Beginning in the 1970s, the city of Lewiston, Maine, suffered a massive population drain from all the closed mills. Thousands of Somali war refugees settled in the state’s second-largest city since the turn of the century and call it home. The refugees are actually credited with completely turning the city around since the first Somali family arrived in 2001. The new arrivals not only plugged the population drain, built helped rebuild a true community; They opened community centers, nonprofits, shops, and restaurants. The refugees, now able to get an education, enrolled in schools and local colleges. A 2009 profile on Lewiston in Newsweek noted that since Somalis arrived in Lewiston, the income per capita soared and, contrary to Donald Trump’s xenophobic claims, the crime rate dropped significantly.
Now, for the first time since they began making Lewiston their new home, the 5,000 people in the city’s Somali community have a bit of political representation. Safiya Khalid is a 23-year old activist who, just weeks ago, won a historic seat on the city council with nearly 70% of the vote.
Khalid was told several times that her campaign wouldn’t work, but her belief in the community—not to mention her hard work and tenacity—paid off. She won, and predictably, her victory brought out both the best and the worst of the city. She received a lot of love and support, but was also subjected to vile attacks by Trump-loving white supremacists.
One white supremacist Facebook group in particular, leaning on Trump’s language about “shithole countries” and Muslims, really leaned into their hatred after Khalid’s victory.
Many had spent the past week spreading racist and anti-Muslim hate speech online in an effort to derail Khalid’s campaign — a tactic that had proven effective in past municipal elections. Some members of the Facebook group called Khalid a “sh**bag muslim” who wears a “head diaper; ”another advocated “killing as many muslims as possible.”
One poster shared Khalid’s home address, implicitly encouraging other group members to terrorize the 23-year-old candidate, who reportedly received death threats and was subjected to other harassment during the race.
The creator of the group went on a racist diatribe, and another user invited members to join a murderous militia that he said was specifically targeting Khalid. I can’t imagine what that must be like for a young lady to deal with, but she handles it with a strength and grace that is reminiscent of another Somali-American in politics, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Facebook was made aware of the vile comments, and Khalid also complained to the tech giant about the death threats. Unsurprisingly, the newly elected councilwoman says Facebook did absolutely nothing about the violent and racist content.
When one person in the hate group posted a despicable “checklist,” accusing Khalid’s neighbors of everything from bestiality to cannibalism, Facebook refused to remove it. Big Blue instead offered that, although the content may be offensive, it didn’t go against their “specific Community Standards.” The site helpfully suggested engaging in conversation or a simple unfriend.
Thankfully, two Maine journalists—with large Twitter followings—engaged in a ”massive public shaming” of Facebook. The Twitter backlash was so potent, Facebook’s chief technical officer, Mike Schroepfer, finally used Twitter to address the attacks on Khalid.
And oooh! Facebook sure did bring down the hammer! The platform ultimately removed a couple of posts targeting Khalid. The Facebook group itself is still up, and while Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg dines with Trump, Khalid is still receiving death threats.
Facebook has made an effort to go after other extremist groups, but the anti-Muslim groups seem to get a pass. The reason, according to one Buzzfeed report, is simple: Muslim-bashing generates a lot of money. The disingenuous attacks by right-wing sites drive a lot of traffic and profit.
The sad truth is that a major party in our country has always depended on ginning up hysteria and fear to win elections. At least, not long ago, the right leaned on foreign enemies to scare the masses, such as Russian agents or American-killing terrorists. Now, of course, the GOP worships Russian assets and supports American-killing mass shooters, so they focus on new “enemies” who they know damn well aren’t a threat.
Hatred of immigrants and Muslims is now mainstream in the Republican Party, with every right-wing outlet and most mainstream candidates adopting this latest brand of hate speech. Ironically, it’s not Muslims who are being radicalized in this country, but rather the angry, uneducated, economically depressed whites who make up Trump’s base. Hate is a drug to them, and social media outlets bend like pretzels to give them their fix.
But this is about Councilwoman-Elect Khalid’s remarkable campaign! As much as her victory angers the worst of society, her win is a boon for representation to others.
(Fowsia) Musse said “words cannot describe how happy I am for the representation we are now being given” in city government. [...]
Jordy Dushime, 19, founder of the African Youth Alliance and recent graduate of Lewiston High School, said it’s “revolutionary that a minority and especially an immigrant/refugee is able to take place in the decision making of Lewiston.”
“As a black refugee woman, she is able to inspire us, the future generations to strive to participate in our communities and our beloved state,” he said. [...]
Rilwan Osman, executive director of Maine Immigrant & Refugee Services, (called Khalid’s win) “a huge change for our community.”
“It is both inspirational for our kids and a change for our city,” he said. “She will do a great job for the city we love and call home. A big congratulations to Safiya setting an example for our girls and boys, no matter where you came from, you can dream big.”
Fortunately for the white supremacists, they’re going to be served well by Khalid and the rest of the Lewiston City Council, despite their hateful Facebook posts.
Facebook, of course, doesn’t have to be a tool of radicalization. Yet the company leadership has decided it will be just that. As Facebook continues to see its market share and relevance shrink, it will continue to gladly promote the lies, smears, and hate speech as long as it remains profitable.