Were Jews trying to kill her in Somalia, thus excusing her bitterness?
No, of course not.
As Democrats line up to defend Rep. Ilhan Omar and come up with her excuses for her anti-Semitism, House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., tried to minimize her comments by arguing that she escaped violence in Somalia, so her experience was “more personal” than Jews who merely had parents survive the Holocaust.
The Hill reports, “Clyburn came to Omar’s defense Wednesday, lamenting that many of the media reports surrounding the recent controversy have omitted mentioning that Omar, who was born in Somalia, had to flee the country to escape violence and spent four years in a Kenyan refugee camp before coming to the United States.”
The article quotes Clyburn as saying, “There are people who tell me, ‘Well, my parents are Holocaust survivors.’ ‘My parents did this.’ It’s more personal with her … I’ve talked to her, and I can tell you she is living through a lot of pain.”
This has to be one of the more bizarre efforts to protect somebody who has repeatedly peddled the worst anti-Semitic tropes, despite multiple interventions by people explaining exactly why her words were offensive. The implication is that because Omar fled Somalia she gets a free pass to target another religious minority.
By the way, would this logic also apply to, say, the victim of a violent crime being higher on the Personal Feelings of Hurt totem pole than a mere descendant, many generations removed, of slaves?
Or does it only exist to denigrate Jewish pain and create a Safe Space for antisemitism in the New Democrat Socialist Party?
Wow. What an excuse to justify anti-Semitism. I’m not Jewish but I can understand the cruelty of slaughtering people simply because of their religion or culture. Clyburn might study some history and realize not ALL parents survived the Holocaust.
Clyburn did do us all a great favor. His view is the end of reparations. The tragedy of a parent being in a concentration or death camp or having a great-great grandfather that survived slavery are equally unimportant. Or, is it that only the suffering of Jews is non-noteworthy because…. well, they ARE just Jews after all.
I think that was Clyburn’s message.
I’ll give her the fact that one’s own personal experiences might feel much closer than those of relatives who are now two generations removed.
@Greg: And who caused her “experiences” Jews? That’s about as much crap as Pelosi’s or Clyburn’s excuses.
Do you think Clyburn’s view applies to blacks with relatives that were slaves 150 years ago? You seem to subscribe to that.
I’d have more empathy for how she feels if she’d talk about her female genital mutilation her own family authorized against her when she was young.
Will she sneak a daughter out of the country to do it to her?
Is she glad it was done to her?
Does she know what she’s missing? (Of course not!)
Will she protect young AMERICAN girls from parents who want them mutilated like she was?
I knew plenty of children from Holocaust surviving parents.
Most were traumatized by deaths of older siblings.
ALL were damaged because of their parents’ lack of good health for those years they were starved and overworked.
One even had already lost half her teeth as a twenty-something.
I guess that sawdust bread caught up with her in mom’s womb.
Jim Clyburn ought to rinse & repeat his words: to American blacks.
How on earth can today’s American blacks “suffer” from the slavery of over 100 years ago IF today’s Jews cannot suffer from their own parents’ Holocaust experiences?
Apropos of nothing…or maybe it explains everything.
How Dumb Is America: 10 Things People Actually Believe
@Greg: I didn’t see Russian collusion or emails about yoga on the list. Clearly it needs work.
Do you think Clyburn’s view applies to blacks with relatives that were slaves 150 years ago? You seem to subscribe to that.
I don’t think we’re talking about blacks with relatives that were slaves 150 years ago, but the same logic would apply. An individual’s personal life experiences affect him or more strongly than those of a great or great-great grandparent. It’s just a truth that’s a part of things.
Many of the difficulties of being black which existed in the past also exist in the present. I suspect it’s presently harder to be Muslim in America than to be Jewish in America. It’s certainly far easier to be either here than in some places, where persecution is the norm. It’s also true that the roles can be dramatically reversed from one place to another. None of that should be part of America.
@Greg: She is no victim, she is the perp. As a congress person she cant be coddled spouting un-american puke all over the place.
Making excuses on her behalf does help her adapt to her circumstances or life in the United States. She should learn about equal punishment and have lost her committee appointments til she proves she is mentally mature enough to handle the responsibilities.
@Greg:
Really?
The FBI Hate Crimes statistics for the year 2017 (the last year reported ) show 938 hate crimes committed against Jews compared to 273 against Muslims. The Jewish rate is almost 3.5 times that of Muslims.
And I guess the Democratic Party’s stance on anti-Semitism will remedy that? Only a fool thinks that. Ilhan Omar just got a green light to continue her anti-Semitism from Pelosi and Company.
@Greg:
And Democrats are the source of it.
So since, as Clyburn argues, the hurt diminishes with time to the point of being inconsequential, he has made the point that the question of reparations is, as many have argued, moot and irrelevant… right?
Yeah, well you have a habit of suspecting a lot of things that don’t exist. Muslims are a protected class. Jews are not, as we can clearly see. If something is said against Muslims, even acknowledging the bitter fact of radical Islamic terrorism, the “Islamaphobia” shield is raised. However, as demonstrated, denounce Jews and at best you get a notification that talking bad about a lot of other people is bad, too. Notice Christianity wasn’t mentioned in their little proclamation.
@kitt: In Texas a few years back we had the rise of “Affluenza” through the case of the little rich boy that never learned that getting drunk and killing people is bad. Seems Omar gets the same preferential treatment which will most likely have similar results. She’ll get people killed because no one taught her actions have consequences.
@retire05: Don’t forget that with the help of their corrupt media, when open season on Jews results in tragedy, they can all blame “Trump’s hateful rhetoric” and absolve themselves of responsibility.