2014, time.com/3545867/india-1984-sikh-genocide-anniversary/.

“Why Are Some Sikhs Calling for a Separate Homeland in India?” BBC News, 19 Sept. 2023, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-66852291.

[peachfuzz-jpg]

First: I in no way disagree that what is happening in Gaza is despicable and Israel must stop.

But the map you reblogged from 1947-- you are not including critical history. And I don't just mean YOU, I mean in general, people are not discussing the creation of Israel.

It was not "colonized" by Jewish people. It was created by western nations (they are the ones who decided where it would go, not the Jews) because a) they felt badly for ignoring the Holocaust but b) they still didn't want an influx of Jews.

And the Jews couldn't go home. Of course they went to somewhere that was supposed to safe for them after the Holocaust, somewhere that they were promised they could actually exist. Anti-Semitism has been around as long as the Jewish people; maybe they could find one place without it?

Zionism is wrong and bad. But there are several things to remember. First most Jews aren't Zionists. Second, in the US, for instance, there are literally more Christian Zionists than Jewish ones, either because they believe having all Jews gathered in Israel will bring about end times or because they straight up want Jewish people gone from the country. Third, while what is happening to the Palestinians is undeniably horrific, no one is denying that, that is simply not the focus of this post, anti-Semitism is rising quickly and is extremely dangerous. Innocent people around the world are getting killed because people are conflating Israel and Jews, Zionists and Jews, colonizers and Jews-- right now it actually is important when discussing this to be specific, and to say that this is a minority led by a horrible government and perpetrated by the IDF, and it does not represent the Jewish people. Because people who just see something like that map with no context won't know that, and that's just more people who have a new anti-Semitic (false) belief.

So please, when you post about Palestine, remember to have nuance, because they are not the only innocent people affected.

Thank you for taking the time to write this in a thoughtful and respectful manner, I appreciate it and I respect you for that.

I agree with your points regarding antisemitism and zionism.

I’d like to start by saying that in no way do I support or harbor any anti semitic sentiments, it is abhorrent and I agree with you that it is extremely dangerous. Zionism does not = Judaism. And you are absolutely right that you cannot say that the government of Israel represents the views of the Jewish people, in the same way that in our countries we would say that the government does not represent the people.

Both antisemitism and islamophobia have been on the rise, violent hate crimes being perpetrated against innocent people who end up paying the price.

I agree with you that nuance is required as we should never promote hatred. Peace and justice should always be the goal.

All religions promote peace. Jews, Muslims, Christians and other religions have peacefully coexisted in the land for centuries. As we know it is not a religious dispute but mostly about the way the land was split.

Coming back to the map from 1947 that I reblogged, it depicts the proposed splitting of the land by the United Nations where they divided the land and decided the borders, and so you are absolutely right in the sense that the divisions for Israel were created by western countries. If we go further back to 1917 the Balfour Declaration was proposed by the British where they voiced support for a “national home”for Jewish people, the British then handed over the splitting of Palestine over to the United Nations.

I hear where you are coming from that in fact this land division was started by West ultimately.

In the corner of the image it states that the “majority report of United Nations Special Committee on Palestine recommended that Palestine be divided…”, so if I have misunderstood what you have said or missed the point please do let me know and I mean that sincerely.

Again also in general with respect to anything in life I’m here to keep learning and I know that this topic is vast, nuanced and there is so much history behind it that I can’t just condense it down into a few sentences. That doesn’t mean that I can’t keep learning and educating myself about it so if I have said anything incorrect or misinformed please do let me know.

[genderkoolaid]

smth I need people to understand is that oppression is defined by the goals of the oppressor not the identity of the oppressed. when a sikh man is hate crimed because someone thinks he's muslim, that's not anti-sikh bias, that's islamophobia. if an intersex afab woman is beaten up because another person thinks she is a trans woman, that's not intersexism*, that's transmisogny. these can overlap! but the crucial aspect is the motives of the oppressor, not the victims of the oppression.

the difference is important because sometimes I have seen people say they need to use a different word for something they experienced because they aren't the "target group" of the hatred. that's not true and it's not helpful! this should promote solidarity and make us stand together against oppression, not get into meaningless debates about whether or not x person can say they experienced y-phobia. tying type of oppression to the identity of the person not only obscures the actual motivations for things like hate crimes and bigoted laws, but sort of. shifts the blame onto the victim by focusing so much on whether they are a perfect victim, and if they aren't, then it's not REAL [insert bigotry here]. "misdirected bigotry" is a construct. there is no difference between bigotry done to the ""right'" victim and bigotry done to the ""wrong"" one.

*edit: this post was made when I was more uneducated about intersexism! Transmisogynistic violence is deeper than just being perceived as the modern category of trans women & this can be both anti-transfem transmisogny AND intersexism at the same time

[flawlessbrouhaha]

[image description: first image is a tweet by Paul Krugman that says “Overall, Americans took 9/11 pretty calmly. Notably, there wasn't a mass outbreak of anti-Muslim sentiment and violence, which could all too easily have happened. And while GW Bush was a terrible president, to his credit he tried to calm prejudice, not feed it 2/”. second image is a graph using FBI data that shows hate crimes against muslim americans spiked in 2001 and continued to be high from 2002-2014, where the data ends. the hate crimes in 2000 look to be less than 50, while hate crimes in 2001 looks like it’s about 480]

have you ever seen someone so objectively wrong on a subject?? is this fucker really that fucking stupid or is he trying to revise history to make the US look better? lets forget all the times mosques got threatened and destroyed because of the rise of islamophobia in america. lets forget the propaganda i grew up with that taught me that anyone from the middle east is gross and evil and the only “good ones” are people from israel. lets forget the bullying, hate speech, and assault muslim kids/kids of middle eastern descent had to face growing up. lets forget the war that was made worse by this event which led to destroying the lives of so many people in the middle east. lets forget the prison in Guantanamo Bay that VERY PUBLICLY strips the human rights of and tortures its prisoners. this tweet is so fucking ignorant and revolting.

[safetypinkerton]

Hollywood Propaganda by Mark Dice 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hollywood-propaganda-mark-dice/1137833508

Christianity Under Attack

In order to destroy America, the conspirators are determined to eradicate faith in God and dismantle organized Christianity. Attacking Jesus and Christianity is a sacrament in Hollywood because the far-Left hates Jesus and everything He stands for. It’s not an overstatement to say that many in key positions of power in the entertainment industry (and politics) are Satanists who will someday openly embrace Lucifer as the rebel angel kicked out of Heaven for defying God.

  “I’m glad the Jews killed Christ,” ranted comedian Sarah Silverman in one of her comedy specials. “Good. I’d fucking do it again!” she declares, as her audience agrees in laughter.158 While accepting an Emmy Award one year Kathy Griffin said, “A lot of people come up here and they thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. He didn’t help me a bit…so all I can say is suck it Jesus! This award is my god now!”159

I’m not saying people shouldn’t be able to make fun of Christians, but no mainstream celebrity would dare make such insults or jokes about Muhammad because Muslims (and Jews) are vigorously protected against any criticism or mockery and only wonderful things can be said about them. Even a slightly edgy joke ignites a barrage of attacks with cries of “Islamophobia” or “anti-Semitism” and gears start moving in the well-funded and massive smear machines like the ADL and the SPLC which quickly move to destroy the person’s career before they can utter another word.

Hating Christians is almost as necessary as believing in climate change if you’re going to be a mainstream Hollywood celebrity. There are very few open Christians in Hollywood, most of them are has-beens like Kevin Sorbo and Kirk Cameron who have been basically blacklisted since being open about their faith.

  Kevin Sorbo was banned from Comicon because he’s a conservative and “pals with Sean Hannity.”160 He and other Christian actors are stuck doing low budget films that get little attention. They’re allowed to exist (for now) as long as they never point out the Bible’s teachings on homosexuality. Only watered down and generic Christian messages are allowed to be said.

After Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and happened to discuss his “spirituality,” many online began attacking him for being a Christian and attending a church. Actress Ellen Page (a lesbian) from the X-Men and Inception tweeted, “If you are a famous actor and you belong to an organization that hates a certain group of people, don’t be surprised if someone simply wonders why it’s not addressed. Being anti LGBTQ is wrong, there aren’t two sides. The damage it causes is severe. Full stop.”161

Singer Ellie Goulding threatened to back out of her scheduled performance at the 2019 Thanksgiving NFL halftime show if the Salvation Army didn’t pledge to donate money to LGBT causes. She got the idea after her Instagram comments were flooded with complaints from her fans because the Salvation Army was sponsoring the game to announce their annual Red Kettle Campaign (bell ringers) fundraiser for the homeless.162 Since the Salvation Army is a Christian charity, Goulding’s fans freaked out, accusing them of being “homophobic” and “transphobic.”

They quickly bowed to the pressure and “disavowed” any anti-LGBT beliefs, which basically means they’re disavowing the Bible because even the New Testament denounces homosexuality in Romans 1:26-27 and 1st Corinthians 6:9-10. Many critics claim that only the Old Testament does, but the Book of Romans makes it clear that just because Jesus came to offer salvation doesn’t mean God’s law regarding homosexuality changed.

The Salvation Army also removed a “position statement” from their website that had made it clear “Scripture forbids sexual intimacy between members of the same sex,” and replaced it with one saying “We embrace people regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity.”163 One of the world’s largest Christian charities whose very name “The Salvation Army” refers to the salvation of Christ, cowardly bowed down to the Leftist activists out of fear they would be branded “homophobic.”

Christians are easy targets since they’re much more passive than Jews and Muslims when attacked, and Hollywood loves to stereotype them as a bunch of superstitious bigots who don’t know how to have fun. In the rare case that there is a movie favorable to Christianity that gets widespread distribution, that too is attacked.

Passion of the Christ was deemed “anti-Semitic” because it depicts the story of Jesus’ arrest, sham trial, and crucifixion.164 It was the most popular film about the events to be made and wasn’t a straight to DVD release like most others. With Mel Gibson behind it, the film became a huge success, which caused a tremendous backlash.

The ADL [Anti-Defamation League] denounced the film, saying it “continues its unambiguous portrayal of Jews as being responsible for the death of Jesus. There is no question in this film about who is responsible. At every single opportunity, Mr. Gibson’s film reinforces the notion that the Jewish authorities and the Jewish mob are the ones ultimately responsible for the Crucifixion.”165 That’s because that’s what happened!

Technically, the Romans did it, but at the behest of the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem at the time. The Bible makes it very clear what led to Jesus being crucified. Pontius Pilate is quoted in Matthew 27:24 saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” and “It is your responsibility!” meaning the Jewish Pharisees. They were the ones who conspired to have Jesus arrested and killed for “blasphemy” and being a “false” messiah. Pontius Pilate even offered to release Jesus, but the crowd demanded he release Barabbas instead, another man who was being detained for insurrection against Rome, and for murder.166

A critic for the New York Daily News called The Passion of the Christ, “the most virulently anti-Semitic movie made since the German propaganda films of the Second World War.”167 Many others angrily denounced the film when it came out in 2004. Some in the media even blamed it for a supposed “upsurge” in anti-Semitic hate crimes.168

When the History Channel miniseries The Bible was released in 2013, the same cries of “anti-Semitism” rang out.169 The New York Times opinion editor Bari Weiss went so far as to say that it’s a “conspiracy theory” that Jews killed Jesus.170

Even though most Christmas movies aren’t overtly Christian and instead focus of the importance of families reuniting and spending time together, that doesn’t mean they’re not going to come under attack. As the war on western culture continues, the Marxists have set their sights on Christmas too.

Online liberal cesspool Salon.com ran a headline reading “Hallmark movies are fascist propaganda,” and complained they promote “heteronormative whiteness” because there aren’t enough LGBT characters or people of color in them.171

“Hallmark movies, with their emphasis on returning home and the pleasures of the small, domestic life, also send a not-at-all subtle signal of disdain for cosmopolitanism and curiosity about the larger world,” Salon said, “which is exactly the sort of attitude that helps breed the kind of defensive White nationalism that we see growing in strength in the Donald Trump era.”172

The article went on to say that because the Hallmark Channel airs so many Christmas movies, it is promoting, “a set of patriarchal and authoritarian values that are more about White evangelicals defining themselves as an ethnic group, and not about a genuine feeling of spirituality…The very fact that they’re presented as harmless fluff makes it all the more insidious, the way they work to enforce very narrow, White, heteronormative, sexist, provincial ideas of what constitutes ‘normal.’”173

The article wasn’t satire. Salon.com has a deep-seated hatred of Christianity, conservatives and families, and is another cog in the Cultural Marxist machine working to destroy the United States.

Comedian Whitney Cummings was reported to the Human Resources department of a major Hollywood studio after she wished the crew of a TV show she was working on “Merry Christmas” when they wrapped up for the year. She made the revelation while speaking with Conan O’Brian the following December. “Last year, I was working on a TV show, [and] got in trouble with Human Resources for saying ‘Merry Christmas’ to an intern,” she began.174

Conan asked her if she was being serious and she said it was a true story, elaborating, “I was leaving, like on the 18th or whatever…and I was like, ‘Bye guys, Merry Christmas.’” When she returned from vacation after New Year’s she was called to HR and scolded. She joked, “I don’t even care how your Christmas was. It was just a formality. It’s what you say when you leave.”175

Conan O’Brien then replied, “In these times we’re in, that could trigger someone or offend them if it’s not their holiday.”176 She didn’t say which network it was, but she’s been involved with some major shows like NBC’s Whitney (where she played the main character), as well as the CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls, which she created and was a writer for.

While today it may seem impossible that Christmas movies may become a thing of the past, nobody could have ever guessed that reruns of the classic Dukes of Hazzard would get banned after the Confederate flag was deemed a “hate symbol” in 2015, or that Aunt Jemima pancake syrup, Eskimo Pie ice cream bars, and Uncle Ben’s Rice would be deemed “racially insensitive” and pulled from production a few years later.177

Once someone reminds liberals that the word Christmas is derived from Christ’s Mass and that it is actually a commemoration of the birth of Jesus, they may finally go over the edge and deem Christmas just as offensive as Columbus Day or the Fourth of July. And with the Muslim and Sikh populations increasing in the United States, the American standard of Christmas music playing in shopping malls and retail stores all month long every December may one day come to an end because it’s not “inclusive” and leaves non-Christians feeling “ostracized.”

[jyndor]

paul krugman and the art of doubling down on shitty takes

so on september 11th, famed nyt editorial writer, keynesian economist and fave of your racist liberal uncle, paul krugman, wrote one of the shittiest takes I have ever seen on twitter, which is SAYING SOMETHING.

krugman famously tweeted this:

and got a million virtual shoes thrown at him for being so ignorant, because anti-muslim hate crimes did actually escalate after 9/11, and the bush administration eagerly fanned the flames of islamophobia in order to make their illegal wars in afghanistan and iraq popular with the public. muslims, sikhs, indians, literally anyone vaguely brown, and lots of black ppl too, were terrorized by their neighbors, (former) friends, classmates, coworkers, etc. and anyone with a muslim friend knows this happened because they've told us about it. and these attacks were reported on. they were, I remember reading about them when I was a kid.

(paul krugman works for the new york fucking times, and while I think the nyt is warmongering centrist garbage, they do actually report on things that happen in the world. he writes editorials for them, surely he reads the damn paper once in a while).

so today, I log on to twitter and see he has decided not to apologize, but rather do the ol' double down, which always works out well.

here are some highlights:

okay so first thing's first, no apology (obviously) since this is a double down. but we got a chart, and liberals do love a good chart when they are being racist and ahistorical.

he admits that the chart is actually inaccurate because it excludes all the other victims of anti-muslim hate crimes who weren't actually muslim (read: the innocents). okay. so already he is losing credibility because he is using an inaccurate chart as the basis of his double down, and really, we love to see it.

after this there's some shit about how he didn't say there wasn't an outbreak of white americans attacking muslims and people mistaken for muslims, but rather that it could have been worse. lol well anything can be worse than it was, as 2020 has taught us. it’s a pedantic mess and I didn’t feel like that was the meat of the double down.

so first off, the iraq war was definitely started for many reasons, but islamophobia was part of it. the bush administration wanted to invade iraq and depose saddam hussein, and steal iraq’s oil for multinational oil companies lbr, and so they exploited americans’ fears about muslims by propagandizing about how it was important for us to attack them over there before they attacked us over here with their weapons of mass destruction, and of course they would attack us over here if given the chance. why? because they hate our way of life here, our freedom. those things were LITERALLY said by bush people and also by their stans at fox news and the wsj, and yes, in the editorial pages at the nyt.

so to someone like paul krugman, who knows lots of conservatives who don’t seem racist, or are educated and distinguished and just... like war? idk but to him, he sees people like them and says, well... they’re not like uneducated filthy poors in west virginia, not that kind of racist.

but what he doesn’t get, or he is being deliberately obtuse about, is that in order for the bush people to dehumanize muslims the way they did, they had to personally place less value on the lives of iraqis than on the value of that sweet crude oil. they were willing to go to war, sacrifice hundreds of thousands of civilians in the process (as well as thousands of american soldiers, but this isn’t about them) because they didn’t see them as anything but collateral damage. and that is fucking racist.

and while I have no interest in playing the “which racist is worse” game, when the west virginia uneducated racist endangers those around them, the politician rich harvard educated racist writes policy and lies us into illegal wars that endanger millions. both are bad, both are racist.

and by the way, him “sticking his neck out” to speak up against going to iraq was brave and necessary, especially because the nyt was pushing the invasion. but when you put it like that... you just sound like a tool. like it was a burden to call out the liars and imperialists. bitch, you’re paul krugman, a nobel laureate and renowned economist. I do not want to discount the IMMENSE pressure and blacklisting that opponents of the bush administration experienced, because showing any opposition to the wars at the time was risky. but idk the way he put that just irked me, especially since he didn’t even lose his job like many in the media did when they spoke up.

usually what liberals do when they fuck up publically is a fake ass apology and a few hail marys, and I assumed he would be on twitter begging for forgiveness on this one since his garbage take went so viral and pissed off so many people. and of course was wrong.

but then he does this:

yeah. your eyes are not deceiving you. that chart is measuring anti-black, anti-lgbtq and anti-”islamic” (lmao who says that bro just say anti-muslim or islamophobic) hate crimes. shut up leftist twitter, black people have it worse than muslims according to my inaccurate chart. so stop attacking me, a rich white man who doesn’t really care about anything other than my reputation.

there is a lot to unpack here, namely that paul krugman is using faux concern for black people as a way to deflect from his shitty ahistorical take about how much restraint white americans showed after 9/11 towards muslims. maybe krugman doesn’t know any black muslims, but they exist. also oppression olympics is stupid even when used by well meaning essentialists, let alone by milquetoast academics.

not to mention that he has already discounted his own shitty chart by saying it doesn’t show the full picture of what happened in these anti-muslim attacks. but even if we take this chart seriously, it actually does not really support his point. look at how many more hate crimes there were against muslims in 2001 than there were in 2000. there are significantly more black people than muslims in the united states. I am not good at math, and surely I am no nobel laureate, but it seems to me that hate crimes against black people increased a little, and hate crimes against muslims increased a lot. and this chart only takes into account three years, and only two of which are post-9/11. so... idk man maybe we should look at what happened in, say, 2003? 2004? how about all of the 2000s?

(source: https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-09-12/data-hate-crimes-against-muslims-increased-after-911)

oh, that is actually pretty consistently bad! yes, there was one spike in 2001/2002, but it isn’t like we went back down to pre-9/11 numbers afterwards. and I am not sure if this information includes non-muslims targeted for “looking muslim” but I would say it is unlikely, since the data seem pretty similar to krugman’s olympic shit.

I am not writing this because paul krugman is particularly shit-for-brains, or because I hate him more than like... idk any other moron on twitter. there were plenty of anti-muslim takes on twitter friday like there are every 9/11, and every day. but krugman is actually someone liberals respect. he is, after all, a nobel laureate and a keynesian economist, and fairly mild mannered. when people in the media like krugman write these ahistorical shitty takes they are, as chomsky wrote, MANUFACTURING CONSENT. it is a deliberate tactic, and it works. and if you want to learn more about this theory, check out this short clip by al jazeera narrated by amy goodman (of democracy now). the media manufactured american consent when they pushed the wars. they continue to do so when they try to rewrite george bush’s history by making trump seem uniquely terrible to muslims.

elites in the press and in government have been trying to whitewash and rehabilitate george bush’s reputation for YEARS, and they are succeeding. and why would they want to do that? well, there are a lot of reasons. one, a lot of people in washington are complicit in bush’s crimes. two, democrats think they need to appeal to moderate republicans (lol) in order to win elections, and I guess they think there are moderate republicans left (lol!), and that those moderate republicans like george bush (LOLLL). three, they want to make trump look uniquely terrible. if they do that, then no one but trump needs to be held to account for his government’s failings. but these are just my speculation.

do not let them rehabilitate george bush any further than they have. it is a fucking shame he will never be held to account for war crimes, but an extra slap in the face to all of his victims when we act like he didn’t do things he did. like stoke anti-muslim hate. he invaded muslim countries with a smile on his face, and that is pretty fucking hateful.

paul krugman doubled down and tried to use Black Lives Matter like a human fucking shield. seems a bit racist imo.