Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post all but called for violence against Rep. Ilhan Omar, counterposing an out-of-context quote from the Muslim American congresswoman with a picture of the World Trade Center burning on 9/11. As Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the other first Muslim woman in Congress, tweeted, “The NY Post knows exactly what it's doing—taking quotes out of context and evoking painful imagery to spread hate and endangering the life of Rep. Omar. Shame on them, and shame on Rupert Murdoch.”
Speaking at a Council on American-Islamic Relations event in March, Omar said, “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 fact, CAIR was founded in 1994 but increased dramatically in size after 9/11). Omar was speaking just over a week after a white nationalist gunman massacred Muslims at worship in New Zealand. “Many people expect our community to feel like it needs to hide every time something happens,” she said. “But repeatedly we have shown them that we are not to be bullied, not to be threatened, we are not to be terrorized, we are strong and resilient, and we will always show up to be ourselves because we know we have a right to a dignified existence and a dignified life.” That sentiment—the sentiment that whether as victims of a mass shooting or as people being blamed as a group for the actions of a few, Muslims need to advocate for their own dignity and rights—is what the New York Post is twisting into a suggestion that Omar was dismissive of terrorism.
And the Post cover came just a day after both Omar and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke out about the threats of violence they’ve faced in the months since they were sworn in to Congress. The Ohio Federation of College Republicans just called AOC a “domestic terrorist,” which, she tweeted, “puts me in danger every time. Almost every time this uncalled for rhetoric gets blasted by conserv. grps, we get a spike in death threats to refer to Capitol Police.”
Republicans and the right-wing media not only don’t care, but they’re actively inciting those threats.
Disgusting: